Rep. Thornberry meets with local law enforcement officials in Amarillo Click the image to see news coverage of the meeting

Dear Friend,

It is always helpful for me to be able to travel around the 13^th District listening to the people who I work for in Congress.  Whether listening in person or reading letters, emails, and phone messages, all of the input helps me know which issues matter most to you.  Right now, two of the most common concerns I am hearing are the potential closures of six Texas Border Patrol stations and changes at the U.S. Postal Service. I would like to provide you an update on each.

Border Patrol Stations

In July, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced a proposal to close nine interior Border Patrol stations, six of which are located in Texas.  The proposed station closures in Texas include the offices in San Angelo, Abilene, Dallas, San Antonio, Lubbock, and Amarillo. 

Since the announcement, the CBP and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have failed to provide a plan for how local law enforcement will be supported in dealing with those who are in the country illegally once the stations close. If federal agents are not available to respond, then local law enforcement authorities may be forced to release the individuals.  Even more concerning, without that federal law enforcement assistance, some serious criminals may not be discovered.

We have been able to delay any closures until March 2013.  Beyond that, we do not know.  I will continue to work with other members of the Texas congressional delegation to ensure that our local law enforcement has the necessary federal support.  At the same time, I am meeting and speaking with local law enforcement from our part of Texas –including sheriffs, police, prosecutors, elected officials, and others—to fully understand their concerns and the challenges associated with the loss of any interior Border Patrol station.  In fact, over the last few weeks I have met with officials from more than a dozen of our local counties.

The Supreme Court recently ruled that immigration enforcement is a federal issue and only federal agents can enforce the laws on illegal immigration.  If that is the case, then those federal agencies responsible for such enforcement cannot leave our local police and sheriff’s departments without the resources necessary to address the problem.

Of course, the federal government must also act to improve our immigration laws and to see that the law is enforced.

Post Offices

It comes as no surprise to many people that the U.S. Post Service (USPS) faces enormous budgetary pressures as fewer people use the mail.  Between the fiscal years of 2007-2011, the USPS lost $25.4 billion and an additional $11.5 billion during the first nine months of the current fiscal year.  At the same time, establishing post offices is one of the specific duties assigned to the federal government in the Constitution.

Since 1971, federal law has required the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to be a self-sustaining entity.  It does not receive taxpayer funding.  Last summer, the USPS considered several measures to improve their financial condition so that they can continue to operate as a self-sustaining government agency.  One of those proposals was to close or consolidate 3,700 post offices across the country, including many in our area, an idea that I strongly opposed.  Many people in our part of Texas already travel some distance to retrieve their mail.  Closing post offices would have required more travel and more inconvenience.  More importantly, however, these post offices are often the center of a community’s life, and closing them would permanently change the quality of life for rural areas for the worse.

I contacted the Postal Service on a number of occasions to express my opposition to these closings.  Because of strong community feedback, earlier this year the USPS announced the POST plan, which keeps the post offices open but with reduced hours.  Although this plan will add some inconvenience,  it does allow post offices to remain open instead of being closed for good. 

In early September, the USPS began notifying affected communities of the changes to the new operating hours at their local postal facilities.  People who live in the ZIP Codes that are being affected will receive letters describing the USPS plan in more detail and further postal options available to them.  Those letters will also provide the date, time, and location of planned community meetings for residents in those areas.

The POST plan does not solve the Postal Service’s serious financial problems.  Several pieces of legislation have been introduced aiming to bring the USPS back to fiscal solvency.  I will try to be as supportive as possible of proposals to improve its financial conditions.  In short, the USPS faces difficult times, but I will work to find ways to maintain this essential service for all of our people.

As always, I am interested in your feedback and your suggestions on this topic or any other that matters to you. I hope you will contact me with your opinion via phone, email, letter, website, or Facebook.

Sincerely,

*Please note, this email was sent from an unattended mailbox.*  

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