U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), U.S. Representative Adrian Smith (NE-03), and U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) issued the following statements after the United States Postal Service (USPS) announced that local mail processing operations will remain at the North Platte Mail Processing and Distribution Center. In addition to mail operations remaining in North Platte, Nebraska, the USPS also announced its plans to invest up to $4.4 million in modernization efforts at the North Platte facility.
“This is wonderful news for North Platte. We spoke out against the troubling plan to move mail operations to Denver, and thankfully, our concerns were heard. Mail processing operations are essential to the North Platte area, and I am glad they will continue benefitting this community and Nebraska as a whole,” said Senator Fischer.
“I am glad to see the Postal Service no longer plans to send local mail from the North Platte facility to Denver. Improvements to postal operations are needed to better serve Nebraskans. Any efforts toward modernization must not come at the expense of customer service but rather increase effectiveness. Because of this, I have urged President Trump to maintain high standards for rural delivery as his administration works to address the significant challenges facing the Postal Service,” said Congressman Smith.
“The North Platte facility is vital for ensuring timely and reliable mail and package deliveries for communities across Nebraska,” said Senator Ricketts. “This decision reaffirms that we can enhance efficiency and improve service quality without sacrificing local operations. I’m glad the Postmaster General listened to our call to protect critical services for rural Nebraska.”
North Platte Facility Background:
On January 10, 2024, USPS published a notice that it was conducting a Mail Processing Facility Review of its processing operations at the North Platte P&DC.
On March 11, 2024, USPS announced its initial results of the facility review, including plans to transfer some mail processing operations to the Denver P&DC in Colorado.
Currently, the North Platte facility processes and distributes all mail in Nebraska west of the city of Cozad to the Wyoming border, north to the South Dakota border, and into portions of northern Kansas.
On March 28, 2024, USPS held a public meeting to share the initial results of the study and allow members of the community to provide additional feedback.
On May 8, 2024, USPS announced it will transfer operations of the North Platte Mail Processing and Distribution Center to Denver, Colorado, and convert the North Platte facility to a Local Processing Center.
Shortly after, Senator Fischer sent a letter to Postmaster DeJoy urging him to delay the proposed changes until their impact could be further studied and better understood.
As a result, on May 13, 2024, Postmaster DeJoy confirmed that the USPS would pause its planned changes and wrote that an updated plan would resume in 2025.