Rural post offices will remain open
More than 13,000 mail facilities would have hours reduced
WASHINGTON – Bending to strong public opposition, the nearly bankrupt U.S. Postal Service on Wednesday backed off a plan to close thousands of rural post offices after May 15 and proposed keeping them open, but with shorter operating hours.
The move to halt the shuttering of 3,700 low-revenue post offices followed months of dissent from rural states and their lawmakers, who said the cost-cutting would hurt their communities the most. In recent weeks, rising opposition had led Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe to visit some rural areas in a bid to ease fears about cuts that could slow delivery of prescription drugs, newspapers and other services.
In an election year, the angst over postal closings also extended to nearly half the senators, who in letters last week urged Donahoe to postpone closing any mail facility until Congress approves final postal overhaul legislation. The Senate last month passed a bill that would halt many of the closings; the House remains stalled over a separate bill allowing for aggressive cuts.
“I could live with this plan, and I think the majority of people could,” said June Nygren, who runs the Jersey Lilly Saloon & Eatery in the tiny Montana town of Ingomar. Donahoe visited the rural town of about 80 people last month, which welcomed him with a spread of homemade baked goods and a packed school gymnasium as people pleaded for their post office to stay open.
At a news briefing, Donahoe prodded Congress to act quickly on legislation that will allow the agency to move ahead with its broader multibillion dollar cost-cutting effort and return to profitability by 2015.
“We’ve listened to our customers in rural America, and we’ve heard them loud and clear – they want to keep their post office open,” he said. “We believe today’s announcement will serve our customers’ needs and allow us to achieve real savings to help the Postal Service return to long-term financial stability.”
While no post office would be closed, more than 13,000 rural mail facilities could see reduced operations of between two hours and six hours a day, but only after a review process that is expected to take several months. An additional 4,000 rural post offices would keep their full-time hours.
The agency also will announce new changes next week involving its proposal to close up to 252 mail processing centers.
The latest move comes as the Postal Service is pushing Congress to pass cost-saving postal legislation that includes an end to Saturday mail delivery.
The Senate-passed bill would give the Postal Service an $11 billion cash infusion but also impose a one-year freeze on shuttering rural post offices. It would reduce by half the planned closings of mail processing centers, give affected communities new avenues to appeal closing decisions and bar cuts to Saturday delivery for at least two years.