The Processing and Distribution Center in Missoula, MT is scheduled to lose it’s outgoing mail processing to a facility in Spokane, Washington. Opposing that plan is Montana’s Senator John Tester He says he is less concerned about the 170 miles between the two cities than he is about the two mountain passes on the route. Those can become treacherous in winter, making mail delivery difficult.
Sen. Tester has proposed the PARCEL Act (Protecting Access to Rural Carriers For Every Location) on May 2, 2024.
This bill would prohibit the USPS from consolidating processing facilities, unless the following three criteria were met:
- Mail processing would not be moved out of state
- A geographic study would be required to move mail processing facilities
- Positive public input on the decision to move a processing facility would be required.
Senator Tester voiced his concerns in the past about postal service delivery, especially in rural locations. He wrote to the Postal Board of Governors regarding improved mail service in Montana in March of 2024. And in 2020 he called out the USPS for removing mail collection boxes from small towns across Montana.
The full text of the Bill is not yet available. A video of Senator Tester discussing the Bill on local news can be seen here.
