CHEYENNE – Last year, the United States Postal Service (USPS) announced changes were also being delivered to the processing facility in Cheyenne. 

The announcement stated the USPS was to continue implementing their plan, “Delivering for America,” which very well could move mail operations from Cheyenne to Denver, placing a large concern for Wyoming residents. 

The Delivering for America plan is the ten-year goal to achieve financial sustainability, according to the USPS website. 

“Our Delivering for America plan, published on March 23, 2021, is guiding the transformation of the United States Postal Service from an organization in financial and operational crisis to one that is self-sustaining and high performing,” the website reads.

But some local law makers don’t agree with the visions of the postal service, and they are concerned about the citizens of Wyoming. 

“The review of the Cheyenne facility was first announced in November 2023 and is still underway,” Congresswoman Hageman told the Telegram. “The initial findings supported the ‘modernization’ of the Cheyenne Processing and Distribution Center as a local processing center while also ‘transferring some mail processing operations to the Denver Processing and Distribution Center in Denver.’ Based on the materials that the USPS’ has provided, it appears as though if these changes succeed in going through, we could expect the bulk, if not all of Wyoming’s processing operations, to be lost to other states.”

According to the plan, the mail operations in Casper would be moved to Billings.

“Since these initial findings were released, we have received very little information on the details from the USPS. My office has been in constant communication and met with USPS government affairs associates to obtain more information, but the meeting was entirely unproductive as very few of our questions were answered,” Hageman said. “The USPS did hold a public meeting in November, in Cheyenne, which was scheduled at an inconvenient time for many Wyomingites and prevented them from having their voices heard. The meeting was to solicit comments from the community; however, the USPS did not answer any questions.”

“The United States Postal Service is a lifeline in rural states like Wyoming,” Senator Barrasso said. 

In 2015, the USPS closed many processing centers in the country, which transferred the Rock Springs facility to Salt Lake City.

“People in Wyoming have already experienced unnecessary delays and interruptions to their mail service after the Rock Springs sorting facility closed. The last thing they need is for the Casper and Cheyenne facilities to lose their mail processing capabilities, too. Now every Wyoming resident will be subjected to senseless delays as any in-state mail has to leave the state before it arrives at its intended location just because the Biden administration supposedly wants to cut costs,” Senator Lummis said. “If the Biden administration is all of a sudden interested in being fiscally responsible, perhaps it might consider cutting the $3 billion in American tax dollars it pledged to the United Nations’ climate crusade or any number of its wasteful partisan spending projects instead of forcing an entire state to endure extraneous delays in receiving their mail.”

Delays aren’t the only worry for the future of Wyoming’s mail service.

“I do believe having our sorting facilities move out of state is a travesty,” Representative Scott Smith said. “Cheyenne mail will be going all the way to Denver and the Casper facility will eventually be moving to Billings. I think it will hurt our job market.”

“The USPS has estimated that seven craft positions could be lost. However, it has been communicated to me by industry stakeholders that this number does not include the employees who will be forced to either relocate or find a new means of employment due to these changes,” Hageman said.

There is also another concern for Wyomingites.

“Also, this opens up the door for possibilities of election fraud through the mail in Wyoming,” Representative Smith said.  “Secretary of State Gray has been in contact with USPS, and they assure him that all election mail would stay in state. He is waiting to get that promise agreement in writing.”

“I remain extremely concerned about the impact these changes will have on Wyoming’s mail operations as numerous people across the state are already experiencing issues with USPS,” Congresswoman Hageman said. “I am working with Senators Barrasso and Lummis in requesting a delegation-wide meeting with Postmaster General DeJoy to get our concerns addressed directly.”

“Keeping a processing and distribution center in Wyoming will help prevent delays and keep mail operations running smoothly across our state,” Senator Barrasso said. “I’ll continue to fight to make sure the people of Wyoming have access to a reliable and timely postal service.”

The Telegram reached out to Senator Cheri Steinmetz; however we did not receive a response as of press time.