Today, Rep. Cindy Axne (IA-03) introduced new legislation to bring transparency to how temporary post office closures, also known as “emergency suspensions,” are reported by the U.S. Postal Service.
The legislation comes after the post office in Corning, Iowa was placed under emergency suspension in late August, forcing residents looking for in-person postal services to make a 30 mile round trip to Villisca, Iowa. Residents also expressed confusion over the emergency suspension process.
“I’ve heard directly from folks in Corning about just how integral the post office is to the community and how hard the temporary closure hurt,” said Rep. Axne. “Iowans depend on the Postal Service to keep in touch with their loved ones, receive important medications, and run their small businesses. That’s why it’s so important that any facility closures are quickly addressed, and this legislation is a commonsense way to make sure the Postal Service is keeping everyone informed in the event of unforeseen disruptions.”
The Postal Suspension Transparency Act would require the U.S. Postal Service to develop a new, public-facing dashboard of all post office facilities under emergency suspension, that would include the following information:
- Street address
- The date of and reason for suspension
- The date normal operations are estimated to resume
- The location and hours of the nearest facility with postal services
- Alternative services available, including how to request curbside delivery
U.S. Postal Service district managers may temporarily suspend operations at any post office under their jurisdiction in the event of a natural disaster, severe damage or destruction, lack of qualified personnel, termination of a lease or rental agreement, and more. This is known as an emergency suspension.
However, in a recent report on emergency suspensions in the Eastern Area, the US. Postal Service Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found that the Postal Service “did not consistently comply with policies and procedures” regarding emergency suspensions. The OIG specifically found that:
- 97% of facility suspensions did not have evidence an independent team was established to review the suspension decision.
- 44% of facility suspensions did not have evidence of district manager approval.
- 37% of facility suspensions lacked evidence that customers were sent required notifications
Original source can be found here
