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U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, whose 6th Congressional District includes Nodaway County, released a statement Monday acknowledging the need for the U.S. Postal Service to make fiscal reforms but urging that such changes preserve a high level of mail service in rural areas.
Graves compared the impact of e-mail and other communications technologies on plunging mail volume — especially first-class letters — to the coming of the telegraph, which drove the privately operated Pony Express out of business in the 19th century.
"In the same way, the United States Postal Service is facing challenging times because technology has evolved. Communication is now instantaneous," Graves said.
In an effort to erase its $8 billion debt, the U.S. Postal Service has proposed closing nearly 4,000 post offices, including 167 in Missouri and six in Nodaway County. Many of those facilities are located in small towns.
Graves addressed the postal issue earlier this summer during a brief constituent meet-and-greet in Maryville, and representatives from his office attended town hall-style meetings last month in Pickering and Clearmont, where Postal Service managers were on hand to answer residents' questions about the cutbacks.
Both post offices are on the list of "retail locations" being considered for closure. Other Nodaway County offices on the potential chopping block include Clyde, Guilford, Parnell and Graham.
"There is no doubt the agency needs to address its budget problems," Graves said in yesterday's prepared statement. "However, they seem to be intent on doing it at the expense of rural America. Closing a post office in a small town is not the same as closing one in an urban community. The daily service is sometimes the only lifeline that many residents have for prescriptions or checks."
Graves said he thinks other options are open to the Postal Service, including housing small-town post offices in non-federal buildings, such as a business or community center, cutting personnel that have "nothing to do with mail service" and consolidating post office operations in urban areas.
"Simply reducing services and rural locations will only make the Postal Service less competitive and reduce revenues further," Graves said.
Shawnee Mission, Kan., Postmaster Russell Jacobson said during the Pickering meeting that closing low-revenue offices is one of the few money-saving options open to the Postal Service since Congress has so far resisted allowing it to cut Saturday delivery and stop pre-funding retiree health benefits. Russell said easing benefits restrictions alone could return USPS to solvency without widespread closures.
U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, whose 6th Congressional District includes Nodaway County, released a statement Monday acknowledging the need for the U.S. Postal Service to make fiscal reforms but urging that such changes preserve a high level of mail service in rural areas.
Graves compared the impact of e-mail and other communications technologies on plunging mail volume — especially first-class letters — to the coming of the telegraph, which drove the privately operated Pony Express out of business in the 19th century.
"In the same way, the United States Postal Service is facing challenging times because technology has evolved. Communication is now instantaneous," Graves said.
In an effort to erase its $8 billion debt, the U.S. Postal Service has proposed closing nearly 4,000 post offices, including 167 in Missouri and six in Nodaway County. Many of those facilities are located in small towns.
Graves addressed the postal issue earlier this summer during a brief constituent meet-and-greet in Maryville, and representatives from his office attended town hall-style meetings last month in Pickering and Clearmont, where Postal Service managers were on hand to answer residents' questions about the cutbacks.
Both post offices are on the list of "retail locations" being considered for closure. Other Nodaway County offices on the potential chopping block include Clyde, Guilford, Parnell and Graham.
"There is no doubt the agency needs to address its budget problems," Graves said in yesterday's prepared statement. "However, they seem to be intent on doing it at the expense of rural America. Closing a post office in a small town is not the same as closing one in an urban community. The daily service is sometimes the only lifeline that many residents have for prescriptions or checks."
Graves said he thinks other options are open to the Postal Service, including housing small-town post offices in non-federal buildings, such as a business or community center, cutting personnel that have "nothing to do with mail service" and consolidating post office operations in urban areas.
"Simply reducing services and rural locations will only make the Postal Service less competitive and reduce revenues further," Graves said.
Shawnee Mission, Kan., Postmaster Russell Jacobson said during the Pickering meeting that closing low-revenue offices is one of the few money-saving options open to the Postal Service since Congress has so far resisted allowing it to cut Saturday delivery and stop pre-funding retiree health benefits. Russell said easing benefits restrictions alone could return USPS to solvency without widespread closures.
Though the Postal Service is organized as a quasi-private business and does not operate using tax dollars, it is subject to strict government regulation.
Last year, Graves introduced a resolution calling on the Postal Service to preserve its six-day delivery schedule, and said that any reduction in service would cause post offices to close, limit access to mail for some areas and cut jobs for letter carriers.
"Regular and reliable mail delivery is like a lifeline to many of our seniors and others who count on the U.S. Postal Service to receive prescription drugs, Social Security checks and other important mail," Graves said at the time.
"Reducing delivery to five days per week would put an undue burden on those living in rural areas and our most vulnerable citizens everywhere."
