WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) led the entire Minnesota Congressional delegation in a letter to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and the House Oversight and Reform Committee urging the Committees to take action on their bipartisan, bicameral legislation to rename three Minnesota US Postal Service (USPS) facilities in honor of three Minnesota National Guardsmen who were tragically killed in a Black Hawk helicopter crash in 2019.
“These National Guardsmen made the ultimate sacrifice to protect the safety and security of our nation. We are grateful for their sacrifice and believe that renaming these post offices in their honor would be a fitting tribute to their legacy,” the legislators wrote.
In addition to Klobuchar and Smith, the letter was signed by Representatives Angie Craig (D-MN), Dean Phillips (D-MN), Betty McCollum (D-MN), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Tom Emmer (R-MN), Michelle Fischbach (R-MN), Pete Stauber (R-MN), and the late Representative Jim Hagedorn (R-MN).
In December, Klobuchar and Smith introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation to rename the Avon Post Office in honor of Army National Guard Warrant Officer Candidate Kort M. Plantenberg; the Perham Post Office after Army National Guard Chief Warrant Officer Charles P. Nord; and the Winsted Post Office in honor of Chief Warrant Officer James A. Rogers Jr. Companion legislation was introduced in the House by Representatives Tom Emmer (R-MN) and Michelle Fischbach (R-MN).
Full text of the letter can be found HERE and below:
Dear Chairman Peters, Chairwoman Maloney, Ranking Member Johnson, and Ranking Member Comer:
We respectfully ask that the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform take action on three bills we recently introduced to rename United States Postal Service facilities in our state after three National Guardsmen who were tragically killed in a helicopter crash in 2019.
The three bills (S.3321, S.3320, and S.3319; and H.R.6218, H.R.6221, and H.R.6220) would designate the facilities of the United States Postal Service located in Avon, Minnesota as the “W.O.C. Kort Miller Plantenberg Post Office,” in Perham, Minnesota as the “Charles P. Nord Post Office,” and in Winsted, Minnesota as the “James A. Rogers Jr. Post Office.”
In December 2021, we introduced these bills in the Senate and the House of Representatives and we respectfully ask that the Committees take action on them as soon as possible.
W.O.C. Plantenberg, C.W.O. Nord, and C.W.O. Rogers were all killed in a tragic Black Hawk helicopter crash approximately 16 miles from St. Cloud, Minnesota. These National Guardsmen made the ultimate sacrifice to protect the safety and security of our nation. We are grateful for their sacrifice and believe that renaming these post offices in their honor would be a fitting tribute to their legacy.
Thank you for your consideration of our request.
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