I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4976 

To provide for free mailing privileges for personal correspondence and parcels 

sent to members of the Armed Forces serving on active duty in Iraq, 

Afghanistan, or other designated hostile fire areas. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 1, 2019 

Mr. KING of New York (for himself, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New 

York, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. PINGREE, Ms. MOORE, and 

Mr. MCGOVERN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To provide for free mailing privileges for personal correspondence and parcels sent to members of the Armed 

Forces serving on active duty in Iraq, Afghanistan, or 

other designated hostile fire areas. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Supply Our Soldiers 

5 Act of 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. POSTAL BENEFITS PROGRAM FOR MEMBERS OF 

2 THE ARMED FORCES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense, in con4 sultation with the United States Postal Service, shall pro5 vide for a program under which postal benefits shall be 

6 provided to qualified individuals in accordance with suc7 ceeding provisions of this Act. 

8 (b) QUALIFIED INDIVIDUAL.—For purposes of this 

9 Act, the term ‘‘qualified individual’’ means an individual 

10 who— 

11 (1) is a member of the Armed Forces of the 

12 United States on active duty (as defined in section 

13 101 of title 10, United States Code); and 

14 (2)(A) is serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, or other 

15 designated hostile fire area, as described in section 

16 351(a)(1) of title 37, United States Code; or 

17 (B) is hospitalized at a facility under the juris18 diction of the Armed Forces of the United States as 

19 a result of a disease or injury incurred as a result 

20 of service described in subparagraph (A). 

21 (c) POSTAL BENEFITS DESCRIBED.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The postal benefits provided 

23 under this Act shall consist of such coupons or other 

24 similar evidence of credit (whether in printed, elec25 tronic, or other format, and in this Act referred to 

26 as ‘‘vouchers’’) as the Secretary of Defense (in conVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4976.IH H4976

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1 sultation with the Postal Service) shall determine, 

2 entitling the bearer or user to make qualified mail3 ings free of postage. 

4 (2) QUALIFIED MAILING.—For purposes of this 

5 Act, the term ‘‘qualified mailing’’ means the mailing 

6 of a single mail piece which— 

7 (A) is described in subparagraph (A) or 

8 (B) of paragraph (3); 

9 (B) is sent from within an area served by 

10 a United States post office; and 

11 (C) is addressed to a qualified individual. 

12 (3) MAIL DESCRIBED.—Mail described in this 

13 paragraph is— 

14 (A) any first-class mail (including any 

15 sound- or video-recorded communication) not 

16 exceeding 13 ounces in weight and having the 

17 character of personal correspondence; and 

18 (B) parcel post not exceeding 15 pounds in 

19 weight. 

20 (4) LIMITATIONS.— 

21 (A) NUMBER.—An individual shall be eligi22 ble for 1 voucher for each month in which such 

23 individual is a qualified individual. 

24 (B) USE.—Any such voucher may not be 

25 used— 


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1 (i) for more than a single qualified 

2 mailing; or 

3 (ii) beyond the expiration date of such 

4 voucher, as designated by the Secretary of 

5 Defense. 

6 (5) COORDINATION RULE.—Postal benefits 

7 under this Act shall be in addition to, and not in lieu 

8 of, any reduced rates of postage or other similar 

9 benefits which might otherwise be available by or 

10 under law, including any rates of postage resulting 

11 from the application of section 3401(b) of title 39, 

12 United States Code. 

13 (d) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 30 days after the 

14 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense 

15 (in consultation with the Postal Service) shall prescribe 

16 any regulations necessary to carry out this Act, includ17 ing— 

18 (1) procedures by which vouchers will be pro19 vided or made available in a timely manner to per20 sons duly identified by qualified individuals to re21 ceive those vouchers; and 

22 (2) procedures to ensure that the number of 

23 vouchers provided or made available with respect to 

24 any qualified individual complies with subsection 

25 (c)(4)(A). 


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1 SEC. 3. FUNDING. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro3 priated to the Department of Defense, for fiscal years 

4 2020 through 2025, a sum determined by the Secretary 

5 of Defense to be equal to the expenses incurred by the 

6 Department in providing the benefits described in section 

7 2(c) for such fiscal years. Such sum shall be derived from 

8 amounts appropriated in each such fiscal year for Oper9 ation and Maintenance, Defense-wide, for the Office of the 

10 Secretary of Defense, and shall not to exceed $75 million 

11 for the total period beginning with fiscal year 2020 and 

12 ending with fiscal year 2025. 

13 (b) TRANSFERS TO POSTAL SERVICE.— 

14 (1) BASED ON ESTIMATES.—The Secretary of 

15 Defense shall transfer to the Postal Service, out of 

16 any amount so appropriated and in advance of each 

17 calendar quarter during which postal benefits under 

18 this Act may be used, an amount equal to the 

19 amount of postal benefits that the Secretary of De20 fense estimates will be used during such quarter, re21 duced or increased (as the case may be) by any 

22 amounts by which the Secretary finds that a deter23 mination under this section for a prior quarter was 

24 greater than or less than the amount finally deter25 mined for such quarter. 


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1 (2) BASED ON ANNUAL DETERMINATION.—For 

2 each of the fiscal years 2020 through 2025, an an3 nual determination of the amount necessary to cor4 rect any previous determination under this section 

5 during such fiscal year, and any transfer of amounts 

6 between the Postal Service and the Department of 

7 Defense based on that annual determination, shall 

8 be made not later than 6 months after the end of 

9 such fiscal year. 

10 (3) BASED ON FINAL DETERMINATION.—A 

11 final determination of the amount necessary to cor12 rect any previous determination under this section, 

13 and any transfer of amounts between the Postal 

14 Service and the Department of Defense based on 

15 that final determination, shall be made not later 

16 than 6 months after the end of fiscal year 2025. 

17 (c) CONSULTATION REQUIRED.—All estimates and 

18 determinations under this section of the amount of postal 

19 benefits under this Act used in any period shall be made 

20 by the Department of Defense in consultation with the 

21 Postal Service. 


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1 SEC. 4. DURATION. 

2 The postal benefits under this Act shall apply with 

3 respect to mail matter sent during the period beginning 

4 on October 1, 2019, and ending on September 30, 2025. 

Æ 


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