II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1625 

To restore the financial solvency of the United States Postal Service and 

to ensure the efficient and affordable nationwide delivery of mail. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 23, 2011 

Mr. MCCAIN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To restore the financial solvency of the United States Postal 

Service and to ensure the efficient and affordable nationwide delivery of mail. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS; REF4 ERENCES. 

5 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

6 ‘‘Postal Reform Act of 2011’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents; references. 

TITLE I—POSTAL SERVICE MODERNIZATION 


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Subtitle A—Commission on Postal Reorganization 

Sec. 101. Short title. 

Sec. 102. Definitions. 

Sec. 103. Commission on Postal Reorganization. 

Sec. 104. Recommendations for closures and consolidations. 

Sec. 105. Implementation of closures and consolidations. 

Sec. 106. Congressional consideration of final CPR reports. 

Sec. 107. Nonappealability of decisions. 

Sec. 108. Rules of construction. 

Subtitle B—Other Provisions 

Sec. 111. Frequency of mail delivery. 

Sec. 112. Efficient and flexible universal postal service. 

Sec. 113. More cost-efficient Postal Service contracting. 

Sec. 114. Enhanced reporting on Postal Service efficiency. 

TITLE II—POSTAL SERVICE FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND 

MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE AUTHORITY 

Subtitle A—Establishment and Organization 

Sec. 201. Purposes. 

Sec. 202. Establishment of the Authority. 

Sec. 203. Membership and qualification requirements. 

Sec. 204. Organization. 

Sec. 205. Executive Director and staff. 

Sec. 206. Funding. 

Subtitle B—Powers of the Authority 

Sec. 211. Powers. 

Sec. 212. Exemption from liability for claims. 

Sec. 213. Treatment of actions arising under this title. 

Subtitle C—Establishment and Enforcement of Financial Plan and Budget 

for the Postal Service 

Sec. 221. Development of financial plan and budget for the Postal Service. 

Sec. 222. Process for submission and approval of financial plan and budget. 

Sec. 223. Responsibilities of the Authority. 

Sec. 224. Effect of finding noncompliance with financial plan and budget. 

Sec. 225. Recommendations regarding financial stability, etc. 

Sec. 226. Special rules for fiscal year in which control period commences. 

Sec. 227. Assistance in achieving financial stability, etc. 

Sec. 228. Obtaining reports. 

Sec. 229. Reports and comments. 

Subtitle D—Termination of a Control Period 

Sec. 231. Termination of control period, etc. 

Sec. 232. Congressional consideration of recommendation. 

TITLE III—POSTAL SERVICE WORKFORCE 

Subtitle A—General Provisions 

Sec. 301. Modifications relating to determination of pay comparability. 


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Sec. 302. Limitation on postal contributions under FEGLI and FEHBP. 

Sec. 303. Repeal of provision relating to overall value of fringe benefits. 

Sec. 304. Modifications relating to collective bargaining. 

Subtitle B—Postal Service Workers’ Compensation Reform 

Sec. 311. Sense of Congress. 

TITLE IV—POSTAL SERVICE REVENUE 

Sec. 401. Adequacy, efficiency, and fairness of postal rates. 

Sec. 402. Repeal of rate preferences for qualified political committees. 

Sec. 403. Rate preferences for nonprofit advertising. 

Sec. 404. Streamlined review of qualifying service agreements for competitive 

products. 

Sec. 405. Submission of service agreements for streamlined review. 

Sec. 406. Transparency and accountability for service agreements. 

Sec. 407. Nonpostal services. 

TITLE V—POSTAL CONTRACTING REFORM 

Sec. 501. Contracting provisions. 

Sec. 502. Technical amendment to definition. 

1 TITLE I—POSTAL SERVICE 

2 MODERNIZATION 

3 Subtitle A—Commission on Postal 

4 Reorganization 

5 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

6 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Commission on 

7 Postal Reorganization Act’’ or the ‘‘CPR Act’’. 

8 SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS. 

9 For purposes of this title— 

10 (1) the term ‘‘Postal Service’’ means the United 

11 States Postal Service; 

12 (2) the term ‘‘postal retail facility’’ means a 

13 post office, post office branch, post office classified 

14 station, or other facility which is operated by the 


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1 Postal Service, and the primary function of which is 

2 to provide retail postal services; 

3 (3) the term ‘‘mail processing facility’’ means a 

4 processing and distribution center, processing and 

5 distribution facility, network distribution center, or 

6 other facility which is operated by the Postal Serv7 ice, and the primary function of which is to sort and 

8 process mail; 

9 (4) the term ‘‘district office’’ means the central 

10 office of an administrative field unit with responsi11 bility for postal operations in a designated geo12 graphic area (as defined under regulations, direc13 tives, or other guidance of the Postal Service, as in 

14 effect on June 23, 2011); 

15 (5) the term ‘‘area office’’ means the central of16 fice of an administrative field unit with responsibility 

17 for postal operations in a designated geographic area 

18 which is comprised of designated geographic areas 

19 as referred to in paragraph (4); and 

20 (6) the term ‘‘baseline year’’ means the fiscal 

21 year last ending before the date of the enactment of 

22 this Act. 

23 SEC. 103. COMMISSION ON POSTAL REORGANIZATION. 

24 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There shall be established, 

25 not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 


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1 of this Act, an independent commission to be known as 

2 the ‘‘Commission on Postal Reorganization’’ (hereinafter 

3 in this section referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

4 (b) DUTIES.—The Commission shall carry out the 

5 duties specified for it in this subtitle. 

6 (c) MEMBERS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall be 

8 composed of 5 members who shall be appointed by 

9 the President, and of whom— 

10 (A) 1 shall be appointed from among indi11 viduals recommended by the Speaker of the 

12 House of Representatives; 

13 (B) 1 shall be appointed from among indi14 viduals recommended by the majority leader of 

15 the Senate; 

16 (C) 1 shall be appointed from among indi17 viduals recommended by the minority leader of 

18 the House of Representatives; 

19 (D) 1 shall be appointed from among indi20 viduals recommended by the minority leader of 

21 the Senate; and 

22 (E) 1 shall be appointed from among indi23 viduals recommended by the Comptroller Gen24 eral. 

25 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Members of the Com2 mission shall be chosen to represent the public 

3 interest generally, and shall not be representa4 tives of specific interests using the Postal Serv5 ice. 

6 (B) INELIGIBILITY.—An individual may 

7 not be appointed to serve as a member of the 

8 Commission if such individual served as an em9 ployee of the Postal Service or the Postal Regu10 latory Commission, or of a labor organization 

11 representing employees of the Postal Service or 

12 the Postal Regulatory Commission, during the 

13 3-year period ending on the date of such ap14 pointment. 

15 (3) POLITICAL AFFILIATION.—Not more than 3 

16 members of the Commission may be of the same po17 litical party. 

18 (d) TERMS.—Each member of the Commission shall 

19 be appointed for the life of the Commission and may be 

20 removed only for cause. 

21 (e) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commission shall 

22 be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. 

23 (f) CHAIRMAN.—The President shall, at the time of 

24 making appointments under subsection (c), designate one 

25 of the members to serve as chairman of the Commission. 


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1 (g) COMPENSATION AND TRAVEL EXPENSES.— 

2 (1) COMPENSATION.— 

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

4 subparagraph (B), each member of the Com5 mission shall be paid at a rate equal to the 

6 daily equivalent of $40,000 per year for each 

7 day (including travel time) during which the 

8 member is engaged in the actual performance of 

9 duties vested in the Commission. 

10 (B) EXCEPTION.—Any member of the 

11 Commission who is a full-time officer or em12 ployee of the United States may not receive ad13 ditional pay, allowances, or benefits by reason 

14 of such member’s service on the Commission. 

15 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member shall 

16 receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 

17 subsistence, in accordance with applicable provisions 

18 of subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United 

19 States Code. 

20 (h) DIRECTOR.—The Commission shall have a Direc21 tor who shall be appointed by the Commission. The Direc22 tor shall be paid at the rate of basic pay for level IV of 

23 the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, 

24 United States Code. An appointment under this subVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:30 Sep 27, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1625.IS S1625

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1 section shall be subject to the requirements of subsection 

2 (c)(2). 

3 (i) ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.—With the approval of 

4 the Commission, the Director may appoint and fix the pay 

5 of such additional personnel as the Director considers ap6 propriate. Such additional personnel may be appointed 

7 without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States 

8 Code, governing appointments in the competitive service, 

9 and may be paid without regard to the provisions of chap10 ter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relat11 ing to classification and General Schedule pay rates, ex12 cept that an individual so appointed may not receive pay 

13 at a rate of basic pay in excess of the rate of basic pay 

14 payable to the Director. An individual appointed under 

15 this subsection shall serve at the pleasure of the Director. 

16 (j) PROVISIONS RELATING TO DETAILS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon request of the Direc18 tor, the head of any Federal department or agency 

19 may detail any of the personnel of such department 

20 or agency to the Commission to assist the Commis21 sion in carrying out its duties under this subtitle. 

22 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, to pro23 vide continuity in the work of the Commission, such 

24 details may be extended beyond 1 year at the re25 quest of the Director. 


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1 (2) NUMERICAL LIMITATION.—Not more than 

1 2 ⁄3 of the personnel of the Commission may consist 

3 of individuals on detail from the Postal Service or 

4 the Postal Regulatory Commission. 

5 (3) OTHER LIMITATIONS.—A person may not 

6 be detailed to the Commission from the Postal Serv7 ice or the Postal Regulatory Commission if such per8 son participated personally and substantially on any 

9 matter, within the Postal Service or the Postal Reg10 ulatory Commission, concerning the preparation of 

11 recommendations for closures or consolidations of 

12 postal facilities under this subtitle. No employee of 

13 the Postal Service or the Postal Regulatory Commis14 sion (including a detailee to the Postal Service or 

15 the Postal Regulatory Commission) may— 

16 (A) prepare any report concerning the ef17 fectiveness, fitness, or efficiency of the perform18 ance, on the staff of the Commission, of any 

19 person detailed from the Postal Service or the 

20 Postal Regulatory Commission to such staff; 

21 (B) review the preparation of such a re22 port; or 

23 (C) approve or disapprove such a report. 

24 (k) OTHER AUTHORITIES.— 


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1 (1) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Com2 mission may procure by contract, to the extent funds 

3 are available, temporary or intermittent services 

4 under section 3109 of title 5, United States Code. 

5 (2) LEASING, ETC.—The Commission may lease 

6 space and acquire personal property to the extent 

7 funds are available. 

8 (l) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In order 

9 to carry out this section, there are authorized to be appro10 priated out of the Postal Service Fund $20,000,000, 

11 which funds shall remain available until expended. 

12 (m) FINANCIAL REPORTING.— 

13 (1) AUDIT AND EXPENDITURES.—The Commis14 sion shall be responsible for issuing annual financial 

15 statements and for establishing and maintaining 

16 adequate controls over its financial reporting. 

17 (2) INTERNAL AUDITS.—The Commission shall 

18 maintain an adequate internal audit of its financial 

19 transactions. 

20 (3) ANNUAL CERTIFICATION.—The Commission 

21 shall obtain an annual certification for each fiscal 

22 year from an independent, certified public account23 ing firm of the accuracy of its financial statements. 

24 (4) COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—The accounts 

25 and operations of the Commission shall be audited 


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1 by the Comptroller General and reports thereon 

2 made to the Congress to the extent and at such 

3 times as the Comptroller General may determine. 

4 (n) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate 

5 60 days after submitting its final reports under section 

6 104(d)(3). 

7 SEC. 104. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CLOSURES AND CON8 SOLIDATIONS. 

9 (a) PLAN FOR THE CLOSURE OR CONSOLIDATION OF

10 POSTAL RETAIL FACILITIES.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days 

12 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Post13 al Service, in consultation with the Postal Regu14 latory Commission, shall develop and submit to the 

15 Commission on Postal Reorganization a plan for the 

16 closure or consolidation of such postal retail facilities 

17 as the Postal Service considers necessary and appro18 priate so that the total annual costs attributable to 

19 the operation of postal retail facilities will be, for 

20 each fiscal year beginning at least 2 years after the 

21 date on which the Commission transmits to Con22 gress its final report under subsection (d)(3)(A) re23 lating to this subsection, at least $1,000,000,000 

24 less than the corresponding total annual costs for 

25 the baseline year. 


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1 (2) CONTENTS.—The plan shall include— 

2 (A) a list of the postal retail facilities pro3 posed for closure or consolidation under this 

4 subtitle; 

5 (B) a proposed schedule under which— 

6 (i) closures and consolidations of post7 al retail facilities would be carried out 

8 under this subtitle; and 

9 (ii) all closures and consolidations of 

10 postal retail facilities under this subtitle 

11 would be completed by not later than 2 

12 years after the date on which the Commis13 sion transmits to Congress its final report 

14 under subsection (d)(3)(A) relating to such 

15 plan; 

16 (C) the estimated total annual cost savings 

17 attributable to the proposed closures and con18 solidations described in the plan; 

19 (D) the criteria and process used to de20 velop the information described in subpara21 graphs (A) and (B); 

22 (E) the methodology and assumptions used 

23 to derive the estimates described in subpara24 graph (C); and 


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1 (F) any changes to the processing, trans2 portation, delivery, or other postal operations 

3 anticipated as a result of the proposed closures 

4 and consolidations described in the plan. 

5 (3) CONSISTENCY.—The methodology and as6 sumptions used to derive the cost estimates de7 scribed in paragraph (2)(C) shall be consistent with 

8 the methodology and assumptions which would have 

9 been used by the Postal Service if those closures and 

10 consolidations had instead taken effect in the base11 line year. 

12 (b) PLAN FOR THE CLOSURE OR CONSOLIDATION OF

13 MAIL PROCESSING FACILITIES.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 300 days 

15 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Post16 al Service, in consultation with the Inspector Gen17 eral of the United States Postal Service, shall de18 velop and submit to the Commission on Postal Reor19 ganization a plan for the closure or consolidation of 

20 such mail processing facilities as the Postal Service 

21 considers necessary and appropriate so that— 

22 (A) the total annual costs attributable to 

23 the operation of mail processing facilities will 

24 be, for each fiscal year beginning at least 2 

25 years after the date on which the Commission 


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1 transmits to Congress its final report under 

2 subsection (d)(3)(A) relating to this subsection, 

3 at least $1,000,000,000 less than the cor4 responding total annual costs for the baseline 

5 year; and 

6 (B) the Postal Service has, for fiscal years 

7 beginning at least 2 years after the date on 

8 which the Commission transmits to Congress its 

9 final report under subsection (d)(3)(A) relating 

10 to this subsection, no more than 10 percent ex11 cess mail processing capacity. 

12 (2) CONTENTS.—The plan shall include— 

13 (A) a list of the mail processing facilities 

14 proposed for closure or consolidation under this 

15 subtitle; 

16 (B) a proposed schedule under which— 

17 (i) closures and consolidations of mail 

18 processing facilities would be carried out 

19 under this subtitle; and 

20 (ii) all closures and consolidations of 

21 mail processing facilities under this sub22 title would be completed by not later than 

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1 port under subsection (d)(3)(A) relating to 

2 such plan; 

3 (C) the estimated total annual cost savings 

4 attributable to the proposed closures and con5 solidations described in the plan; 

6 (D) the criteria and process used to de7 velop the information described in subpara8 graphs (A) and (B); 

9 (E) the methodology and assumptions used 

10 to derive the estimates described in subpara11 graph (C); and 

12 (F) any changes to the processing, trans13 portation, delivery, or other postal operations 

14 anticipated as a result of the proposed closures 

15 and consolidations described in the plan. 

16 (3) CONSISTENCY.—The methodology and as17 sumptions used to derive the cost estimates de18 scribed in paragraph (2)(C) shall be consistent with 

19 the methodology and assumptions which would have 

20 been used by the Postal Service if those closures and 

21 consolidations had instead taken effect in the base22 line year. 

23 (4) EXCESS MAIL PROCESSING CAPACITY.—The 

24 Commission shall cause to be published in the Fed25 eral Register notice of a proposed definition of ‘‘exVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:30 Sep 27, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1625.IS S1625

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1 cess mail processing capacity’’ for purposes of this 

2 section within 120 days after the date of the enact3 ment of this Act, and shall provide a period of 30 

4 days for public comment on the proposed definition. 

5 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact6 ment of this Act, the Commission shall issue and 

7 cause to be published in the Federal Register a final 

8 definition of ‘‘excess mail processing capacity’’ for 

9 purposes of this section. Such definition shall in10 clude an estimate of the total amount of excess mail 

11 processing capacity in mail processing facilities as of 

12 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

13 (c) PLAN FOR THE CLOSURE OR CONSOLIDATION OF

14 AREA AND DISTRICT OFFICES.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 300 days 

16 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Post17 al Service, in consultation with the Inspector Gen18 eral of the United States Postal Service, shall de19 velop and submit to the Commission on Postal Reor20 ganization a plan for the closure or consolidation of 

21 such area and district offices as the Postal Service 

22 considers necessary and appropriate so that the com23 bined total number of area and district offices will 

24 be, for each fiscal year beginning at least 2 years 

25 after the date on which the Commission transmits to 


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1 Congress its final report under subsection (d)(3)(A) 

2 relating to this subsection, at least 30 percent less 

3 than the corresponding combined total for the base4 line year. 

