I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7512 

To rename the House Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards as 

the House Communications Standards Commission, to extend the authority of the Commission to regulate mass mailings of Members and Members-elect of the House of Representatives to all unsolicited mass communications of Members and Members-elect of the House, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 9, 2020 

Mrs. DAVIS of California (for herself, Mr. STEIL, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. RODNEY

DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. SHERMAN, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. WALKER, and Mr. 

LOUDERMILK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committees 

on Oversight and Reform, and Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To rename the House Commission on Congressional Mailing 

Standards as the House Communications Standards 

Commission, to extend the authority of the Commission 

to regulate mass mailings of Members and Memberselect of the House of Representatives to all unsolicited 

mass communications of Members and Members-elect of 

the House, and for other purposes. 

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

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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Communications Out3 reach Media and Mail Standards Act’’ or the ‘‘COMMS 

4 Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. RENAMING HOUSE COMMISSION ON CONGRES6 SIONAL MAILING STANDARDS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5(a) of the Act entitled 

8 ‘‘An Act to amend title 39, United States Code, to clarify 

9 the proper use of the franking privilege by Members of 

10 Congress, and for other purposes’’, approved December 

11 18, 1973 (2 U.S.C. 501(a)), is amended by striking 

12 ‘‘House Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘House Communications Standards Com14 mission’’. 

15 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

16 (1) TITLE 39.—Title 39, United States Code, is 

17 amended by striking ‘‘House Commission on Con18 gressional Mailing Standards’’ and inserting ‘‘House 

19 Communications Standards Commission’’ each place 

20 it appears in the following sections: 

21 (A) Section 3210(a)(5), (a)(6)(D), (b)(3), 

22 (d)(5), and (d)(6)(A). 

23 (B) Section 3216(e)(1) and (e)(2). 

24 (C) Section 3220(b). 

25 (2) OTHER PROVISIONS.—Section 311 of the 

26 Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1991 (2 

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1 U.S.C. 503) is amended by striking ‘‘House Com2 mission on Congressional Mailing Standards’’ and 

3 inserting ‘‘House Communications Standards Com4 mission’’ each place it appears in subsections (a)(3), 

5 (e)(1)(B), and (f). 

6 (c) REFERENCES IN OTHER DOCUMENTS.—Any ref7 erence in any rule, regulation, or other document to the 

8 House Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards 

9 shall be deemed to be a reference to the House Commu10 nications Standards Commission. 

11 SEC. 3. AUTHORITY OF COMMISSION OVER OFFICIAL MASS 

12 COMMUNICATIONS. 

13 (a) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE GUIDANCE REGARDING

14 DISSEMINATION OF MASS COMMUNICATIONS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 5(d) of the Act enti16 tled ‘‘An Act to amend title 39, United States Code, 

17 to clarify the proper use of the franking privilege by 

18 Members of Congress, and for other purposes’’, ap19 proved December 18, 1973 (2 U.S.C. 501(d)), is 

20 amended— 

21 (A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘The 

22 Commission’’ and inserting ‘‘(1) The Commis23 sion’’; and 

24 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

25 paragraph: 

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1 ‘‘(2) In addition to the guidance, assistance, ad2 vice, and counsel described in paragraph (1), the 

3 Commission shall provide— 

4 ‘‘(A) guidance, assistance, advice, and 

5 counsel, through advisory opinions or consulta6 tions, in connection with any law and with any 

7 rule or regulation of the House of Representa8 tives governing the dissemination of mass com9 munications other than franked mail; and 

10 ‘‘(B) guidance, assistance, advice, and 

11 counsel in connection with any law and with 

12 any rule or regulation of the House of Rep13 resentatives governing the official content of 

14 other official communications of any quantity, 

15 whether solicited or unsolicited.’’. 

16 (2) AUTHORITY TO INVESTIGATE COM17 PLAINTS.—Section 5(e) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 

18 501(e)) is amended— 

19 (A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘Any 

20 complaint’’ and all that follows through ‘‘is 

21 about to occur’’ and inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘Any complaint that a violation of any provi23 sion of law or any rule or regulation of the 

24 House of Representatives to which subsection 

25 (d) applies is about to occur’’; and 

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1 (B) in the sentence beginning with ‘‘Not2 withstanding any other provision of law’’, by 

3 striking ‘‘a violation of the franking laws or an 

4 abuse of the franking privilege by any person 

5 listed under subsection (d) of this section as en6 titled to send mail as franked mail,’’ and insert7 ing ‘‘a violation of any provision of law or any 

8 rule or regulation of the House of Representa9 tives to which subsection (d) applies,’’. 

