CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WV News) — The U.S. postmaster general has committed to pausing proposed changes at postal facilities, according to information from West Virginia’s U.S. Senate delegation.
In response to a letter written by a bipartisan group of senators that included U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., Postmaster Louis DeJoy said implementation of any planned moves would be paused “at least until after” Jan. 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,” DeJoy wrote.
“I’m glad Postmaster DeJoy has heeded our repeated, bipartisan calls to pause these changes to the USPS’s mail delivery network, which would jeopardize timely mail delivery in communities across West Virginia and our entire country,” Manchin said in a statement.
Capito and Manchin have been working to avert the planned downgrade of the USPS Charleston Process and Distribution Center into a Local Processing Center since the potential changes were first discussed late last year.
“I believe that this facility is essential not only for all 800 employees at the center, but also for the West Virginians that depend on it for all their postal needs,” Capito said in a letter to DeJoy last December. “USPS should be transparent and forthright as the review is conducted. Confusion and lack of information should not have a place in this process.”
The bipartisan letter to DeJoy was chiefly authored by Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
“I will continue to push for a comprehensive study by the Postal Regulatory Commission to ensure any changes implemented do not impact mail delivery,” Peters said in a statement. “It’s absolutely critical that we understand the full scope of these changes, as well as their impact on service and communities, before moving forward.”