Rep. Blunt Rochester Joins Bipartisan and Bicameral Letter to the USPS Opposing Consolidations, Operational Changes Across the Country

WASHINGTON - Today, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) joined a bipartisan group of 22 Members of Congress in sending a letter to United States Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, in opposition to the United States Postal Service's (USPS) recent nationwide consolidation and review announcements that could diminish mail service reliability for postal networks across the country.

The letter can be found here.

"A common theme of these announcements is the so-called 'modernization' of Processing and Distribution Centers (P&DCs) into Local Processing Centers (LPCs)," the Members wrote. "Taken together, these proposals dismantle parts of the Postal Service's robust network that helps distribute mail across the country and places outgoing sorting into more distant facilities. The result of this change is that mail will need to travel farther from its origin to its sorting, creating inefficiencies in the system, especially for local mail."

"These consolidation proposals never have had any discernible support from local communities. On the contrary, we have heard strong opposition to these efforts from USPS customers, community leaders, local businesses, and postal employees," the Members continued. "Rather than marching forward with these plans and offering short and vague statements dismissing concerns, the Postal Service should be communicating why the organization believes these changes are beneficial and what the specific impact of the changes will be to mail service."

"The Postal Service provides an essential service upon which our constituents rely. The robust nature of the Postal Service's current network is its strength, not its weakness. To ensure that our constituents continue to receive reliable service, we urge you to reconsider these consolidation announcements," the Members concluded.

Blunt Rochester has heard from Delaware postal workers and constituents alike concerned about how these further changes have the potential to impact the postal service workforce as well as service and reliability. Additionally, in December of 2023, Blunt Rochester joined U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons (both D-Del.) in sending a letter to Postmaster DeJoy expressing concerns about the Postal Service's ongoing Mail Processing Facility Review (MPFR) of the Wilmington Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC) and pushed for recommendations that would minimize staffing reductions, address impacts to affected workers, and proactively prevent any deterioration of service.

Joining Blunt Rochester in sending the letter to Postmaster DeJoy were Representatives Jared Golden (D-Maine), Steve Womack (R-Ark.), Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.), Nikki Budzinski (D-Ill.), Jack Bergman (R-Mich.), Mark Alford (R-Mo.), Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), Mike Ezell (R-Miss.), and Chris Pappas (D-N.H.). Also signing onto the letter were Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), and Angus King (I-Maine).

###