{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://golden.house.gov/media/press-releases/golden-announces-reopening-of-west-paris-post-office-tomorrow", "Golden announces reopening of West Paris Post Office tomorrow", "2026-04-03", "2026", "2026-04", "Democrat", "House", "ME", "Jared F. Golden", "G000592", "golden.house.gov", "golden", "https://golden.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2014 Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) today announced that the West Paris Post Office will reopen Saturday, April 4, after being closed since 2021.\n\nThe reopening comes after years of delays and a lack of transparency from the United States Postal Service (USPS) about the future of the town\u2019s post office. Since its abrupt closure, Golden has repeatedly pushed the USPS for a concrete reopening plan, and has introduced bipartisan legislation that would prevent similarly unannounced closures in rural communities.\n\nThe new West Paris Post Office is located at 141 Bethel Road, which was previously home to the Ledgeview Living Center. After failing to renew its lease at 238 Main Street in May 2021, the USPS declined to offer any specific plans or deadlines for a reopening \u2014 a dilemma that some locals said \u201cleft a void in the community.\u201d\n\n\u201cRestoring faith in government starts with making it work at the local level, and I\u2019m glad West Paris residents no longer have to travel to another community to access basic mail services,\u201d Golden said. \u201cWhile the USPS should have been more prompt and transparent throughout this process, this reopening is a happy ending to the saga \u2014 and welcome news for the many families who have reached out to me about equal access to the post office.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe American Postal Workers of Maine is more than excited to have the doors open again to the West Paris, Maine, Post Office. The Post Office is an integral part of all communities by providing rural mail delivery, getting medications to its residents, especially veterans, voting by mail, parcel services and money orders,\u201d said Jennifer Garland, executive vice president of the American Postal Workers Union of Maine. \u201cThe APWU of Maine would like to thank Rep. Golden for keeping attention focused on and fighting with us to re-open this office for the West Paris community and the employees of this office.\u201d\n\nThe agency\u2019s handling of the West Paris Post Office was one motivation for Golden and a group of bipartisan colleagues to introduce the Protecting Postal Performance Act in March 2025. Among other reforms, it would require the USPS to hold a public hearing and provide six months advance notice before closing post offices in underserved communities. The bill is endorsed by the United Postmasters and Managers of America.\n\nGolden has sought to increase accountability for USPS leadership throughout his time in Congress. Following his outreach to Postmaster General DeJoy in 2023, USPS reopened its Etna facility that had been closed for more than two years. In 2024, USPS also announced that it was postponing plans to consolidate the Eastern Maine Processing and Distribution Facility in Hampden after bipartisan efforts led by Golden and other members of Congress.\n\n###", 1, "2026-05-17T06:10:29Z", "2026-05-17T06:12:11Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://golden.house.gov/media/press-releases/golden-announces-reopening-of-west-paris-post-office-tomorrow"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.726429047062993, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}