U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) voted to bring postal reform legislation to the Senate floor for consideration on April 17 and said he will continue to work to prevent the closure of post offices and processing centers, which would help save jobs throughout Minnesota. He also said he plans to introduce legislation that will give communities the opportunity to fight to prevent closure of their local post offices, which would especially help rural communities.
“Everybody should be able to get mail—it’s in the Constitution,” said Sen. Franken. “People throughout Minnesota should be able to get their local papers or prescription drugs delivered in a timely fashion no matter where they live. Post offices and processing plants are critical to timely mail delivery, which is why I’ve been fighting to stop them from being closed. Today’s vote to move forward on postal reform is the first step in the right direction.”
Franken has been working diligently to prevent the closure of post offices and processing centers throughout Minnesota. In December, he joined a group of his colleagues to successfully urge the postmaster general to hold off on future closings until Congress could come up with a postal reform plan.
After a meeting with Franken and his colleagues, the postmaster general agreed to place a moratorium on closings until May 15. Franken and his colleagues have also been working with the committee responsible for postal reform to protect local post offices and maintain mail delivery standards, which would protect some processing centers from being closed.
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