Norton Says Postal Service Must Meet Stiff Criteria in Current Study of Seven Post Offices (8/4/09)
Norton Says Postal Service Must Meet Stiff Criteria in Current Study of Seven Post Offices Here
August 4, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today cautioned against panic concerning a reported list of seven postal offices and stations of the District that are considered for closing or consolidation along with another at Bolling Air Force Base. No decisions have been made, and the Postal Regulatory Commission, an independent commission charged with making the decisions, is currently studying selected post offices for factors including customer access, service standards, cost savings, impact on employees, environmental impact, real estate values and long-term postal needs. Norton, who serves on the Subcommittee on Federal Work Force, Postal Service and the District of Columbia, which has jurisdiction over the U.S. Postal Service, during a hearing last week asked about possible closings here and was assured that the list of about 700 nationwide have been selected for study only, not closure.
Hearings over several years have showed the Postal Service had been in very deep trouble for decades, however, well before this recession sent the Postal Service into a tailspin. The Congresswoman has repeatedly pressed the Postal Service to revise its business model. "The Postal Service needs a business model in keeping with 21st century technology. For years now, people have been using many kinds of vehicles, especially e-mail and fax, resulting in far less demand for mail," Norton said. "The Post Office as we have known it has been gone for some time, but the Postal Service is mandated by the U.S. Constitution and must survive." Norton said that surveys show that the public would support five-day mail delivery, but more study is needed before that change is seen as feasible. Six-day delivery was a fairly recent change beginning in the 1980s.
The Postal Service is not subsidized by Congress, and must be self-supporting. However, Norton recently co-sponsored a bill to amend the U.S. Code to allow the Postal Service to pay its share of contributions for annuitants' health benefits out of the Postal Service Retirees Health Benefits Fund. Currently, the Postal Service is required under the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act to spend more than $5 billion per year from pre-fund retiree healthcare benefits while it also pays current retirees. No other federal agency is subject to this requirement. The new bill pending in Congress would change that.
The District stations under study are: Columbia Heights Finance, Fort Davis, Ledroit Park, Northeast, Petworth, Randle, and Woodbridge. Stations at Bolling Air Force Base and the Navy Annex, also are under consideration.