5 (2) CONTENTS.—The plan shall include— 

6 (A) a list of the area and district offices 

7 proposed for closure or consolidation under this 

8 subtitle; 

9 (B) a proposed schedule under which— 

10 (i) closures and consolidations of area 

11 and district offices would be carried out 

12 under this subtitle; and 

13 (ii) all closures and consolidations of 

14 area and district offices under this subtitle 

15 would be completed by not later than 2 

16 years after the date on which the Commis17 sion transmits to Congress its final report 

18 under subsection (d)(3)(A) relating to such 

19 plan; 

20 (C) the estimated total annual cost savings 

21 attributable to the proposed closures and con22 solidations described in the plan; 

23 (D) the criteria and process used to de24 velop the information described in subpara25 graphs (A) and (B); 


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1 (E) the methodology and assumptions used 

2 to derive the estimates described in subpara3 graph (C); and 

4 (F) any changes to the processing, trans5 portation, delivery, or other postal operations 

6 anticipated as a result of the proposed closures 

7 and consolidations described in the plan. 

8 (3) CONSISTENCY.—The methodology and as9 sumptions used to derive the cost estimates de10 scribed in paragraph (2)(C) shall be consistent with 

11 the methodology and assumptions which would have 

12 been used by the Postal Service if those closures and 

13 consolidations had instead taken effect in the base14 line year. 

15 (d) REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COM16 MISSION.— 

17 (1) INITIAL REPORTS.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—After receiving the plan 

19 of the Postal Service under subsection (a), (b), 

20 or (c), the Commission on Postal Reorganiza21 tion shall transmit to Congress and publish in 

22 the Federal Register a report under this para23 graph, which shall contain the Commission’s 

24 findings based on a review and analysis of such 

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1 ommendations for closures and consolidations 

2 of postal facilities, mail processing facilities, or 

3 area and district offices (as the case may be). 

4 (B) EXPLANATION OF CHANGES.—The 

5 Commission shall explain and justify in its re6 port any recommendations made by the Com7 mission that are different from those contained 

8 in the Postal Service plan to which such report 

9 pertains. 

10 (C) DEADLINES.—A report of the Commis11 sion under this paragraph shall be transmitted 

12 and published, in accordance with subparagraph 

13 (A), within— 

14 (i) if the report pertains to the plan 

15 under subsection (a), 60 days after the 

16 date on which the Commission receives 

17 such plan; or 

18 (ii) if the report pertains to the plan 

19 under subsection (b) or (c), 90 days after 

20 the date on which the Commission receives 

21 such plan. 

22 (2) PUBLIC HEARINGS.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—After receiving the plan 

24 of the Postal Service under subsection (a), (b), 

25 or (c), the Commission on Postal ReorganizaVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:30 Sep 27, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1625.IS S1625

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1 tion shall conduct at least 5 public hearings on 

2 such plan. The hearings shall be conducted in 

3 geographic areas chosen so as to reflect a 

4 broadly representative range of needs and inter5 ests. 

6 (B) TESTIMONY.—All testimony before the 

7 Commission at a public hearing conducted 

8 under this paragraph shall be given under oath. 

9 (C) DEADLINES.—All hearings under this 

10 paragraph shall be completed within 60 days 

11 after the date as of which the Commission sat12 isfies the requirements of paragraph (1) with 

13 respect to such plan. 

14 (3) FINAL REPORTS.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—After satisfying the re16 quirements of paragraph (2) with respect to the 

17 plan of the Postal Service under subsection (a), 

18 (b), or (c) (as the case may be), the Commis19 sion shall transmit to Congress and publish in 

20 the Federal Register a report under this para21 graph containing a summary of the hearings 

22 conducted with respect to such plan, together 

23 with the Commission’s final recommendations 

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1 ties, mail processing facilities, or area and dis2 trict offices (as the case may be). 

3 (B) APPROVAL.—Recommendations under 

4 subparagraph (A) shall not be considered to be 

5 final recommendations unless they are made 

6 with— 

7 (i) except as provided in clause (ii), 

8 the concurrence of at least 4 members of 

9 the Commission; or 

10 (ii) to the extent that the require11 ments of subsection (b)(1)(A) or (c)(1) are 

12 not met, with the concurrence of all sitting 

13 members, but only if the shortfall (relative 

14 to the requirements of subsection (b)(1)(A) 

15 or (c)(1), as the case may be) does not ex16 ceed 25 percent. 

17 (C) CONTENTS.—A report under this para18 graph shall include— 

19 (i) the information required by para20 graph (2) of subsection (a), (b), or (c) (as 

21 the case may be); and 

22 (ii) a description of the operations 

23 that will be affected by the closure or con24 solidation and the facilities or offices which 

25 will be performing or ceasing to perform 


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1 such operations as a result of such closure 

2 or consolidation. 

3 (D) DEADLINES.—A report of the Com4 mission under this paragraph shall be trans5 mitted and published, in accordance with sub6 paragraph (A), within 60 days after the date as 

7 of which the Commission satisfies the require8 ments of paragraph (2) with respect to the plan 

9 involved. 

10 SEC. 105. IMPLEMENTATION OF CLOSURES AND CONSOLI11 DATIONS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the 

13 Postal Service shall— 

14 (1) close or consolidate (as the case may be) the 

15 facilities and offices recommended by the Commis16 sion in each of its final reports under section 

17 104(d)(3); and 

18 (2) carry out those closures and consolidations 

19 in accordance with the timetable recommended by 

20 the Commission in such report, except that in no 

21 event shall any such closure or consolidation be com22 pleted later than 2 years after the date on which 

23 such report is submitted to Congress. 

24 (b) CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Postal Service may not 

2 carry out any closure or consolidation recommended 

3 by the Commission in a final report if a joint resolu4 tion disapproving the recommendations of the Com5 mission is enacted, in accordance with section 106, 

6 before the earlier of— 

7 (A) the end of the 30-day period beginning 

8 on the date on which the Commission transmits 

9 those recommendations to Congress under sec10 tion 104(d)(3); or 

11 (B) the adjournment of the Congress sine 

12 die for the session during which such report is 

13 transmitted. 

14 (2) DAYS OF SESSION.—For purposes of para15 graph (1) and subsections (a) and (c) of section 106, 

16 the days on which either House of Congress is not 

17 in session because of an adjournment of more than 

18 7 days to a day certain shall be excluded in the com19 putation of a period. 

20 SEC. 106. CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION OF FINAL CPR 

21 REPORTS. 

22 (a) TERMS OF THE RESOLUTION.—For purposes of 

23 this subtitle, the term ‘‘joint resolution’’, as used with re24 spect to a report under section 104(d)(3), means only a 

25 joint resolution— 


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1 (1) which is introduced within the 10-day pe2 riod beginning on the date on which such report is 

3 received by Congress; 

4 (2) the matter after the resolving clause of 

5 which is as follows: ‘‘That Congress disapproves the 

6 recommendations of the Commission on Postal Reor7 ganization, submitted by such Commission on ll, 

8 and pertaining to the closure or consolidation of 

9 ll.’’, the first blank space being filled in with the 

10 appropriate date and the second blank space being 

11 filled in with ‘‘postal facilities’’, ‘‘mail processing fa12 cilities’’, or ‘‘area and district offices’’ (as the case 

13 may be); 

14 (3) the title of which is as follows: ‘‘Joint reso15 lution disapproving the recommendations of the 

16 Commission on Postal Reorganization.’’; and 

17 (4) which does not have a preamble. 

18 (b) REFERRAL.—A resolution described in subsection 

19 (a) that is introduced in the House of Representatives or 

20 the Senate shall be referred to the appropriate committees 

21 of the House of Representatives or the Senate, respec22 tively. 

23 (c) DISCHARGE.—If the committee to which a resolu24 tion described in subsection (a) is referred has not re25 ported such resolution (or an identical resolution) by the 


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1 end of the 20-day period beginning on the date on which 

2 the Commission transmits the report (to which such reso3 lution pertains) to Congress under section 104(d)(3), such 

4 committee shall, at the end of such period, be discharged 

5 from further consideration of such resolution, and such 

6 resolution shall be placed on the appropriate calendar of 

7 the House involved. 

8 (d) CONSIDERATION.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—On or after the third day 

10 after the date on which the committee to which such 

11 a resolution is referred has reported, or has been 

12 discharged (under subsection (c)) from further con13 sideration of, such a resolution, it is in order (even 

14 though a previous motion to the same effect has 

15 been disagreed to) for any Member of the respective 

16 House to move to proceed to the consideration of the 

17 resolution. A Member may make the motion only on 

18 the day after the calendar day on which the Member 

19 announces to the House concerned the Member’s in20 tention to make the motion, except that, in the case 

21 of the House of Representatives, the motion may be 

22 made without such prior announcement if the mo23 tion is made by direction of the committee to which 

24 the resolution was referred. All points of order 

25 against the resolution (and against consideration of 


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1 the resolution) are waived. The motion is highly 

2 privileged in the House of Representatives and is 

3 privileged in the Senate and is not debatable. The 

4 motion is not subject to amendment, or to a motion 

5 to postpone, or to a motion to proceed to the consid6 eration of other business. A motion to reconsider the 

7 vote by which the motion is agreed to or disagreed 

8 to shall not be in order. If a motion to proceed to 

9 the consideration of the resolution is agreed to, the 

10 respective House shall immediately proceed to con11 sideration of the joint resolution without intervening 

12 motion, order, or other business, and the resolution 

13 shall remain the unfinished business of the respec14 tive House until disposed of. 

15 (2) DEBATE.—Debate on the resolution, and on 

16 all debatable motions and appeals in connection 

17 therewith, shall be limited to not more than 2 hours, 

18 which shall be divided equally between those favoring 

19 and those opposing the resolution. An amendment to 

20 the resolution is not in order. A motion further to 

21 limit debate is in order and not debatable. A motion 

22 to postpone, or a motion to proceed to the consider23 ation of other business, or a motion to recommit the 

24 resolution is not in order. A motion to reconsider the 


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1 vote by which the resolution is agreed to or dis2 agreed to is not in order. 

3 (3) VOTE ON FINAL PASSAGE.—Immediately 

4 following the conclusion of the debate on a resolu5 tion described in subsection (a) and a single quorum 

6 call at the conclusion of the debate if requested in 

7 accordance with the rules of the appropriate House, 

8 the vote on final passage of the resolution shall 

9 occur. 

10 (4) APPEALS.—Appeals from the decisions of 

11 the Chair relating to the application of the rules of 

12 the Senate or the House of Representatives, as the 

13 case may be, to the procedure relating to a resolu14 tion described in subsection (a) shall be decided 

15 without debate. 

16 (e) CONSIDERATION BY OTHER HOUSE.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—If, before the passage by one 

18 House of a resolution of that House described in 

19 subsection (a), that House receives from the other 

20 House a resolution (described in subsection (a)) re21 lating to the same report, then the following proce22 dures shall apply: 

23 (A) The resolution of the other House shall 

24 not be referred to a committee and may not be 

25 considered in the House receiving it except in 


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1 the case of final passage as provided in sub2 paragraph (B)(ii). 

3 (B) With respect to the resolution de4 scribed in subsection (a) (relating to the report 

5 in question) of the House receiving the resolu6 tion— 

7 (i) the procedure in that House shall 

8 be the same as if no resolution (relating to 

9 the same report) had been received from 

10 the other House; but 

11 (ii) the vote on final passage shall be 

12 on the resolution of the other House. 

13 (2) DISPOSITION OF A RESOLUTION.—Upon 

14 disposition of the resolution received from the other 

15 House, it shall no longer be in order to consider the 

16 resolution that originated in the receiving House. 

17 (f) RULES OF THE SENATE AND HOUSE.—This sec18 tion is enacted by Congress— 

19 (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of 

20 the Senate and House of Representatives, respec21 tively, and as such it is deemed a part of the rules 

22 of each House, respectively, but applicable only with 

23 respect to the procedure to be followed in that 

24 House in the case of a resolution described in subVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:30 Sep 27, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1625.IS S1625

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1 section (a), and it supersedes other rules only to the 

2 extent that it is inconsistent with such rules; and 

3 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional 

4 right of either House to change the rules (so far as 

5 relating to the procedure of that House) at any time, 

6 in the same manner, and to the same extent as in 

7 the case of any other rule of that House. 

8 SEC. 107. NONAPPEALABILITY OF DECISIONS. 

9 (a) TO PRC.—The closing or consolidation of any fa10 cility or office under this subtitle may not be appealed to 

11 the Postal Regulatory Commission under section 404(d) 

12 of title 39, United States Code, or any other provision of 

13 such title, or the subject of an advisory opinion issued by 

14 the Postal Regulatory Commission under section 3661 of 

15 such title. 

16 (b) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—No process, report, rec17 ommendation, or other action of the Commission on Postal 

18 Reorganization shall be subject to judicial review. 

19 SEC. 108. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 

20 (a) CONTINUED AVAILABILITY OF AUTHORITY TO

21 CLOSE OR CONSOLIDATE POSTAL FACILITIES.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this subtitle shall 

23 be considered to prevent the Postal Service from 

24 closing or consolidating any postal facilities, in ac25 cordance with otherwise applicable provisions of law, 


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1 either before or after the implementation of any clo2 sures or consolidations under this subtitle. 

3 (2) COORDINATION RULE.—No appeal or deter4 mination under section 404(d) of title 39, United 

5 States Code, or any other provision of law shall 

6 delay, prevent, or otherwise affect any closure or 

7 consolidation under this subtitle. 

8 (b) INAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The provisions of law identi10 fied in paragraph (2)— 

11 (A) shall not apply to any closure or con12 solidation carried out under this subtitle; and 

13 (B) shall not be taken into account for 

14 purposes of carrying out section 103 or 104. 

15 (2) PROVISIONS IDENTIFIED.—The provisions 

16 of law under this paragraph are— 

17 (A) section 101(b) of title 39, United 

18 States Code; and 

19 (B) section 404(d) of title 39, United 

20 States Code. 

21 Subtitle B—Other Provisions 

22 SEC. 111. FREQUENCY OF MAIL DELIVERY. 

23 Section 101 of title 39, United States Code, is 

24 amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(h) Nothing in this title or any other provision of 

2 law shall be considered to prevent the Postal Service from 

3 taking whatever actions may be necessary to provide for 

4 5-day delivery of mail and a commensurate adjustment in 

5 rural delivery of mail, subject to the requirements of sec6 tion 3661.’’. 

7 SEC. 112. EFFICIENT AND FLEXIBLE UNIVERSAL POSTAL 

8 SERVICE. 

9 (a) POSTAL POLICY.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 101(b) of title 39, 

11 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(b) The Postal Service shall provide effective and 

13 regular postal services to rural areas, communities, and 

14 small towns where post offices are not self-sustaining.’’. 

15 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(A) Clause 

16 (iii) of section 404(d)(2)(A) of title 39, United 

17 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(iii) whether such closing or consolidation 

19 is consistent with the policy of the Government, 

20 as stated in section 101(b), that the Postal 

21 Service shall provide effective and regular post22 al services to rural areas, communities, and 

23 small towns where post offices are not self-sus24 taining;’’. 


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1 (B) Section 2401(b)(1) of title 39, United 

2 States Code, is amended (in the matter before sub3 paragraph (A)), by striking ‘‘a maximum degree of’’. 

4 (b) GENERAL DUTY.—Paragraph (3) of section 

5 403(b) of title 39, United States Code, is amended to read 

6 as follows: 

7 ‘‘(3) to ensure that postal patrons throughout 

8 the Nation will, consistent with reasonable econo9 mies of postal operations, have ready access to es10 sential postal services.’’. 

11 (c) PRC REVIEW OF DETERMINATIONS TO CLOSE

12 OR CONSOLIDATE A POST OFFICE.— 

13 (1) DEADLINE FOR REVIEW.—Section 

14 404(d)(5) of title 39, United States Code, is amend15 ed by striking ‘‘120 days’’ and inserting ‘‘60 days’’. 

16 (2) EXCLUSION FROM REVIEW.—Section 404(d) 

17 of title 39, United States Code, is amended by add18 ing at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(7)(A) The appeals process set forth in paragraph 

20 (5) shall not apply to a determination of the Postal Service 

21 to close a post office if there is located, within 2 miles 

22 of such post office, a qualified contract postal unit. 

23 ‘‘(B) For purposes of this paragraph— 

24 ‘‘(i) the term ‘contract postal unit’ means a 

25 store or other place of business which— 


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1 ‘‘(I) is not owned or operated by the Postal 

2 Service; and 

3 ‘‘(II) in addition to its usual operations, 

4 provides postal services to the general public 

5 under contract with the Postal Service; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘qualified contract postal unit’, as 

7 used in connection with a post office, means a con8 tract postal unit which— 

9 ‘‘(I) begins to provide postal services to the 

10 general public during the period— 

11 ‘‘(aa) beginning 1 year before the date 

12 on which the closure or consolidation of 

13 such post office is scheduled to take effect; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(bb) ending on the 15th day after 

16 the date on which the closure or consolida17 tion of such post office is scheduled to take 

18 effect; and 

19 ‘‘(II) has not, pursuant to subparagraph 

20 (A), served as the basis for exempting any other 

21 post office from the appeals process set forth in 

22 paragraph (5). 

