Today, Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-Laredo) expressed his support for the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) announcement that South Texas will not suffer post office closures.  Previously, the USPS had announced that it would close many of its smallest post offices, including eleven post offices in Cuellar’s district.  These closures would have meant that South Texas residents would have had to undergo the inconvenience of traveling far from their homes to visit a post office.  USPS announced Wednesday that it will implement a new strategy that will enable it to cut costs without closing these post offices. 

“People across South Texas rely on post offices to pay their bills and receive essential communications like Social Security checks and voter registration cards.  I am glad that the Postal Service has found a path back toward financial stability that will not put an unfair burden on people living in rural areas,” Cuellar said. “When these closures were first threatened, I joined several of my colleagues in writing a letter to the Chairwoman of the Postal Regulator Commission urging her to consider the effects these post office closures would have on my constituents.  I am glad that USPS delivered a solution that will not interrupt service to the people of South Texas.”

In 2011, approximately 3,700 post offices nationwide were targeted for closures by the USPS due to USPS’s financial struggles. In Texas, 200 post offices were considered for closure, including eleven in Cuellar’s congressional district.  All eleven of these post offices in Cuellar’s district will remain open. These post offices are:

Atascosa County: Campbellton and Christine Post Offices

Frio County: Calliham Post Office

Guadalupe County: Staples Post Office

La Salle County:  Fowlerton Post Office

Starr County: Santa Elena, Delmita and Salineno Post Offices

Webb County: Mirando City and Oilton Post Offices

Wilson County: Pandora Post Office

The strategy USPS announced Wednesday would enable USPS to achieve sufficient cost savings to move toward financial stability without shutting the doors on post offices serving rural areas.  The strategy would be implemented in a two-year multi-phased approach and, once completed, is projected to save the Postal Service a half billion dollars annually.

“The announcement from USPS that these post offices will remain open is a direct result of lawmakers’ inquiries and a shining example of how vocal, engaged Americans can make big differences on a national scale,” Cuellar said.

The Postal Service will allow the Postal Regulatory Commission to review the plan prior to implementing changes and will also hold community meetings to review the options. Communities will be notified of the date, time and location of the meetings by mail.