{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/media-center/news-releases/mccaskill-demands-answers-on-laurie-mo-postal-facility-closure", "McCaskill Demands Answers on Laurie, MO Postal Facility Closure", "2017-11-16", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "Claire McCaskill", "M001170", "www.mccaskill.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "McCaskill Demands Answers on Laurie, MO Postal Facility Closure \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t USPS gave conflicting information to McCaskill\u2019s office and Laurie residents after their postal facility was abruptly closed in January \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tThursday, November 16, 2017\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill is demanding answers from the United States Postal Service (USPS) about the status of the Laurie, Missouri postal facility that was abruptly closed in January under USPS\u2019 \u201cemergency suspension\u201d process, which is supposed to be temporary. USPS told Laurie officials that a decision on reopening the postal facility would be made by September, but that has not yet occurred. USPS also gave conflicting information to Laurie officials and McCaskill\u2019s office about why a decision has not been made.\r\n\r\n\u201cLaurie residents deserve answers now on what\u2019s going on with their postal facility\u2014and USPS certainly shouldn\u2019t be giving me different information than what it\u2019s giving to my constituents,\u201d McCaskill said. \u201cI\u2019m committed to getting to the bottom of this issue and working to ensure that situations like this don\u2019t happen to more Missouri postal facilities.\u201d\r\n\r\nUSPS can make an \u201cemergency suspension\u201d decision to temporarily close a postal facility with little notice, but they frequently remained closed for years, if they are ever reopened at all. The Laurie, MO postal facility was closed under \u201cemergency suspension\u201d in January, and Laurie officials have yet to hear from USPS about if and when the postal facility will be reopened. The Mayor of Laurie said that USPS told Laurie officials that it could not make a decision yet because of a moratorium on opening certain types of postal facilities, but USPS told McCaskill that reopening these postal facilities can be done on a case-by-case basis. \u201cWhen communities lose their long established retail postal facility, even temporarily, those communities deserve accurate, ongoing updates from the Postal Service stating when service may resume or whether any postal retail services will return at all,\u201d wrote McCaskill in a letter to the Postmaster General.\r\n\r\nMcCaskill also asked USPS to add its support to her bipartisan legislation that would prevent the Postal Service from using its \u201cemergency suspension\u201d process to indefinitely close postal facilities without notice to the community and opportunity to appeal. McCaskill introduced the legislation in May along with Republican Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas.\r\n\r\nMcCaskill is a leader of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which has jurisdiction over USPS. She has long worked to improve rural postal service and hold USPS accountable. In September, McCaskill called for postal reforms after a USPS Inspector General report found that mismanagement led to up to two billion pieces of delayed mail. She has also called for answers from the Postmaster General following reports from Missouri USPS managers that their staffing needs have been disregarded. She also demanded answers from the Postal Service on how it will protect mail delivery for rural Missourians and efficiently manage the cost-sharing benefits with competitors to carry mail the \u201clast mile,\u201d especially in rural areas. McCaskill is widely credited with having waged a successful campaign over several years to save rural post offices in Missouri and maintain delivery standards.\r\n\r\nRead McCaskill\u2019s letter to the Postmaster General HERE.\r\nVisit\u00a0mccaskill.senate.gov/rural\u00a0to learn more about McCaskill's fight to protect rural Missouri.\u00a0\r\n###\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t  \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/media-center/news-releases/mccaskill-demands-answers-on-laurie-mo-postal-facility-closure"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4337589964270592, "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"}