23 ‘‘(C)(i) If the contract postal unit (which is providing 

24 postal services that had been previously provided by the 

25 post office that was closed) does not continue to provide 


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1 postal services, as required by subparagraph (B)(i)(II), for 

2 at least the 2-year period beginning on the date on which 

3 such post office was closed, the contract postal unit shall 

4 be subject to a closure determination by the Postal Service 

5 to decide whether a post office must be reopened within 

6 the area (delimited by the 2-mile radius referred to in sub7 paragraph (A)). 

8 ‘‘(ii) A decision under clause (i) not to reopen a post 

9 office may be appealed to the Postal Regulatory Commis10 sion under procedures which the Commission shall by reg11 ulation prescribe. Such procedures shall be based on para12 graph (5), except that, for purposes of this clause, para13 graph (5)(C) shall be applied by substituting ‘in violation 

14 of section 101(b), leaving postal patrons without effective 

15 and regular access to postal services’ for ‘unsupported by 

16 substantial evidence on the record’.’’. 

17 (3) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made 

18 by this subsection shall not apply with respect to 

19 any appeal, notice of which is received by the Postal 

20 Regulatory Commission before the date of the enact21 ment of this Act (determined applying the rules set 

22 forth in section 404(d)(6) of title 39, United States 

23 Code). 

24 (d) EXPEDITED PROCEDURES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3661 of title 39, 

2 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

3 end the following: 

4 ‘‘(d)(1) The Commission shall issue its opinion within 

5 90 days after the receipt of any proposal (as referred to 

6 in subsection (b)) concerning— 

7 ‘‘(A) the closing or consolidation of post offices 

8 to a degree that will generally affect service on a na9 tionwide or substantially nationwide basis; or 

10 ‘‘(B) an identical or substantially identical pro11 posal on which the Commission issued an opinion 

12 within the preceding 5 years. 

13 ‘‘(2) If necessary in order to comply with the 90-day 

14 requirement under paragraph (1), the Commission may 

15 apply expedited procedures which the Commission shall by 

16 regulation prescribe.’’. 

17 (2) REGULATIONS.—The Postal Regulatory 

18 Commission shall prescribe any regulations nec19 essary to carry out the amendment made by para20 graph (1) within 90 days after the date of the enact21 ment of this Act. 

22 (3) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by 

23 this subsection shall apply with respect to any pro24 posal received by the Postal Regulatory Commission 

25 on or after the earlier of— 


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1 (A) the 90th day after the date of the en2 actment of this Act; or 

3 (B) the effective date of the regulations 

4 under paragraph (2). 

5 SEC. 113. MORE COST-EFFICIENT POSTAL SERVICE CON6 TRACTING. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 410 of title 39, United 

8 States Code, is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (b), by striking paragraph (4) 

10 and inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘(4) sections 3114–3116, 3118, 3131, and 

12 3133;’’; and 

13 (2) by striking subsection (d). 

14 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by sub15 section (a) shall be effective with respect to contracts and 

16 agreements first entered into on or after the date of the 

17 enactment of this Act. 

18 SEC. 114. ENHANCED REPORTING ON POSTAL SERVICE EF19 FICIENCY. 

20 Section 3652(a) of title 39, United States Code, is 

21 amended— 

22 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

23 the semicolon; 

24 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at 

25 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 


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1 (3) by adding after paragraph (2) the following: 

2 ‘‘(3) which shall provide the overall change in 

3 Postal Service productivity and the resulting effect 

4 of such change on overall Postal Service costs during 

5 such year, using such methodologies as the Commis6 sion shall by regulation prescribe.’’. 

7 TITLE II—POSTAL SERVICE FI8 NANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY 

9 AND MANAGEMENT ASSIST10 ANCE AUTHORITY 

11 Subtitle A—Establishment and 

12 Organization 

13 SEC. 201. PURPOSES. 

14 (a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this title are as fol15 lows: 

16 (1) To eliminate budget deficits and cash short17 ages of the Postal Service through visionary finan18 cial planning, sound budgeting, accurate revenue 

19 forecasts, and careful spending. 

20 (2) To ensure the universal service mandate de21 tailed in section 101 of title 39, United States Code, 

22 is maintained during a period of fiscal emergency. 

23 (3) To conduct necessary investigations and 

24 studies to determine the fiscal status and oper25 ational efficiency of the Postal Service. 


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1 (4) To assist the Postal Service in— 

2 (A) restructuring its organization and 

3 workforce to bring expenses in line with dimin4 ishing revenue and generate sufficient profits 

5 for capital investment and repayment of debt; 

6 (B) meeting all fiscal obligations to the 

7 Treasury of the United States; and 

8 (C) ensuring the appropriate and efficient 

9 delivery of postal services. 

10 (5) To provide the Postal Service with a tem11 porary increase in its borrowing authority to enable 

12 the Postal Service to complete necessary restruc13 turing. 

14 (6) To ensure the long-term financial, fiscal, 

15 and economic vitality and operational efficiency of 

16 the Postal Service. 

17 (b) RESERVATION OF POWERS.—Nothing in this title 

18 may be construed— 

19 (1) to relieve any obligations existing as of the 

20 date of the enactment of this Act of the Postal Serv21 ice to the Treasury of the United States; or 

22 (2) to limit the authority of Congress to exer23 cise ultimate legislative authority over the Postal 

24 Service. 


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1 SEC. 202. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE AUTHORITY. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There shall be established, 

3 upon the commencement of any control period, an entity 

4 to be known as the ‘‘Postal Service Financial Responsi5 bility and Management Assistance Authority’’ (hereinafter 

6 in this title referred to as the ‘‘Authority’’). 

7 (b) CONTROL PERIOD.— 

8 (1) COMMENCEMENT OF A CONTROL PERIOD.— 

9 For purposes of this title, a control period com10 mences whenever the Postal Service has been in de11 fault to the Treasury of the United States, with re12 spect to any loans, bonds, notes, or other form of 

13 borrowing, for a period of at least 30 days. 

14 (2) TREATMENT OF AUTHORITIES AND RESPON15 SIBILITIES OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS, ETC. 

16 DURING A CONTROL PERIOD.—During a control pe17 riod— 

18 (A) all authorities and responsibilities of 

19 the Board of Governors, and the individual 

20 Governors, of the Postal Service under title 39, 

21 United States Code, and any other provision of 

22 law shall be assumed by the Authority; and 

23 (B) the Board of Governors, and the indi24 vidual Governors, may act in an advisory capac25 ity only. 


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1 (3) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN POSTAL SERVICE

2 EXECUTIVES DURING A CONTROL PERIOD.— 

3 (A) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of 

4 this section, the term ‘‘Level-Two Postal Serv5 ice Executive’’ includes the Postmaster General, 

6 the Deputy Postmaster General, and all other 

7 officers or employees of the Postal Service in 

8 level two of the Postal Career Executive Service 

9 (or the equivalent). 

10 (B) TREATMENT.—Notwithstanding any 

11 other provision of law or employment contract, 

12 during a control period— 

13 (i) all Level-Two Postal Service Ex14 ecutives shall serve at the pleasure of the 

15 Authority; 

16 (ii) the duties and responsibilities of 

17 all Level-Two Postal Service Executives, as 

18 well as the terms and conditions of their 

19 employment (including their compensa20 tion), shall be subject to determination or 

21 redetermination by the Authority; 

22 (iii) total compensation of a Level23 Two Postal Service Executive may not, for 

24 any year in such control period, exceed the 

25 annual rate of basic pay payable for level 


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1 I of the Executive Schedule under section 

2 5312 of title 5, United States Code, for 

3 such year; for purposes of this clause, the 

4 term ‘‘total compensation’’ means basic 

5 pay, bonuses, awards, and all other mone6 tary compensation; 

7 (iv) the percentage by which the rate 

8 of basic pay of a Level-Two Postal Service 

9 Executive is increased during any year in 

10 such control period may not exceed the 

11 percentage change in the Consumer Price 

12 Index for All Urban Consumers, unadjust13 ed for seasonal variation, for the most re14 cent 12-month period available, except 

15 that, in the case of a Level-Two Postal 

16 Service Executive who has had a signifi17 cant change in job responsibilities, a great18 er change shall be allowable if approved by 

19 the Authority; 

20 (v) apart from basic pay, a Level-Two 

21 Postal Service Executive may not be af22 forded any bonus, award, or other mone23 tary compensation for any fiscal year in 

24 the control period if expenditures of the 

25 Postal Service for such fiscal year exceeded 


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1 revenues of the Postal Service for such fis2 cal year (determined in accordance with 

3 generally accepted accounting principles); 

4 and 

5 (vi) no deferred compensation may be 

6 paid, accumulated, or recognized in the 

7 case of any Level-Two Postal Service Exec8 utive, with respect to any year in a control 

9 period, which is not generally paid, accu10 mulated, or recognized in the case of em11 ployees of the United States (outside of the 

12 Postal Service) in level I of the Executive 

13 Schedule under section 5312 of title 5, 

14 United States Code, with respect to such 

15 year. 

16 (C) BONUS AUTHORITY.—Section 3686 of 

17 title 39, United States Code, shall, during the 

18 period beginning on the commencement date of 

19 the control period and ending on the termi20 nation date of the control period— 

21 (i) be suspended with respect to all 

22 Level-Two Postal Service Executives; but 

23 (ii) remain in effect for all other offi24 cers and employees of the Postal Service 

25 otherwise covered by this section. 


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1 (4) TERMINATION OF A CONTROL PERIOD.— 

2 Subject to subtitle D, a control period terminates 

3 upon certification by the Authority, with the concur4 rence of the Secretary of the Treasury and the Di5 rector of the Office of Personnel Management, 

6 that— 

7 (A) for 2 consecutive fiscal years (occur8 ring after the date of the enactment of this 

9 Act), expenditures of the Postal Service did not 

10 exceed revenues of the Postal Service (as deter11 mined in accordance with generally accepted ac12 counting principles); 

13 (B) the Authority has approved a Postal 

14 Service financial plan and budget that shows 

15 expenditures of the Postal Service not exceeding 

16 revenues of the Postal Service (as so deter17 mined) for the fiscal year to which such budget 

18 pertains and each of the next 3 fiscal years; 

19 and 

20 (C) the Postal Service financial plan and 

21 budget (as referred to in subparagraph (B)) in22 cludes plans to properly fund Postal Service 

23 pensions and retiree health benefits in accord24 ance with law. 


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1 SEC. 203. MEMBERSHIP AND QUALIFICATION REQUIRE2 MENTS. 

3 (a) MEMBERSHIP.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Authority shall consist 

5 of 5 members appointed by the President who meet 

6 the qualifications described in subsection (b), except 

7 that the Authority may take any action under this 

8 title at any time after the President has appointed 

9 4 of its members. 

10 (2) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Of the 5 members so 

11 appointed— 

12 (A) 1 shall be appointed from among indi13 viduals recommended by the Speaker of the 

14 House of Representatives; 

15 (B) 1 shall be appointed from among indi16 viduals recommended by the majority leader of 

17 the Senate; 

18 (C) 1 shall be appointed from among indi19 viduals recommended by the minority leader of 

20 the House of Representatives; 

21 (D) 1 shall be appointed from among indi22 viduals recommended by the minority leader of 

23 the Senate; and 

24 (E) 1 shall be appointed from among indi25 viduals recommended by the Comptroller Gen26 eral. 


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1 (3) POLITICAL AFFILIATION.—No more than 3 

2 members of the Authority may be of the same polit3 ical party. 

4 (4) CHAIR.—The President shall designate 1 of 

5 the members of the Authority as the Chair of the 

6 Authority. 

7 (5) SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING DEAD8 LINE FOR APPOINTMENT.—It is the sense of Con9 gress that the President should appoint the members 

10 of the Authority as soon as practicable after the 

11 date on which a control period commences, but no 

12 later than 30 days after such date. 

13 (6) TERM OF SERVICE.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

15 subparagraph (B), each member of the Author16 ity shall be appointed for a term of 3 years. 

17 (B) APPOINTMENT FOR TERM FOLLOWING

18 INITIAL TERM.—As designated by the President 

19 at the time of appointment for the term imme20 diately following the initial term, of the mem21 bers appointed for the term immediately fol22 lowing the initial term— 

23 (i) 1 member shall be appointed for a 

24 term of 1 year; 


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1 (ii) 2 members shall be appointed for 

2 a term of 2 years; and 

3 (iii) 2 members shall be appointed for 

4 a term of 3 years. 

5 (C) REMOVAL.—The President may re6 move any member of the Authority only for 

7 cause. 

8 (D) NO COMPENSATION FOR SERVICE.— 

9 Members of the Authority shall serve without 

10 pay, but may receive reimbursement for any 

11 reasonable and necessary expenses incurred by 

12 reason of service on the Authority. 

13 (b) QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—An individual meets the 

15 qualifications for membership on the Authority if the 

16 individual— 

17 (A) has significant knowledge and exper18 tise in finance, management, and the organiza19 tion or operation of businesses having more 

20 than 500 employees; and 

21 (B) represents the public interest gen22 erally, is not a representative of specific inter23 ests using or belonging to the Postal Service, 

24 and does not have any business or financial in25 terest in any enterprise in the private sector of 


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1 the economy engaged in the delivery of mail 

2 matter. 

3 (2) SPECIFIC CONDITIONS.—An individual shall 

4 not be considered to satisfy paragraph (1)(B) if, at 

5 any time during the 5-year period ending on the 

6 date of appointment, such individual— 

7 (A) has been an officer, employee, or pri8 vate contractor with the Postal Service or the 

9 Postal Regulatory Commission; or 

10 (B) has served as an employee or con11 tractor of a labor organization representing em12 ployees of the Postal Service or the Postal Reg13 ulatory Commission. 

14 SEC. 204. ORGANIZATION. 

15 (a) ADOPTION OF BY-LAWS FOR CONDUCTING BUSI16 NESS.—As soon as practicable after the appointment of 

17 its members, the Authority shall adopt by-laws, rules, and 

18 procedures governing its activities under this title, includ19 ing procedures for hiring experts and consultants. Upon 

20 adoption, such by-laws, rules, and procedures shall be sub21 mitted by the Authority to the Postmaster General, the 

22 President, and Congress. 

23 (b) CERTAIN ACTIVITIES REQUIRING APPROVAL OF

24 MAJORITY OF MEMBERS.—Under its by-laws, the Author25 ity may conduct its operations under such procedures as 


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1 it considers appropriate, except that an affirmative vote 

2 of a majority of the members of the Authority shall be 

3 required in order for the Authority to— 

4 (1) approve or disapprove a financial plan and 

5 budget as described by subtitle C; 

6 (2) implement recommendations on financial 

7 stability and management responsibility under sec8 tion 225; 

9 (3) take any action under authority of section 

10 202(b)(3)(B)(i); 

11 (4) require the immediate renegotiation of an 

12 existing collective bargaining agreement in accord13 ance with section 211(g)(1); or 

14 (5) reject, modify, or terminate 1 or more terms 

15 of an existing collective bargaining agreement in ac16 cordance with section 211(g)(2). 

17 SEC. 205. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND STAFF. 

18 (a) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The Authority shall 

19 have an Executive Director who shall be appointed by the 

20 Chair with the consent of the Authority. The Executive 

21 Director shall be paid at a rate determined by the Author22 ity, except that such rate may not exceed the rate of basic 

23 pay payable for level IV of the Executive Schedule under 

24 section 5315 of title 5, United States Code. 


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1 (b) STAFF.—With the approval of the Authority, the 

2 Executive Director may appoint and fix the pay of such 

3 additional personnel as the Executive Director considers 

4 appropriate, except that no individual appointed by the 

5 Executive Director may be paid at a rate greater than the 

6 rate of pay for the Executive Director. Personnel ap7 pointed under this subsection shall serve at the pleasure 

8 of the Executive Director. 

9 (c) INAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL SERVICE

10 LAWS.—The Executive Director and staff of the Authority 

11 may be appointed without regard to the provisions of title 

12 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the 

13 competitive service, and paid without regard to the provi14 sions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of 

15 such title relating to classification and General Schedule 

16 pay rates. 

17 (d) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon request 

18 of the Chair, the head of any Federal department or agen19 cy may detail, on a reimbursable or nonreimbursable basis, 

20 any of the personnel of such department or agency to the 

21 Authority to assist it in carrying out its duties under this 

22 title. 

23 SEC. 206. FUNDING. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro25 priated, out of the Postal Service Fund, such sums as may 


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1 be necessary for the Authority. In requesting an appro2 priation under this section for a fiscal year, the Authority 

3 shall prepare and submit to the Congress under section 

4 2009 of title 39, United States Code, a budget of the 

5 Authority’s expenses, including expenses for facilities, sup6 plies, compensation, and employee benefits not to exceed 

7 $10,000,000. In years in which a control period com8 mences, the Authority shall submit a budget within 30 

9 days of the appointment of the members of the Authority. 

10 (b) AMENDMENT TO SECTION 2009.—Section 2009 

11 of title 39, United States Code, is amended in the next 

12 to last sentence— 

13 (1) by striking ‘‘, and (3)’’ and inserting ‘‘, 

14 (3)’’; and 

15 (2) by striking the period and inserting ‘‘, and 

16 (4) the Postal Service Financial Responsibility and 

17 Management Assistance Authority requests to be ap18 propriated, out of the Postal Service Fund, under 

19 section 206 of the Postal Reform Act of 2011.’’. 

20 Subtitle B—Powers of the 

21 Authority 

22 SEC. 211. POWERS. 

23 (a) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any mem24 ber or agent of the Authority may, if authorized by the 


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1 Authority, take any action which the Authority is author2 ized by this section to take. 

