U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

1 

79–010 

" ! SENATE 115TH CONGRESS

2d Session 

REPORT

2018

115–329 

Calendar No. 561 

POST OFFICE DISCONTINUANCE 

ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2017 

R E P O R T 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND 

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

TO ACCOMPANY

S. 1204 

TO AUTHORIZE THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE TO 

CARRY OUT EMERGENCY SUSPENSIONS OF POST OFFICES IN 

ACCORDANCE WITH CERTAIN PROCEDURES, AND FOR OTHER 

PURPOSES 

SEPTEMBER 4, 2018.—Ordered to be printed 


E:\Seals\Congress.#13
(II) 

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin, Chairman 

JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona 

ROB PORTMAN, Ohio 

RAND PAUL, Kentucky 

JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma 

MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming 

JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota 

STEVE DAINES, Montana 

CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri 

THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware 

HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota 

GARY C. PETERS, Michigan 

MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire 

KAMALA D. HARRIS, California 

DOUG JONES, Alabama 

CHRISTOPHER R. HIXON, Staff Director 

GABRIELLE D’ADAMO SINGER, Chief Counsel 

JENNIFER L. SELDE, Professional Staff Member 

MARGARET E. DAUM, Minority Staff Director 

CHARLES A. MOSKOWITZ, Minority Senior Legislative Counsel 

LAURA W. KILBRIDE, Chief Clerk 

Calendar No. 561 

115TH CONGRESS SENATE REPORT " ! 2d Session 115–329 

POST OFFICE DISCONTINUANCE ACCOUNTABILITY 

ACT OF 2017 

SEPTEMBER 4, 2018.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. JOHNSON, from the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 1204] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 

to which was referred the bill (S. 1204) to authorize the United 

States Postal Service to carry out emergency suspensions of post offices in accordance with certain procedures, and for other purposes, 

having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an 

amendment in the nature of a substitute and recommends that the 

bill, as amended, do pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

I. Purpose and Summary .................................................................................. 1 

II. Background and Need for the Legislation ................................................... 2 

III. Legislative History ......................................................................................... 4 

IV. Section-by-Section Analysis .......................................................................... 5 

V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact .................................................................. 5 

VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate ................................................ 6 

VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the bill, as Reported ........................... 6 

I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

The purpose of S. 1204, the Post Office Discontinuance Accountability Act of 2018, is to establish procedures that the United 

States Postal Service (Postal Service) must follow when suspending 

operations at post offices in cases of emergencies. 

2 

1 39 U.S.C. §§ 101(d), 201 (2008). 

2 39 U.S.C. § 403(b)(3) (1979). 

3 39 U.S.C. § 404 (a)(3) (2006). 

4 Id. 

5 Id. 

6 Id. 

7 Id. 

8See generally 39 C.F.R. § 3025 (2012). 9 U.S. Postal Service, Handbook PO–101, Postal Service-Operated Retail Facilities Discontinuance Guide (2012) (on file with Committee staff). 

II. BACKGROUND AND THE NEED FOR LEGISLATION

The Postal Service is an independent government agency, established to provide postal services to the United States which are 

paid for by customers through postage rate income.1 In addition to 

receiving, transmitting, and delivering mail throughout the United 

States, the Postal Service is responsible for establishing and maintaining ‘‘postal facilities of such character and in such locations, 

that postal patrons throughout the Nation will, consistent with reasonable economies of postal operations, have ready access to essential postal services.’’ 2 To fulfill this responsibility, Congress provided the Postal Service authority to determine the need for post 

offices and postal facilities.3

There are limits to this authority. Before the Postal Service may 

close or consolidate a post office, it must follow specific procedures 

outlined in section 404(d) of title 39, United States Code. First, the 

Postal Service must consider a number of factors regarding the closure or consolidation including: the impact of the action on the 

community served by the post office and the employees of the post 

office; the ability of the Postal Service to continue to provide effective and regular postal services to rural areas after the proposed 

action; and the anticipated economic savings for the Postal Service 

from the proposed action.4

After this step, the Postal Service must provide written notice of 

its intention to close a post office to those served by the post office 

at least 60 days in advance of the action including the findings of 

the above considerations.5 Any individual served by the post office 

may then appeal the closure or consolidation within 30 days to the 

Postal Regulatory Commission (Commission) for review.6 The Commission may then review the decision of the Postal Service and either affirm the decision or return it to the Postal Service for further consideration.7 The Commission has further clarified these 

procedures, including how and when affected individuals may participate in the appeal and how the Postal Service may respond.8