10 (3) MASS COMMUNICATION DEFINED.—Section 

11 5 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 501) is amended by adding 

12 at the end the following new subsection: 

13 ‘‘(h) In this section, the term ‘mass communication’ 

14 means a mass mailing described in section 3210(a)(6)(E) 

15 of title 39, United States Code, or any other unsolicited 

16 communication of substantially identical content which is 

17 transmitted to 500 or more persons in a session of Con18 gress, as provided under regulations of the Commission, 

19 except that such term does not include— 

20 ‘‘(1) any communication from an individual de21 scribed in subsection (d) to another individual de22 scribed in subsection (d), a Senator, or any Federal, 

23 State, local, or Tribal government official; 

24 ‘‘(2) any news release to the communications 

25 media; 

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1 ‘‘(3) any such mass mailing or unsolicited com2 munication made in direct response to a communica3 tion from a person to whom the mass mailing or un4 solicited communication was transmitted; or 

5 ‘‘(4) in the case of any such unsolicited commu6 nication which is transmitted in a digital format, a 

7 communication for which the cost of the content is 

8 less than a threshold amount established under reg9 ulations of the House Communications Standards 

10 Commission.’’. 

11 (b) AUTHORITY TO REVIEW ALL UNSOLICITED MASS

12 COMMUNICATIONS.— 

13 (1) REQUIRING REVIEW BEFORE DISSEMINA14 TION.—Section 311(f) of the Legislative Branch Ap15 propriations Act, 1991 (2 U.S.C. 503(f)) is amend16 ed— 

17 (A) by striking ‘‘any mass mailing’’ and in18 serting ‘‘any mass communication’’; 

19 (B) by striking ‘‘mail matter’’ and insert20 ing ‘‘matter’’; and 

21 (C) by striking ‘‘such proposed mailing’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘such proposed communication’’. 

23 (2) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN COMMUNICA24 TIONS.—Section 311(f) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 

25 503(f)) is amended— 

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1 (A) by striking ‘‘A Member’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), a 

3 Member’’; and 

4 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

5 paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply in the case of any 

7 type of mass communication which is designated as ex8 empt from the requirements of such paragraph as pro9 vided under regulations of the House Communications 

10 Standards Commission.’’. 

11 (3) DEFINITION.—Section 311(g) of such Act 

12 (2 U.S.C. 503(g)) is amended— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para14 graph (1); 

15 (B) by striking the period at the end of 

16 paragraph (2) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

17 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

18 paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(3) the term ‘mass communication’ means a 

20 mass mailing described in section 3210(a)(6)(E) of 

21 title 39, United States Code, or any other unsolic22 ited communication of substantially identical content 

23 which is transmitted to 500 or more persons in a 

24 session of Congress, as provided under regulations of 

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1 the House Communications Standards Commission, 

2 except that such term does not include— 

3 ‘‘(A) any communication from a Member 

4 of the House of Representatives to another 

5 Member of the House of Representatives, a 

6 Senator, or any Federal, State, or local govern7 ment official; 

8 ‘‘(B) any news release to the communica9 tions media; 

10 ‘‘(C) any such mass mailing or unsolicited 

11 communication made in direct response to a 

12 communication from a person to whom the 

13 mass mailing or unsolicited communication was 

14 transmitted; or 

15 ‘‘(D) in the case of any such unsolicited 

16 communication which is transmitted in a digital 

17 format, a communication for which the cost of 

18 the content is less than a threshold amount es19 tablished under regulations of the House Com20 munications Standards Commission.’’. 

21 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO RULES OF THE

22 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—Clause 9 of rule XXIV 

23 of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended 

24 by inserting after ‘‘that session,’’ the following: ‘‘or any 

25 other unsolicited communication of substantially identical 

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1 content which is transmitted to 500 or more persons in 

2 that session or, in the case of a digital communication of 

3 substantially identical content, which is disseminated at 

4 a cost exceeding a designated amount, as provided under 

5 regulations of the House Communications Standards 

6 Commission,’’. 

7 SEC. 4. REVISION TO MASS MAILING NOTICE ON TAXPAYER 

8 FUNDING. 

9 Section 311(a) of the Legislative Branch Appropria10 tions Act, 1997 (2 U.S.C. 506(a)) is amended— 

11 (1) by striking ‘‘(a) Each mass mailing’’ and 

12 inserting ‘‘(a)(1) Each mass mailing’’; 

13 (2) by striking ‘‘the following notice:’’ and all 

14 that follows through ‘‘or a notice’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘one of the notices described in paragraph (2) or a 

16 notice’’; and 

17 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

18 paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(2) The notices described in this paragraph are as 

20 follows: 

21 ‘‘(A) ‘Paid for with official funds from the of22 fice of lllll.’, with the blank filled in with 

23 the name of the Member sending the mailing. 