3 (b) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA FROM THE POSTAL

4 SERVICE.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 

5 the Authority may secure copies of such records, docu6 ments, information, or data from any entity of the Postal 

7 Service necessary to enable the Authority to carry out its 

8 responsibilities under this title. At the request of the Au9 thority, the Authority shall be granted direct access to 

10 such information systems, records, documents, informa11 tion, or data as will enable the Authority to carry out its 

12 responsibilities under this title. The head of the relevant 

13 entity of the Postal Service shall provide the Authority 

14 with such information and assistance (including granting 

15 the Authority direct access to automated or other informa16 tion systems) as the Authority requires under this sub17 section. 

18 (c) GIFTS, BEQUESTS, AND DEVISES.—The Author19 ity may accept, use, and dispose of gifts, bequests, or de20 vises of services or property, both real and personal, for 

21 the purpose of aiding or facilitating the work of the Au22 thority. Gifts, bequests, or devises of money and proceeds 

23 from sales of other property received as gifts, bequests, 

24 or devises shall be deposited in such account as the AuVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:30 Sep 27, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00051 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1625.IS S1625

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1 thority may establish and shall be available for disburse2 ment upon order of the Chair. 

3 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—Upon 

4 the request of the Authority, the Administrator of General 

5 Services may provide to the Authority, on a reimbursable 

6 basis, the administrative support services necessary for the 

7 Authority to carry out its responsibilities under this title. 

8 (e) AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO CONTRACTS.—The 

9 Executive Director may enter into such contracts as the 

10 Executive Director considers appropriate (subject to the 

11 approval of the Chair) to carry out the Authority’s respon12 sibilities under this title. 

13 (f) CIVIL ACTIONS TO ENFORCE POWERS.—The Au14 thority may seek judicial enforcement of its authority to 

15 carry out its responsibilities under this title. 

16 (g) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.—Notwithstanding 

17 any other provision of law— 

18 (1) the Authority may require the renegotiation 

19 of an existing collective bargaining agreement to 

20 achieve specific economic savings and workforce 

21 flexibility goals; and 

22 (2) after meeting and conferring with the ap23 propriate bargaining representative, the Authority 

24 may reject, modify, or terminate 1 or more terms or 


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1 conditions of an existing collective bargaining agree2 ment if— 

3 (A) a prompt and satisfactory agreement 

4 under paragraph (1) is unlikely; and 

5 (B) in the judgment of the Authority, the 

6 rejection, modification, or termination— 

7 (i) is reasonable and necessary for the 

8 Postal Service to be a financially viable 

9 provider of universal postal service to the 

10 Nation; and 

11 (ii) is designed to achieve the specific 

12 economic savings or workforce flexibility 

13 goals (as the case may be) referred to in 

14 paragraph (1). 

15 (h) PENALTIES.— 

16 (1) ADMINISTRATIVE DISCIPLINE.—Any officer 

17 or employee of the Postal Service who takes or fails 

18 to take any action which is noncompliant with any 

19 directive or other order of the Authority under sec20 tion 225(c) shall be subject to appropriate adminis21 trative discipline, including suspension from duty 

22 without pay or removal from office, by order of ei23 ther the Postmaster General or the Authority. 

24 (2) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Whenever an 

25 officer or employee of the Postal Service takes or 


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1 fails to take any action which is noncompliant with 

2 any directive or other order of the Authority under 

3 section 225(c), the Postmaster General shall imme4 diately report to the Authority all pertinent facts, to5 gether with a statement of any actions taken by the 

6 Postmaster General or proposed by the Postmaster 

7 General to be taken under paragraph (1). 

8 SEC. 212. EXEMPTION FROM LIABILITY FOR CLAIMS. 

9 The Authority and its members may not be liable for 

10 any obligation of or claim against the Postal Service re11 sulting from actions taken to carry out this title. 

12 SEC. 213. TREATMENT OF ACTIONS ARISING UNDER THIS 

13 TITLE. 

14 (a) JURISDICTION ESTABLISHED IN UNITED STATES

15 COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.— 

16 A person (including the Postal Service) adversely affected 

17 or aggrieved by an order or decision of the Authority may, 

18 within 30 days after such order or decision becomes final, 

19 institute proceedings for review thereof by filing a petition 

20 in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of 

21 Columbia. The court shall review the order or decision in 

22 accordance with section 706 of title 5, United States Code, 

23 and chapter 158 and section 2112 of title 28, United 

24 States Code, on the basis of the record before the Author25 ity. 


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1 (b) PROMPT APPEAL TO THE SUPREME COURT.— 

2 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, review by the 

3 Supreme Court of the United States of a decision of the 

4 Court of Appeals which is issued pursuant to subsection 

5 (a) may be had only if the petition for such review is filed 

6 within 10 days after the entry of such decision. 

7 (c) TIMING OF RELIEF.—No order of any court 

8 granting declaratory or injunctive relief against the Au9 thority, including relief permitting or requiring the obliga10 tion, borrowing, or expenditure of funds, shall take effect 

11 during the pendency of the action before such court, dur12 ing the time appeal may be taken, or (if appeal is taken) 

13 during the period before the court has entered its final 

14 order disposing of such action. 

15 (d) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION.—It shall be the 

16 duty of the United States Court of Appeals for the District 

17 of Columbia and the Supreme Court of the United States 

18 to advance on the docket and to expedite to the greatest 

19 possible extent the disposition of any matter brought 

20 under subsection (a). 


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1 Subtitle C—Establishment and En2 forcement of Financial Plan and 

3 Budget for the Postal Service 

4 SEC. 221. DEVELOPMENT OF FINANCIAL PLAN AND BUDG5 ET FOR THE POSTAL SERVICE. 

6 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF FINANCIAL PLAN AND BUDG7 ET.—For each fiscal year for which the Postal Service is 

8 in a control period, the Postmaster General shall develop 

9 and submit to the Authority a financial plan and budget 

10 for the Postal Service in accordance with this section. 

11 (b) CONTENTS OF FINANCIAL PLAN AND BUDGET.— 

12 A financial plan and budget for the Postal Service for a 

13 fiscal year shall specify the budget for the Postal Service 

14 as required by section 2009 of title 39, United States 

15 Code, for the applicable fiscal year and the next 3 fiscal 

16 years, in accordance with the following requirements: 

17 (1) The financial plan and budget shall meet 

18 the standards described in subsection (c) to promote 

19 the financial stability of the Postal Service. 

20 (2) The financial plan and budget shall— 

21 (A) include the Postal Service’s annual 

22 budget program (under section 2009 of title 39, 

23 United States Code) and the Postal Service’s 

24 plan commonly referred to as its ‘‘Integrated 

25 Financial Plan’’; 


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1 (B) describe lump-sum expenditures by all 

2 categories traditionally used by the Postal Serv3 ice; 

4 (C) describe capital expenditures (together 

5 with a schedule of projected capital commit6 ments and cash outlays of the Postal Service 

7 and proposed sources of funding); 

8 (D) contain estimates of overall debt (both 

9 outstanding and anticipated to be issued); and 

10 (E) contain cash flow and liquidity fore11 casts for the Postal Service at such intervals as 

12 the Authority may require. 

13 (3) The financial plan and budget shall include 

14 a statement describing methods of estimations and 

15 significant assumptions. 

16 (4) The financial plan and budget shall include 

17 any other provisions and shall meet such other cri18 teria as the Authority considers appropriate to meet 

19 the purposes of this title, including provisions for— 

20 (A) changes in personnel policies and levels 

21 for each component of the Postal Service; and 

22 (B) management initiatives to promote 

23 productivity, improvement in the delivery of 

24 services, or cost savings. 


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1 (c) STANDARDS TO PROMOTE FINANCIAL STA2 BILITY.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The standards to promote 

4 the financial stability of the Postal Service applica5 ble to the financial plan and budget for a fiscal year 

6 are as follows: 

7 (A) In each fiscal year (following the first 

8 full fiscal year) in a control period, budgeted 

9 expenditures of the Postal Service for the fiscal 

10 year involved may not exceed budgeted revenues 

11 of the Postal Service for the fiscal year in12 volved. 

13 (B) In each fiscal year in a control period, 

14 the Postal Service shall make continuous, sub15 stantial progress towards long-term fiscal sol16 vency and shall have either a lower deficit or 

17 greater surplus than in the previous fiscal year. 

18 (C) The financial plan and budget shall as19 sure the continuing long-term financial stability 

20 of the Postal Service, as indicated by factors 

21 such as the efficient management of the Postal 

22 Service’s workforce and the effective provision 

23 of services by the Postal Service. 

24 (2) APPLICATION OF SOUND BUDGETARY PRAC25 TICES.—In meeting the standard described in paraVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:30 Sep 27, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00058 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1625.IS S1625

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1 graph (1) with respect to a financial plan and budg2 et for a fiscal year, the Postal Service shall apply 

3 sound budgetary practices, including reducing costs 

4 and other expenditures, improving productivity, in5 creasing revenues, or a combination of such prac6 tices. 

7 (3) ASSUMPTIONS BASED ON CURRENT LAW.— 

8 In meeting the standards described in paragraph (1) 

9 with respect to a financial plan and budget for a fis10 cal year, the Postal Service shall base estimates of 

11 revenues and expenditures on Federal law as in ef12 fect at the time of the preparation of such financial 

13 plan and budget. 

14 SEC. 222. PROCESS FOR SUBMISSION AND APPROVAL OF FI15 NANCIAL PLAN AND BUDGET. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year for which the 

17 Postal Service is in a control period, the Postmaster Gen18 eral shall submit to the Authority— 

19 (1) by February 1 before the start of such fiscal 

20 year, a preliminary financial plan and budget under 

21 section 221 for such fiscal year; and 

22 (2) by August 31 before the start of such fiscal 

23 year, a final financial plan and budget under section 

24 221 for such fiscal year. 


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1 (b) REVIEW BY AUTHORITY.—Upon receipt of a fi2 nancial plan and budget under subsection (a) (whether 

3 preliminary or final), the Authority shall promptly review 

4 such financial plan and budget. In conducting the review, 

5 the Authority may request any additional information it 

6 considers necessary and appropriate to carry out its duties 

7 under this subtitle. 

8 (c) APPROVAL OF POSTMASTER GENERAL’S FINAN9 CIAL PLAN AND BUDGET.— 

10 (1) CERTIFICATION TO POSTMASTER GEN11 ERAL.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the Authority deter13 mines that the final financial plan and budget 

14 for the fiscal year submitted by the Postmaster 

15 General under subsection (a) meets the require16 ments of section 221— 

17 (i) the Authority shall approve the fi18 nancial plan and budget and shall provide 

19 the Postmaster General, the President, and 

20 Congress with a notice certifying its ap21 proval; and 

22 (ii) the Postmaster General shall 

23 promptly submit the annual budget pro24 gram to the Office of Management and 


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1 Budget pursuant to section 2009 of title 

2 39, United States Code. 

3 (B) DEEMED APPROVAL AFTER 30 DAYS.— 

4 (i) IN GENERAL.—If the Authority 

5 has not provided the Postmaster General, 

6 the President, and Congress with a notice 

7 certifying approval under subparagraph 

8 (A)(i) or a statement of disapproval under 

9 subsection (d) before the expiration of the 

10 30-day period which begins on the date the 

11 Authority receives the financial plan and 

12 budget from the Postmaster General under 

13 subsection (a), the Authority shall be 

14 deemed to have approved the financial plan 

15 and budget and to have provided the Post16 master General, the President, and Con17 gress with the notice certifying approval 

18 under subparagraph (A)(i). 

19 (ii) EXPLANATION OF FAILURE TO

20 RESPOND.—If clause (i) applies with re21 spect to a financial plan and budget, the 

22 Authority shall provide the Postmaster 

23 General, the President and Congress with 

24 an explanation for its failure to provide the 

25 notice certifying approval or the statement 


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1 of disapproval during the 30-day period de2 scribed in such clause. 

3 (d) DISAPPROVAL OF POSTMASTER GENERAL’S

4 BUDGET.—If the Authority determines that the final fi5 nancial plan and budget for the fiscal year submitted by 

6 the Postmaster General under subsection (a) does not 

7 meet the requirements applicable under section 221, the 

8 Authority shall disapprove the financial plan and budget, 

9 and shall provide the Postmaster General, the President, 

10 and Congress with a statement containing— 

11 (1) the reasons for such disapproval; 

12 (2) the amount of any shortfall in the budget 

13 or financial plan; and 

14 (3) any recommendations for revisions to the 

15 budget the Authority considers appropriate to ensure 

16 that the budget is consistent with the financial plan 

17 and budget. 

18 (e) AUTHORITY REVIEW OF POSTMASTER GEN19 ERAL’S REVISED FINAL FINANCIAL PLAN AND BUDG20 ET.— 

21 (1) SUBMISSION OF POSTMASTER GENERAL’S

22 REVISED FINAL FINANCIAL PLAN AND BUDGET.— 

23 Not later than 15 days after receiving the statement 

24 from the Authority under subsection (d), the Post25 master General shall promptly adopt a revised final 


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1 financial plan and budget for the fiscal year which 

2 addresses the reasons for the Authority’s disapproval 

3 cited in the statement, and shall submit such finan4 cial plan and budget to the Authority. 

5 (2) APPROVAL OF POSTMASTER GENERAL’S RE6 VISED FINAL FINANCIAL PLAN AND BUDGET.—If, 

7 after reviewing the revised final financial plan and 

8 budget for a fiscal year submitted by the Postmaster 

9 General under paragraph (1) in accordance with the 

10 procedures described in this section, the Authority 

11 determines that the revised final financial plan and 

12 budget meets the requirements applicable under sec13 tion 221— 

14 (A) the Authority shall approve the finan15 cial plan and budget and shall provide the Post16 master General, the President, and Congress 

17 with a notice certifying its approval; and 

18 (B) the Postmaster General shall promptly 

19 submit the annual budget program to the Office 

20 of Management and Budget pursuant to section 

21 2009 of title 39, United States Code. 

22 (3) DISAPPROVAL OF POSTMASTER GENERAL’S

23 REVISED FINAL FINANCIAL PLAN AND BUDGET.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—If, after reviewing the 

25 revised final financial plan and budget for a fisVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:30 Sep 27, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00063 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1625.IS S1625

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1 cal year submitted by the Postmaster General 

2 under paragraph (1) in accordance with the 

3 procedures described in this subsection, the Au4 thority determines that the revised final finan5 cial plan and budget does not meet the applica6 ble requirements under section 221, the Author7 ity shall— 

8 (i) disapprove the financial plan and 

9 budget; 

10 (ii) provide the Postmaster General, 

11 the President, and Congress with a state12 ment containing the reasons for such dis13 approval and describing the amount of any 

14 shortfall in the financial plan and budget; 

15 and 

16 (iii) approve and recommend a finan17 cial plan and budget for the Postal Service 

18 which meets the applicable requirements 

19 under section 221, and submit such finan20 cial plan and budget to the Postmaster 

21 General, the President, and Congress. 

22 (B) SUBMISSION TO OMB.—Upon receipt 

23 of the recommended financial plan and budget 

24 subparagraph (A)(iii), the Postmaster General 

25 shall promptly submit the recommended annual 


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1 budget program to the Office of Management 

2 and Budget pursuant to section 2009 of title 

3 39, United States Code. 

4 (4) DEEMED APPROVAL AFTER 15 DAYS.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the Authority has 

6 not provided the Postmaster General, the Presi7 dent, and Congress with a notice certifying ap8 proval under paragraph (2)(A) or a statement 

9 of disapproval under paragraph (3) before the 

10 expiration of the 15-day period which begins on 

11 the date the Authority receives the revised final 

12 financial plan and budget submitted by the 

13 Postmaster General under paragraph (1), the 

14 Authority shall be deemed to have approved the 

15 revised final financial plan and budget and to 

16 have provided the Postmaster General, the 

17 President, and Congress with the notice certi18 fying approval described in paragraph (2)(A). 

19 (B) EXPLANATION OF FAILURE TO RE20 SPOND.—If subparagraph (A) applies with re21 spect to a financial plan and budget, the Au22 thority shall provide the Postmaster General, 

23 the President and Congress with an explanation 

24 for its failure to provide the notice certifying 

25 approval or the statement of disapproval during 


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1 the 15-day period described in such subpara2 graph. 

3 (f) DEADLINE FOR TRANSMISSION OF FINANCIAL

4 PLAN AND BUDGET BY AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding 

5 any other provision of this section, not later than June 

6 15 before each fiscal year which is a control period, the 

7 Authority shall— 

8 (1) provide Congress with a notice certifying its 

9 approval of the Postmaster General’s initial financial 

10 plan and budget for the fiscal year under subsection 

11 (c)(1); 

12 (2) provide Congress with a notice certifying its 

13 approval of the Postmaster General’s revised final fi14 nancial plan and budget for the fiscal year under 

15 subsection (e)(2); or 

16 (3) submit to Congress an approved and rec17 ommended financial plan and budget of the Author18 ity for the Postal Service for the fiscal year under 

19 subsection (e)(3)(A)(iii). 

20 (g) REVISIONS TO FINANCIAL PLAN AND BUDGET.— 

21 (1) PERMITTING POSTMASTER GENERAL TO

22 SUBMIT REVISIONS.—The Postmaster General may 

23 submit proposed revisions to the financial plan and 

24 budget for a control period to the Authority at any 

25 time during the year. 


