NELSON: POSTAL REFORMS COULD REDUCE CLOSINGS, PRESERVE JOBS

February 23, 2012 – Today, Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson said that comprehensive postal reforms are needed more than ever, after the U.S. Postal Service announced that serious budget problems are prompting it to close about 250 mail processing centers nationwide in May—including facilities in Alliance, Grand Island and Norfolk.
“Needless to say, it’s disappointing to see mail processing centers in Alliance, Grand Island and Norfolk on the Postal Service’s closings list,” said Senator Nelson. “This should spur Congress to go full speed ahead with comprehensive postal reforms that both preserve postal jobs and facilities, while creating a new business model so the Postal Service can become solvent for the long term. Just shutting down post offices and processing centers is not a business plan for the future.
“As comprehensive postal reforms take shape, I’ll continue working with a coalition of my colleagues committed to preserving rural mail delivery and processing. The thousands of jobs and varied services they provide are a key part of the fabric of rural life in Nebraska and nationwide. It’s my goal that comprehensive postal reforms maintain a strong Postal Service presence in our rural communities.”
Sen. Nelson recently joined 26 of his colleagues who stood up for rural America by insisting any reforms of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) include protecting rural post offices, maintaining six-day delivery and keeping the current delivery standards for first-class mail.
Nelson and his colleagues sent a letter on February 14th to the top-ranking Democrats and Republicans overseeing postal reform legislation in the Senate. They offered suggestions and also called for a blue ribbon commission of postmasters, experts in the mailing industry, business leaders and labor leaders to recommend a new business model for USPS to make it profitable over the long term.
“We have serious concerns with the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) plan to close thousands of mostly rural post offices, eliminate hundreds of mail processing plants, slash its workforce by 220,000 and substantially slow down mail delivery. If this plan is implemented, it will have a devastating impact on rural America, small businesses, veterans, the elderly and our entire economy,” Senator Nelson and his colleagues wrote.
At the request of Nelson and 11 of his colleagues in December, USPS agreed to a five-month moratorium on closing post offices in order to give Congress a chance to enact postal reform legislation. The moratorium ends on May 15, 2012.
“Everyone understands that the Postal Service is in the midst of a serious financial crisis that must be addressed. But, we believe that this financial crisis can be solved in a way that does not substantially slow down the delivery of mail and harm rural America,” Nelson and his colleagues wrote in their letter.