The U.S. Postal Service was set to close 82 facilities this year for its second phase of closures, but delayed those originally scheduled for earlier this year due to winter weather concerns and the need to stabilize operations, according to Government Executive. Now the USPS has said those delays will extend to 2016 because of operational considerations.
“[The decision] was made to ensure that the Postal Service will continue to provide prompt, reliable and predictable service consistent with the published service standards,” said USPS spokeswoman Sue Brennan.
Senators passed a non-binding amendment to the 2016 budget earlier this year. It advised the USPS to delay these closures.
“We pressed her about the harmful effects mail processing center closures will have across the country, particularly on rural communities,” U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., said, referring to a recent meeting with USPS Postmaster General Megan Brennan. “Hopefully the Postal Service is now using this time to fully assess those impacts, and I’ll keep pressing it to seek solutions that don’t reduce mail service or hurt rural businesses and individuals.”
