Durbin: Senate Committee Approves Provisions That Would Require Postal Service to Prove Cost Savings Before Closing Quincy and Rockford Mail Processing Facilities
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today said that the Senate Appropriations Committee, of which he is a member, has approved a bill that includes his provision requiring the Postal Service to conduct a new audit that shows cost savings before moving forward with plans to close or consolidate facilities that were recently found to be efficient. The provision, originally included in the comprehensive postal reform legislation passed by the Senate in April of this year, would affect 11 mail processing facilities nationwide including the facilities in Quincy, Illinois and Rockford, Illinois.
“All I am asking is for the Postal Service to take another look at these 11 facilities – 2 in Illinois – that were recently found to be efficient, but are now slated for closure without sufficient, independent review,” said Durbin. “There is no guarantee that these facilities will remain open if the bill is passed, but it will at least give both Quincy and Rockford one more opportunity to prove how important the mail processing and distribution centers are to the community and the Postal Service as a whole.”
Durbin, as Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, included his provision in the Senate’s FY2013 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill. The provision is supported by the National Postal Mail Handlers Union and the American Postal Workers Union.