Washington, D.C.- Congressman Steve King (R-IA), Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) announce that they have formally requested that the United States Postal Service delay the implementation of its plan to consolidate mail processing operations in Sioux City with a mail processing center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The request was made in a letter sent by the three Members of Congress to Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe this afternoon. The letter notes that a delay in the final implementation of the consolidation proposal is warranted and necessary because the USPS has spent weeks stalling the release of information sought by Sioux City officials attempting to prepare a counter proposal in advance of the September 16 deadline.
“It is clear that the USPS is attempting to ‘run out the clock’ on Sioux City’s efforts to develop a counter proposal to the USPS consolidation plan, and they should not be given a free pass to do so,” said King. “The Postmaster General promised me, Senator Grassley and Senator Harkin that Sioux City would be given sufficient time to analyze the AMP data and to develop a counter proposal, but for three weeks the USPS undermined this commitment by stalling the data’s release. The request for a delay is reasonable, and the USPS should grant it to honor the Postmaster General’s promises to the community.”
“Up to this point, the Postal Service’s response to questions and concerns from the congressional delegation and Sioux City community leaders has been disappointing,” said Grassley. “Yesterday’s meeting, for the first time, provided some information to the community, but it’s too little, too late, and puts Sioux City in a difficult situation. Sioux City deserves better treatment than what it’s gotten from the Postal Service. The least the Postal Service can do is provide additional time for the community to adequately respond.”
“After yesterday’s meeting, it is abundantly clear that USPS is slow-walking this process,” said Harkin. “The only reasonable option at this point is to try to delay any closure until sufficient information is available from all relevant groups.”
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Click here to view a copy of the letter.
Yes, Congress is the culprit in many ways. The Congress has mandated the USPS to pre-pay their health and retirement plans beyond fifty years – That amount per year is between 5.5 billion – 6 billion dollars.
The USPS has pre-funded in excess of 75 Billion dollars. When the USPS asked for a little of that money back to stabilize their losses and look for alternatives – the USPS heard crickets.
It is up to you the public to ask Congress to stop taking the 5.5 Billion a year, and allow the USPS to receive some of their pre-fund back.
This money is not taxpayer money – it is what the USPS makes off the services and products. It is another money grab by Congress.
With this kind of political interference from some congress critter every time the USPS wants to change some of their operations, it is no wonder that they cannot find cost savings to keep them in the black.
three politicians and not one can call for an investigation and bring them to d.c. for a public hearing….
where are ur your powers now??
call donohoe and his 47 vice president to explain their actions….