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1 (2) PROCESS FOR REVIEW, APPROVAL, DIS2 APPROVAL, AND POSTMASTER GENERAL ACTION.— 

3 Except as provided in paragraph (3), the procedures 

4 described in subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) shall 

5 apply with respect to a proposed revision to a finan6 cial plan and budget in the same manner as such 

7 procedures apply with respect to the original finan8 cial plan and budget. 

9 (3) EXCEPTION FOR REVISIONS NOT AFFECT10 ING SPENDING.—To the extent that a proposed revi11 sion to a financial plan and budget adopted by the 

12 Postmaster General pursuant to this subsection does 

13 not increase the amount of spending with respect to 

14 any account of the Postal Service, the revision shall 

15 become effective upon the Authority’s approval of 

16 such revision. 

17 SEC. 223. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE AUTHORITY. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Authority shall direct the ex19 ercise of the powers of the Postal Service, including— 

20 (1) determining its vision and overall strategies; 

21 (2) determining its organizational structure, 

22 particularly for senior management at the level of 

23 vice president and higher; 

24 (3) hiring, monitoring, compensating, and, 

25 when necessary, replacing senior management at the 


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1 level of vice president and higher, as well as ensur2 ing adequate succession planning for these positions; 

3 (4) approving major policies, particularly those 

4 that have an important effect on the Postal Service’s 

5 financial position and the provision of universal 

6 postal service; 

7 (5) approving corporate budgets, financial and 

8 capital plans, operational and service performance 

9 standards and targets, human resources strategies, 

10 collective bargaining strategies, negotiation param11 eters, and collective bargaining agreements, and the 

12 compensation structure for nonbargaining employ13 ees; 

14 (6) approving substantial capital projects and 

15 any substantial disposition of capital assets, such as 

16 surplus property; 

17 (7) approving changes in rates and classifica18 tions, new products and services, policy regarding 

19 other substantial matters before the Postal Regu20 latory Commission, and any appeals of its decisions 

21 or orders to the Federal courts; 

22 (8) approving the Postal Service Annual Re23 port, Annual Comprehensive Statement, and stra24 tegic plans, performance plans, and performance 


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1 program reports under chapter 28 of title 39, 

2 United States Code; 

3 (9) formulating and communicating organiza4 tional policy and positions on legislative and other 

5 public policy matters to Congress and the public; 

6 (10) ensuring organizational responsiveness to 

7 oversight by Congress, the Postal Regulatory Com8 mission, the Treasury of the United States, and 

9 other audit entities; 

10 (11) ensuring adequate internal controls and 

11 selecting, monitoring, and compensating an inde12 pendent public accounting firm to conduct an annual 

13 audit of the Postal Service; and 

14 (12) carrying out any responsibility, not other15 wise listed in this subsection, that was the responsi16 bility of the Board of Governors at any time during 

17 the 5-year period ending on the date of the enact18 ment of this Act. 

19 (b) REVIEW OF POSTAL SERVICE PROPOSALS.— 

20 (1) SUBMISSION OF POSTAL SERVICE PRO21 POSALS TO THE AUTHORITY.—During a control pe22 riod, the Postmaster General shall submit to the Au23 thority any proposal that has a substantial effect on 

24 any item listed in subsection (a). 


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1 (2) PROMPT REVIEW BY AUTHORITY.—Upon re2 ceipt of a proposal from the Postmaster General 

3 under paragraph (1), the Authority shall promptly 

4 review the proposal to determine whether it is con5 sistent with the applicable financial plan and budget 

6 approved under this title. 

7 (3) ACTIONS BY AUTHORITY.— 

8 (A) APPROVAL.—If the Authority deter9 mines that a proposal is consistent with the ap10 plicable financial plan and budget, the Author11 ity shall notify the Postmaster General that it 

12 approves the proposal. 

13 (B) FINDING OF INCONSISTENCY.—If the 

14 Authority determines that a proposal is signifi15 cantly inconsistent with the applicable financial 

16 plan and budget, the Authority shall— 

17 (i) notify the Postmaster General of 

18 its finding; 

19 (ii) provide the Postmaster General 

20 with an explanation of the reasons for its 

21 finding; and 

22 (iii) to the extent the Authority con23 siders appropriate, provide the Postmaster 

24 General with recommendations for modi25 fications to the proposal. 


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1 (4) DEEMED APPROVAL.—If the Authority does 

2 not notify the Postmaster General that it approves 

3 or disapproves a proposal submitted under this sub4 section during the 7-day period which begins on the 

5 date the Postmaster General submits the proposal to 

6 the Authority, the Authority shall be deemed to have 

7 approved the proposal in accordance with paragraph 

8 (3)(A). At the option of the Authority, the previous 

9 sentence shall be applied as if the reference in such 

10 sentence to ‘‘7-day period’’ were a reference to ‘‘14- 

11 day period’’ if, during the 7-day period referred to 

12 in the preceding sentence, the Authority so notifies 

13 the Postmaster General. 

14 (c) EFFECT OF APPROVED FINANCIAL PLAN AND

15 BUDGET ON CONTRACTS AND LEASES.— 

16 (1) MANDATORY PRIOR APPROVAL FOR CER17 TAIN CONTRACTS AND LEASES.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a con19 tract or lease described in subparagraph (B) 

20 which is proposed to be entered into, renewed, 

21 modified, or extended by the Postal Service dur22 ing a control period, the Postmaster General 

23 (or the appropriate officer or agent of the Post24 al Service) shall submit the proposed contract 

25 or lease to the Authority. The Authority shall 


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1 review each contract or lease submitted under 

2 this subparagraph, and the Postmaster General 

3 (or the appropriate officer or agent of the Post4 al Service) may not enter into the contract or 

5 lease unless the Authority determines that the 

6 proposed contract or lease is consistent with the 

7 financial plan and budget for the fiscal year. 

8 (B) CONTRACTS AND LEASES DE9 SCRIBED.—A contract or lease described in this 

10 subparagraph is— 

11 (i) a labor contract entered into 

12 through collective bargaining; or 

13 (ii) such other type of contract or 

14 lease as the Authority may specify for pur15 poses of this subparagraph. 

16 (2) AUTHORITY TO REVIEW OTHER CONTRACTS

17 AFTER EXECUTION.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the prior 

19 approval of certain contracts and leases, the 

20 Postal Service shall submit to the Authority— 

21 (i) any Level-Two Post Career Execu22 tive Service employee contract that is in ef23 fect during a control period; and 


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1 (ii) any collective bargaining agree2 ment entered into by the Postal Service 

3 that is in effect during a control period. 

4 Any such contract or agreement shall be sub5 mitted to the Authority upon the commence6 ment of a control period and at such other 

7 times as the Authority may require. 

8 (B) REVIEW BY AUTHORITY.—The Author9 ity shall review each contract submitted under 

10 subparagraph (A) to determine if the contract 

11 is consistent with the financial plan and budget 

12 for the fiscal year. If the Authority determines 

13 that the contract is not consistent with the fi14 nancial plan and budget, the Authority shall 

15 take such actions as are within the Authority’s 

16 powers to revise the contract. 

17 SEC. 224. EFFECT OF FINDING NONCOMPLIANCE WITH FI18 NANCIAL PLAN AND BUDGET. 

19 (a) SUBMISSION OF REPORTS.—Not later than 30 

20 days after the expiration of each quarter of each fiscal 

21 year beginning in a control period, the Postmaster General 

22 shall submit reports to the Authority describing the actual 

23 revenues obtained and expenditures made by the Postal 

24 Service during the quarter with its cash flows during the 

25 quarter, and comparing such actual revenues, expendiVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:30 Sep 27, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00073 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1625.IS S1625

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1 tures, and cash flows with the most recent projections for 

2 these items. 

3 (b) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—If the Authority 

4 determines, based on reports submitted by the Postmaster 

5 General under subsection (a), independent audits, or such 

6 other information as the Authority may obtain, that the 

7 revenues or expenditures of the Postal Service during a 

8 control period are not consistent with the financial plan 

9 and budget for the year, the Authority shall require the 

10 Postmaster General to provide such additional information 

11 as the Authority determines to be necessary to explain the 

12 inconsistency. 

13 (c) CERTIFICATION OF VARIANCE.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—After requiring the Post15 master General to provide additional information 

16 under subsection (b), the Authority shall certify to 

17 the Postmaster General, the President, the Secretary 

18 of the Treasury, and Congress that the Postal Serv19 ice is at variance with the financial plan and budget 

20 unless— 

21 (A) the additional information provides an 

22 explanation for the inconsistency which the Au23 thority finds reasonable and appropriate; or 

24 (B)(i) the Postal Service adopts or imple25 ments remedial action (including revising the fiVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:30 Sep 27, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00074 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1625.IS S1625

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1 nancial plan and budget pursuant to section 

2 222(g)) to correct the inconsistency which the 

3 Authority finds reasonable and appropriate, 

4 taking into account the terms of the financial 

5 plan and budget; and 

6 (ii) the Postmaster General agrees to sub7 mit the reports described in subsection (a) on 

8 a monthly basis for such period as the Author9 ity may require. 

10 (2) SPECIAL RULE FOR INCONSISTENCIES AT11 TRIBUTABLE TO ACTS OF CONGRESS.— 

12 (A) DETERMINATION BY AUTHORITY.—If 

13 the Authority determines that the revenues or 

14 expenditures of the Postal Service during a con15 trol period are not consistent with the financial 

16 plan and budget for the year as approved by 

17 the Authority under section 222 as a result of 

18 the terms and conditions of any law enacted by 

19 Congress which affects the Postal Service, the 

20 Authority shall so notify the Postmaster Gen21 eral. 

22 (B) CERTIFICATION.—In the case of an in23 consistency described in subparagraph (A), the 

24 Authority shall certify to the Postmaster Gen25 eral, the President, the Secretary of the TreasVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:30 Sep 27, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00075 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1625.IS S1625

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1 ury, and Congress that the Postal Service is at 

2 variance with the financial plan and budget un3 less the Postal Service adopts or implements re4 medial action (including revising the financial 

5 plan and budget pursuant to section 202(e)) to 

6 correct the inconsistency which the Authority 

7 finds reasonable and appropriate, taking into 

8 account the terms of the financial plan and 

9 budget. 

10 (d) EFFECT OF CERTIFICATION.—If the Authority 

11 certifies to the Secretary of the Treasury that a variance 

12 exists the Authority or the Secretary may withhold access 

13 by the Postal Service to additional supplementary debt au14 thorized by this title. 

15 SEC. 225. RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING FINANCIAL 

16 STABILITY, ETC. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Authority may at any time 

18 submit recommendations to the Postmaster General, the 

19 President, and Congress on actions the Postal Service or 

20 any other entity of the Federal Government should take 

21 to ensure compliance by the Postal Service with a financial 

22 plan and budget or to otherwise promote the financial sta23 bility, management responsibility, and service delivery effi24 ciency of the Postal Service, including recommendations 

25 relating to— 


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1 (1) the management of the Postal Service’s fi2 nancial affairs, including cash forecasting, informa3 tion technology, placing controls on expenditures for 

4 personnel, reducing benefit costs, reforming procure5 ment practices, and placing other controls on ex6 penditures; 

7 (2) the relationship between the Postal Service 

8 and other entities of the Federal Government; 

9 (3) the structural relationship of subdivisions 

10 within the Postal Service; 

11 (4) the modification of existing revenue struc12 tures, or the establishment of additional revenue 

13 structures; 

14 (5) the establishment of alternatives for meet15 ing obligations to pay for the pensions and retire16 ment benefits of current and future Postal Service 

17 retirees; 

18 (6) modifications of services which are the re19 sponsibility of and are delivered by the Postal Serv20 ice; 

21 (7) modifications of the types of services which 

22 are delivered by entities other than the Postal Serv23 ice under alternative service delivery mechanisms; 

24 (8) the effects of Federal Government laws and 

25 court orders on the operations of the Postal Service; 


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1 (9) the increased use of a personnel system for 

2 employees of the Postal Service which is based upon 

3 employee performance standards; and 

4 (10) the improvement of personnel training and 

5 proficiency, the adjustment of staffing levels, and 

6 the improvement of training and performance of 

7 management and supervisory personnel. 

8 (b) RESPONSE TO RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACTIONS

9 WITHIN AUTHORITY OF POSTAL SERVICE.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any rec11 ommendations submitted under subsection (a) dur12 ing a control year which are within the authority of 

13 the Postal Service to adopt, not later than 90 days 

14 after receiving the recommendations, the Postmaster 

15 General shall submit a statement to the Authority, 

16 the President, and Congress which provides notice as 

17 to whether the Postal Service will adopt the rec18 ommendations. 

19 (2) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN REQUIRED FOR

20 ADOPTED RECOMMENDATIONS.—If the Postmaster 

21 General notifies the Authority and Congress under 

22 paragraph (1) that the Postal Service will adopt any 

23 of the recommendations submitted under subsection 

24 (a), the Postmaster General shall include in the 


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1 statement a written plan to implement the rec2 ommendation which includes— 

3 (A) specific performance measures to de4 termine the extent to which the Postal Service 

5 has adopted the recommendation; and 

6 (B) a schedule for auditing the Postal 

7 Service’s compliance with the plan. 

8 (3) EXPLANATIONS REQUIRED FOR REC9 OMMENDATIONS NOT ADOPTED.—If the Postmaster 

10 General notifies the Authority, the President, and 

11 Congress under paragraph (1) that the Postal Serv12 ice will not adopt any recommendation submitted 

13 under subsection (a) which the Postal Service has 

14 authority to adopt, the Postmaster General shall in15 clude in the statement explanations for the rejection 

16 of the recommendations. 

17 (c) IMPLEMENTATION OF REJECTED RECOMMENDA18 TIONS BY AUTHORITY.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Postmaster General 

20 notifies the Authority, the President, and Congress 

21 under subsection (b)(1) that the Postal Service will 

22 not adopt any recommendation submitted under sub23 section (a) which the Postal Service has authority to 

24 adopt, the Authority may by a majority vote of its 

25 members take such action concerning the recVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:30 Sep 27, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00079 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1625.IS S1625

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1 ommendation as it deems appropriate, after con2 sulting with the Committee on Oversight and Gov3 ernment Reform of the House of Representatives 

4 and the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov5 ernmental Affairs of the Senate. 

6 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection shall 

7 apply with respect to recommendations of the Au8 thority made after the expiration of the 6-month pe9 riod which begins on the date of the commencement 

10 of a control period. 

11 SEC. 226. SPECIAL RULES FOR FISCAL YEAR IN WHICH 

12 CONTROL PERIOD COMMENCES. 

13 (a) ADOPTION OF TRANSITION BUDGET.—Notwith14 standing any provision of section 222 to the contrary, in 

15 the case of a fiscal year in which a control period com16 mences, the following rules shall apply: 

17 (1) Not later than 45 days after the appoint18 ment of its members, the Authority shall review the 

19 proposed Integrated Financial Plan for the Postal 

20 Service for such fiscal year and shall submit any rec21 ommendations for modifications to such plan to pro22 mote the financial stability of the Postal Service to 

23 the Postmaster General, the President, and Con24 gress. 


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1 (2) Not later than 15 days after receiving the 

2 recommendations of the Authority submitted under 

3 paragraph (1), the Postmaster General shall 

4 promptly adopt a revised budget for the fiscal year 

5 (in this section referred to as the ‘‘transition budg6 et’’), and shall submit the transition budget to the 

7 Authority, the President, and Congress. 

8 (3) Not later than 15 days after receiving the 

9 transition budget from the Postmaster General 

10 under paragraph (2), the Authority shall submit a 

11 report to the Postmaster General, the President, and 

12 Congress analyzing the budget (taking into account 

13 any items or provisions disapproved by the Post14 master General) and shall include in the report such 

15 recommendations for revisions to the transition 

16 budget as the Authority considers appropriate to 

17 promote the financial stability of the Postal Service 

18 during the fiscal year. 

19 (b) FINANCIAL PLAN AND BUDGET.— 

20 (1) DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION.—For purposes 

21 of section 222, the Postmaster General shall submit 

22 the financial plan and budget for the applicable fis23 cal year as soon as practicable after the initiation of 

24 a control period (in accordance with guidelines es25 tablished by the Authority). 


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1 (2) ADOPTION BY POSTMASTER GENERAL.—In 

2 accordance with the procedures applicable under sec3 tion 222 (including procedures providing for review 

4 by the Authority) the Postmaster General shall 

5 adopt the financial plan and budget for the applica6 ble fiscal year (including the transition budget incor7 porated in the financial plan and budget) prior to 

8 the submission by the Postmaster General. 

9 (3) TRANSITION BUDGET AS TEMPORARY FI10 NANCIAL PLAN AND BUDGET.—Until the approval of 

11 the financial plan and budget for the applicable fis12 cal year by the Authority under this subsection, the 

13 transition budget established under subsection (a) 

14 shall serve as the financial plan and budget adopted 

15 under this subtitle for purposes of this Act (and any 

16 provision of law amended by this Act) for the appli17 cable fiscal year. 

