[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 17528]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          POSTAL MODERNIZATION

  (Mr. BLUMENAUER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, today we will be considering important 
legislation dealing with the modernization of the Postal Service. It 
contains some important provisions I have been working on since I came 
to Congress to make sure that the postal facilities, which are the 
cornerstone of a livable community, are, in fact, playing by the same 
rules as the rest of America.
  Too often the Postal Service has not played by those rules, with bad 
results in site location, building and remodeling. While the Postal 
Service has made some improvements in recent years managing these 
facilities, this legislation makes clear that the Postal Service will 
obey local land zoning, planning and environmental regulations, very 
important developments, playing by the same rules as the rest of 
America.
  It will hasten the day when the U.S. Government itself as the largest 
landlord, landowner and employer, will lead by example, and behave the 
way we expect the rest of Americans to behave. It will not cost any 
extra, but it will help make American families safer, healthier and 
more economically secure.

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