A group of lawmakers is urging colleagues who are drafting spending bills to prohibit the U.S. Postal Service from moving forward with its plan to close 80 more processing facilities.

The Postal Service announced last month that in January 2015 it would begin the previously delayed second phase of its “network rationalization” plan. Twenty-two senators — nearly all Democrats — called for a one-year moratorium on the consolidations in a letter to their colleagues on the Senate Appropriations Committee, saying the closures would hurt both postal customers and employees.

“This one-year moratorium will give Congress the time it needs to enact comprehensive postal reforms that are necessary for the Postal Service to function effectively in the future,” they wrote.

Ream more: Senators Seek to Protect 15,000 Postal Jobs – Oversight – GovExec.com.