WASHINGTON – 12/5/24 – Today, U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan pressed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy about the United States Postal Service (USPS)’s proposed plan to move postal operations from Manchester, New Hampshire to Boston and from White River Junction, Vermont to Hartford, Connecticut. Senator Hassan has repeatedly raised concerns about these plans, and previously worked with her colleagues to temporarily delay these plans.
To watch Senator Hassan’s hearing questions, click here.
“I want to focus a bit on the ways that you can work to strengthen mail service and I want to also share my concerns about some of the proposals that you have that would make mail service worse in my state, for Granite Staters,” Senator Hassan said. “The postal service has a plan to move some postal operations from Manchester, New Hampshire to Boston. I oppose the plan because implementation of it will harm service and delay delivery. I also oppose moving operations from White River Junction, Vermont to Hartford, Connecticut because White River Junction serves Granite Staters in the northern part of New Hampshire.”
Senator Hassan emphasized the potential service impacts of moving postal operations, noting that the Postal Service Inspector General reported that moving postal operations in Virginia and Georgia resulted in “an immediate and significant decline in service performance.” Senator Hassan then continued, “We know too that those declines continued for several months, and that these facilities are still struggling to meet their on-time delivery goals.”
Senator Hassan then pressed Postmaster General DeJoy to commit to seeking an analysis from the Postal Regulatory Commission on the impact of the planned service changes and how they will affect Granite Staters. When Postmaster General DeJoy refused to commit to seeking an independent analysis, Senator Hassan made clear that she will “continue to strongly oppose the plans especially in the absence of an independent review of the service impacts in New Hampshire.”
Senator Hassan also pressed for technological investments to improve employee safety and customer service and addressed service reliability concerns raised by Granite Staters. Senator Hassan has previously led efforts to strengthen the USPS. For instance, in 2022, Senator Hassan and colleagues’ bipartisan legislation to strengthen the USPS and improve the agency’s long-term financial stability was signed into law.
Good luck ma’am. The most telling statement from Dejoy during his testimony was that he “had to get costs out.” This is a sign that no stone will be left unturned to deliver what he promised, service be damned. Let’s say that this goes through and saves the reported 3.5 billion. The USPS is projecting what, a 6.5 billion loss next year? Then where is the next 3 billion going to come from? The loss is likely going to be much higher. Some of Dejoy’s initiatives do need to be done, but look at his body language and mannerisms during his testimony. It’s clear he knows he’s failing and has no answer. The damn place is a service, not a business.