The Postal Service also has guidelines about how management may 

discontinue operations at a post office, which are described in the 

Postal Service-Operated Retail Facilities Discontinuance Guide 

(Handbook PO–101).9

There is no statutory restriction on the Postal Service temporarily suspending operations at a post office. District managers can 

suspend operations at a post office under certain circumstances, including: natural disasters; termination of a lease or rental agreement when no suitable alternative quarters exists in the community; severe damage to or destruction of the office; or lack of qualified personnel to operate the office. Suspension procedures are also 

laid out in Handbook PO–101 and include instructions on how to 

3 

10 U.S. Postal Regulatory Comm’n, Order No. 335, 3 (Nov. 2009) available at https:// 

www.prc.gov/docs/65/65562/Order_No_335.pdf. 11See generally U.S. Postal Regulatory Comm’n, Ann. Compliance Determination Rep. (2009- 

2017) available at https://www.prc.gov/prc-reports?keys=&field_report_type_ value=Annual%20Compliance%20Reports. 12 U.S. Postal Regulatory Comm’n, Ann. Compliance Determination Rep., 121 (2013) available at https://www.prc.gov/docs/89/89500/2013%20ACD%20Final%20(2).pdf. 

13 U.S. Postal Regulatory Comm’n, supra note 7. 14 U.S. Postal Regulatory Comm’n, Ann. Compliance Determination Rep., 163 (2017) available at https://www.prc.gov/sites/default/files/reports/2017_ACD.pdf. 15See Postal Regulatory Comm’n, Ann. Compliance Review (2018) available at https:// 

www.prc.gov/dockets/document/104816. 16 U.S. Postal Regulatory Comm’n, Section 701 Rep., Analysis of the Postal Accountability and 

Enhancement Act of 2006, 21 (2016) available at https://www.prc.gov/sites/default/files/reports/ 

Section%20701%20rpt.pdf. 17 Id. 

notify Postal Service management and affected customers, reassign 

employees, and provide alternative service. 

Although suspensions are supposed to be used by the Postal 

Service only in emergency situations, the Commission has raised 

concerns that the Postal Service may suspend or not restore services at some post offices to avoid the closure process.10 Since 2009, 

the Commission has reported on the number of post office suspensions in its Annual Compliance Determination (ACD) Report, which 

focuses on Postal Service compliance with pricing and service performance standards.11 In the fiscal year (FY) 2013 ACD, the Commission recommended that the Postal Service ‘‘proceed expeditiously in either discontinuing offices under suspension or reopening them,’’ 12 recommendation which has been reiterated in each 

subsequent ACD.13

Despite this recommendation, post office suspensions reached 

their peak at the beginning of FY 2017, with 662 retail facilities 

suspended.14 As a result, the Commission directed the Postal Service to provide quarterly reports on the number of retail suspensions 

and establish a proposed timeline for resolving all suspensions. By 

the end of FY 2017, the Postal Service had resolved 304 post office 

suspensions, and has plans to resolve all remaining 378 suspensions by the end of the third quarter of FY 2019. As of the end of 

the second quarter of FY 2018, 276 post offices remain suspended. 

While the Postal Service has made considerable progress towards 

resolving post office suspensions, over ninety percent of the remaining post offices suspensions are over two years old and over forty 

percent are over five years old.15 The longest suspension dates back 

to April 1984. The Commission has recommended in its report on 

the effectiveness and efficiency of postal laws that Congress consider a maximum time a post office may remain in suspension status.16

To address the recommendation of the Commission, as well as to 

ensure that the Postal Service cannot use suspensions as de facto 

closures, S. 1204 establishes a process which holds the Postal Service accountable to communities affected by post office suspensions, 

while also allowing the Postal Service to retain flexibility in emergency situations. The bill codifies the existing internal Postal Service procedures for suspensions, which were strengthened in 2012 to 

state that, when possible, if the circumstances of a closure are 

known in advance (such as in the case of an expired lease), a discontinuance study should be initiated in advance to allow for public 

input before services are suspended.17 This bill strengthens this inVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:15 Sep 06, 2018 Jkt 079010 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR329.XXX SR329
4 

18 U.S. Postal Regulatory Comm’n, Ann. Compliance Determination Rep., 165 (2018) available 

at https://www.prc.gov/sites/default/files/reports/2017_ACD.pdf. 19 U.S. Postal Service, supra note 5, at §§ 613.3, 618. 

tent by explicitly stating that the Postal Service should notify customers if a suspension is possible due to an expiration of a lease 

or rental agreement for the post office, if a new lease or rental 

agreement is not expected. 

