Congressman demands U.S. Postal Service create plan to reopen post office in New London 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Sam Graves (MO-6) wrote Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on Thursday requesting the United States Postal Service develop a plan to ensure a post office remains in New London, Mo.

The post office closed earlier this week for repairs, with an unknown date given for reopening. In the meantime, residents with post office boxes are uncertain where they will be getting their mail during the closure.

“There has been a United States Post Office in New London since 1820,” Graves said in a press release. “Mail service is a necessity, and residents shouldn’t have to drive a great distance to get it. In the wake of this temporary closure, the people of New London deserve to have adequate interim service close to home, and they need to know what the long-term plan is to maintain a post office in New London for generations to come.”

The full letter can be read here.

Graves previously called on the Postal Service to reestablish post offices in Baring, LaGrange and Clarksville, all of which had been shuttered due to natural disasters. LaGrange and Clarksville were ultimately reopened, and Baring is in the process of rebuilding. 

Graves recently introduced the Pony Up Act, which would require the Postal Service to provide a mechanism for constituents to get reimbursed for late fees that were incurred as a result of late mail delivery, which has been experienced across North Missouri. He also called on the Postal Service to halt postage price increases until it solves late delivery issues. 

Graves said the Postal Service proposed shuttering thousands of post offices across the country in 2009 and 2011 to cut costs. He claimed the Postal Service has blamed financial losses for years on a mandate that required USPS to pre-fund retirement benefits.

Congress eliminated this mandate in 2022 by passing the Postal Service Reform Act, which Graves co-sponsored and supported. That measure also included a provision Graves championed for years — the preservation of a six-day mail service, which is critical for rural communities all over the country.