A moratorium on closings for both the Mizpah and Birchdale Post offices remains in place until May 15

An amendment offered by U.S. Sen. Al Franken that would give communities the opportunity to fight to prevent closure of their local post offices and processing centers has been incorporated into a postal reform bill likely to be approved by the U.S. Senate.

The senator said he will continue to work to prevent the closure of post offices and processing centers, which would help save jobs 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. The moratorium will delay possible closures of both the Mizpah and Birchdale Post Offices.

“Everybody should be able to get mail — it’s in the Constitution,” said Franken in a statement. “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. (The April 17) vote to move forward on postal reform is the first step in the right direction.”

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. Franken’s amendment would also give the Postal Regulatory Commission the power to overturn scheduled post office and processing center closures when communities or individuals make a compelling case to keep the facility open. Franken introduced the measure with Sens. Jon Tester and Carl Levin.

“Local post offices are frequently the center of their communities and provide jobs for the local work force,” said Franken in a release. “I introduced this legislation to make sure that communities have the opportunity to voice their opposition when their local post office or processing center is being threatened by closure.”

 The amendment would also:

• Ensure that any proposed closure or consolidation is suspended until final disposition of the appeal.

• Require the Postal Regulatory Commission to set aside any closing or consolidation that does not achieve substantial economic savings.