"Preserving The U.S. Postal Service"
Matinicus Island lies about 20 miles off the coast of Maine. Nearly 70 people live there year-round, and they count on the local post office to pay bills, mail birthday cards and letters, and receive needed prescriptions and other goods that they just can't buy on the island. It truly is one of their only links to the mainland.
But recently, the U.S. Postal Service announced a list of nearly 3,700 post offices it will study and consider for closure. Many rural post offices, including 34 all around Maine, are on the list such as those on Matinicus Island and Cliff Island in Casco Bay. Other post offices on the target list are in small towns like Benedicta in Aroostook County, West Forks and Caratunk in western Somerset County, and Meddybemps and Topsfield in Washington County.
All of these post offices were selected by the U.S. Postal Service, we are told, because of low annual revenue, daily workload, or because there is another post office branch within two miles. The Postal Service will study the outlets on the list and may begin shuttering post offices beginning in 90 days.
There is no denying that the U.S. Postal Service faces a dire financial crisis - it lost $8.5 billion last year and expects to lose another $8.3 billion by the end of this fiscal year. But, the fact is-- maintaining all of our nation's rural post offices costs the Postal Service less than one percent of its total budget. Rural post offices are not the cause of its financial crisis. While there are some towns and cities where postal services could be consolidated or moved into a nearby retail store to ensure continued access to reliable mail service, this simply is not an option in many rural and remote areas. Matinicus Island is a great example. Closing this post office or moving it into a large retail facility is simply not realistic. This tiny post office is one of the only businesses on the island.
Before any decision is made to close or consolidate a post office, it is essential that the Postal Service get input from the community. It must determine how closing a post office will affect its customers, and it must consider its legal obligation to provide universal service.
The truth is-- nearly 80 percent of the Postal Service's costs are workforce-related; these are the costs it must confront, rather than reducing service which will only drive more customers away and cause revenues to decline further.
I have introduced legislation to help address the Postal Service's structural shortfalls through several means, including workers' compensation reforms that would likely save hundreds of millions of dollars. My bill would also remedy an enormous overpayment by the Postal Service into retirement funds and permit those overpaid funds to be used to address other financial obligations, such as its payments for future retiree health benefits.
The bill would also help clean up a contracting mess that includes costly, no-bid contracts awarded to employees who retire one day and return to work the next as an expensive contractor.
Other legislative proposals that have been introduced in Congress include a provision that would reduce the number of delivery days from six to five. I have several concerns with this proposal including the fact that five-day delivery would have a disproportionate effect on rural areas. Individuals in rural areas rely on mail delivery for communication and business purposes, including access to needed items like prescription drugs. Further, if Saturday delivery were eliminated, there would be no mail service from Friday to Tuesday during weeks when Monday is a holiday. And I have heard from many small community newspapers in Maine who tell me they depend on Saturday readership and revenue from advertisements.
Instead, the Postal Service should focus on cutting costs that will not involve reductions in service and access to postal products and services. The Postal Service must embrace fundamental change and take actions to reduce overhead costs, curb no-bid purchasing, bring the workforce benefit structure into line, and better serve customers to increase volume. A review of the most effective and best performing post offices would be a good idea to learn from them. Moving some small post offices into a local grocery store or pharmacy would make sense in some cases. However, closing many small, rural, or remote post offices that account for such a miniscule percentage of the whole budget is not among the changes that are needed.
The need to preserve a viable Postal Service is clear. Americans count on reliable, affordable, and universal mail service. A healthy Postal Service is not just important to postal customers, but also to the national economy, as the Postal Service is the linchpin of a $1.1 trillion mailing industry that employs approximately 8.7 million Americans, including nearly 40,000 here in Maine, in fields as diverse as direct mail, printing, catalog companies, paper manufacturing, and financial services. My legislation would help spark new life into the Postal Service as it modernizes yet maintains its vital role in our nation's economy.
But recently, the U.S. Postal Service announced a list of nearly 3,700 post offices it will study and consider for closure. Many rural post offices, including 34 all around Maine, are on the list such as those on Matinicus Island and Cliff Island in Casco Bay. Other post offices on the target list are in small towns like Benedicta in Aroostook County, West Forks and Caratunk in western Somerset County, and Meddybemps and Topsfield in Washington County.
All of these post offices were selected by the U.S. Postal Service, we are told, because of low annual revenue, daily workload, or because there is another post office branch within two miles. The Postal Service will study the outlets on the list and may begin shuttering post offices beginning in 90 days.
There is no denying that the U.S. Postal Service faces a dire financial crisis - it lost $8.5 billion last year and expects to lose another $8.3 billion by the end of this fiscal year. But, the fact is-- maintaining all of our nation's rural post offices costs the Postal Service less than one percent of its total budget. Rural post offices are not the cause of its financial crisis. While there are some towns and cities where postal services could be consolidated or moved into a nearby retail store to ensure continued access to reliable mail service, this simply is not an option in many rural and remote areas. Matinicus Island is a great example. Closing this post office or moving it into a large retail facility is simply not realistic. This tiny post office is one of the only businesses on the island.
Before any decision is made to close or consolidate a post office, it is essential that the Postal Service get input from the community. It must determine how closing a post office will affect its customers, and it must consider its legal obligation to provide universal service.
The truth is-- nearly 80 percent of the Postal Service's costs are workforce-related; these are the costs it must confront, rather than reducing service which will only drive more customers away and cause revenues to decline further.
I have introduced legislation to help address the Postal Service's structural shortfalls through several means, including workers' compensation reforms that would likely save hundreds of millions of dollars. My bill would also remedy an enormous overpayment by the Postal Service into retirement funds and permit those overpaid funds to be used to address other financial obligations, such as its payments for future retiree health benefits.
The bill would also help clean up a contracting mess that includes costly, no-bid contracts awarded to employees who retire one day and return to work the next as an expensive contractor.
Other legislative proposals that have been introduced in Congress include a provision that would reduce the number of delivery days from six to five. I have several concerns with this proposal including the fact that five-day delivery would have a disproportionate effect on rural areas. Individuals in rural areas rely on mail delivery for communication and business purposes, including access to needed items like prescription drugs. Further, if Saturday delivery were eliminated, there would be no mail service from Friday to Tuesday during weeks when Monday is a holiday. And I have heard from many small community newspapers in Maine who tell me they depend on Saturday readership and revenue from advertisements.
Instead, the Postal Service should focus on cutting costs that will not involve reductions in service and access to postal products and services. The Postal Service must embrace fundamental change and take actions to reduce overhead costs, curb no-bid purchasing, bring the workforce benefit structure into line, and better serve customers to increase volume. A review of the most effective and best performing post offices would be a good idea to learn from them. Moving some small post offices into a local grocery store or pharmacy would make sense in some cases. However, closing many small, rural, or remote post offices that account for such a miniscule percentage of the whole budget is not among the changes that are needed.
The need to preserve a viable Postal Service is clear. Americans count on reliable, affordable, and universal mail service. A healthy Postal Service is not just important to postal customers, but also to the national economy, as the Postal Service is the linchpin of a $1.1 trillion mailing industry that employs approximately 8.7 million Americans, including nearly 40,000 here in Maine, in fields as diverse as direct mail, printing, catalog companies, paper manufacturing, and financial services. My legislation would help spark new life into the Postal Service as it modernizes yet maintains its vital role in our nation's economy.
