Maine’s Sen. Susan Collins, who had signed on to a bill aimed at minimizing the impact of postal service cuts, reacted favorably Wednesday to the Postal Service’s plan.

“I am cautiously optimistic that the postmaster general has now devised a plan that will help preserve some essential postal services for rural America, while allowing the Postal Service to reduce its costs, as it must do,” Collins, a Republican, said.

Collins said that having reduced hours at some post offices or merging the post office with another facility or retail store could accomplish both goals. Collins said that such a plan must take into account people’s work schedules, ensuring times are convenient for their customers.

Last month, the Senate passed a postal reform bill that was authored by Collins and three other senators. Their bill included a one-year moratorium on closing rural post offices unless there is no signficant community opposition to the closure. Collins also authored a key provision in the bill that would result in the continued operation of the Eastern Maine Processing Center in Hampden.

U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe also weighed in, saying that the postmaster general’s decision “appears to be a step in the right direction” though she remains concerned that a one-size-fits-all approach will not work in Maine. U.S. Reps. Mike Michaud and Chellie Pingree said they will continue to lobby to keep rural post offices open.


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