Lawmaker calls on U.S. Postal Service to delay closures, consolidations until Congress can act on comprehensive postal legislation
 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Edward J. Markey (D-Malden), dean of the Massachusetts Congressional delegation, this week sent a letter to Deputy Postmaster General Ron Stroman declaring his opposition to the consolidation of the Northwest Boston Area Mail Processing (AMP) Center and called on the United States Postal Service (USPS) to delay further action on any postal closures or consolidations until Congress can act on comprehensive postal legislation. Rep. Markey’s letter comes in response to the USPS’s decision to close the facility in Waltham, Massachusetts as part of its plan to reduce the size of its infrastructure. The Waltham plant employs 400 employees and processes 1.8 million pieces of mail per day.
 
“It’s no secret that the postal service is facing considerable fiscal challenges, but cutting jobs and creating a poorer service standard is not the way to fix it,” wrote Rep. Markey in the letter to the USPS. Rep. Markey continued, “AMP closures will result in slower delivery time for USPS customers. These delays will hurt consumers and businesses not only nationally, but especially here in the thriving high-tech Route 128 area, Greater Boston and MetroWest business community.”
 
A copy of the letter to the USPS can be found HERE.
 
Rep. Markey is a cosponsor of H.R. 1351, the United States Postal Service Pension Obligation Recalculation and Restoration Act of 2011, which would reform the way the Postal Service funds its pension plan. A moratorium on postal closures until May 15, 2012 was enacted with the purpose of giving Congress enough time to pass comprehensive postal legislation before any further actions are taken.
 
In October 2011, Rep. Markey queried Deputy Postmaster General Stronham about the USPS study to determine the effects of consolidating mail processing operations performed at the Waltham facility.
 

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