WASHINGTON â Hundreds of post offices around the country would be protected from indefinite âemergency closureâ under new bipartisan legislation from U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, a longtime champion of rural post service. The bill would prevent the U.S. Postal Service from using its emergency suspension processâmeant to be temporaryâto indefinitely close post offices without notice to the community, opportunity to appeal, or a timeframe for either reopening or permanently closing the facility.
Since 2011, 650 postal facilities across the country were âtemporarilyâ closed under emergency suspension. Of those closures, 511 remain closed today, and the Postal Service has not told those communities ifâor whenâthose post offices might reopen. McCaskill introduced the legislation with Republican Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas.
âMissourians in rural communities rely on the Postal Service, and shouldnât be left in limbo without knowing if the temporary closure of their post office will be a permanent one,â said McCaskill, a former Missouri State Auditor and senior member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Postal Service. âThese post offices are part of the lifeblood of our communitiesâa source of employment and a lifeline for commerceâand we canât allow the Postal Service to balance its books on the backs of small communities by shuttering post offices where theyâre often most needed, with little transparency or explanation.â
âThis bipartisan legislation improves the transparency and accountability of the postal services provided throughout the country, but particularly to rural America,â said Anthony D. Leonardi, National President, National Association of Postmasters of the United States. âMany times, Postmasters, workers and communities have been surprised by abrupt and unexpected post office suspensions with little notice and no timetable for their reopening, if they reopen at all. Thatâs why Senator McCaskillâs  Postal Closure Accountability Act is criticalâit would help end these unexpected closures, and ensure that communities are informed about the status of their community post offices.â
McCaskill, a longtime advocate for postal service in rural communities, is widely credited with having waged a successful campaign over several years to save rural post offices and maintain delivery standards. Earlier this year, she called out the Postal Service for its use of these âemergency suspensionâ authority to close down Missouri post offices, potentially circumventing the standard process that requires input from communities that would feel the effects of a closure and notifications to Congress.
In January, McCaskill demanded answers from the Postal Service on how it will protect mail delivery for rural Missourians and efficiently manage the cost-sharing benefits with competitors to carry mail the âlast mile,â especially in rural areas, saying: âI think itâs really important we get a handle on [rural delivery times]. Those of us who are really pushing to protect rural deliveryâŠthink itâs important we know what weâre working with from a data-driven basis.â
And McCaskill is a leading sponsor of the Rural Postal Act, a bill that aims to improve postal service, delivery times, and standards in rural communities that have been disproportionately affected by cuts to the Postal Service. The billâalso backed by Senators Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Jon Tester of Montanaâwould restore overnight delivery, return a faster First-Class mail standard, make six-day delivery permanent, and enact strict criteria the Postal Service would have to meet before closing a post office to ensure that rural communities are still able to easily access the mail system.
Visit mccaskill.senate.gov/rural to learn more about McCaskill’s fight to protect rural Missouri.