YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown has urged the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to delay the proposed shutdown of Youngstown's postal processing center.

The United States Postal Service first brought up the idea of downsizing operations across the nation to cut spending in 2012. Consolidating operations, they say, could save $750 million annually.

Ohio currently has four facilities slated to be consolidated in January 2015, including the Youngstown Processing and Distribution Facility (P&DF).

According to the Postmaster General, Patrick Donahoe, up to 82 mail processing facilities could close nationally.

"The postal service fulfills an important function in everyday life. Home bound seniors rely on USPS for delivering prescription drugs, small businesses ship products to customers around the country, rural communities stay connected through the mail, and families across the country rely on mail to manage their households," said Sen. Brown.

In 2012, Brown successfully fought to maintain jobs and preserve mail delivery in Ohio. Provisions of the Postal Service Protection Act, cosponsored by Brown, passed the Senate as part of a broader postal reform bill. Brown's efforts delayed closure of Ohio's Mail & Processing Distribution Centers (P&DC) and rural post offices for two years.

As part of that plan, the post office says it plans to close the sorting center in downtown Youngstown by July 25.

The post office says it faces a decline of first-class mail volume and revenue, wage and benefit inflation, increasing operating costs, as well as legislative mandates.

The list of facilities to be consolidated after January of 2015 is available at http://usps.com/ourfuturenetwork