“I’ve been fighting to save Minnesota’s rural post offices since I heard they were on the chopping block last winter,” said Sen. Franken. “I'm pleased to hear that the Postmaster General decided to listen to the concerns of folks across Minnesota and keep these rural post offices open. I will keep fighting to preserve postal facility jobs, restore financial stability, and make sure reliable postal service is available to all Minnesotans.”
 
Two weeks ago, Sen. Franken voted to pass the postal reform bill that he had been working to improve for several months. The final bill included his amendment that would give the Postal Regulatory Commission the power to overturn scheduled post office and processing center closures when communities or individuals make a compelling case to keep the facility open.
 
The final bill also included an amendment that puts a moratorium on rural post office closings for two years and a provision requiring the postal service to maintain regional overnight delivery standards, both of which Sen. Franken worked on. 
 
Sen. Franken has been working to prevent the closure of rural post offices in Minnesota since he learned that 117 post offices across the state were scheduled to be closed. In December, he joined a small group of his colleagues to successfully urge the Postmaster General to hold off on future closings until Congress could pass a postal reform plan. After a meeting with Sen. Franken and his colleagues, the Postmaster General agreed to place a moratorium on closings until May 15th. Sen. Franken and his colleagues worked diligently with the committee responsible for postal reform to protect local post offices and maintain mail delivery standards.