While S. 1204 is not intended to limit the ability of the Postal 

Service to react to emergency situations, the bill seeks to prevent 

indefinite suspensions by requiring that after one year of suspension, a post office may be considered eligible for the closure appeal 

process described in section 404(d) of title 39, United States Code. 

However, the Postal Service may continue the suspension if it can 

demonstrate a need to continue the suspension and if the Postal 

Service is complying with the internal procedures which have been 

codified by this bill. The section also will not apply to the post offices for which the Commission and the Postal Service already have 

an established process for resolving the suspension, as outlined in 

the FY 2017 ACD.18

To improve the accountability to the affected community, particularly in the case of suspensions lasting longer than one year, S. 

1204 requires the Postal Service to conduct a community meeting 

to present a plan of action to explain the suspension and present 

a plan of action to restore service. According to the existing guidelines which are codified by this bill, if a continued suspension is 

necessary the Postal Service should have already given notice to 

customers about the suspension and established an internal plan 

of action to restore service.19 This new requirement for the meeting 

aligns with Commission recommendations that Congress limit the 

length of suspension, by ensuring that in those extreme cases 

where suspensions longer than a year may be warranted, the affected community is well-informed of the Postal Service plans. 

Finally, S. 1204 gives the Postal Service flexibility to change its 

internal procedures for post offices suspensions, provided it 

consults with the Commission before making changes. The current 

procedures are designed to inform affected customers and employees, while restoring service or permanently closing the post office 

as quickly as possible. While the Postal Service may need to alter 

the guidelines or regulations for suspensions to improve operations, 

the Commission should be involved in any change so as to protect 

those affected by suspensions. It is the intention of the Committee 

that the Postal Service should make available to the public a written copy of the suspension procedures. 

III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

Senator Claire McCaskill (D–MO) introduced S. 1204, the Post 

Office Discontinuance Accountability Act of 2017, on May 23, 2017, 

with Senator Jerry Moran (R–KS). The bill was referred to the 

Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. 

The Committee considered S. 1204 at a business meeting on 

June 13, 2018. During the business meeting, a modified substitute 

amendment was offered by Chairman Ron Johnson and Ranking 

Member McCaskill and accepted by unanimous consent. The 

amendment codifies the existing Postal Service procedures for post 

5 

office suspensions, while adding the requirement that the Postal 

Service provide updates to communities affected by suspensions 

after one year. The amendment also allows the Postal Service to 

change their suspension procedures with input from the Commission. 

The bill, as amended, was ordered reported favorably by voice 

vote en bloc. Senators present for the vote were Johnson, Portman, 

Lankford, Enzi, McCaskill, Carper, Peters, Hassan, Harris, and 

Jones. 

IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE BILL, AS REPORTED

Section 1. Short title 

This section designates the short title of the bill as the ‘‘Post Office Discontinuance Accountability Act of 2018.’’ 

Sec. 2. Emergency suspensions of post offices 

Section 2 adds a new subparagraph following section 404(d) of 

title 39, United States Code, to codify Postal Services procedures 

for emergency suspensions of post offices. 

New subparagraph (7)(A) requires the Postal Service to follow established procedures to temporarily suspend operations at post offices. Specifically, the Postal Service must follow existing procedures as described in Postal Service Handbook PO–101. 

New subparagraph (7)(B) requires the Postal Service to notify affected customers of a post office with an expired lease or rental 

agreement if it does not reasonably expect to reach a new lease or 

rental agreement for the post office. 

New subparagraph (7)(C) states that after a post office has been 

suspended for more than one year, postal customers may appeal to 

the Commission and force the Postal Service through the closure 

procedures for the post office. The Postal Service is exempt from 

this requirement if there is a demonstrated need for suspension 

and the Postal Service is following the procedures in Handbook 

PO–101, or if the Commission has already established procedures 

for resolving the suspension. 

New subparagraph (7)(D) states that if the Postal Service demonstrates the need to continue the suspension, it must conduct a 

community meeting to explain the suspension, gather customer 

opinions, and present a plan of action to return service. The Postal 

Service must also periodically update the community if service is 

not restored according to the plan presented in the meeting. 

