Proposal to Close Veterans’ Post Office
By Brentwood News October 15 2011 Issue | October 17, 2011
The basic policy regarding the closing of post offices is contained in Public Law 91-375.That law requires that “No small Post Office shall be closed solely for operating at a deficit, it being the specific intent of the Congress that effective postal services be insured to residents of both urban and rural communities”.
The Postal Service is proposing to close the Veterans Administration Branch, which sells neither stamps nor services. It has approximately 200 box rentals that earn in excess of $19,000 per year. This fact was omitted in an open letter to the public—a misleading attempt to justify its position of authority in this matter.The primary reason for closure is stated as “a steady decline in revenue and/or volume”. Purporting to be responsive to community postal needs, it relies on fiction when facts do not support its argument.
The Veterans Administration Hospital in West Los Angeles sits on 640 acres. A small Post Office is at the center of the grounds, which provides forwardable mailing addresses primarily for patients who are, by medical circumstance, confined to the area. Many cannot drive, a fact that seems to be lost on the proponents of the plan. The Postal Service remedy is for the patients and other postal patrons to transport themselves a mile or two in order to obtain the same postal services that are available at the current location.
The Postal Service’s proposal for closure of the Veterans Administration Branch offers a draconian solution to a problem of its own design.
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