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Pappas Calls for Inspector General Investigation of Sale and Destruction of Postal Service Mail Sorting Machines

August 21, 2020

Pappas’ request follows a WMUR report Thursday that the USPS facility on Goffs Falls Road sold a sorting machine for scrap; Washington Post reports that USPS has similarly decommissioned 671 machines nationwide

Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) is calling on the United States Postal Service Office of the Inspector General to investigate a media report that the USPS sold a mail sorting machine at the facility on Goffs Falls Road in Manchester for scrap parts to a man from Pennsylvania. The report comes as the Postmaster General has spent months systematically attacking the Postal Service and undermining services that veterans, seniors, and voters rely on every day.

In the WMUR clip, which can be viewed here, a disassembled mail sorting machine is clearly visible. In addition to the machine that has already been sold, three other mail sorting machines have also been taken offline at the Goffs Falls Road facility. The report indicates that the Goffs Falls Road facility has since stopped granting access following Postmaster General DeJoy's temporary pause on USPS service changes ahead of the 2020 election.

"This is absolutely outrageous," said Congressman Pappas. "At a time when Americans have a greater need for the Postal Service than ever before, machines are being taken offline and even sold for scrap. It defies logic and common sense that as Granite Staters are depending on the mail to get their medications, run their small businesses, stay connected with loved ones, and safely cast a ballot, the Postal Service would sell machines for scrap parts. I am calling on the Post Office Inspector General to launch an immediate investigation into this situation and provide answers. This should not have happened and it should never happen again."

The reports in WMUR are consistent with reporting in the Washington Post that USPS has begun the process of decommissioning and dismantling 671 machines nationwide. The reports come as the Postmaster General has spent months systematically attacking the Postal Service and undermining services that veterans, seniors, and voters rely on every day.

The text of Pappas' letter requesting the investigation can be seen here.

Congressman Pappas has filed two amendments to H.R. 8015, the Delivering for America Act. Congress will vote on this legislation on Saturday, August 22.

These amendments follow reports that USPS facilities across the country, including the Goffs Falls Road facility in Manchester, were dismantling, scrapping, and selling mail sorting machines in recent months. Congressman Pappas held an event outside the Goffs Falls Road facility on Wednesday and has been a leader in defending the USPS, fighting to fund its operations, and reversing the damage already done by this Administration's political attacks.

Rep. Pappas's first amendment would require that any mail sorting machine that has been taken offline since January 1, 2020, be returned to service within 15 days of the passage of the bill. It was reported earlier this week that the Goffs Falls Road processing center put at least four of its mail sorting machines out of commission.

Pappas's second amendment would require the U.S. Postal Service to submit a report to Congress detailing mail sorting machines (and other similar equipment) that have been sold, destroyed, or discarded by the United States Postal Service since January 1, 2020.

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