Budzinski introduces bill pushing back on USPS changes

Apr. 18—WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski has introduced a bill that would prevent the U.S. Postal Service from making major changes to processing and distribution centers — such as Champaign's Mattis Avenue facility — based in regions with poor delivery rates.

The "Protect Postal Performance Act" was introduced in the House on Wednesday and comes with bipartisan support from Budzinski, D-Springfield, and Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Michigan.

"Postmaster (Louis) DeJoy has no business reducing mail-processing capacity in areas that are already short-staffed and struggling to receive mail on time," Budzinski said. "Today, I introduced bipartisan legislation that will halt these plans in Champaign and Springfield, and in underserviced areas across the country."

The act states that the USPS may not "close, consolidate or otherwise move any operations of services" from any processing and distribution center within a region that failed to meet certain performance targets at any time within the previous calendar year.

The targets:

— An on-time delivery rate of at least 93 percent for two-day single first-class mail.

— A rate no lower than 90.3 percent for three- to five-day first-class mail.

Budzinski's office said downstate Illinois currently falls well below both targets — 64.2 percent percent for three- to five-day delivery, 84.7 percent for two-day mail.

Postal Service officials have said that the initial findings of their facility review support turning the Mattis Avenue location into a local processing center that is co-located with a sorting and delivery center.

They also said the business case supports "transferring mail processing outgoing operations" to the South Suburban Processing and Distribution Center in Bedford Park and the Chicago South Regional Processing and Distribution Center.

USPS spokesman Tim Norman said in late March that a final decision regarding this proposal would be made and shared within two to three months.