Tester Statement on Missoula Post Office Relocation

Senator told USPS Postmaster DeJoy that relocating Missoula’s Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC) to Spokane, Washington is unacceptable

U.S. Senator Jon Tester today issued the following statement in response to the reported decision by USPS Postmaster Louis DeJoy to relocate Missoula’s Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC) outgoing operations to Spokane, Washington:

Let me be clear: moving Missoula’s Processing and Distribution Center outgoing operations out of state is a slap in the face to Montanans who rely on the postal service for everything from life-saving medications to their hard-earned veterans’ benefits. Montanans are sick and tired of unelected D.C. bureaucrats leaving rural America behind. I am calling on Postmaster DeJoy to immediately reverse this decision.

Tester has been Montana’s leading champion holding the USPS accountable. Tester last month urged Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to halt the United States Postal Service’s Mail Processing Facility Review that could result in the relocation of Missoula’s Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC) to Spokane, Washington.

In December, Tester pressed the Biden Administration to address staffing challenges and fill upcoming openings in United States Postal Service (USPS) leadership with people who have experience with postal matters in rural areas. In June, following months of discussions with Big Sky Post Office stakeholders and USPS, Tester secured a $229,000 per year increase in funding for the Big Sky Post Office to support continued services in the face of the area’s rapid population growth.

In April of 2022, his Postal Service Reform Act was signed into law, which ensures long-term, reliable mail service and put the USPS on sound financial footing. He has repeatedly pushed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on USPS policy changes that have delayed mail, threatened to undermine the agency, and harmed rural America. In 2020, Tester blew the whistle on USPS for removing dozens of mail collection boxes from towns across Montana, leading USPS to pause its removal of collection boxes nationwide until after the November election.