WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) led her colleagues Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) in introducing the Postal Operations Stay Timely and Local (POSTAL) Act, bipartisan legislation to prevent the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) from closing, consolidating or downgrading its processing and distribution centers nationwide if it eliminates the sole sorting center in a state or adversely impacts mail delivery.
“While this administration creates unnecessary disruptions in mail delivery across the state of Wyoming by closing sorting facilities in a laughable display of ‘fiscal responsibility,’ they are senselessly spending billions of Wyoming tax dollars on their left-wing priorities,” said Senator Lummis. “In-state mail should not have to leave the state of Wyoming for processing, yet under this administration’s string of closures, that’s the harsh reality for Wyoming and a handful of states across the U.S. Every single state should have at least one sorting facility to ensure Americans receive their mail in a timely manner.”
“The United States Postal Service (USPS) is a lifeline in rural states like ours,” said Senator Barrasso. “The USPS’ outrageous proposal would close processing and distribution centers in Wyoming and lead to unnecessary delays. The people of Wyoming deserve to have access to a reliable and timely postal service. This bipartisan legislation will save jobs and ensure we continue to have access to these critical postal facilities in Wyoming.”
“For months, I’ve been speaking out against the decision to move mail distribution out of Manchester, New Hampshire and the impact it will have on Granite Staters,” said Senator Shaheen. “I am deeply concerned about the Postal Service’s decision to move forward with damaging changes to mail processing, despite significant public outcry. It’s clear that the Postal Service’s decision-making process is broken and needs to be fixed. That’s why I’m proud to help introduce this bipartisan bill that would prevent the Postal Service from cutting local mail processing from states like New Hampshire and prevent the harmful and unnecessary increased mail delays Granite Staters are now facing,”
“Granite Staters, like many Americans, rely on the postal service for timely delivery of medication and other essential goods,” said Senator Hassan. “The plans that the USPS has announced to close processing centers nationwide will lead to delayed mail deliveries, delayed absentee ballots, and job losses for postal employees. I am glad to help introduce this bipartisan legislation to protect mail service and stop the USPS’s proposed changes to leave entire states – including New Hampshire – without processing centers.”
Under the USPS’ “Delivering for America” modernization plan, it has begun downgrading and consolidating many existing processing and distribution centers, outsourcing the bulk of sorting to other locations out of state. This proposal included a plan to downgrade both of Wyoming’s processing centers, sending Casper’s processing to Billings, Montana and Cheyenne’s operations to Denver, Colorado. Senator Lummis supported the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 that allocated $40 billion for the USPS to modernize the nation’s postal network, not effectively eliminate service in Wyoming. In December, she wrote a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy blasting the proposal to leave Wyoming without a distribution center.
Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY) and Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH) are co-leading companion legislation in the House.
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