18 SEC. 227. ASSISTANCE IN ACHIEVING FINANCIAL STA19 BILITY, ETC. 

20 In addition to any other actions described in this title, 

21 the Authority may undertake cooperative efforts to assist 

22 the Postal Service in achieving financial stability and man23 agement efficiency, including— 

24 (1) assisting the Postal Service in avoiding de25 faults, eliminating and liquidating deficits, maintainVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:30 Sep 27, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00082 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1625.IS S1625

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1 ing sound budgetary practices, and avoiding inter2 ruptions in the delivery of services; 

3 (2) assisting the Postal Service in improving 

4 the delivery of services, the training and effective5 ness of personnel of the Postal Service, and the effi6 ciency of management and supervision; and 

7 (3) making recommendations to the President 

8 for transmission to Congress on changes to this Act 

9 or other Federal laws, or other actions of the Fed10 eral Government, which would assist the Postal 

11 Service in complying with an approved financial plan 

12 and budget under subtitle B. 

13 SEC. 228. OBTAINING REPORTS. 

14 The Authority may require the Postmaster General, 

15 the Chief Financial Officer of the Postal Service, and the 

16 Inspector General of the Postal Service, to prepare and 

17 submit such reports as the Authority considers appro18 priate to assist it in carrying out its responsibilities under 

19 this title, including submitting copies of any reports re20 garding revenues, expenditures, budgets, costs, plans, op21 erations, estimates, and other financial or budgetary mat22 ters of the Postal Service. 

23 SEC. 229. REPORTS AND COMMENTS. 

24 (a) ANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later 

25 than 30 days after the last day of each fiscal year which 


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1 is a control year, the Authority shall submit a report to 

2 Congress describing— 

3 (1) the progress made by the Postal Service in 

4 meeting the objectives of this title during the fiscal 

5 year; 

6 (2) the assistance provided by the Authority to 

7 the Postal Service in meeting the purposes of this 

8 title for the fiscal year; and 

9 (3) any other activities of the Authority during 

10 the fiscal year. 

11 (b) REVIEW AND ANALYSIS OF PERFORMANCE AND

12 FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY REPORTS.—The Authority 

13 shall review each yearly report prepared and submitted by 

14 the Postmaster General to the Postal Regulatory Commis15 sion and Congress and shall submit a report to Congress 

16 analyzing the completeness and accuracy of such reports. 

17 (c) COMMENTS REGARDING ACTIVITIES OF POSTAL

18 SERVICE.—At any time during a control period, the Au19 thority may submit a report to Congress describing any 

20 action taken by the Postal Service (or any failure to act 

21 by the Postal Service) which the Authority determines will 

22 adversely affect the Postal Service’s ability to comply with 

23 an approved financial plan and budget under subtitle B 

24 or will otherwise have a significant adverse impact on the 

25 best interests of the Postal Service. 


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1 (d) REPORTS ON EFFECT OF FEDERAL LAWS ON

2 THE POSTAL SERVICE.—At any time during any year, the 

3 Authority may submit a report to the Postmaster General, 

4 the President, and Congress on the effect of laws enacted 

5 by Congress on the financial plan and budget for the year 

6 and on the financial stability and management efficiency 

7 of the Postal Service in general. 

8 (e) MAKING REPORTS PUBLICLY AVAILABLE.—The 

9 Authority shall make any report submitted under this sec10 tion available to the public, except to the extent that the 

11 Authority determines that the report contains confidential 

12 material. 

13 Subtitle D—Termination of a 

14 Control Period 

15 SEC. 231. TERMINATION OF CONTROL PERIOD, ETC. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—After the completion of the re17 quirements for the termination of a control period de18 scribed in section 202(b)(4), the Authority shall submit 

19 a recommendation to Congress requesting the termination 

20 of such control period, the dissolution of the Authority, 

21 and the reinstatement to the Board of Governors (and the 

22 individual Governors) of the Postal Service of the authori23 ties and responsibilities referred to in section 

24 202(b)(2)(A). 

25 (b) CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A control period shall not be 

2 terminated unless a joint resolution approving of the 

3 recommendation in subsection (a) is enacted, in ac4 cordance with section 232, before the earlier of— 

5 (A) the end of the 30-day period beginning 

6 on the date on which the Authority transmits 

7 the recommendation to Congress under sub8 section (a); or 

9 (B) the adjournment of the Congress sine 

10 die for the session during which such rec11 ommendation is transmitted. 

12 (2) DAYS OF SESSION.—For purposes of para13 graph (1) and subsections (a) and (c) of section 232, 

14 the days on which either House of Congress is not 

15 in session because of an adjournment of more than 

16 3 days to a day certain shall be excluded in the com17 putation of a period. 

18 SEC. 232. CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION OF REC19 OMMENDATION. 

20 (a) TERMS OF THE RESOLUTION.—For purposes of 

21 this subtitle, the term ‘‘joint resolution’’ means only a 

22 joint resolution which is introduced within the 10-day pe23 riod beginning on the date on which the recommendation 

24 referred to in section 231(a) is received by Congress— 


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1 (1) the matter after the resolving clause of 

2 which is as follows: ‘‘That Congress approves the 

3 recommendation of the Postal Service Financial Re4 sponsibility and Management Assistance Authority, 

5 submitted by such Authority on ll.’’, the blank 

6 space being filled in with the appropriate date; 

7 (2) the title of which is as follows: ‘‘Joint reso8 lution approving the recommendation of Postal Serv9 ice Financial Responsibility and Management Assist10 ance Authority.’’; and 

11 (3) which does not have a preamble. 

12 (b) REFERRAL.—A resolution described in subsection 

13 (a) that is introduced in the House of Representatives or 

14 the Senate shall be referred to the appropriate committees 

15 of the House of Representatives or the Senate, respec16 tively. 

17 (c) DISCHARGE.—If the committee to which a resolu18 tion described in subsection (a) is referred has not re19 ported such resolution (or an identical resolution) by the 

20 end of the 20-day period beginning on the date on which 

21 the Authority transmits its recommendation to Congress 

22 under section 231(a) such committee shall, at the end of 

23 such period, be discharged from further consideration of 

24 such resolution, and such resolution shall be placed on the 

25 appropriate calendar of the House involved. 


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1 (d) CONSIDERATION.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—On or after the third day 

3 after the date on which the committee to which such 

4 a resolution is referred has reported, or has been 

5 discharged (under subsection (c)) from further con6 sideration of, such a resolution, it is in order (even 

7 though a previous motion to the same effect has 

8 been disagreed to) for any Member of the respective 

9 House to move to proceed to the consideration of the 

10 resolution. A Member may make the motion only on 

11 the day after the calendar day on which the Member 

12 announces to the House concerned the Member’s in13 tention to make the motion, except that, in the case 

14 of the House of Representatives, the motion may be 

15 made without such prior announcement if the mo16 tion is made by direction of the committee to which 

17 the resolution was referred. All points of order 

18 against the resolution (and against consideration of 

19 the resolution) are waived. The motion is highly 

20 privileged in the House of Representatives and is 

21 privileged in the Senate and is not debatable. The 

22 motion is not subject to amendment, or to a motion 

23 to postpone, or to a motion to proceed to the consid24 eration of other business. A motion to reconsider the 

25 vote by which the motion is agreed to or disagreed 


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1 to shall not be in order. If a motion to proceed to 

2 the consideration of the resolution is agreed to, the 

3 respective House shall immediately proceed to con4 sideration of the joint resolution without intervening 

5 motion, order, or other business, and the resolution 

6 shall remain the unfinished business of the respec7 tive House until disposed of. 

8 (2) DEBATE.—Debate on the resolution, and on 

9 all debatable motions and appeals in connection 

10 therewith, shall be limited to not more than 2 hours, 

11 which shall be divided equally between those favoring 

12 and those opposing the resolution. An amendment to 

13 the resolution is not in order. A motion further to 

14 limit debate is in order and not debatable. A motion 

15 to postpone, or a motion to proceed to the consider16 ation of other business, or a motion to recommit the 

17 resolution is not in order. A motion to reconsider the 

18 vote by which the resolution is agreed to or dis19 agreed to is not in order. 

20 (3) VOTE ON FINAL PASSAGE.—Immediately 

21 following the conclusion of the debate on a resolu22 tion described in subsection (a) and a single quorum 

23 call at the conclusion of the debate if requested in 

24 accordance with the rules of the appropriate House, 


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1 the vote on final passage of the resolution shall 

2 occur. 

3 (4) APPEALS.—Appeals from the decisions of 

4 the Chair relating to the application of the rules of 

5 the Senate or the House of Representatives, as the 

6 case may be, to the procedure relating to a resolu7 tion described in subsection (a) shall be decided 

8 without debate. 

9 (e) CONSIDERATION BY OTHER HOUSE.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—If, before the passage by one 

11 House of a resolution of that House described in 

12 subsection (a), that House receives from the other 

13 House a resolution described in subsection (a), then 

14 the following procedures shall apply: 

15 (A) The resolution of the other House shall 

16 not be referred to a committee and may not be 

17 considered in the House receiving it except in 

18 the case of final passage as provided in sub19 paragraph (B)(ii). 

20 (B) With respect to a resolution described 

21 in subsection (a) of the House receiving the res22 olution— 

23 (i) the procedure in that House shall 

24 be the same as if no resolution had been 

25 received from the other House; but 


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1 (ii) the vote on final passage shall be 

2 on the resolution of the other House. 

3 (2) DISPOSITION OF A RESOLUTION.—Upon 

4 disposition of the resolution received from the other 

5 House, it shall no longer be in order to consider the 

6 resolution that originated in the receiving House. 

7 (f) RULES OF THE SENATE AND HOUSE.—This sec8 tion is enacted by Congress— 

9 (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of 

10 the Senate and House of Representatives, respec11 tively, and as such it is deemed a part of the rules 

12 of each House, respectively, but applicable only with 

13 respect to the procedure to be followed in that 

14 House in the case of a resolution described in sub15 section (a), and it supersedes other rules only to the 

16 extent that it is inconsistent with such rules; and 

17 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional 

18 right of either House to change the rules (so far as 

19 relating to the procedure of that House) at any time, 

20 in the same manner, and to the same extent as in 

21 the case of any other rule of that House. 


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1 TITLE III—POSTAL SERVICE 

2 WORKFORCE 

3 Subtitle A—General Provisions 

4 SEC. 301. MODIFICATIONS RELATING TO DETERMINATION 

5 OF PAY COMPARABILITY. 

6 (a) POSTAL POLICY.—Section 101(c) of title 39, 

7 United States Code, is amended— 

8 (1) in the first sentence, by inserting ‘‘total’’ 

9 before ‘‘rates and types of compensation’’; and 

10 (2) in the second sentence, by inserting ‘‘en11 tire’’ before ‘‘private sector’’. 

12 (b) EMPLOYMENT POLICY.—The second sentence of 

13 section 1003(a) of title 39, United States Code, is amend14 ed— 

15 (1) by inserting ‘‘total’’ before ‘‘compensation 

16 and benefits’’; and 

17 (2) by inserting ‘‘entire’’ before ‘‘private sec18 tor’’. 

19 (c) CONSIDERATIONS.—For purposes of the amend20 ments made by this section, any determination of ‘‘total 

21 rates and types of compensation’’ or ‘‘total compensation 

22 and benefits’’ shall, at a minimum, take into account pay, 

23 health benefits, retirement benefits, life insurance benefits, 

24 leave, holidays, and continuity and stability of employ25 ment. 


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1 SEC. 302. LIMITATION ON POSTAL CONTRIBUTIONS UNDER 

2 FEGLI AND FEHBP. 

3 Section 1003 of title 39, United States Code, is 

4 amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(e)(1) At least 1 month before the start of each fis6 cal year as described in paragraph (2), the Postmaster 

7 General shall transmit to the Postal Regulatory Commis8 sion certification (together with such supporting docu9 mentation as the Postal Regulatory Commission may re10 quire) that contributions of the Postal Service for such 

11 fiscal year will not exceed— 

12 ‘‘(A) in the case of life insurance under chapter 

13 87 of title 5, the Government contributions deter14 mined under section 8708 of such title; and 

15 ‘‘(B) in the case of health insurance under 

16 chapter 89 of title 5, the Government contributions 

17 determined under 8906 of such title. 

18 ‘‘(2) This subsection applies with respect to— 

19 ‘‘(A) except as provided in subparagraph (B), 

20 each fiscal year beginning after September 30, 2013; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(B) in the case of officers and employees of 

23 the Postal Service covered by a collective bargaining 

24 agreement which is in effect on the date of the en25 actment of this subsection— 


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1 ‘‘(i) each fiscal year beginning after the ex2 piration date of such agreement, including 

3 ‘‘(ii) for the fiscal year in which such expi4 ration date occurs, any portion of such fiscal 

5 year remaining after such expiration date. 

6 ‘‘(3)(A) If, after reasonable notice and opportunity 

7 for hearing is afforded to the Postal Service, the Postal 

8 Regulatory Commission finds that the contributions of the 

9 Postal Service for a fiscal year will exceed or are exceeding 

10 the limitation specified in subparagraph (A) or (B) of 

11 paragraph (1), the Commission shall order that the Postal 

12 Service take such action as the Commission considers nec13 essary to achieve full and immediate compliance with the 

14 applicable limitation or limitations. 

15 ‘‘(B) Sections 3663 and 3664 shall apply with respect 

16 to any order issued by the Postal Regulatory Commission 

17 under subparagraph (A). 

18 ‘‘(C) Nothing in this paragraph shall be considered 

19 to permit the issuance of an order requiring reduction of 

20 contributions below the level specified by the provision of 

21 law cited in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1), 

22 as applicable.’’. 


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1 SEC. 303. REPEAL OF PROVISION RELATING TO OVERALL 

2 VALUE OF FRINGE BENEFITS. 

3 The last sentence of section 1005(f) of title 39, 

4 United States Code, is repealed. 

5 SEC. 304. MODIFICATIONS RELATING TO COLLECTIVE BAR6 GAINING. 

7 Section 1207 of title 39, United States Code, is 

8 amended by striking subsections (c) and (d) and inserting 

9 the following: 

10 ‘‘(c)(1) If no agreement is reached within 30 days 

11 after the appointment of a mediator under subsection (b), 

12 or if the parties decide upon arbitration before the expira13 tion of the 30-day period, an arbitration board shall be 

14 established consisting of 1 member selected by the Postal 

15 Service (from the list under paragraph (2)), 1 member se16 lected by the bargaining representative of the employees 

17 (from the list under paragraph (2)), and the mediator ap18 pointed under subsection (b). 

19 ‘‘(2) Upon receiving a request from either of the par20 ties referred to in paragraph (1), the Director of the Fed21 eral Mediation and Conciliation Service shall provide a list 

22 of not less than 9 individuals who are well qualified to 

23 serve as neutral arbitrators. Each person listed shall be 

24 an arbitrator of nationwide reputation and professional 

25 nature, a member of the National Academy of Arbitrators, 

26 and an individual whom the Director has determined to 


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1 be willing and available to serve. If, within 7 days after 

2 the list is provided, either of the parties has not selected 

3 an individual from the list, the Director shall make the 

4 selection within 3 days. 

5 ‘‘(3) The arbitration board shall give the parties a 

6 full and fair hearing, including an opportunity to present 

7 evidence in support of their claims, and an opportunity 

8 to present their case in person, by counsel, or by other 

9 representative as they may elect. The hearing shall be con10 cluded no more than 40 days after the arbitration board 

11 is established. 

12 ‘‘(4) No more than 7 days after the hearing is con13 cluded, each party shall submit to the arbitration board 

14 2 offer packages, each of which packages shall specify the 

15 terms of a proposed final agreement. 

16 ‘‘(5) If no agreement is reached within 7 days after 

17 the last day date for the submission of an offer package 

18 under paragraph (4), each party shall submit to the arbi19 tration board a single final offer package specifying the 

20 terms of a proposed final agreement. 

21 ‘‘(6) No later than 3 days after the submission of 

22 the final offer packages under paragraph (5), the arbitra23 tion board shall select 1 of those packages as its tentative 

24 award, subject to paragraph (7). 


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1 ‘‘(7)(A) The arbitration board may not select a final 

2 offer package under paragraph (6) unless it satisfies each 

3 of the following: 

4 ‘‘(i) The offer complies with the requirements of 

5 sections 101(c) and 1003(a). 

6 ‘‘(ii) The offer takes into account the current fi7 nancial condition of the Postal Service. 

8 ‘‘(iii) The offer takes into account the long-term 

9 financial condition of the Postal Service. 

10 ‘‘(B)(i) If the board unanimously determines, based 

11 on clear and convincing evidence presented during the 

12 hearing under paragraph (3), that neither final offer pack13 age satisfies the conditions set forth in subparagraph (A), 

14 the board shall by majority vote— 

15 ‘‘(I) select the package that best meets such 

16 conditions; and 

17 ‘‘(II) modify the package so selected to the min18 imum extent necessary to satisfy such conditions. 

19 ‘‘(ii) If modification (as described in subparagraph 

20 (B)(i)(II)) is necessary, the board shall have an additional 

21 7 days to render its tentative award under this subpara22 graph. 

23 ‘‘(8) The parties may negotiate a substitute award 

24 to replace the tentative award selected under paragraph 

25 (6) or rendered under paragraph (7) (as the case may be). 


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1 If no agreement on a substitute award is reached within 

2 10 days after the date on which the tentative award is 

3 so selected or rendered, the tentative award shall become 

4 final. 

