Final Report Expected December 2016
Congressmen Bob Goodlatte (VA-06) and Morgan Griffith (VA-09) have announced that the United States Postal Service (USPS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has confirmed it has begun a review of the consolidation of the Roanoke Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC) mail processing operations into the Greensboro P&DC.
After Goodlatte and Griffith began receiving a significant increase in communications regarding lost or delayed mail, the timing of which strongly suggested a connection to the closing of the Roanoke processing facility, on May 26, 2016, they sent a letter to the USPS OIG requesting an audit.
The audit was requested to review the mail processing operations to determine whether constituents’ mail is being processed in a timely manner. The Congressmen also requested that the audit determine if a business case exists to support this particular consolidation, given that USPS has cited cost savings to support network consolidations.
The USPS OIG has confirmed that such a review is underway, and indicated the final report is expected in December 2016.
Goodlatte and Griffith issued a statement saying, “Folks in Southwest Virginia deserve quality, efficient, and cost effective postal service, just like those living in larger urban areas. We remain troubled about the timeliness and quality of service for mail delivery in our districts, and thank the Inspector General for investigating our concerns. We are also concerned that the Postal Service may have made arbitrary and speculative decisions which ultimately affect the reliability of its service in the Roanoke region, and possibly in other rural areas around the nation. We are pleased an audit is underway, and look forward to thoroughly reviewing the final report.”
Prior to moving mail processing and jobs to Greensboro, Goodlatte and Griffith joined Congressman Robert Hurt (VA-05) and Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) in sending a letter to the Postmaster General outlining their concerns with the decision to close the Roanoke P&DC.
In their letter, the lawmakers expressed their doubts that this action would improve the financial condition of the USPS. They also noted that the decision would leave Central, Western, and Southwest Virginia devoid of reliable mail processing, and voiced their concerns that the Greensboro facility would not be able to handle the timely processing and distribution of Virginians’ mail.
