Request Second Public Hearing on Mail Processing

Press Release from the office of Congressman Steve King

May 2, 2011

Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Steve King and Senators Chuck Grassley and Tom Harkin wrote to the United States Postal Service to ask that the Postal Service make public the details of the Area Mail Processing (AMP) Study that is being used by the Postal Service to weigh a move of Sioux City’s mail processing operations to Sioux Falls. The Congressman and Senators also asked that the Postal Service hold an additional public meeting once the AMP is released in order to give Sioux City’s residents and community and business leaders the opportunity to offer informed input about the AMP study, its data, and its conclusions. The letter from the Congressman and Senators responds to an April 22nd letter to the elected officials from Marie Therese Dominguez, United States Postal Service Vice President of Government Relations and Public Policy. In her letter, Vice President Dominguez offered to meet with the Congressman and Senators to explain the methodology and findings of the Sioux City AMP study rather than release a copy of the study as they had requested. King, Grassley, and Harkin released the following statements about the letter sent today:

Statement of Congressman Steve King:

“The Siouxland Community cannot be expected to offer constructive input regarding the proposed consolidation of mail processing operations if they are not given any information about the rationale being used by the Postal Service to justify this move. Hundreds of concerned residents showed up at a town hall last week hoping to find out some details about the AMP study, but all they got was a lot of general talk about the Postal Service’s need to cut costs and maximize efficiencies. I am certain that Sioux City’s residents and community and business leaders can help the Postal Service come up with a rational proposal to cut costs and maximize efficiency in mail processing in northwest Iowa. To do so, however, they must have access to the facts, figures, and data.”

Statement of Senator Chuck Grassley:

“The public meeting wasn’t much more than window dressing by the Postal Service. If the Postal Service is sincere about wanting public input, it needs to be open and forthcoming about the rationale behind its proposal. Otherwise, there’s nothing specific for the public to comment on and, in the end, the Postal Service won’t have considered public input in a very meaningful way.”

Statement of Senator Tom Harkin:

“Absent further details from the Postal Service regarding how it derived its supposed savings from the closure of the AMP, closure of the AMP would be irresponsible, costing Sioux City critical jobs and threatening to delay to delivery of mail to Iowans. Given recent job losses elsewhere in Sioux City, and the resulting economic impact, the Postal Service’s attitude of “trust us” just isn’t good enough. I’m proud of Sioux City’s efforts to maintain the processing facility and to find reasonable ways to bring down costs without threatening the livelihood of dozens of Sioux City residents. At the first public meeting in Sioux City on the possible AMP closure, my office specifically requested a second meeting following the release of the study. This remains the proper course of action and I will continue to press the Postal Service for this public meeting.”