Authors of a Senate postal reform bill have sent a letter to USPS requesting that it delay the closing of post offices and mail processing facilities until the new legislation is signed into law.
The letter, from Sens. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., Susan Collins, R-Maine, Tom Carper, D-Del., and Scott Brown, R-Mass., asks the Postal Service to extend a moratorium on closings that is set to expire May 15 to give Congress time to pass a final bill, noting that legislation could give USPS greater flexibility in offering products and adjusting its network and infrastructure.
The Senate recently passed the 21st Century Postal Service Act, S-1789, although the House has yet to pass a bill. USPS maintains the bill, in its current form, does not go far enough in allowing it to operate as a business.
"The legislation that is ultimately enacted by Congress could bar some of the planned closures or make many of them financially unnecessary," the letter says. "We believe an attempt to proceed with the planned closures – to ‘get in under the wire’ while legislation to the contrary is being considered – would be counterproductive and would violate the clear intent of the Senate."