24 ‘‘(B) ‘Paid for by the funds authorized by the 

25 House of Representatives for District ll of 

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1 lllll.’, with the first blank filled in with the 

2 name of the congressional district number, and the 

3 second blank filled in with the name of the State, of 

4 the Member sending the mailing. 

5 ‘‘(C) ‘Paid for by official funds authorized by 

6 the House of Representatives.’ ’’. 

7 SEC. 5. REVISIONS TO RESTRICTIONS ON MAIL MATTER 

8 CONSIDERED FRANKABLE. 

9 (a) EXPRESSIONS OF CONGRATULATIONS.—Section 

10 3210(a)(3)(F) of title 39, United States Code, is amended 

11 by striking ‘‘to a person who has achieved some public 

12 distinction’’. 

13 (b) BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION RELATED TO OF14 FICIAL AND REPRESENTATIONAL DUTIES.—Section 

15 3210(a)(3)(I) of such title is amended by striking ‘‘publi16 cation or in response to a specific request therefor’’ and 

17 inserting the following: ‘‘publication, in response to a spe18 cific request therefor, or which relates to the Member’s 

19 or Member-elect’s official and representational duties,’’. 

20 (c) PHOTOS AND LIKENESSES INCLUDED IN NEWS21 LETTERS OR GENERAL MASS MAILINGS.—Section 

22 3210(a)(3) of such title is amended— 

23 (1) by adding ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph 

24 (H); 

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1 (2) in subparagraph (I), by striking ‘‘; or’’ and 

2 inserting a period; and 

3 (3) by striking subparagraph (J). 

4 (d) CLARIFICATION OF ABILITY OF MEMBERS TO

5 USE FRANKED MAIL TO SEND PERSONAL MESSAGES TO

6 CONSTITUENTS.—Section 3210(a)(4) of such title is 

7 amended by striking the period at the end and inserting 

8 the following: ‘‘, except that nothing in this paragraph 

9 may be construed to prohibit the use of the franking privi10 lege for the transmission of matter which is purely per11 sonal to a recipient who is a constituent of a Member of 

12 Congress and which is related to the official business, ac13 tivities, and duties of the Member.’’. 

14 (e) HOLIDAY CARDS.—Section 3210(a)(5)(B)(iii) of 

15 such title is amended by striking ‘‘holiday greetings’’ and 

16 inserting ‘‘religious holiday greetings’’. 

17 (f) UNIFORM BLACKOUT PERIOD FOR ALL MEMBERS

18 OF CONGRESS.— 

19 (1) UNIFORM PERIOD.—Section 3210(a)(6)(A) 

20 of such title is amended— 

21 (A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘(or, in the 

22 case of a Member of the House, fewer than 90 

23 days)’’; and 

24 (B) in clause (ii)(II), by striking ‘‘90 

25 days’’ and inserting ‘‘60 days’’. 

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1 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

2 by paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to the reg3 ularly scheduled general election for Federal office 

4 held in November 2020 and each succeeding election 

5 for public office. 

6 (g) NONAPPLICATION OF BLACKOUT PERIOD TO

7 PARTY NOMINATING CONVENTIONS OR CAUCUSES.—Sec8 tion 3210(a)(6) of such title is amended by adding at the 

9 end the following new subparagraph: 

10 ‘‘(G) For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘pri11 mary election’ does not include a convention or caucus of 

12 a political party which has authority to nominate a can13 didate.’’. 

14 (h) INFORMATION ON CERTAIN MATTERS.—Section 

15 3210(a)(6)(E) of such title is amended— 

16 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of clause (ii); 

17 (2) by striking the period at the end of clause 

18 (iii) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

19 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

20 clause: 

21 ‘‘(iv) providing information exclusively on com22 petitions which are officially sanctioned by the 

23 House of Representatives or Senate, nominations to 

24 military service academies, official employment list25 ings for positions in the House of Representatives 

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1 (including listings for positions in the Wounded 

2 Warrior Program or the Gold Star Family Fellow3 ship Program), or natural disasters or other threats 

4 to public health and life safety.’’. 

5 SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

6 Except as provided in section 5(f)(2), this Act and 

7 the amendments made by this Act shall apply with respect 

8 to communications disseminated on or after the date of 

9 the enactment of this Act. 

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