I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9685 

To amend title 39, United States Code, to establish procedures for post 

offices that suspend operations due to an emergency, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2024 

Mr. BOST (for himself, Mr. RESCHENTHALER, Mr. GRAVES of Missouri, Mr. 

LAMALFA, and Mrs. HARSHBARGER) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability 

A BILL 

To amend title 39, United States Code, to establish procedures for post offices that suspend operations due to 

an emergency, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Upending Secret Post5 al Shutdowns Act’’ or the ‘‘USPS Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. POST OFFICE EMERGENCY CLOSURE PROCEDURES. 

7 Section 404 of title 39, United States Code, is 

8 amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(f)(1) If any post office temporarily suspends oper2 ations due to an emergency— 

3 ‘‘(A) on the first day of such suspension, the 

4 Postal Service shall place a sign or other physical 

5 notice of the suspension at the post office and pub6 lish a notice of the suspension on the Postal Service 

7 public website; and 

8 ‘‘(B) not later than 5 days after the first date 

9 of such suspension, the Postal Service shall notify 

10 relevant public officials. 

11 ‘‘(2) For purposes of paragraph (1)(B)— 

12 ‘‘(A) the notice required under such paragraph 

13 shall include the reasons for the suspension, the in14 terim solution for mail delivery, and expected end 

15 date of the suspension; and 

16 ‘‘(B) the term ‘relevant public officials’ means, 

17 with respect to a post office— 

18 ‘‘(i) each Member of the House of Rep19 resentatives (including a Delegate or Resident 

20 Commissioner to Congress) representing a con21 gressional district which includes all or part of 

22 the geographic area served by such post office; 

23 ‘‘(ii) each Senator representing a State 

24 which includes all or part of the geographic 

25 area served by such post office; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the head of each unit of local govern2 ment with jurisdiction over all or part of the ge3 ographic area served by such post office. 

4 ‘‘(3)(A) If a suspension of operations due to an emer5 gency lasts for 30 days, the Postal Service shall open a 

6 30-day public review period under which individuals served 

7 by the post office and or relevant public officials may pro8 vide comments to the Postal Service. 

9 ‘‘(B) If a suspension of operations due to an emer10 gency lasts for 60 days— 

11 ‘‘(i) the Postal Regulatory Commission shall 

12 conduct a review of the suspension; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) the Postal Service shall begin the process 

14 to relocate the operations of the suspended post of15 fice, consistent with the procedures for post office 

16 relocation under this title. 

17 ‘‘(C) In carrying out any relocation under subpara18 graph (A)(ii), the Postal Service shall— 

19 ‘‘(i) solicit input from the head of each unit 

20 local government with jurisdiction over all or part of 

21 the geographic area served by such post office; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) open a 30-day public comment review pe23 riod for a new proposed location. 

24 ‘‘(4) In consultation with the Postmaster General, the 

25 postmaster for each post office shall promulgate and esVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:27 Oct 01, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9685.IH H9685

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1 tablish an action plan in the case of an emergency suspen2 sion of post office operations. 

3 ‘‘(5) Not later than January 1 of each calendar year 

4 beginning with calendar year 2025 the Postal Service shall 

5 submit a report to Congress on emergency suspensions of 

6 operations of post offices during the most recently ended 

7 calendar year. Such report shall include, for each instance 

8 of an emergency suspension of operations of a post office, 

9 the location of the post office, the duration of the emer10 gency suspension, and the reason for the emergency sus11 pension. 

12 ‘‘(6) In this subsection, the term ‘emergency’ means 

13 a natural disaster, termination of a lease or rental agree14 ment, lack of qualified personnel to operate the office, ir15 reparable damage when no suitable alternate quarters are 

16 available in the community, severe damage to, or destruc17 tion of a post office, health and safety concerns, mold, 

18 challenges to the sanctity of the mail, or the lack of ade19 quate measures to safeguard the post office or its rev20 enue.’’. 

Æ 


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