Political Quotes

“let me begin by thanking Senator Tester not only for being on the floor today but for working on the issue of making sure that in 50 States in this country--in rural America and in urban America--we continue to have a Postal Service of which the American people are proud. I wish to acknowledge Senator Baldwin, who is presiding, for her strong work on this issue, as well. I represent one of the most rural States in America. I don't know if it is more rural than Montana, but it is very rural. Most of our people live in very small towns. The local post office is not just the place to pick up mail or to mail letters. It is a symbol of what the town is about. It is an institution that identifies the town. It is where people come together. It is a very important part of rural America. We have been battling on this issue now for a number of years. As Senator Tester will remember, it wasn't so many years ago when the Postmaster General came up with a proposal that would have led to the shutting down of 15,000 mostly rural post offices all over America. To my mind, that was a disastrous proposal. Many of us stood up and fought back and worked something out. While the compromise was not all that I wanted, at least it prevented the shutdown of 15,000 post offices all over this country. Right now--and I think Senator Tester made this point--the Postal Service has announced that beginning next month, it will be shutting down up to 82 mail processing plants.…”