Montana, North Dakota senators urge Postal Regulatory Commission to study rural mail delivery

A pair of senators in largely rural states have written Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) Chairman Robert Taub, urging his agency to conduct an in-depth study of rural mail delivery, which has been criticized for being slow.

Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) wrote: "Recent changes to USPS delivery standards coupled with processing plant closures and consolidations have had a devastating impact on the quality of service in rural America. We firmly believe that the continued closure and consolidation of mail processing plants across the country hinders letter carriers' ability to ensure timely delivery and diminishes the Postal Service's competitiveness and relevancy in a twenty-first century business environment."

National Newspaper Association CEO Tonda F. Rush said at a May 19 roundtable discussion hosted by a Senate committee that Congress should require the U.S. Postal Service to report the quality of mail service in rural areas. NNA Postal Committee Chair Max Health said he and the other postal executives are open to discussion about how rural mail delivery can be improved. (Read more)