As a result of a national moratorium announced by the U.S. Postal Service in Washington on Tuesday, December 13, the Woodgate Post Office will remain open until at least May of 2012.
Due in part to multiple requests by United States senators and congressmen, the USPS has delayed the closing of post offices and mail processing facilities until Congress has time to process a number of bills that deal with the financial problems of the Postal Service.
In August of this year, the Woodgate Post Office had received a final determination of closure.
However, with the help of an appeal filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) by the Woodgate Citizens Committee, the Woodgate Post Office has been able to hang on a bit longer.
According to John Isley, President of the committee, the PRC has not yet rendered a decision on the Woodgate closing.
Over the past few months, Isley has been working daily with Congressman Bill Owens, Congressman Richard Hanna and Senator Charles Schumer to have the moratorium language included in the next appropriations bill, which is expected to be passed by Congress prior to the holiday recess.
Last week, Congressman Owens announced that he has sponsored a House resolution that will co-locate post offices so that instead of closing, the facilities will remain within communities.
His new bill, The Community Postal Service Preservation and Cost Savings Act, would require the Postal Service to review and consider co-locating post offices at retail or municipal buildings.
Owens is also a co-sponsor of House bill HR 1351, the USPS Pension Obligation Recalculation and Restoration Act—a bipartisan legislative act that would help the Postal Service recoup nearly $7 billion in overpayments into its pension fund.
Meanwhile, the Senate has released a bill from committee that will allow for a reorganization of the Postal Service that would also prevent small rural Post Offices, like Woodgate, from closing.
This bill would also place a two-year moratorium on the discontinuance of Saturday deliveries.