5 ‘‘(9) The arbitration board shall review any substitute 

6 award negotiated under paragraph (8) to determine if it 

7 satisfies the conditions set forth in paragraph (7)(A). If 

8 the arbitration board, by a unanimous vote taken within 

9 3 days after the date on which the agreement on the sub10 stitute award is reached under paragraph (8), determines 

11 that the substitute award does not satisfy such conditions, 

12 the tentative award shall become final. In the absence of 

13 a vote, as described in the preceding sentence, the sub14 stitute agreement shall become final. 

15 ‘‘(10) If, under paragraph (5), neither party submits 

16 a final offer package by the last day allowable under such 

17 paragraph, the arbitration board shall develop and issue 

18 a final award no later than 20 days after such last day. 

19 ‘‘(11) A final award or agreement under this sub20 section shall be conclusive and binding upon the parties. 

21 ‘‘(12) Costs of the arbitration board and mediation 

22 shall be shared equally by the Postal Service and the bar23 gaining representative. 

24 ‘‘(d) In the case of a bargaining unit whose recog25 nized collective-bargaining representative does not have an 


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1 agreement with the Postal Service, if the parties fail to 

2 reach agreement within 90 days after the commencement 

3 of collective bargaining, a mediator shall be appointed in 

4 accordance with the provisions of subsection (b), unless 

5 the parties have previously agreed to another procedure 

6 for a binding resolution of their differences. If the parties 

7 fail to reach agreement within 180 days after the com8 mencement of collective bargaining, an arbitration board 

9 shall be established to provide conclusive and binding arbi10 tration in accordance with the provisions of subsection 

11 (c).’’. 

12 Subtitle B—Postal Service Workers’ 

13 Compensation Reform 

14 SEC. 311. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

15 It is the sense of Congress that— 

16 (1) the Postal Service should develop and man17 age a program to pay compensation for the disability 

18 or death of an officer or employee of the Postal 

19 Service which results from an injury sustained while 

20 in the performance of duty; 

21 (2) such program should include an automatic 

22 transition to retirement and provide a retirement 

23 pension based on the average salary of the officer or 

24 employee, determined as if such officer or employee 


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1 had continued to receive basic pay from the date of 

2 injury to the date of retirement; and 

3 (3) officers or employees of the Postal Service 

4 receiving compensation for a disability from an in5 jury sustained while in the performance of duty 

6 should be transitioned to the program described in 

7 paragraph (1). 

8 TITLE IV—POSTAL SERVICE 

9 REVENUE 

10 SEC. 401. ADEQUACY, EFFICIENCY, AND FAIRNESS OF POST11 AL RATES. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of section 3622(d) 

13 of title 39, United States Code, is amended— 

14 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) 

15 through (E) as subparagraph (D) through (G), re16 spectively; and 

17 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(B) subject to the limitation under para20 graph (A), establish postal rates to fulfill the 

21 requirement that each market-dominant class, 

22 product, and type of mail service (except for an 

23 experimental product or service) bear the direct 

24 and indirect postal costs attributable to such 

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1 fied causal relationships plus that portion of all 

2 other costs of the Postal Service reasonably as3 signable to such class, product, or type; 

4 ‘‘(C) establish postal rates for each loss5 making class of mail to eliminate such losses by 

6 exhausting all unused rate authority as well as 

7 maximizing incentives to reduce costs and in8 crease efficiency; with— 

9 ‘‘(i) the term ‘loss-making’, as used 

10 with respect to a class of mail, meaning a 

11 class of mail that bears less than 100 per12 cent of its costs attributable (as described 

13 in subparagraph (B)), according to the 

14 most recent annual determination of the 

15 Postal Regulatory Commission under sec16 tion 3653; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) unused rate authority annually 

18 increased by 5 percent for each class of 

19 mail that bore less than 90 percent of its 

20 costs attributable, according to the most 

21 annual determination by the Postal Regu22 latory Commission under section 3653, 

23 with such increase in unused rate authority 

24 to take effect 30 days after issuance of 

25 such Commission determination;’’. 


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1 (b) EXCEPTION.—Section 3622(d) of title 39, United 

2 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol3 lowing: 

4 ‘‘(4) EXCEPTION.—The requirements of para5 graph (1)(B) shall not apply to a market-dominant 

6 product for which a substantial portion of the prod7 uct’s mail volume consists of inbound international 

8 mail with terminal dues rates determined by the 

9 Universal Postal Union (and not by bilateral agree10 ments or other arrangements).’’. 

11 SEC. 402. REPEAL OF RATE PREFERENCES FOR QUALIFIED 

12 POLITICAL COMMITTEES. 

13 Subsection (e) of section 3626 of title 39, United 

14 States Code, is repealed. 

15 SEC. 403. RATE PREFERENCES FOR NONPROFIT ADVER16 TISING. 

17 (a) PROVISIONS RELATING TO FORMER SECTION

18 4358(f).—Section 3626(a)(5) of title 39, United States 

19 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of this paragraph, 

21 the percentage specified in the preceding sentence shall 

22 be increased by an additional 5 percentage points as of 

23 the first day of each calendar year beginning after the date 

24 of the enactment of the Postal Reform Act of 2011, until 

25 such percentage reaches 90 percent.’’. 


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1 (b) PROVISIONS RELATING TO FORMER SECTION

2 4452 (b) AND (c).—Section 3626(a)(6) of title 39, United 

3 States Code, is amended by inserting after subparagraph 

4 (C) the following (as a flush left sentence): 

5 ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of this paragraph, 

6 the percentage specified in subparagraph (A) shall be in7 creased by an additional 5 percentage points as of the first 

8 day of each calendar year beginning after the date of the 

9 enactment of the Postal Reform Act of 2011, until such 

10 percentage reaches 90 percent.’’. 

11 SEC. 404. STREAMLINED REVIEW OF QUALIFYING SERVICE 

12 AGREEMENTS FOR COMPETITIVE PRODUCTS. 

13 Section 3633 of title 39, United States Code, is 

14 amended by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(c) STREAMLINED REVIEW.—Within 90 days after 

16 the date of the enactment of this subsection, after notice 

17 and opportunity for public comment, the Postal Regu18 latory Commission shall promulgate (and may from time 

19 to time thereafter revise) regulations for streamlined 

20 after-the-fact review of new agreements between the Post21 al Service and users of the mail that provide rates not 

22 of general applicability for competitive products, and are 

23 functionally equivalent to existing agreements that have 

24 collectively covered costs attributable to such agreements 

25 and collectively improved the net financial position of the 


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1 Postal Service. Streamlined review will be concluded with2 in 5 working days after the agreement is filed with the 

3 Commission and shall be limited to approval or dis4 approval of the agreement as a whole based on the Com5 mission’s determination of its functional equivalence. 

6 Agreements not approved may be resubmitted without 

7 prejudice under section 3632(b)(3).’’. 

8 SEC. 405. SUBMISSION OF SERVICE AGREEMENTS FOR 

9 STREAMLINED REVIEW. 

10 Section 3632(b) of title 39, United States Code, is 

11 amended— 

12 (1) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para13 graph (5); and 

14 (2) by inserting paragraph (3) the following: 

15 ‘‘(4) RATES FOR STREAMLINED REVIEW.—In 

16 the case of rates not of general applicability for com17 petitive products that the Postmaster General con18 siders eligible for streamlined review under section 

19 3633(c), the Postmaster General shall cause each 

20 agreement to be filed with the Postal Regulatory 

21 Commission by such date, on or before the effective 

22 date of any new rate, as the Postmaster General 

23 considered appropriate.’’. 


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1 SEC. 406. TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR 

2 SERVICE AGREEMENTS. 

3 Section 3632(b) of title 39, United States Code, as 

4 amended by section 405, is amended by adding at the end 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘(6)(A) Each annual written determination of 

7 the Commission under section 3653 shall include 

8 written determinations, for each group of function9 ally equivalent agreements between the Postal Serv10 ice and users of the mail, whether it— 

11 ‘‘(i) covered costs attributable; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) improved the net financial position of 

13 the Postal Service. 

14 ‘‘(B) Any group of functionally equivalent 

15 agreements (as referred to in subparagraph (A)) not 

16 meeting clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A) 

17 shall be determined to be in noncompliance under 

18 section 3653(c). 

19 ‘‘(C) For purposes of this paragraph, a group 

20 of functionally equivalent agreements (as referred to 

21 in subparagraph (A)) shall consist of all service 

22 agreements that are functionally equivalent to each 

23 other within the same market-dominant or competi24 tive product, but shall not include agreements within 

25 an experimental product.’’. 


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1 SEC. 407. NONPOSTAL SERVICES. 

2 (a) NONPOSTAL SERVICES.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Part IV of title 39, United 

4 States Code, is amended by adding after chapter 36 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘CHAPTER 37—NONPOSTAL SERVICES 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘3701. Purpose. 

‘‘3702. Definitions. 

‘‘3703. Postal Service advertising program. 

‘‘3704. Postal Service program for State governments. 

‘‘3705. Postal Service program for other government agencies. 

‘‘3706. Transparency and accountability for nonpostal services. 

7 ‘‘§ 3701. Purpose 

8 ‘‘This chapter is intended to enable the Postal Service 

9 to increase its net revenues through specific nonpostal 

10 products and services that are expressly authorized by this 

11 chapter. Postal Service revenues and expenses under this 

12 chapter shall be funded through the Postal Service Fund. 

13 ‘‘§ 3702. Definitions 

14 ‘‘As used in this chapter— 

15 ‘‘(1) the term ‘nonpostal services’ is limited to 

16 services offered by the Postal Service that are ex17 pressly authorized by this chapter and are not postal 

18 products or services; 

19 ‘‘(2) the term ‘Postal Service advertising pro20 gram’ means a program, managed by the Postal 

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1 nues from entities which advertise at Postal Service 

2 facilities and on Postal Service vehicles; 

3 ‘‘(3) the term ‘Postal Service program for State 

4 government services’ means a program, managed by 

5 the Postal Service, by which the Postal Service re6 ceives revenue from State governments (including 

7 their agencies) which provide services at Postal Serv8 ice facilities; 

9 ‘‘(4) the term ‘costs attributable’ has the same 

10 meaning as is given such term in section 3631; and 

11 ‘‘(5) the term ‘year’ means a fiscal year. 

12 ‘‘§ 3703. Postal Service advertising program 

13 ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, 

14 the Postal Service may establish and manage a program 

15 that allows entities to advertise at Postal Service facilities 

16 and on Postal Service vehicles. Such a program shall be 

17 subject to the following requirements: 

18 ‘‘(1) The Postal Service shall at all times en19 sure advertising it permits is consistent with the in20 tegrity of the Postal Service. 

21 ‘‘(2) Any advertising program is required to 

22 cover a minimum of 200 percent of the costs attrib23 utable to the program in each year. 

24 ‘‘(3) All advertising expenditures and revenues 

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1 cluding remedies for noncompliance) applicable to 

2 nonpostal products. 

3 ‘‘(4) Total advertising expenditures and reve4 nues must be disclosed in Postal Service Annual Re5 ports. 

6 ‘‘§ 3704. Postal Service program for State govern7 ments 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro9 vision of this title, the Postal Service may establish a pro10 gram to provide services for agencies of State governments 

11 within the United States, but only if such services— 

12 ‘‘(1) shall provide enhanced value to the public, 

13 such as by lowering the cost or raising the quality 

14 of such services or by making such services more ac15 cessible; 

16 ‘‘(2) do not interfere with or detract from the 

17 value of postal services, including— 

18 ‘‘(A) the cost and efficiency of postal serv19 ices; and 

20 ‘‘(B) access to postal retail service, such as 

21 customer waiting time and access to parking; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(3) provide a reasonable contribution to the in24 stitutional costs of the Postal Service, defined as re25 imbursement for each service and to each agency 


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1 covering at least 150 percent of the costs attrib2 utable to such service in each year. 

3 ‘‘(b) PUBLIC NOTICE.—At least 90 days before offer4 ing any services under this section, the Postal Service shall 

5 make each agreement with State agencies readily available 

6 to the public on its Web site, including a business plan 

7 that describes the specific services to be provided, the en8 hanced value to the public, terms of reimbursement, the 

9 estimated annual reimbursement to the Postal Service, 

10 and the estimated percentage of attributable Postal Serv11 ices that will be covered by reimbursement (with docu12 mentation to support these estimates). The Postal Service 

13 shall solicit public comment for at least 30 days, with com14 ments posted on its Web site, followed by its written re15 sponse posted on its Web site at least 30 days before offer16 ing such services. 

17 ‘‘(c) APPROVAL REQUIRED.—The Governors of the 

18 Postal Service shall approve the provision of services 

19 under this section by a recorded vote, with at least 6 mem20 bers voting for approval, with the vote publicly disclosed 

21 on the Postal Service Web site. 

22 ‘‘(d) CLASSIFICATION OF SERVICES.—All services for 

23 a given agency provided under this section shall be classi24 fied as a separate activity subject to the requirements of 

25 annual reporting under section 3706. Such reporting shall 


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1 also include information on the quality of service and re2 lated information to demonstrate that it satisfied the re3 quirements of subsection (a). Information provided under 

4 this section shall be according to requirements that the 

5 Postal Regulatory Commission shall by regulation pre6 scribe. 

7 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—For the purpose of this sec8 tion— 

9 ‘‘(1) the term ‘State’ includes the District of 

10 Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 

11 United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American 

12 Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

13 Islands, and any other territory or possession of the 

14 United States; and 

15 ‘‘(2) the term ‘United States’, when used in a 

16 geographical sense, means the States. 

17 ‘‘§ 3705. Postal Service program for other government 

18 agencies 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Postal Service may establish 

20 a program to provide property and services for other gov21 ernment agencies within the meaning of section 411, but 

22 only if such program provides a reasonable contribution 

23 to the institutional costs of the Postal Service, defined as 

24 reimbursement by each agency that covers at least 100 

25 percent of the costs attributable to all property and service 


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1 provided by the Postal Service in a each year to such agen2 cy. 

3 ‘‘(b) CLASSIFICATION OF SERVICES.—For each agen4 cy, all property and services provided by the Postal Service 

5 under this section shall be classified as a separate activity 

6 subject to the requirements of annual reporting under sec7 tion 3706. Information provided under this section shall 

8 be according to requirements that the Postal Regulatory 

9 Commission shall by regulation prescribe. 

10 ‘‘§ 3706. Transparency and accountability for non11 postal services 

12 ‘‘(a) ANNUAL REPORTS TO THE COMMISSION.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Postal Service shall, 

14 no later than 90 days after the end of each year, 

15 prepare and submit to the Postal Regulatory Com16 mission a report (together with such nonpublic 

17 annex to the report as the Commission may require 

18 under subsection (b)) which shall analyze costs, reve19 nues, rates, and quality of service for section 3704, 

20 using such methodologies as the Commission shall 

21 by regulation prescribe, and in sufficient detail to 

22 demonstrate compliance with all applicable require23 ments of this chapter. 

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1 dures utilized in collecting information and pre2 paring such report. The results of any such audit 

3 shall be submitted to the Postal Service and the 

4 Postal Regulatory Commission. 

5 ‘‘(b) SUPPORTING MATTER.—The Postal Regulatory 

6 Commission shall have access, in accordance with such 

7 regulations as the Commission shall prescribe, to the 

8 working papers and any other supporting matter of the 

9 Postal Service and the Inspector General in connection 

10 with any information submitted under this section. 

11 ‘‘(c) CONTENT AND FORM OF REPORTS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Postal Regulatory 

13 Commission shall, by regulation, prescribe the con14 tent and form of the public reports (and any non15 public annex and supporting matter relating to the 

16 report) to be provided by the Postal Service under 

17 this section. Such reports shall be included with the 

18 annual compliance determination reported under sec19 tion 3653. In carrying out this subsection, the Com20 mission shall give due consideration to— 

21 ‘‘(A) providing the public with timely, ade22 quate information to assess compliance; 

23 ‘‘(B) avoiding unnecessary or unwarranted 

24 administrative effort and expense on the part of 

25 the Postal Service; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) protecting the confidentiality of infor2 mation that is commercially sensitive or is ex3 empt from public disclosure under section 

4 552(b) of title 5. 

5 ‘‘(2) REVISED REQUIREMENTS.—The Commis6 sion may, on its own motion or on request of an in7 terested party, initiate proceedings (to be conducted 

8 in accordance with regulations that the Commission 

9 shall prescribe) to improve the quality, accuracy, or 

10 completeness of Postal Service data required by the 

11 Commission under this subsection whenever it shall 

12 appear that— 

13 ‘‘(A) the attribution of costs or revenues to 

14 property or services under this chapter has be15 come significantly inaccurate or can be signifi16 cantly improved; 

17 ‘‘(B) the quality of service data provided to 

18 the Commission for annual reports under this 

19 chapter has become significantly inaccurate or 

20 can be significantly improved; or 

21 ‘‘(C) such revisions are, in the judgment of 

22 the Commission, otherwise necessitated by the 

23 public interest. 

24 ‘‘(d) CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Postal Service deter2 mines that any document or portion of a document, 

3 or other matter, which it provides to the Postal Reg4 ulatory Commission in a nonpublic annex under this 

5 section contains information which is described in 

6 section 410(c) of this title, or exempt from public 

7 disclosure under section 552(b) of title 5, the Postal 

8 Service shall, at the time of providing such matter 

9 to the Commission, notify the Commission of its de10 termination, in writing, and describe with particu11 larity the documents (or portions of documents) or 

12 other matter for which confidentiality is sought and 

13 the reasons therefor. 

