Mo. senators call for USPS consolidation delay

U.S. Sens. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., are among federal legislators asking the U.S. Postal Service to delay consolidation of 82 mail processing facilities, including one in Springfield.

In a news release this week, Blunt pointed to the postal service’s June 30 plan to move ahead with what it said would result in savings of over $3.5 billion during the next five years for the struggling agency.

In Phase II of what the USPS is calling its Network Rationalization Initiatives, the consolidations would begin in January. The Springfield to Kansas City conversion is scheduled for July next year, according to the plan.

In the bipartisan letter to the USPS - which comprises 30 signatures - the senators call on the agency to wait until the USPS Office of Inspector General adequately studies the impact of the consolidations and hears from the public.

“We strongly urge the USPS to delay implementation of any mail processing consolidations until feasibility studies are completed and there has been adequate time for public comment and consideration of those comments,” the senators wrote. “There is no reason that the USPS cannot delay its consolidations to provide time for the public to see and comment on the service standard worksheets.

“It is only fair to allow the process to unfold in this way, and the USPS gains little by deciding to continue the consolidation process on its current, arbitrary timeline.”