I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7631 

To require the United States Postal Service to reimburse fees charged for 

the late payment of bills that were delayed in the mail, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 12, 2024 

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri (for himself, Mr. ALFORD, and Mr. CLEAVER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability 

A BILL 

To require the United States Postal Service to reimburse 

fees charged for the late payment of bills that were 

delayed in the mail, 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 ‘‘Pony Up Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. PAYMENT OF FEES RESULTING FROM DELAYED DE6 LIVERY. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in 

8 this section, the United States Postal Service shall pay 

9 to a citizen assessed any fee or penalty for the late payVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:56 Mar 20, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7631.IH H7631

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1 ment of a bill an amount determined under subsection (b) 

2 if such bill, notice of such bill, or payment is delivered 

3 late. 

4 (b) PAYMENT CALCULATION.—The amount to which 

5 a citizen is entitled under subsection (a) is the amount 

6 that is equal to the total amount of the fees and penalties 

7 described in such subsection that such citizen is obligated 

8 to pay. 

9 (c) APPLICATION.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—A citizen seeking a payment 

11 under this section shall submit to the United States 

12 Postal Service an application at such time, in such 

13 manner, and containing such information as the 

14 United States Postal Service determines appropriate. 

15 (2) APPLICATION SUBMISSION.—The United 

16 States Postal Service shall allow citizens to submit 

17 the application required by paragraph (1) on a pub18 licly available website of the United States Postal 

19 Service, by mail, and at any post office. 

20 (d) UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES EXCEPTION.— 

21 For the purposes of this section, a bill, notice of bill, or 

22 payment is not delivered late if a cause not reasonably 

23 within the control of the United States Postal Service de24 layed the delivery of such bill or notice, including a major 

25 disaster or emergency declared by the President. 


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1 (e) APPEALS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—A citizen may appeal a de3 termination made by the United States Postal Serv4 ice under this section to the Judicial Officer by sub5 mitting such appeal in writing within 30 days after 

6 receiving notice of such determination. 

7 (2) PROCEDURE.—The Judicial Officer shall 

8 issue a decision with respect to an appeal under 

9 paragraph (1) as soon as practicable, and such deci10 sion shall be final. 

11 (f) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 60 days after the 

12 date of enactment of this Act, the United States Postal 

13 Service shall issue rules implementing this section. 

14 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 (1) DELIVERED LATE.—The term ‘‘delivered 

16 late’’, with respect to a bill, notice of bill, or pay17 ment, means that— 

18 (A) such bill, notice, or payment was 

19 mailed; 

20 (B) in the case of a bill or notice of bill, 

21 the United States Postal Service received the 

22 mail containing such bill or notice not less than 

23 12 days prior to the date on which the payment 

24 for the bill was due and the United States Post25 al Service delivered such mail less than 6 days 


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1 prior to the date on which payment for the bill 

2 was due; and 

3 (C) in the case of a payment, the United 

4 States Postal Service received the mail con5 taining such payment not less than 5 days prior 

6 to the date on which the payment was due and 

7 the United States Postal Service delivered such 

8 mail after the date on which payment was due. 

9 (2) JUDICIAL OFFICER.—The term ‘‘Judicial 

10 Officer’’ means the Judicial Officer appointed under 

11 section 204 of title 39, United States Code. 

12 SEC. 3. REPORT ON MAIL DELIVERY DELAYS. 

13 (a) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than one year after 

14 the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 

15 the United States Postal Service shall submit to the Com16 mittee on Oversight and Accountability of the House of 

17 Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security 

18 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report on delays 

19 in delivering mail, including, for each class of mail— 

20 (1) the average delivery time and average delay 

21 time for— 

22 (A) mail delivered under an agreement be23 tween the sender, other than a sender primarily 

24 engaged in the transportation or delivery of 


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1 parcels or letters carried out of the mails, and 

2 the United States Postal Service; and 

3 (B) all other mail delivered by the United 

4 States Postal Service; 

5 (2) the volume of mail described in paragraph 

6 (1)(A) that is presorted and an explanation of the 

7 effect of presorting such mail on the average delivery 

8 time and average delay time for such mail; and 

9 (3) the volume of mail described in paragraph 

10 (1)(B) that is presorted and an explanation of the 

11 effect of presorting such mail on the average delivery 

12 time and average delay time for such mail. 

13 (b) PRIORITIZATION AUDIT.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector General of 

15 the United States Postal Service shall conduct an 

16 assessment of the policies and practices of the 

17 United States Postal Service to determine if the 

18 United States Postal Service prioritizes the delivery 

19 of mail described in subsection (a)(1)(A) over mail 

20 that is the same class of mail and is not described 

21 in such subsection. 

22 (2) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the 

23 date of enactment of this Act, the Inspector General 

24 of the United States Postal Service shall submit to 

25 the Committee on Oversight and Accountability of 


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1 the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

2 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 

3 Senate a report on the findings of the assessment 

4 required by paragraph (1). 

5 (c) CLASS OF MAIL DEFINED.—For the purposes of 

6 this section, the term ‘‘class of mail’’ means the items de7 scribed in paragraphs (1) through (10) of section 3621(a) 

8 of title 5, United States Code, and the items described 

9 in paragraphs (1) through (5) of section 3631(a) of such 

10 title. 

Æ 


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