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posted 8/12/03

(Press Release) Washington, D.C. - In an effort to help protect the economic well-being of rural towns, Nevada Senator Harry Reid introduced legislation that would prohibit the Postal Service from closing post offices in our nation’s small rural communities.

Where the Postal Service has closed a rural post office, this legislation would direct the Postal Service to provide a plan for the rehabilitation and economic development of closed offices in consultation with the affected community. It also authorizes $10 million in grants to local communities to assist in the rehabilitation. Finally, it provides that the Postal Service transfer the closed post office in Ely, Nevada to White Pine County to use for economic development.

“Nevada knows the harm caused by closing rural post office firsthand,” said Reid. “Ely, a town that decades ago was the main stopover for public officials and movie stars alike as they traveled through the West, had a quaint post office that helped form the center of town. Over my objection and the objection of the people of Ely, the Postal Service closed this post office last year.”

According to a study by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, approximately 80 percent of people in small communities plan their trips around a visit to a post office. The Postal Service is increasingly closing small, rural post offices in the center of town and replacing them with more distant post offices on the outskirts of town. Closing post offices in the centers of rural communities removes the hub of the communities and has a negative effect on the economies and quality of life there.

“My bill is a testament to the importance of our post offices and Postal Service. It recognizes that over the history of our nation, post offices have come to symbolize and offer more than just the practical service of keeping people in touch with friends and family in distant locales, but have become the heart of the community,” Reid added.

Reid attempts to give Ely post office to county-Ely Daily Times 8/12/03

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To limit the closing and consolidation of certain post offices in rural communities, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Rural Post Office and Community Preservation Act of 2003'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

(a) FINDINGS- Congress finds that--

(1) a 1993 study by the National Trust for Historic Preservation found that approximately 80 percent of people in small communities plan their trips around a visit to a post office;

(2) the Postal Service is increasingly closing small, rural post offices in the center of town and replacing such services with more distant post offices on the outskirts of such communities; and

(3) closing post offices in the centers of small, rural communities removes the hub of such communities and has a deleterious effect on the economies and quality of life in such communities.

(b) PURPOSE- It is the purpose of this Act to limit the closure of centrally located rural post offices, and to enhance the economic health and quality of life of rural communities.

SEC. 3. MAINTAINING CENTRALLY LOCATED RURAL POST OFFICES.

Section 404(b) of title 39, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(3)(A) In this paragraph, the term `rural community' means a city, town, or unincorporated area with a population of not more than 20,000 people.

`(B) The Postal Service may not make a determination to close or consolidate a post office in a rural community, unless the Postal Service makes a determination that such closing or consolidation will have a positive economic impact on that community and enhance the quality of life in that community.

`(C) In making a determination under subparagraph (B), the Postal Service shall presume that the relocation of a centrally located post office in a rural community to the boundaries of that community will have a negative economic impact on that community and will not enhance the quality of life in that community.

`(D) If the Postal Service makes a determination to close or consolidate a post office in a rural community, the Postal Service shall develop a plan, in consultation with people in the rural community, to provide for the rehabilitation and use of the post office for purposes favored by the people of that community. Such plan shall be developed before the closing or consolidation takes effect.'.

SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR REHABILITATION OF POST OFFICES IN RURAL COMMUNITIES.

(a) DEFINITION- In this section, the term `rural community' means a city, town, or unincorporated area with a population of not more than 20,000 people.

(b) GRANTS- The Postal Service may award grants to State and local governments, private organizations, or individuals to provide for the rehabilitation of any closed post office in a rural community.

(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- There are authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2003 through 2007 to carry out this section.

SEC. 5. TRANSFER OF CLOSED POST OFFICE IN ELY, NEVADA.

The Postal Service shall transfer the real property (including all buildings and improvements) located at 415 5th Street in Ely, Nevada, and occupied by the closed post office, to the local county government of Ely County, Nevada.

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