The United States Postal Service (USPS) admitted it has 285 buildings across the country that are partially or completely unused, but said that legislative solutions were required to address the inventory, according to a Thursday letter.
Republican Sen. Joni Ernst demanded that the United States Postal Service (USPS) account for its building usage in a letter sent Dec. 19, citing a Nov. 24 report by the agency’s inspector general. In the letter, the USPS director of government liaison, Michael J. Gordon, explained why the agency struggled to address the extra buildings.
“I understand your concerns about unnecessary government properties and would note that federal law makes closing or consolidating inefficient or unneeded facilities very difficult,” Gordon wrote. “Additionally, we routinely receive inordinate congressional pressure—including from some of your colleagues in Iowa’s delegation—opposing even minor changes that would increase efficiency (such as shifting limited mail processing operations from one facility to another, even when the first facility would remain open and operational).”
“Similarly, we recently heard very loud congressional opposition to terminating contracts with third-party facilities (such as grocery and convenience stores) that provide postal services, a move that would save us money and have no real effect on service,” Gordon continued. “Congressional insistence to maintain the status quo, even when doing so is expensive, inefficient, and outdated, makes modest modernization and financial sustainability efforts extraordinarily difficult and sometimes impossible.”