USPS future plans criticized by Western Oregon residents & DeFazio

Reported by: Chris McKee

Email: chrismckee@kmtr.com

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Published: 12/29/2011 6:33 pm

Updated: 12/30/2011 4:56 am

EUGENE, Ore. (KMTR) – The fight continues to keep the United States Postal Service from making big cuts across Oregon after a fiery public meeting in Eugene and now new criticism from an independent government agency.

About 150 people showed up to a public hearing about the future of the Postal Service on Wednesday night, December 28^th, 2011.

The Postal Service wants to close the Springfield, Salem, Bend and Pendleton mail sorting facilities in order to save money.

If the facilities closed, it would leave Portland and Medford as the only two sorting locations in the state, meaning all local mail would be forced to funnel through those two sites.

The Postal Service also wants to close 26 post offices, mostly in rural communities.

Congress Peter DeFazio was one of the people at the public hearing. DeFazio said to NewsSource 16 on Thursday that he believes there is a political agenda to privatize everything that is driving the future cuts.

A 2006 U.S. House bill that passed now requires USPS to pay future retirees health benefits for 75 years in advance. DeFazio is aiming to get rid of that provision.

“What we have here is people who want to kill it off, cream off the profitable stuff for the private sector. And then, what happens to the 10's of millions of people who don't have access to those services in the private sector. You can't afford them? It would be a stupid thing to do to this country, but there's a very political agenda here,” said DeFazio.

DeFazio also praised the Postal Regulatory Commission on Thursday for a report that calls the USPS closure plan “flawed.”

DeFazio has a couple bill written up that would avoid the USPS’ proposed closures and direct the system towards solvency. He says he’d like to see the Postal Service get more rate setting authority as well.

The Postal Service has put off any closure decisions until March 2012.

As for the justification for the closures, the USPS has cited an “internal study” as the reason for the plan. as the reason for the plan. So far though, it has yet to release that report to the public.

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Chris McKee, Peter DeFazio, Postal Service, USPS

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The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of NewsSource 16

dtomdick - 9/27/2012 6:14 AM

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Defazio, "Congressman Peter DeFazio was one of the people at the public hearing. DeFazio said to NewsSource 16 on Thursday that he believes there is a political agenda to privatize everything that is driving the future cuts." Good old Peter, never miss an opportunity to drive the wedge in further. Government is broke, and his answer, borrow and print more money. Does any Progressive like Defazio have a clue what they are doing to this country. We can not continue to borrow money, and we can not continue to have politicians that are always saying one thing and voting another. We need people in Congress who have truth and honor, that is the only way we will ever recover from this debacle.

postal widow - 9/27/2012 3:14 AM

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in 2000, 2001 postal employee were made to pay in an extra 15 percent to their retirement systems, for budget reasons only. In 2006 the paea was passed, www.postalmag.com/joygoldberguspsstress.pdf or AWPU 3800 PA first area tricounty local, library , stress in workplace articals, how the ongoing violation of the usps guiding principles are creating a toxic work enviroment, www.billburrasjournal.org-misc, type in scroll elevator, 'phoney excuses for diverting usps revenues, ALEC/Koch Cabal The privitization of USPS for Ups and FedEx, bob sloan, vltp, april 2012, examiner.com, Tim McCown, ' behind all the schemes and lies of the privitization of USPS, june 10, 2012, sribd( net) The battle for democracy and the USPS, www.savethepostoffice.com, free google book to read; The Post Office, its past record, its present condition and its potential relation to the new world era, Daniel Calhoun Roper, chairperson united states tarriff commision and first assistant postmaster unted states post office, 1913-1917, the USP0 was formed on may 1775 by benjamin franklin and sam adams in order to keep communication opern to win the revolutionary war, in may 2012, issa and ross on commitee seek to destroy the federal agency that predates the nation and the constituion.

Rosehippi - 12/30/2011 9:47 PM

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I wrote to Mr DeFazio concerning this issue and he is right there to speak up If you want something done Defazio seems to be your man! You Go Defazio!!!! Keep these greedy turkeys from robbing the people of their USPS... end the impossible provision of guaranteeing 75 years of retirement in advance. No one else has to do it... Neither should the USPS have to do it, I believe our Nations Enemies are trying to destroy our most basic infra structure in order to bring us down from the inside... Scary stuff... what better way than to rob the people of this most basic ability to communicate effectively. We need our post offices left open. They are Constitutionally mandated for the people and it ought to be done right.

craft - 12/30/2011 7:19 AM

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The PMG has no experience running the Post Office and it shows miserably. He is trying to sink it by consolidating, and skimming off any profits he can so he can jump ship before it goes down completely. He is the problem, so why can't he be fired? Let's get that ball rolling and save the Postal Service, and get rid of Donahoe!!!!!

drain bamaged - 12/29/2011 9:32 PM

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Make Century Link and Chase pay more for all the bulk crap that fills my mailbox everyday, they obviously can afford a rate increase.

MXMISSLE - 12/29/2011 8:10 PM

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Well they can cut cost by cutting Fedex. Then maybe they would not have to prfit share with them.

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