New subparagraph (7)(E) requires the Postal Service to consult 

with the Postal Regulatory Commission if it makes any changes to 

the suspension procedures in Postal Service Handbook PO–101. 

Finally, new subparagraph (7)(F) clarifies that any reference in 

the bill to the Postal Service Handbook PO–101 is referring to the 

document titled ‘‘Postal Service-Operated Retail Facilities Discontinuance Guide’’ published in October 2012 or any appropriate 

successor to that document. 

V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT

Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of 

the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has considered 

the regulatory impact of this bill and determined that the bill will 

6 

have no regulatory impact within the meaning of the rules. The 

Committee agrees with the Congressional Budget Office’s statement that the bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 

mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

(UMRA) and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. 

VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

U.S. CONGRESS, 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, 

Washington, DC, July 9, 2018. 

Hon. RON JOHNSON, Chairman, 

Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 

U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1204, the Post Office Discontinuance Accountability Act of 2018. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark Grabowicz. 

Sincerely, 

KEITH HALL, 

Director. 

Enclosure. 

S. 1204—Post Office Discontinuance Accountability Act of 2018 

S. 1204 would set conditions and procedures for the temporary 

closing of post offices, including required notifications to the public 

by the Postal Service. The agency is currently following procedures 

that are very similar to those that would be required by the bill; 

thus, CBO estimates that implementing S. 1204 would have no effect on spending by the Postal Service. 

Enacting S. 1204 would not affect direct spending or revenues; 

therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. 

CBO estimates that enacting S. 1204 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 

10-year periods beginning in 2029. 

S. 1204 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz. The 

estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant 

Director for Budget Analysis. 

VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by the bill, as 

reported, are shown as follows: (existing law proposed to be omitted 

is enclosed in brackets, new matter is printed in italic, and existing 

law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman): 

UNITED STATES CODE 

* * * * * * * 

7 

TITLE 39—POSTAL SERVICE 

* * * * * * * 

PART 1—GENERAL 

* * * * * * * 

CHAPTER 4—GENERAL AUTHORITY 

* * * * * * * 

SEC. 404. SPECIFIC POWERS. 

(a) * * * 

(b) * * * 

(c) * * * 

(d) * * * 

(1) * * * 

* * * * * * * 

(7)(A) The Postal Service may temporarily suspend operations 

at a post office if the Postal Service follows the procedures set 

forth in subchapter 61 of Postal Service Handbook PO–101. 

(B) If the lease or rental agreement for a post office expires, 

and the Postal Service does not reasonably expect to reach a 

new lease or rental agreement, the Postal Service shall notify 

the affected customers of the possible suspension of the post office in accordance with section 613.3 of Postal Service Handbook PO–101. 

(C) If a post office has been suspended for not less than 1 

year, any person served by the post office may file and appeal 

with Postal Regulatory Commission. On review, the Commission may consider the suspension to be an action that is subject 

to the procedures required under paragraphs (1) through (6) 

unless— 

(i) the Postal Service demonstrates that— 

(I) the need for a suspension under sub-chapter 61 of 

Postal Service Handbook PO–101 continues to exist; 

and 

(II) the Postal Service is complying with the applicable procedures under subchapter 61 of Postal Service 

Handbook PO–101; or 

(ii) the Commission has already established a process for 

resolving the suspension of the post office. 

(D) If the Postal Service demonstrates the need for a continued suspension under subparagraph (C)(i), the Postal Service 

shall— 

(i) conduct a community meeting to— 

(I) explain the circumstances of the suspension and 

obtain customer opinion about alternate service in a 

manner similar to the community meeting described in 

part 714 of Postal Service Handbook PO–101; and 

(II) present the plan of action to restore service required under part 618 of Postal Service Handbook PO– 

101; and 

8 

(ii) periodically update the affected community if service 

is not restored in accordance with the plan described in 

clause (i)(II) of this subparagraph. 

(E) The Postal Service shall consult with the Postal Regulatory Commission in making any changes to suspension procedures in Postal Service Handbook PO–101. 

(F) In this paragraph— 

(i) the term ‘‘Postal Service Handbook PO–101’’ means 

the document titled ‘‘Postal Service-Operated Retail Facilities Discontinuance Guide’’ (Handbook PO–101), published 

by the Postal Service in October 2012, or any appropriate 

successor to that document; and 

(ii) a reference to a provision of Postal Service Handbook 

PO–101 shall be deemed to include any appropriate successor to that provision. 

Æ