Daniel Inouye: “I thank Senator Dorgan for the opportunity to share with our colleagues the impact of the air service restrictions on…”

“I thank Senator Dorgan for the opportunity to share with our colleagues the impact of the air service restrictions on the delivery of mail in the State of Hawaii. The recent closure of our Nation's air transportation system brought to light a Postal Service practice that I believe should be reevaluated. Hawaii is an island State that is not only geographically isolated from the mainland United States, but that is also geographically divided into seven distinct islands separated by the Pacific Ocean. Hawaii has a population dependent on the air transportation system for the movement of goods and people throughout the State. However, I believe the current Postal Service mail sorting procedure has the potential to exacerbate the harm to my State's economy from the airport closures, the reduced inter-island travel, and the decline in travel to and from my State. The Postal Service in Hawaii has only one centralized sorting office. While I understand that mail service throughout the United States experienced slow-downs and difficulties as a result of the closure of our air transportation system, mail service in Hawaii came to a virtual standstill.”