Dear Postmaster General Dejoy,

6/8/23 – We write today requesting information regarding various consolidation efforts being made in the state of Kansas. It has come to my attention that in the coming months, multiple post offices in small and rural communities across the state will begin to shut down and new sorting centers in larger areas of the state – specifically in Wichita and Topeka – will be installed. While we can appreciate USPS’s intentions to streamline service, we are concerned about the harm this plan will cause to rural communities and their access to efficient mail delivery.

From our understanding of the plan, opening these processing centers require smaller communities to send their mail to these centers, have the mail sorted, and sent back to their originating post office for delivery, instead of having the original post office sort the mail themselves. This alone will surely cause delays in service, because of the extra time it will take to send these letters to the sorting centers. Coupled with post offices closing, mail delay problems will exponentially grow under this system. The most alarming part of this all is the fact that USPS has yet to confirm which post offices will be closed and what its plan is to keep service intact. This has caused unnecessary confusion and plenty of uncertainty for postal workers in the state. With this in mind, we request that you respond to the below questions no later than June 20:

• When and where are all the new, larger processing centers being placed in Kansas?
• Which post offices in Kansas does USPS plan on closing?
• What is USPS’s plan to keep service in tact when these closures go into effect?
• How will USPS assist displaced postal workers if their post office is shut down?
• Does USPS know the economic effects of closing local post offices in rural communities?
• Have you considered local requests for more efficient postal service, such as moving the city of Shawnee’s post office location?

Thank you for your consideration of these questions and we look forward to seeing your responses.