Sen. Brown Calls On USPS To Halt Consolidations In Ohio

Posted on by postal

February 23, 2012

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following reports that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) plans to close eight Mail & Processing Distribution Centers (P&DC) in Ohio despite a moratorium aimed at preventing consolidation until Congress passes postal reform legislation, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today called on the USPS to halt consolidation.

“The five-month moratorium was agreed to in good faith to provide time for the USPS, Congress, and local stakeholders to address issues with the current system,” Brown said. “Instead of taking steps that would lead to job loss and degradation of services for Ohio businesses and families, the USPS should focus on commonsense solutions that improve its fiscal solvency.”

“The Postal Service Protection Act would address the most immediate funding challenges USPS faces, while preserving jobs and Saturday mail delivery and finding innovative new ways for USPS to generate revenue,” Brown continued.

In December 2011, the U.S. Senate and USPS agreed to a five-month moratorium on closing postal facilities, providing Congress more time to enact postal reform legislation. Under the terms, the Postal Service would use the time to study the impact of proposed closures on service and costs and to solicit community input.

One hundred and twenty post offices and ten mail processing facilities have been targeted for closure in Ohio, and Brown has sent multiple letters to Postmaster General Patrick Donohue outlining concerns with the closures, which could lead to significant job losses, delayed mail, and deteriorated service. Brown has also sent representatives to public hearings across Ohio in recent months to stand with local residents in opposition to these closures.

Brown is working to pass legislation that would help the USPS return to fiscal solvency, while maintaining jobs and quality service for Ohio businesses. Brown cosponsored the Postal Service Protection Act, which preserves Saturday mail delivery, restricts the closure of rural and urban post offices, and protects mail processing facilities to ensure maintenance of timely service. The legislation would address the most immediate financial problem facing the postal service by eliminating the unique requirement that the postal service pre-fund 75 years worth of future retiree health benefits in just 10 years. This mandate costs USPS between $5.4 and $5.8 billion per year, and it accounts for 100 percent of the Postal Service’s $20 billion in losses from 2007-2008.

According to studies by the Hay Group and the Segal Company, the postal service has overpaid at least $50 billion into its pension plans. Because of these overpayments, USPS has been forced to subsidize retirement accounts for the entire Federal government. This bill would allow USPS to recover these pension overpayments to both fund its retiree health benefits and cover its operational expenses.

Specifically, the Postal Service Protection Act would:

  1. Fix the immediate fiscal problem of the postal service by allowing the postal service to recover the overpayments it made to its retirement programs. Additionally, this bill would allow the postal service to recover the overpayments that it has made to its pension plans.
  1. Establish new ways the Post Office can generate revenue, by ending the prohibition on USPS providing non-postal services, such as:
  • Providing notary services, new media services, issuance of licenses (drivers licenses, hunting licenses, fishing licenses)
  • Contracting with state and local agencies to provide services
  • Shipping wine and beer
  • Encouraging innovative ways to address the shift toward electronic mail and away from hard-copy mail
  1. Prevent the closure of rural post offices by giving the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) binding authority to prevent closures based on the effect on the community and the effect on employees. Right now, the Postal Regulatory Commission only has the authority to review a decision to close, but it does not have any binding authority to prevent the closure, even if it finds it was flawed. The bill would also ensure more transparency in the closure process by requiring USPS to inform the communities that are being studied for closure
  1. Protect six-day delivery
  1. Protect mail-processing facilities by ensuring strict standards for delivering first class mail delivery on time that would make it more difficult to close area mail processing facilities.

8 thoughts on “Sen. Brown Calls On USPS To Halt Consolidations In Ohio”

  1. let me address Senator Brown and his letter to PMG Donahoe. you may think it’s not sincere, however he did take the time to do so. Sen. John Kerry chose not to address this issue for citizens. oh, i get, Kerry gets a pass here because he’s a democratic. and how about President Obama, how has he addressed this issue? isn’t he for 5 day delivery? feels good to know my union pissed away all that campaign money they donated in 2008. and by the way, i wrote both Senators Brown and Kerry about the postal closings and reform bills over 3 weeks ago. i got a e-mail back from him in 2 days! i’m still waiting to hear back from Kerry. superstar from the Obama super-committee, who got nothing passed. there’s your bum! i would call him asshole!

  2. The postal service management is full of idiots. All cronies with no degrees in business. Every other corporation requires them. But in the postal service you go to management academy or idiot academy. You learn how to bully people not manage them. The military is more organized and civilized. I’m sorry that I wasted my time in the postal service. But I won’t give them the satisfaction of retiring.

  3. Too Little, Too Late. After years and years of stealing the profits from the Post Office and the Public making jokes about ‘Snail Mail’ plus “Going Postal” the tme has come for the Hurt to arrive. The Public has spoken and bank account is empty. Put up the FOR SALE signs along with directions to the nearest town that has a post office in it. Good Luck! We had a good run and the Service is gone.

  4. HAVEN’T WE HEARD THIS BEFORE? RAISE FIRST CLASS RATES TO COVER THE COST OF STANDARD MAIL? IT IS A DEAD HORSE. NOW WE LOWER THE STANDARDS TO THE SAME DELIVERY TIME AS STANDARD? WHEN WILL WE QUIT SUCKING UP TO STANDARD MAILERS?

  5. The political grandstanding is not going to get it done! The Postal Service is managing for future sustainability while everyone is ducking for cover. The current network is not the future but any change will be opposed. The noose is getting tighter as we speak ….it is a shame Postal management is not what we can believe in but we will soon have no choice but lose plants and employees if we can’t generate revenue (which we have been able to do) to offset costs. We need help!

  6. The political grandstanding is not going to get it done! The Postal Service is managing for future sustainability while everyone is ducking for cover. The current network is not the future but any change will be opposed. The noose is getting tighter as we speak ….it is a shame Postal management is not what we can believe in but we will soon have no choice but lose plants and employees if we can’t generate revenue (which we have been able to do) to offset costs.

  7. Congress has done enough taliking, it’s time to put up or shut up! Congress you need to get some back bone, figure out which proposals will be finanical positive for the survival of the Postal Service and vote it in! If Sen. Brown proposed Postal Service Protection Act is viable and positive, vote it in and keep the country mail delivery service from going down the tube! Then fire Postmaster Generaal Donahoe and put someone in who cares about the postal service and it’s employees! Hats off to Sen. Brown and others who are fighting to keep the postal service opened and convenient to all americans! This need to be acted on immediately! Not a year from now! Jobs and livlihoods are depending on it!

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