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ND in DC

ND may lose 75 post offices as feds mull cost-savings

Written by: Reid Wilson

WASHINGTON – Stung by years of declining revenue spurred by the rise of the internet, the United States Postal Service finds itself billions of dollars in debt and contemplating a series of harsh reorganization steps, which means thousands of North Dakota residents may lose access to post offices within their districts.

(Photo by Matt Bunk) This post office in Granville, N.D., is among the 75 rural stations that Congress is considering closing.

The mass closings of as many as 3,700 post offices around the nation are a drastic step, but one that’s being contemplated in the halls of Congress as a remedy to the service’s overwhelming tide of red ink. Though the Postal Service has trimmed more than 100,000 jobs during the past three years, it still projects a budget deficit of $8.3 billion this year alone.

Under a proposal floated by the Postal Service last month, North Dakota would lose 75 post offices, entirely in rural communities with small populations. From Abercrombie, a town of 263 along the Missouri River in Richland County, to Zap, a town of 237 in Mercer County, rural communities across the state would lose what Post Office defenders say is their most reliable connection to the outside world.

“In a lot of cases, there are going to be no businesses that move to a town without a post office, because there’s going to be no access to the economic outer-land,” said Bob Levi, head of government relations for the National Association of Postmasters. “A small business sees a post office as its lifeline to the economy – especially in rural areas where broadband (internet access) is pretty sketchy.”

Residents of Granville, a growing community about 22 miles east of Minot, said losing the post office would be more than just an inconvenience. It’s a signal that the federal government is failing to recognize the needs of rural areas with strong economic potential.

“I understand why they are closing post offices, but it doesn’t make sense in some places,” Granville resident James Mann, 23, said. “We’re a growing town, and with oil coming this way they are going to notice that people need this post office.”

But it’s a service that hasn’t worn well in the digital age. The financial shortfall has meant the Postal Service has struggled to cover mandatory payments to two funds for federal employee pensions. In September, when it became clear the Postal Service would miss a $5.5 billion payment, Congress allowed them to delay the payment — a move that only kicked the can down the road.

The Postal Service’s decline has been a long time coming. The easy availability of e-mail and access to the internet, even in rural communities, has meant a stark decline in the number of first-class mail pieces delivered through the Postal Service. After peaking in 2001, the amount of first-class mail has declined more than 30 percent in the last decade.

Now, top members of Congress are debating how to avoid giving the Postal Service billions to cover their gap. Republicans have characterized any potential funding for the Postal Service as yet another taxpayer-funded bailout.

Congress is likely to condense three separate versions into a single bill that would reform the Postal Service. One version has passed the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, though on a party-line vote, and is expected to be passed by the full House in November. Meanwhile, two Senate versions are expected to yield a comprehensive bill that could hit the floor as early as next month, according to Senate aides.

The three bills have differences, most notably revolving around whether the Postal Service will be allowed to end Saturday delivery. The House bill, advanced by Reps. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Dennis Ross (R-Fla.), and a Senate version backed by Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Scott Brown (R-Mass.) would allow the Postal Service to end Saturday service in 2013; a version advanced by Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) would continue to deliver six days a week.

And while rural communities fight against proposed closings, each reform measure would give the Postal Service more leeway in shutting underperforming stations.

North Dakota’s members of Congress mostly agree that the Postal Service needs an overhaul. But, they said, any new closings should not disproportionately impact rural communities.

“Closing these post offices, a decision that negatively affects communities across the nation, does not appear to provide benefits equal to the cost to rural America,” Sen. John Hoeven (R) wrote in a September letter to Postmaster General Patrick Donahue.

“While it is imperative that the United States Postal Service gets back on solid financial footing without requiring a multi-million dollar taxpayer bailout, our rural areas should not be unfairly targeted,” said Alee Lockman, a spokeswoman for Rep. Rick Berg (R).

There is a chance that rural communities would keep some access to postal services; a senior Senate aide said the Postal Service is likely to begin pilot programs that allow post offices to be co-located within large retail outlets, like a Wal-Mart or a Target, in order to continue providing service.

-Reid Wilson is editor-in-chief of National Journal Hotline and a freelance writer for the Great Plains Examiner.

 

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Comments

  1. This person doesn’t understand what rural really is…

    “There is a chance that rural communities would keep some access to postal services; a senior Senate aide said the Postal Service is likely to begin pilot programs that allow post offices to be co-located within large retail outlets, like a Wal-Mart or a Target, in order to continue providing service.”

  2. Boy, putting a post office in a WalMart will sure help those small rural areas, about all doing that would do is make the big town post offices close also.

    In some small towns that type of idea might work though, maybe there is a local business that could provide service in those towns, just there isn’t going to be one of the big box stores.

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