U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Watersmeet, addresses U.S. Postal Service officials during an April 1 meeting at Pine Mountain Ski and Golf Resort on the initial findings of the postal service's Kingsford facility review. (Betsy Bloom/Daily News photo, file)

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan bill has been re-introduced in the U.S. House that supporters say would prevent the U.S. Postal Service from downsizing facilities in underserved areas, provide more oversight over modifications to delivery schedules and increase public transparency on proposed postal changes.

U.S. Reps. Nikki Budzinski, D-Illinois, submitted the Protect Postal Performance Act on Friday, online Congressional records show. She is joined on the legislation by Reps. Jack Bergman, R-Michigan; Harriet Hageman, R-Wyoming; Jared Golden, D-Maine; and Chris Pappas, D-New Hampshire, according to a news release from Bergman’s office.

“For those in Michigan’s First District and other rural areas, timely mail service is essential,” Bergman, of Watersmeet, said in the news release. “Whether it’s for bills, medications or other vital resources, their mail service must function properly and efficiently. They deserve a system that works, not one plagued by unnecessary delays due to poor decision-making. The Protect Postal Performance Act aims to put the needs of rural America ahead of the ill-conceived plans of bureaucrats.”

Budzinski added, “My constituents in central and southern Illinois are already facing delays in service and the Postmaster General’s plans to downsize USPS would only worsen the situation — leading to more missed paychecks, late bills and even delays in essential medications. I was proud to bring forward bipartisan legislation to push back on this misguided effort that could further impact poor delivery rates for rural Americans.”

H.R. 2103 has been referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Similar legislation under the name the Postal Processing Protection Act was re-introduced in the U.S. Senate on Feb. 25 by Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, and Sen. Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota.

Bergman and Budzinski took the lead last April on a bill with the same name, H.R. 8040. It was sent to the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, where it appears no action was taken.

The new bill again would bar USPS from downsizing processing facilities in regions that fail to meet delivery targets of 90.3% on-time delivery for three-to-five-day first-class mail and 93% on-time delivery for two-day first-class mail. Last year, northern Michigan and the U.P. had a 75.2% on-time delivery rate for three-to-five-day mail and a 91.2% on-time delivery rate for two-day mail, according to a Bergman news release in 2024.

This latest version also would:

— Prevent a post office from being closed or consolidated if it is not within 15 miles of another post office or is the closest post office for a population of 15,000 or more.

— Bar the closing, consolidation, downgrading or any other similar action of any processing and distribution center in a state “if such action would result in no such center being located in that state in any geographically non-contiguous region of that state inhabited by more than 100,000 permanent residents … the term ‘geographically non-contiguous region’ means an area of a state that is physically separated from the main body of the state by a significant body of water or land controlled by another state.” This would include the Upper Peninsula.

— Require the U.S. Postal Service have a public hearing within 60 days of any proposed closure or consolidation, then publish a summary of the hearing on the USPS website no more than seven days later, including the percentage of comments for and against the changes.

— Make mandatory getting an advisory opinion from the Postal Regulatory Commission before taking action. If the commission determines the changes will result in slower on-time mail delivery, the report must be posted on the USPS website, followed by a 180-day waiting period.

The Protect Postal Performance Act is endorsed by the United Postmasters and Managers of America, according to the Bergman news release.

“UPMA is grateful for the bipartisan efforts of Rep. Budzinski, Rep. Hageman, Rep. Golden, Rep. Bergman and Rep. Pappas in Congress to protect the workers of the postal service from service cuts that would negatively impact the quality of mail delivery received by the American people,” said Tony Leonardi, national president of the United Postmasters and Managers of America. “The Protecting Postal Performance Act will help ensure evidence, data and sound management practices lead the USPS’s strategy going forward and will ensure that any changes to retail and postal facilities in the future are fully vetted.”

The full text of the bill can be found at https://d12t4t5x3vyizu.cloudfront.net/budzinski.house.gov/uploads/2025/03/BUDZIN_007_xml-1-1.pdf.

Betsy Bloom can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 85240, or bbloom@ironmountaindailynews.com.