America Could Get 68 New Zip Codes: Here's Where
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Dozens of communities across the United States could get new zip codes under a bill introduced by Representative Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican, with one mayor telling Newsweek the bill could significantly benefit his community.
Why It Matters
Currently, many communities have outdated zip codes that may cause issues including slower mail delivery or delayed emergency service response times. Supporters of Boebert's bipartisan bill believe this legislation would solve that issue for some communities by giving them an updated zip code.
What to Know
The bill, known as H.R. 3095, advanced through the powerful House Oversight Committee this week. In total, the legislation would give 68 communities from 19 different states new zip codes if it becomes law.
Towns and cities from California to New Hampshire could have new zip codes under this bill. This map shows which communities would have a new zip code.
Glendale, Wisconsin, is one city included in the bill that has dealt with challenges because of its current zip code system, Glendale Mayor Bryan Kennedy told Newsweek in a phone interview Friday morning.
The Milwaukee suburb is divided into three separate zip codes despite only having less than 14,000 residents. This is largely because Milwaukee County zip codes were drawn up before the municipality was established in 1950, he said.
This means that residents' mail comes to a Milwaukee address, even though they live in Glendale. This has created "confusion" in the postal system, Kennedy said.
"We have significant delivery issues with a number of years with absentee ballots, tax payments, water utility bills—people mailing from the post office in Glendale to City Hall, which is just over a mile away in a different zip code, and then taking one, two, three weeks to get to city hall," he said."
A U.S. Post Office truck sits parked in North Haledon, New Jersey, on February 10, 2022.
A U.S. Post Office truck sits parked in North Haledon, New Jersey, on February 10, 2022.Residents have been "disenfranchised" in elections because they mail their ballots a week before Election Day, but it doesn't make it to City Hall on time, he said.
The city has faced other zip code-related challenges, such as when Milwaukee created a new sales tax implemented by zip code, and some suburban retailers automatically started charging that new tax, which went to Milwaukee, rather than the city it is actually in.
"We know there are problems with U.S. Postal Service. We saw a lot of the reforms they've tried to do over the past decade," he said. "When you implement those kind of reforms and you don't also implement a way of streamlining delivery to people, you're going to find situations like ours, where delivery got significantly worse."
Boebert's office, in a press release this week, wrote that communities in Colorado have faced similar issues—sales tax revenue, insurance rates, mail delivery rates and emergency response times have all been negatively affected by these communities not having a unique zip code, her office said.
What People Are Saying
Boebert wrote in a statement: "It may not be an issue that draws headlines, but zip code reform is a topic I continue to be passionate about because it impacts the daily lives of so many small-town residents in the 4th District and beyond. Mayors and community leaders from every part of Colorado have made it clear fixing this problem is a priority for them and I am determined to finish the job this Congress after getting our bill through the House Oversight Committee this morning."
Castle Pines Mayor Tracy Engerman wrote in the statement: "We value our relationship with the Congresswoman and, on behalf of our National Zip Code Coalition, I personally want to thank her for unwavering leadership on this issue. Lauren knows this is not a partisan issue and has worked across the aisle to make this bill happen. I believe this will be the year that she gets this bill through Congress."
What Happens Next
Boebert's bill has support from both Democrats and Republicans, with a total of 30 cosponsors, many of whom represent communities that could have new zip codes if the legislation becomes law. It's unclear when, or if, the bill will be brought to a vote on the floor of the House.
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