14 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT.—Any information or other 

15 matter described in paragraph (1) to which the 

16 Commission gains access under this section shall be 

17 subject to paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 504(g) 

18 in the same way as if the Commission had received 

19 notification with respect to such matter under sec20 tion 504(g)(1). 

21 ‘‘(e) ANNUAL COMPLIANCE DETERMINATION.— 

22 ‘‘(1) OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.— 

23 After receiving the reports required under subsection 

24 (a) for any year, the Postal Regulatory Commission 

25 shall promptly provide an opportunity for comment 


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1 on such reports by any interested party, and an offi2 cer of the Commission who shall be required to rep3 resent the interests of the general public. 

4 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF COMPLIANCE OR NON5 COMPLIANCE.—Not later than 90 days after receiv6 ing the submissions required under subsection (a) 

7 with respect to a year, the Postal Regulatory Com8 mission shall make a written determination as to 

9 whether any nonpostal activities during such year 

10 were or were not in compliance with applicable pro11 visions of this chapter (or regulations promulgated 

12 under this chapter). The Postal Regulatory Commis13 sion shall issue a determination of noncompliance if 

14 the requirements for coverage of costs attributable 

15 to the activities are not met. If, with respect to a 

16 year, no instance of noncompliance is found to have 

17 occurred in such year, the written determination 

18 shall be to that effect. 

19 ‘‘(3) NONCOMPLIANCE.—If, for a year, a timely 

20 written determination of noncompliance is made 

21 under this chapter, the Postal Regulatory Commis22 sion shall take appropriate action. If the require23 ments for coverage of costs attributable to activities 

24 specified by this chapter are not met, the Commis25 sion shall, within 60 days after the determination, 


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1 prescribe remedial action to restore compliance as 

2 soon as practicable, which shall also include the full 

3 restoration of revenue shortfalls during the following 

4 fiscal year. The Commission may order the Postal 

5 Service to discontinue a nonpostal service under sec6 tion 3703 or 3704 that persistently fails to meet 

7 cost coverage requirements. 

8 ‘‘(4) ANY DELIBERATE NONCOMPLIANCE.—In 

9 addition, in cases of deliberate noncompliance by the 

10 Postal Service with the requirements of this chapter, 

11 the Postal Regulatory Commission may order, based 

12 on the nature, circumstances, extent, and serious13 ness of the noncompliance, a fine (in the amount 

14 specified by the Commission in its order) for each 

15 incidence of noncompliance. All receipts from fines 

16 imposed under this subsection shall be deposited in 

17 the general fund of the Treasury of the United 

18 States.’’. 

19 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

20 part IV of title 39, United States Code, is amended 

21 by adding after the item relating to chapter 36 the 

22 following: 

‘‘37. Nonpostal services ................................................................... 3701’’. 

23 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 


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1 (1) SECTION 404(e).—Section 404(e) of title 

2 39, United States Code, is amended by adding at 

3 the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(6) Nothing in this section shall be considered to 

5 prevent the Postal Service from establishing nonpostal 

6 products and services that are expressly authorized by 

7 chapter 37.’’. 

8 (2) SECTION 411.—The last sentence of section 

9 411 of title 39, United States Code, is amended by 

10 striking ‘‘including reimbursability’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘including reimbursability within the limitations of 

12 chapter 37’’. 

13 TITLE V—POSTAL CONTRACTING 

14 REFORM 

15 SEC. 501. CONTRACTING PROVISIONS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part I of title 39, United States 

17 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘CHAPTER 7—CONTRACTING PROVISIONS 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘701. Definitions. 

‘‘702. Advocate for competition. 

‘‘703. Delegation of contracting authority. 

‘‘704. Posting of noncompetitive purchase requests for noncompetitive contracts. 

‘‘705. Review of ethical issues. 

‘‘706. Ethical restrictions on participation in certain contracting activity. 

19 ‘‘§ 701. Definitions 

20 ‘‘In this chapter— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the term ‘contracting officer’ means an 

2 employee of a covered postal entity who has author3 ity to enter into a postal contract; 

4 ‘‘(2) the term ‘covered postal entity’ means— 

5 ‘‘(A) the United States Postal Service; or 

6 ‘‘(B) the Postal Regulatory Commission; 

7 ‘‘(3) the term ‘head of a covered postal entity’ 

8 means— 

9 ‘‘(A) in the case of the United States Post10 al Service, the Postmaster General; or 

11 ‘‘(B) in the case of the Postal Regulatory 

12 Commission, the Chairman of the Postal Regu13 latory Commission; 

14 ‘‘(4) the term ‘postal contract’ means any con15 tract (including any agreement or memorandum of 

16 understanding) entered into by a covered postal enti17 ty for the procurement of goods or services; and 

18 ‘‘(5) the term ‘senior procurement executive’ 

19 means the senior procurement executive of a covered 

20 postal entity. 

21 ‘‘§ 702. Advocate for competition 

22 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND DESIGNATION.— 

23 ‘‘(1) There is established in each covered postal 

24 entity an advocate for competition. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The head of each covered postal entity 

2 shall designate for the covered postal entity 1 or 

3 more officers or employees (other than the senior 

4 procurement executive) to serve as the advocate for 

5 competition. 

6 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The advocate for competi7 tion of each covered postal entity shall— 

8 ‘‘(1) be responsible for promoting— 

9 ‘‘(A) the contracting out of Postal Service 

10 functions that the private sector can perform 

11 equally well or better, and at lower cost; and 

12 ‘‘(B) competition to the maximum extent 

13 practicable consistent with obtaining best value 

14 by promoting the acquisition of commercial 

15 items and challenging barriers to competition; 

16 ‘‘(2) review the procurement activities of the 

17 covered postal entity; and 

18 ‘‘(3) prepare and transmit to the head of each 

19 covered postal entity, the senior procurement execu20 tive of each covered postal entity, the Board of Gov21 ernors of the United States Postal Service, and Con22 gress, an annual report describing— 

23 ‘‘(A) the activities of the advocate under 

24 this section; 


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1 ‘‘(B) initiatives required to promote con2 tracting out and competition; 

3 ‘‘(C) barriers to contracting out and com4 petition; and 

5 ‘‘(D) the number of waivers made by each 

6 covered postal entity under section 704(c). 

7 ‘‘§ 703. Delegation of contracting authority 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

9 ‘‘(1) POLICY.—Not later than 60 days after the 

10 date of enactment of this chapter, the head of each 

11 covered postal entity shall issue a policy on con12 tracting officer delegations of authority for the cov13 ered postal entity. 

14 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The policy issued under 

15 paragraph (1) shall require that— 

16 ‘‘(A) notwithstanding any delegation of au17 thority with respect to postal contracts, the ulti18 mate responsibility and accountability for the 

19 award and administration of postal contracts 

20 resides with the senior procurement executive; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(B) a contracting officer shall maintain 

23 an awareness of and engagement in the activi24 ties being performed on postal contracts of 

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1 standing any delegation of authority that may 

2 have been executed. 

3 ‘‘(b) POSTING OF DELEGATIONS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The head of each covered 

5 postal entity shall make any delegation of authority 

6 for postal contracts outside the functional con7 tracting unit readily available and accessible on the 

8 Web site of the covered postal entity. 

9 ‘‘(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This paragraph shall 

10 apply to any delegation of authority made on or 

11 after 30 days after the date of enactment of this 

12 chapter. 

13 ‘‘§ 704. Posting of noncompetitive purchase requests 

14 for noncompetitive contracts 

15 ‘‘(a) POSTING REQUIRED.— 

16 ‘‘(1) POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION.—The 

17 Postal Regulatory Commission shall make the non18 competitive purchase request for any noncompetitive 

19 award, including the rationale supporting the non20 competitive award, publicly available on the Web site 

21 of the Postal Regulatory Commission— 

22 ‘‘(A) not later than 14 days after the date 

23 of the award of the noncompetitive contract; or 

24 ‘‘(B) not later than 30 days after the date 

25 of the award of the noncompetitive contract, if 


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1 the basis for the award was a compelling busi2 ness interest. 

3 ‘‘(2) UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE.—The 

4 United States Postal Service shall make the non5 competitive purchase request for any noncompetitive 

6 award of a postal contract valued at $250,000 or 

7 more, including the rationale supporting the non8 competitive award, publicly available on the Web site 

9 of the United States Postal Service— 

10 ‘‘(A) not later than 14 days after the date 

11 of the award; or 

12 ‘‘(B) not later than 30 days after the date 

13 of the award, if the basis for the award was a 

14 compelling business interest. 

15 ‘‘(3) ADJUSTMENTS TO THE POSTING THRESH16 OLD FOR THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE.— 

17 ‘‘(A) REVIEW AND DETERMINATION.—Not 

18 later than January 31 of each year, the United 

19 States Postal Service shall— 

20 ‘‘(i) review the $250,000 threshold es21 tablished under paragraph (2); and 

22 ‘‘(ii) based on any change in the Con23 sumer Price Index for all-urban consumers 

24 of the Department of Labor, determine 


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1 whether an adjustment to the threshold 

2 shall be made. 

3 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT OF ADJUSTMENTS.—An ad4 justment under subparagraph (A) shall be made 

5 in increments of $5,000. If the United States 

6 Postal Service determines that a change in the 

7 Consumer Price Index for a year would require 

8 an adjustment in an amount that is less than 

9 $5,000, the United States Postal Service may 

10 not make an adjustment to the threshold for 

11 the year. 

12 ‘‘(4) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection shall 

13 apply to any noncompetitive contract awarded on or 

14 after the date that is 90 days after the date of en15 actment of this chapter. 

16 ‘‘(b) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

18 the information required to be made publicly avail19 able by a covered postal entity under subsection (a) 

20 shall be readily accessible on the Web site of the cov21 ered postal entity. 

22 ‘‘(2) PROTECTION OF PROPRIETARY INFORMA23 TION.—A covered postal entity shall— 

24 ‘‘(A) carefully screen any description of the 

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1 quired to be made publicly available under sub2 section (a) to determine whether the description 

3 includes proprietary data (including any ref4 erence or citation to the proprietary data) or se5 curity-related information; and 

6 ‘‘(B) remove any proprietary data or secu7 rity-related information before making publicly 

8 available a description of the rationale sup9 porting a noncompetitive award. 

10 ‘‘(c) WAIVERS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) WAIVER PERMITTED.—If a covered postal 

12 entity determines that making a noncompetitive pur13 chase request publicly available would risk placing 

14 the United States Postal Service at a competitive 

15 disadvantage relative to a private sector competitor, 

16 the senior procurement executive, in consultation 

17 with the advocate for competition of the covered 

18 postal entity, may waive the requirements under 

19 subsection (a). 

20 ‘‘(2) FORM AND CONTENT OF WAIVER.— 

21 ‘‘(A) FORM.—A waiver under paragraph 

22 (1) shall be in the form of a written determina23 tion placed in the file of the contract to which 

24 the noncompetitive purchase agreement relates. 


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1 ‘‘(B) CONTENT.—A waiver under para2 graph (1) shall include— 

3 ‘‘(i) a description of the risk associ4 ated with making the noncompetitive pur5 chase request publicly available; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) a statement that redaction of 

7 sensitive information in the noncompetitive 

8 purchase request would not be sufficient to 

9 protect the United States Postal Service 

10 from being placed at a competitive dis11 advantage relative to a private sector com12 petitor. 

13 ‘‘(3) DELEGATION OF WAIVER AUTHORITY.—A 

14 covered postal entity may not delegate the authority 

15 to approve a waiver under paragraph (1) to any em16 ployee having less authority than the senior procure17 ment executive. 

18 ‘‘§ 705. Review of ethical issues 

19 ‘‘If a contracting officer identifies any ethical issues 

20 relating to a proposed contract and submits those issues 

21 and that proposed contract to the designated ethics official 

22 for the covered postal entity before the awarding of that 

23 contract, that ethics official shall— 

24 ‘‘(1) review the proposed contract; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) advise the contracting officer on the appro2 priate resolution of ethical issues. 

3 ‘‘§ 706. Ethical restrictions on participation in certain 

4 contracting activity 

5 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

6 ‘‘(1) the term ‘covered employee’ means— 

7 ‘‘(A) a contracting officer; or 

8 ‘‘(B) any employee of a covered postal en9 tity whose decisionmaking affects a postal con10 tract as determined by regulations prescribed 

11 by the head of a covered postal entity; 

12 ‘‘(2) the term ‘final conviction’ means a convic13 tion, whether entered on a verdict or plea, including 

14 a plea of nolo contendere, for which a sentence has 

15 been imposed; and 

16 ‘‘(3) the term ‘covered relationship’ means a 

17 covered relationship described in section 

18 2635.502(b)(1) of title 5, Code of Federal Regula19 tions, or any successor thereto. 

20 ‘‘(b) IN GENERAL.— 

21 ‘‘(1) REGULATIONS.—The head of each covered 

22 postal entity shall prescribe regulations that— 

23 ‘‘(A) require a covered employee to include 

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1 quest for a noncompetitive postal contract a 

2 written certification that— 

3 ‘‘(i) discloses any covered relationship 

4 of the covered employee; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) states that the covered employee 

6 will not take any action with respect to the 

7 noncompetitive purchase request that af8 fects the financial interests of a friend, rel9 ative, or person with whom the covered 

10 employee is affiliated in a nongovernmental 

11 capacity, or otherwise gives rise to an ap12 pearance of the use of public office for pri13 vate gain, as described in section 2635.702 

14 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, or 

15 any successor thereto; 

16 ‘‘(B) require a contracting officer to con17 sult with the ethics counsel for the covered 

18 postal entity regarding any disclosure made by 

19 a covered employee under subparagraph (A)(i), 

20 to determine whether participation by the cov21 ered employee in the noncompetitive purchase 

22 request would give rise to a violation of part 

23 2635 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations 

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1 ical Conduct for Employees of the Executive 

2 Branch); 

3 ‘‘(C) require the ethics counsel for a cov4 ered postal entity to review any disclosure made 

5 by a contracting officer under subparagraph 

6 (A)(i) to determine whether participation by the 

7 contracting officer in the noncompetitive pur8 chase request would give rise to a violation of 

9 part 2635 of title 5, Code of Federal Regula10 tions (commonly referred to as the Standards of 

11 Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive 

12 Branch), or any successor thereto; 

13 ‘‘(D) under subsections (d) and (e) of sec14 tion 2635.50 of title 5, Code of Federal Regula15 tions, or any successor thereto, require the eth16 ics counsel for a covered postal entity to— 

17 ‘‘(i) authorize a covered employee that 

18 makes a disclosure under subparagraph 

19 (A)(i) to participate in the noncompetitive 

20 postal contract; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) disqualify a covered employee 

22 that makes a disclosure under subpara23 graph (A)(i) from participating in the non24 competitive postal contract; 


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1 ‘‘(E) require a contractor to timely disclose 

2 to the contracting officer in a bid, solicitation, 

3 award, or performance of a postal contract any 

4 conflict of interest with a covered employee; and 

5 ‘‘(F) include authority for the head of the 

6 covered postal entity to grant a waiver or other7 wise mitigate any organizational or personal 

8 conflict of interest, if the head of the covered 

9 postal entity determines that the waiver or miti10 gation is in the best interests of the Postal 

11 Service. 

12 ‘‘(2) POSTING OF WAIVERS.—Not later than 30 

13 days after the head of a covered postal entity grants 

14 a waiver described in paragraph (1)(F), the head of 

15 the covered postal entity shall make the waiver pub16 licly available on the Web site of the covered postal 

17 entity. 

18 ‘‘(c) CONTRACT VOIDANCE AND RECOVERY.— 

19 ‘‘(1) UNLAWFUL CONDUCT.—In any case in 

20 which there is a final conviction for a violation of 

21 any provision of chapter 11 of title 18 relating to a 

22 postal contract, the head of a covered postal entity 

23 may— 

24 ‘‘(A) void that contract; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) recover the amounts expended and 

2 property transferred by the covered postal enti3 ty under that contract. 

4 ‘‘(2) OBTAINING OR DISCLOSING PROCUREMENT

5 INFORMATION.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which 

7 a contractor under a postal contract fails to 

8 timely disclose a conflict of interest to the ap9 propriate contracting officer as required under 

10 the regulations promulgated under subsection 

11 (b)(1)(E), the head of a covered postal entity 

12 may— 

13 ‘‘(i) void that contract; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) recover the amounts expended 

15 and property transferred by the covered 

16 postal entity under that contract. 

17 ‘‘(B) CONVICTION OR ADMINISTRATIVE DE18 TERMINATION.—A case described under sub19 paragraph (A) is any case in which— 

20 ‘‘(i) there is a final conviction for an 

21 offense punishable under section 2105 of 

22 title 41, United States Code; or 

23 ‘‘(ii) the head of a covered postal enti24 ty determines, based upon a preponderance 

25 of the evidence, that the contractor or 


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1 someone acting for the contractor has en2 gaged in conduct constituting an offense 

3 punishable under section 2105 of such 

4 title.’’. 

5 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of chapters 

6 for part I of title 39, United States Code, is amended by 

7 adding at the end the following: 

‘‘7. Contracting Provisions ............................................................. 701’’. 

8 SEC. 502. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT TO DEFINITION. 

9 Section 7101(8) of title 41, United States Code, is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara12 graph (C); 

13 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub14 paragraph (D) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

15 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub16 paragraph: 

17 ‘‘(E) the United States Postal Service and 

18 the Postal Regulatory Commission.’’. 

Æ 


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