Central ND News

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has announced plans to implement further changes to its processing and delivery network under the "Delivering for America" plan. In response, U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), along with Senators Gary Peters (D-MI), Susan Collins (R-ME), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), and others, have penned a letter to the USPS Board of Governors and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. The senators are requesting that the agency halt its changes until it can fully study the impacts of its plan and restore services in areas where changes have already been made.

The USPS's proposed plan involves moving mail processing further away from local communities by transferring operations out of local facilities and into more distant hubs. The senators' letter highlights concerns that this plan will cause critical delays for mail in local communities across the nation, including Bismarck and Grand Forks, North Dakota.

"We call on USPS to pause all changes, pending a full study of this plan by its regulator. While USPS claims these changes overall will improve service while reducing costs, there is evidence to the contrary in locations where USPS has implemented changes so far," wrote the senators. "USPS must stop implementation, restore service in those areas where changes were implemented, and fully understand the nationwide effects of its plan on service and communities."

They added: "The Postal Service’s primary responsibility is to provide timely and reliable delivery to every community across the nation. While USPS must continue adapting as an agency to remain stable and serve the public’s current needs, it must proceed with caution and understand the implications of its plans in order to protect mail delivery for all communities."

Additional cosigners include Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), John Barrasso (R-WY), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Steve Daines (R-MT), Kyrsten Sinema, (I-AZ), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Angus King (I-ME), John Hoeven (R-ND), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Jon Tester (D-MT), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Mike Rounds (R-SD), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).

Senator Cramer has long supported efforts to address delayed mail delivery in North Dakota and throughout the country. Earlier this year, he and his colleagues pressed the USPS Inspector General to include North Dakota communities in its postal audit of the Minnesota-North Dakota District. They also secured a commitment from the Inspector General to audit postal facilities in Dickinson, Grand Forks, and Fargo, which will be included in the full district audit report due for release in May.