[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 3412-3413]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       OPPOSING THE CLOSING OF THE IRVINGTON, TEXAS, POST OFFICE

  (Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise to voice my frustration 
and disappointment with the Postal Service's decision to close the 
Irvington Station Post Office that serves ZIP Code 77022 in Houston, 
Texas, on April 30.
  This post office is highly valued in our district and has served 
residents of the Northside area in Houston for 50 years. The Postal 
Service announced that the Irvington office would be demolished, 
despite the fact that the agency has failed to ensure that local 
residents will still have access to essential mail services.
  The Irvington office's lease is expiring, and instead of finding a 
new location nearby or moving retail operations into the Northline 
Commons area as a compromise, the Postal Service has chosen to close 
the office. I contacted and met with postal officials without success.

[[Page 3413]]

  Moving forward with the closure is irresponsible and undermines the 
integrity of the agency. The people living in and around the 77022 ZIP 
Code will not have the same access to postal services as everyone else.
  I understand the Postal Service's budget constraints and support 
reforming the agency. However, maintaining a presence in the area makes 
smart business sense for the Postal Service and fulfills a need in this 
revitalized community. The post office is losing customers and friends 
in this effort.

                          ____________________