Carnahan Fights to Keep Maplewood Post Office Open

U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan is supporting efforts to forestall shutdowns of post offices, .

As Maplewood-Brentwood Patch previously reported, the Maplewood Post Office on 2800 Marshall Ave. is one of several local branches that could be shut down. The move has grabbed the , as

It also received some focus from Carnahan, a Democrat who represents Maplewood in Congress. Carnahan co-sponsored two pieces of legislation aimed at avoiding shutdowns of post offices.

In a statement, Carnahan said he’s heard from dozens of constituents about the Maplewood Post Office potentially closing. He also said “more than a thousand people have submitted postcards asking the St. Louis Postmaster to keep the Maplewood post office open.”

"This post office is a pillar of the Maplewood community, many have told me they feel employees there are like family, raving about the quality of service they receive,” Carnahan said. “And small businesses in Maplewood depend on this post office to operate their businesses effectively as the engine of our economic recovery. I am doing everything in my power, through legislation and direct contact with the Postal Regulatory Commission, to keep the Maplewood office open.”

Carnahan also urged citizens concerned about the potential closures to go to this website.

Carnahan isn’t the only Missouri official who has spoken out about potential post office closures in the Show Me State. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri) said at a recent hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that closures of post offices could especially hurt rural residents.

“Some of their hearts are breaking over this, that their post offices are going away,” said McCaskill in a video of her testimony posted on YouTube. ”It is a marketing advantage that the Postal Service has a six-day delivery. And it seems to me that we ought to be taking advantage of that marketing advantage.”

At least one conservative-leaning think tank sees the financial troubles of the United States Postal Service as a sign of changing times and evolving technology.

In an August blog post, Heritage Foundation senior research fellow James Gattuso wrote that “in the not-so-long run, paper mail delivery may be as dead as the singing telegram.”

“Congress should also eliminate current laws that restrict the closure of post offices and that mandate six-day per week service,” Gattuso wrote. “In the past, efforts at such reforms have been stymied by political pressure to preserve the postal status quo. That is no longer possible. The world has changed, and the postal service must change with it. Congress should not stand in the way.”