Wyoming Lawmakers Unveil Bill To Safeguard Postal Processing

In light of plans by the U.S. Postal Service to downgrade postal processing and distribution centers in Cheyenne and Casper, Wyoming's congressional delegation is getting behind legislation to counter such moves.

That's according to a new release from Rep. Harriet Hageman's office. The release says Hageman and Sen. Cynthia Lummis are introducing the Postal Operations Stay Timely and Local (POSTAL) Act. Sen. John Barrasso is a co-sponsor.

If it becomes law, the bill would prevent the postal service from closing, consolidating or downgrading processing and distribution centers if the center is the only one in the state or if the move would hurt mail delivery.

Bill Introduced In Response To Proposed Downgrades of Wyoming Centers

The USPS wants to shift the bulk of the Cheyenne processing and distribution center operations to Denver, leaving the facility as a local center. It wants to move the Casper operations to Billings, Montana.

The release quotes Rep. Hageman as saying

“All Americans rely upon USPS to receive correspondence, bills, packages, and medication in a timely manner,” said Hageman. “If fulfilled, the USPS modernization plan threatens the promise of timely, secure mail delivery by transporting the bulk of Wyoming’s mail out of state, while also forcing many USPS P&DC employees to either relocate or lose their jobs. The closure of P&DCs bring serious election integrity concerns by forcing the transport of mailed-in ballots out of state, introducing the potential for delivery of ballots after an election concludes.''

Sen. Lummis says “While this administration creates unnecessary disruptions in mail delivery across the state of Wyoming by closing sorting facilities in a laughable display of ‘fiscal responsibility,’ they are senselessly spending billions of Wyoming tax dollars on their left-wing priorities,” said Senator Lummis. “In-state mail should not have to leave the state of Wyoming for processing, yet under this administration’s string of closures, that’s the harsh reality for Wyoming and a handful of states across the U.S. Every single state should have at least one sorting facility to ensure Americans receive their mail in a timely manner, and I am partnering with Senator Barrasso and Rep. Hageman to ensure that standard is met.”