Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced May 15 that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has paused plans to consolidate USPS facilities through a process called mail processing facility reviews (MPFR), which threatened to move mail sorting operations from Essex Junction and White River Junction sorting hubs to Connecticut. This move likely would have further slowed mail operations across Vermont and was widely and strongly opposed by USPS customers and workers alike.
“I will keep fighting to improve mail delivery in Vermont, which has been terribly deteriorated,” said Sen. Welch.
U.S. Senator Peter Welch released the following statement after the announcment: “Under Postmaster General DeJoy’s watch, the USPS has consistently put the needs of customers and USPS workers last—threatening their ability to deliver this essential service to seniors, businesses and families across the country. Vermonters need and deserve a functioning USPS. I am encouraged USPS listened to the concerns we raised from our constituents, and finally paused these misguided facility reviews,” said Sen. Welch. “I will keep fighting to improve mail delivery in Vermont, which has been terribly deteriorated. Cutting costs should not come at the expense of timely delivery, customer service and a safe working environment for Vermont’s USPS workers.”
In April, Sen. Welch partnered with a bipartisan, bicameral group of colleagues in urging Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to reconsider the USPS’s plan to consolidate the national postal network, which threatened to severely diminish mail service across the country.
Senator Welch has pushed for postal reform to better serve rural communities and has called for improvements to USPS’ national management. He also led his colleagues in urging President Biden to nominate individuals to the USPS board of governors who will hold Postmaster General DeJoy accountable for his failure to provide adequate mail services in rural communities.
In March, Welch took to the Senate Floor to call out DeJoy’s failure to deliver for rural America, pointing to the postal delays plaguing Vermont and other rural areas because of DeJoy’s policies, and the nearly nine month-long fight to re-open a fully-functioning post office in Vermont’s capital city after flooding. Following Senator Welch’s advocacy, the Postal Service announced it would finally be re-opening a retail post office in Montpelier.
