Washington, D.C. – Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva today introduced a bill that prevents the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) from closing any post office or postal facility that serves a high-growth ZIP code, correcting an oversight that has skewed USPS closure planning since the announcement several months ago that thousands of postal centers would be closed nationwide.

When USPS officials calculated which post offices, sorting centers and other facilities would be closed, the high pace of population growth in Arizona and other quickly growing areas was not taken into consideration. That oversight led to the recent announcement that the Tucson sorting center would be closed and all Arizona postal sorting would be moved to a single center in Phoenix. Grijalva’s bill would ensure that USPS officials work with the Department of Commerce – which conducts the U.S. Census and keeps annual demographic data – to ensure that no closure would negatively impact a “high growth” ZIP code, as defined by Commerce officials at the beginning of each year.

Arizona has been one of the fastest-growing states in the country over the past decade, and Grijalva said he is confident the bill would save the Tucson sorting center from closure.

“If this is about planning for the future, let’s really plan for the future instead of saving a penny today by costing ourselves a dollar tomorrow,” Grijalva said. “Cutting off economic activity in the highest-growth areas in the country is the opposite of responsible long-term budgeting. This is about saving Tucson and other rapidly growing parts of the country from getting cut off at the knees. It’s as simple as that.”

The bill will be referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.