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In common parlance, post office is used to refer to a wide variety of facilities operated by the United States Postal Service (USPS). In administrative practice, the USPS differentiates among several categories of postal facilities. Regarding one category of its facilities, the USPS announced in May 2009 that it was considering the closure of 3,105 of its 4,851 post office branches and stations. These facilities provide the public with postal services, such as stamp sales, post office boxes, and package shipping. Since the original announcement, the USPS has indicated that the number of possible closures may be more than 3,200. This report provides (1) information on this recent announcement; (2) historical data on the number of post offices and other retail postal facilities; (3) an explanation of the legal authorities relevant to retail postal facility closures; (4) a review of the retail postal facility closure processes, including data on public appeals of closures, and H.R. 658s proposed alterations to the processes; and (5) a concluding discussion that suggests observations and possible issues for Congress. The USPS has cited financial duress as a reason for its proposed closure of up to 64% of its 4,851 post office branches and stations. According ...