Members of West Virginia's congressional delegation have been urging the United States Postal Service to rethink closing 150 rural post offices across the state.
Now, in the words of Sen. Joe Manchin, those members of Congress are "encouraged" by a new plan that would limit retail hours rather than close facilities.
"I spoke with the Postmaster General last night and I'm encouraged that he changed course and took a new approach to save money in his agency," Manchin, a Democrat, said in a May 9 news release.
The Postal Service announced late last year that it would close 3,700 rural post offices nationwide in an effort to save money. Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe has said the agency loses $25 million daily and closing or consolidating a number of facilities could ease that financial burden. However, members of Congress who represent rural areas pushed back and urged the Postal Service to hold off on closing any rural post office until Congress could draft a reform bill. The Postal Service's moratorium on closures expires May 15.
But a new plan announced by the Postal Service May 9 would prevent closures and instead limit retail hours. Customers would still have access to their post office boxes, however. But Manchin said the Postal Service needs to do more than just limit hours.
"This compromise isn't perfect," he said. "I expect that if the Postal Service is going to make any changes to the services they are providing to constituents, they will also explore alternative cost-saving measures like reducing executive compensation, getting rid of unused space and ending advertising sponsorships. I will be watching very closely to ensure that our rural communities do not bear the brunt of changes being made at the Postal Service."
Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said he also is concerned about what he calls "the Postal Service's constantly shifting plans."
"On its face, this move looks like an improvement over the previous proposal to flat out close 150 post offices in West Virginia," Rockefeller said in a statement. "But I continue to be very concerned about the Postal Service's constantly shifting plans and lack of information about how its proposals will impact jobs and services in our state. This new plan will potentially impact far more West Virginians and it fails to take into account the many other options for reducing costs besides cutting postal jobs and services in rural areas like West Virginia."
However, Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., said he was pleased with the Postal Service's new plan. Rahall has been vocal about his disdain for rural facility closures.
"Today's newest Postal Service plan appears to be welcome news for southern West Virginia families and businesses who joined me in the hard fight over these months to save our post offices," Rahall said in a May 9 news release. "However, cutting back the hours for so many post offices is no small matter, and we need to examine the details of the plan and get a better understanding of its potential impact on mail delivery services and communities. We ought not be shy about letting postal officials know our views and getting our questions answered."
The new plan is still subject to scrutiny by the Postal Regulatory Commission. Donahoe said in a news release that the USPS will file a request for an advisory opinion with the commission by the end of the month. If the plan is accepted, full implementation will not be complete until September 2014.
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