Senator Bob Casey responds to APWU member on issue of Consolidation Plan

Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa)

Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa)

Dear Mr. Zelznick:

Thank you for taking the time to contact me about the United States Postal Service Consolidation Plan. I appreciate hearing from you about this issue.

The Postal Service faces a deteriorating financial situation. From 2007 through 2011, the Postal Service lost $41.4 billion. Last year, despite an increase in revenues, they lost $5 billion. Earlier this year, the United States Postal Service (USPS) announced a plan to consolidate 82 facilities across 37 states. These closures would eliminate nearly 15,000 jobs. I am concerned about the effect these closures would have on Pennsylvania jobs and economic growth. I signed on to a letter circulated by Senators Tester, Sanders and Baldwin to the Senate Appropriations Committee that requests language that would prohibit the USPS from closing any facilities.

There have been a number of proposals in the Senate and the House of Representatives to broadly reform the Postal Service. I believe that any reform efforts should preserve the crucial services that many Pennsylvanians rely on. That is why I am a cosponsor of the Postal Service Protection Act of 2013. This legislation would take a number of steps to improve the Postal Service’s finances including allowing the Postal Service to reclaim overpayments to its employee pension fund and changing the way the Postal Service funds its retiree health benefits.

Legislation to reform the Postal Service has been referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, of which I am not a member. Please be assured that I will be working with my colleagues to make the reforms needed to preserve the Postal Service and the crucial role it plays in our economy. Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about this or any other matter of importance to you.

For more information on this or other issues, I encourage you to visit my website, http://casey.senate.gov. I hope you will find this online office a comprehensive resource to stay up-to-date on my work in Washington, request assistance from my office or share with me your thoughts on the issues that matter most to you and to Pennsylvania.

Sincerely,
Bob Casey
United States Senator

P.S. If you would like to respond to this message, please use the contact form on my website: http://casey.senate.gov/contact/

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