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The movement to save America’s rural post offices caught its second wind on Wednesday.
A bipartisan bill called The 21st Century Postal Service Act of 2011, S. 1789, was approved in committee Wednesday. It must now be considered by the full Senate for approval and, if passed, proceed to the House as well.
If approved, S. 1789 would free the United States Postal Service from some existing financial restrictions while limiting its ability to close individual retail locations.
While the bill initially overlooked the topic of rural post offices, an amendment authored by U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., will force the USPS’ hand on the issue. It would require the USPS establish a series of minimum standards of service to be consulted before closing any post office.
The standards would have to consider geography, population, and transportation challenges and would have to be approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission.
Other high-profile issues are considered by the bill as well. Its approval would prevent the USPS from reducing its six-day delivery schedule to five days at any point in the next two years, requiring such action take place only after study and with proof that it is financially crucial to do so. It also would require a full study be conducted prior to the closure of any processing facility, such as the one in Salina.
It also provides allowances to the USPS. The bill would permit it access to billions of dollars in overpaid pension funds. The USPS could use them, in part, to buy out active postal workers in an effort to reduce overall staff numbers by some 100,000 employees. It also would allow the USPS to relocate mailboxes to street-side locations, making them accessible to motor carriers and possibly saving billions of dollars.
While approved by the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the bill still requires approval by both the Senate, where it was created, and the House, where opposing bills are still undergoing committee consideration. It is expected to be called to the Senate floor within the next month. The House will be hard-pressed to draft and approve a complimentary bill before its scheduled Dec. 8 adjournment and may have to be called after the first of the year.
Sen. Moran had previously been focusing his attention on a separate bill that would have prohibited the USPS from closing any post office if doing so resulted in a 10-mile or larger gap between locations. While S. 1789 does not replace that bill, it does largely address its concerns, and the original effort likely will be allowed to wither in committee consideration until the newer bill is voted on.
While S. 1789 would effectively stall the possible closure of rural post offices like those in Windom and Roxbury, the USPS retains full authority over such matters until it is passed or denied. That means that it could conceivably close the two McPherson County locations without oversight during the weeks that pass before S. 1789’s consideration.
Staffers of Sen. Moran’s office don’t expect that to happen. They say that Moran questioned Postmaster General Patrick Donahue on the issue during a recent hearing. Donahue replied the USPS will respect the time restraints on Congress and will not try to rush through any closures while the bill is debated and voted on.
The movement to save America’s rural post offices caught its second wind on Wednesday.
A bipartisan bill called The 21st Century Postal Service Act of 2011, S. 1789, was approved in committee Wednesday. It must now be considered by the full Senate for approval and, if passed, proceed to the House as well.
If approved, S. 1789 would free the United States Postal Service from some existing financial restrictions while limiting its ability to close individual retail locations.
While the bill initially overlooked the topic of rural post offices, an amendment authored by U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., will force the USPS’ hand on the issue. It would require the USPS establish a series of minimum standards of service to be consulted before closing any post office.
The standards would have to consider geography, population, and transportation challenges and would have to be approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission.
Other high-profile issues are considered by the bill as well. Its approval would prevent the USPS from reducing its six-day delivery schedule to five days at any point in the next two years, requiring such action take place only after study and with proof that it is financially crucial to do so. It also would require a full study be conducted prior to the closure of any processing facility, such as the one in Salina.
It also provides allowances to the USPS. The bill would permit it access to billions of dollars in overpaid pension funds. The USPS could use them, in part, to buy out active postal workers in an effort to reduce overall staff numbers by some 100,000 employees. It also would allow the USPS to relocate mailboxes to street-side locations, making them accessible to motor carriers and possibly saving billions of dollars.
While approved by the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the bill still requires approval by both the Senate, where it was created, and the House, where opposing bills are still undergoing committee consideration. It is expected to be called to the Senate floor within the next month. The House will be hard-pressed to draft and approve a complimentary bill before its scheduled Dec. 8 adjournment and may have to be called after the first of the year.
Sen. Moran had previously been focusing his attention on a separate bill that would have prohibited the USPS from closing any post office if doing so resulted in a 10-mile or larger gap between locations. While S. 1789 does not replace that bill, it does largely address its concerns, and the original effort likely will be allowed to wither in committee consideration until the newer bill is voted on.
While S. 1789 would effectively stall the possible closure of rural post offices like those in Windom and Roxbury, the USPS retains full authority over such matters until it is passed or denied. That means that it could conceivably close the two McPherson County locations without oversight during the weeks that pass before S. 1789’s consideration.
Staffers of Sen. Moran’s office don’t expect that to happen. They say that Moran questioned Postmaster General Patrick Donahue on the issue during a recent hearing. Donahue replied the USPS will respect the time restraints on Congress and will not try to rush through any closures while the bill is debated and voted on.
