Rounds Leads Legislation to Protect Rural Postal Processing Facilities

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) today reintroduced the Postal Processing Protection Act, legislation that would require the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to consider consequences for rural areas during its closure or downsizing review process in order to protect rural mail processing facilities. Rounds and Durbin first introduced this legislation in the 118th Congress in June 2024.

USPS’s reviews of processing facilities closures does not require them to consider the impact on rural areas or highly rural areas as long as the closure gains efficiencies. However, USPS’s reviews of post office retail locations does require them to answer whether closing the location is consistent with their obligation to provide effective and regular postal services to rural areas. This legislation would require USPS to consider the impact to rural areas when closing or downsizing processing centers, just as they do with closing post office retail locations.

“Rural mail services are a lifeline for South Dakotans,” said Rounds. “We must make certain that residents across our entire state are able to receive letters and packages in a timely manner. USPS is required to review impact to rural residents when closing a retail location, so it’s only right that they consider the impact for processing facilities as well.” 

“If I drop a piece of mail off in Springfield to go across town, why should it have to go all the way to St. Louis and back?  Postmaster General DeJoy’s ‘Delivering for America’ plan, which included downsizing four mail processing centers in our state, is decimating a service that Illinoisans rely on,” said Durbin. “I’m joining Senator Rounds to reintroduce the Postal Processing Protection Act to ensure that USPS leadership does its due diligence in studying the impact of consolidating or altering mail processing and shipping facilities before crippling critical USPS locations.”

Rounds has been a leader on protecting rural USPS services. In April 2024, Rounds sent a letter to USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy urging USPS to avoid downsizing or significantly reorganizing mail processing operations in South Dakota. As a result, USPS paused the downsizing of mail processing facilities in Huron and Sioux Falls.

Click HERE to read full bill text.

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