Washington, D.C. – Today Representative Adrian Smith (R-NE) led Nebraska congressional delegation colleagues Senators Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Pete Ricketts (R-NE) and Representatives Don Bacon (R-NE) and Mike Flood (R-NE) in sending a letter to President Donald Trump expressing concern over United States Postal Service (USPS) mail delivery to rural Americans and encouraging the president to fill current vacancies on the USPS Board of Governors with individuals ready to advance solutions to fulfill USPS’s duty to serve every American.
In the letter, the members stated:
As you know, the USPS has a legal obligation to provide Americans with universal service. However, under the leadership of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, the USPS has seen astronomical budget deficits year after year while on-time mail delivery performance sharply declined.
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Rural communities, like much of Nebraska, are the backbone of our great nation. These communities rely on the postal service to deliver bills, medication, and other essential goods and services. Time after time the USPS has chosen to neglect these rural communities through consolidation of facilities which inevitably leads to an increase in delays. In doing so, the USPS has failed to maintain the public’s trust, thereby forcing Americans to turn to the private sector for the delivery of important parcels and letters.
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The same Americans who have consistently supported you and your vision for America have been neglected by the USPS for years. However, your personnel decisions can ensure they finally get the service they deserve. We urge you to nominate members to the board who are willing and able to advance solutions to the serious challenges facing USPS and fulfill its duty to serve every American with excellence.
Read the full letter here.
BACKGROUND:
In February 2024, Smith sent a letterto Postmaster General Louis DeJoy expressing concerns over proposed removal of postal operations from the North Platte, NE Mail Processing and Distribution Center as part of USPS Mail Processing Facility Reviews. In May, DeJoy agreed to delay the planned changes to operations at the North Platte facility until 2025.
