Washington, D.C. – Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE), along with Congressman Lee Terry (R-NE) and Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE), sent a letter to the Postmaster General of the United States Postal Service (USPS) urging the agency to keep in mind the impact on local communities when considering the closing or consolidation of a rural mail facility.

“As the USPS works to fix its budget deficit, we must uphold the original mission of serving both rural and urban areas,” Smith said. “I applaud the recent efforts by the USPS to balance its budget, but I hope it will keep in mind the impact on communities, jobs, and urgent mail delivery when deciding whether to close a facility.”

On March 31, 2011, the USPS proposed a rule which would change the process of closing small, rural post offices. While current law prohibits USPS from closing an office solely for financial purposes, there is concern rural post offices are being targeted for closure because they are not generating revenue, not because it would save a significant amount of money.

According to the Postal Regulatory Commission, closing all 10,000 small and rural post offices would save only seven-tenths of one percent of the USPS operating budget.