Harkin, Grassley, and King Want Postmaster General to Answer Sioux City Processing Center Questions
Senator Chuck Grassley
Lawmakers seek meeting after USPS fails to respond to requests for information about decision to close Sioux City Facility
Washington D.C. – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), announces that he, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Congressmen Steve King (R-IA), have requested a meeting with Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe to discuss the Postal Service’s plan to move the operations of the Sioux City Processing and Distribution Facility to a facility in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The lawmakers are requesting a face-to-face meeting with the Postmaster General to discuss the Postal Service’s failure to respond to concerns the lawmakers and the community have expressed about the Sioux City AMP decision. King, Grassley and Harkin made this request by letter to the Postmaster General.
Statement from Senator Tom Harkin:
“It is imperative we meet with the Postmaster General. I have had concerns that the Postal Service has been more interested in checking a box in terms of receiving public input than in truly hearing from the community and addressing citizens’ concerns.
“This is a significant matter to Sioux City and western Iowa. Many important questions have remained unanswered and I am committed to ensuring Iowans’ voices are heard before the USPS makes such a critical decision impacting the communities, businesses and jobs in Western Iowa,” Harkin said.
Statement from Congressman Steve King:
“For months, Siouxlanders have been asking the Postal Service for critical information regarding the decision to close Sioux City’s mail processing center. Nearly a month ago, I joined our senators in asking the Postal Service to allow the community the opportunity to provide informed input about the plan to close the facility and to meet with city officials to discuss possible alternatives to closure. We also asked that a new decision be made in light of the community’s input. To date we’ve received no response from the Postmaster General, so I look forward to asking him these questions in person,” King said.
Statement from Senator Chuck Grassley:
“A meeting would help to establish accountability, which has been lacking in the way the Postal Service handled its decision making about the Sioux City center. The Postal Service holds a public trust, and the public deserves a response, in this case through their elected representatives,” Grassley said.
The text of the letter to Postmaster General Donahoe follows:
July 14, 2011
Mr. Patrick R. Donahoe
Postmaster General &
Chief Executive Officer
United States Postal Service
475 L’Enfant Plaza, SW Room 10022
Washington, DC 20260-0010
Dear Postmaster General Donahoe,
We are writing to request a meeting with you to discuss the many still unanswered questions and requests that have been raised by us and our constituents regarding the Postal Service’s decision to move the operations of the Processing and Distribution Facility in Sioux City, Iowa to the Sioux Falls, South Dakota Processing and Distribution Center.
Nearly a month ago, on June 20th, we wrote to you to communicate our concerns with how the Sioux City AMP decision was reached and the limited information from and interaction with the Postal Service that the community members and leaders were given. We also asked that you provide the community with the opportunity to review the AMP data and provide input about that data before any additional action was taken with regard to closing the Sioux City Processing and Distribution Facility, and we asked that Postal Service officials meet with the City of Sioux City to discuss possible alternatives to closing Sioux City’s facility and that a new decision be made, taking full account of the community’s input. We have not received any response to this request, and so we ask that you meet with us to discuss these issues in person.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. We look forward to your prompt response.
Sincerely,
Senator Tom Harkin
Congressman Steve King
Senator Chuck Grassley
