Asst. Leader Neguse Statement on USPS Decision to Reconsider Changes to Grand Junction Mail Processing Facility
Rep. Neguse opposed proposal to require mail for Western Slope towns to be sent to Denver for processing.
Lafayette, CO – Today, following a March 28th, 2024 letter penned by House Assistant Minority Leader Joe Neguse to the USPS, U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy committed to pausing the implementation of a proposal that would make significant changes to the Grand Junction USPS mail processing facility. The USPS’ national strategy included a proposal to shift Western Slope mail processing operations from Grand Junction to Denver, which could have resulted in job losses and exacerbated mail delivery delays for many residents of rural and mountain communities. The proposal was also met with widespread opposition from local communities.
As Western Slope communities continue to experience major delays in their mail services, Assistant Leader Neguse has repeatedly implored the USPS to address ongoing performance issues and customer service problems.
“From ensuring seniors receive medications in a timely manner to ensuring small businesses can efficiently run their enterprises – and everything in between – it is vital that the USPS take steps to improve the level of service it provides to communities on Colorado’s Western Slope. I appreciate the USPS heeding my call to pause implementation of proposed changes to the processing and distribution center in Grand Junction, and continue to encourage the agency to carefully consider the impacts of these proposed changes on local communities,” said Assistant Leader Neguse.
In his response to Senate offices that helped raise the issue, Postmaster General DeJoy wrote: “I agree to pause the movement of processing operations associated with the Mail Processing Facility Reviews. In response to the concerns you and your colleagues have expressed, I will commit to pause any implementation of these moves at least until after January 1, 2025. Even then, we will not advance these efforts without advising you of our plans to do so, and then only at a moderated pace of implementation.”
Read Postmaster DeJoy’s full response HERE.
Background
At the start of the 118th Congress, House Assistant Minority Leader Joe Neguse welcomed Routt County to Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District. He’s since taken action to address serious mail delivery delays not just in the area, but for communities across the Western Slope. After he and other Colorado lawmakers issued repeated requests for service improvements, the USPS Office of Inspector General conducted an extensive audit and released the report, “Delivery and Customer Service in Colorado Mountain Towns.”
Additionally, in April of last year, Assistant Leader Neguse visited the Steamboat Springs Post Office to listen to citizens’ concerns about the Postal Service, P.O. box fees and the condition of the downtown Steamboat Springs facility. He’s since called on the agency’s senior management to eliminate annual P.O. box fees for eligible residents of Steamboat Springs. Neguse has been successful in getting the USPS to restore 24/7 access to P.O. boxes at the Dillon Post Office and getting the Grand Lake Post Office to provide package pickup service on Saturday mornings.
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