POSTAL Act introduced

Jess Oaks
Posted 5/8/24

CHEYENNE – Last month, the United States Postal Service (USPS) made the decision to close the doors on the Casper processing and distribution center, routing mail to Billings and officially …

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POSTAL Act introduced

Posted

CHEYENNE – Last month, the United States Postal Service (USPS) made the decision to close the doors on the Casper processing and distribution center, routing mail to Billings and officially leaving the state of Wyoming without a major mail center.

The USPS, to “help modernize and streamline postal services,” announced the closure days after announcing the closer of the Cheyenne processing facility. 

According to a recent press release, congresswoman Harriet Hageman and senator Cynthia Lummis introduced bipartisan and bicameral legislation, the Postal Operations Stay Timely and Local (POSTAL) Act, which prevents the USPS from closing, consolidating, or downgrading its processing and distribution centers (P&DC) nationwide if such an action would have a negative impact on the mail delivery system or if there is a sole P&DC within a state.

“All Americans rely upon USPS to receive correspondence, bills, packages, and medication in a timely manner,” representative Hageman said. “If fulfilled, the USPS modernization plan threatens the promise of timely, secure mail delivery by transporting the bulk of Wyoming’s mail out of state, while also forcing many USPS P&DC employees to either relocate or lose their jobs. The closure of P&DCs brings serious election integrity concerns by forcing the transport of mailed-in ballots out of state, introducing the potential for delivery of ballots after an election concludes.

“The POSTAL Act alleviates these concerns by ensuring that any P&DC realignment or modernization actions done by the USPS cannot result in a negative impact on mail delivery or close the final P&DC within a state’s borders. I’m proud to be joined by congressman Chris Pappas of New Hampshire and Senator Lummis to introduce this bipartisan, bicameral bill.”

“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,” senator Lummis said. “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, and I am partnering with senator Barrasso and representative Hageman to ensure that standard is met.”

“The United States Postal Service (USPS) is a lifeline in rural states like ours,” Senator Barrasso said. “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.”

“As Wyoming Secretary of State, I strongly oppose what the post office is doing in moving mail processing out of state.  Since the Postal Service announced their proposals, I’ve expressed my concerns that processing Wyoming election mail outside the state of Wyoming would delay delivery of absentee ballots and otherwise impede the integrity of the upcoming 2024 election and future elections.  I view these repeated and disturbing efforts to move mail processing outside the State of Wyoming as detrimental to Wyoming elections and the people of Wyoming.  The Postal Service should withdraw this plan entirely,” secretary of state, Chuck Gray commented.