U.S. House Votes To Fix ZIP Code Fiasco In Small Eastern Connecticut Town

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. House of Representatives late Monday afternoon unanimously passed the bipartisan H.R. 672, which includes Rep. Joe Courtney’s provision to mandate the U.S. Postal Service to assign Scotland in eastern Connecticut a single, unique ZIP code.

The vote comes after Courtney (D-2nd District) urged his colleagues to support the measure in a floor speech earlier in the day.

Scotland has a population of just about 1,600 residencies, but six ZIP codes.

In a letter to Congress, Scotland First Selectman Dana Barrow Jr. described the difficulties Town residents face due to the high number of ZIP codes, including misplaced packages, difficulty requesting mail-in ballots, paying taxes to the wrong town, and sending students to the wrong schools.

“As the First Selectman of Scotland, Connecticut, I write to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in support of legislation that will designate a single, unique ZIP code for our town, including through Rep. Mario Diaz Balart’s H.R. 672 which is also supported by our town’s representative in the US House, Congressman Joe Courtney," Barrow said prio to the vote. Read the full letter here.

He and Courtney said the ZIP code log jam creates "serious consequences."

Courtney added, "Delivery of Social Security notices and checks, Medicaid information, prescription medications, and absentee ballot applications are disrupted day-in, day-out. Residents have paid their taxes to the wrong town and sent their children to the wrong school. Town leaders and my office have worked for years, alongside Senator Chris Murphy, to fix this dysfunctional system that is completely self-inflicted by unacceptable disorganization at the Post Office. Thankfully, with House passage of H.R. 672 directing the USPS to move Scotland into one unifying ZIP code, Congress is delivering a commonsense solution."

During the last session of Congress, Courtney and U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy joined forces to introduce a bicameral bill to fix the ZIP Code problem with Scotland in moind. The House passed a measure that incorporated their bill, but it was not taken up in the Senate.

"Last Congress, we got our bill passed through the House, but with only a few months of lead time, the bill ran out of calendar days for a Senate vote in the 118th Congress," Courtney said. "Now, with House passage completed early in the 119th Congress, we have 17 months of runway. I urge the Senate to pass H.R. 672 and get it to the President’s desk to be signed into law."

In May, Courtney’s provision was approved by the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform as part the bipartisan package, H.R. 672. Now, the bill heads to the Senate.