WASHINGTON, D.C. (MyKeeneNow) Swanzey is one step closer to getting its own ZIP code after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill Tuesday requiring the United States Postal Service to assign unique ZIP codes to a list of communities nationwide.
It’s among the 68 communities included in the legislation and shares a ZIP code with neighboring Keene. Residents and officials say the overlap has led to frequent mail delays and confusion for emergency responders.
Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander, who voted in favor of the bill, said the change is long overdue.
“It’s past time that the residents of Swanzey, New Hampshire, had their own zip code to simplify mail delivery, streamline response times for EMS, and cut down on needless confusion,” Goodlander said in a statement. “I was proud to help pass this commonsense legislation out of the House of Representatives and deliver for the people of Swanzey.”
The bill, H.R. 3095, now moves to the U.S. Senate, where Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan have taken the lead on advancing the measure.
The legislation gives the USPS 270 days from enactment to assign a single, unique zip code to each of the listed communities. Along with Swanzey, the bill includes locations from more than 20 states, such as Centennial, Colorado; Parkland, Florida; and Zionsville, Indiana.
If approved by the Senate and signed into law, the zip code change would apply specifically to North Swanzey, which, while part of the town of Swanzey, has long been associated with Keene’s postal system.
