I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1262 

To reform the United States Postal Service in order to fulfill its constitutional 

mandate, to improve its efficiency, to help it meet its universal service 

obligation, and to facilitate private sector economic growth. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 30, 2011 

Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia (for himself, Ms. NORTON, Mr. DEUTCH, and Mr. 

DAVIS of Illinois) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the 

Committee on the Judiciary, 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 reform the United States Postal Service in order to 

fulfill its constitutional mandate, to improve its efficiency, to help it meet its universal service obligation, 

and to facilitate private sector economic growth. 

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. 

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

5 ‘‘Reform the Postal Service for the 21st Century Act’’. 


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

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Assistance to facilitate voting by mail. 

Sec. 4. Provisions relating to the postal delivery vehicle fleet. 

Sec. 5. Forever box. 

Sec. 6. Nonpostal products and services. 

Sec. 7. Study relating to consolidated mailings. 

Sec. 8. Study relating to the cost of Government mailings. 

Sec. 9. Packaging of postal services and products. 

Sec. 10. After-delivery payment arrangements. 

Sec. 11. Small business mailing pools. 

Sec. 12. Electronic post office box services. 

Sec. 13. Contracting provisions. 

Sec. 14. Supervisory and other managerial organizations of the Postal Service. 

Sec. 15. Energy efficiency projects. 

Sec. 16. Required period for notice and comment with respect to changes in 

mailing rules. 

Sec. 17. Negotiated service agreements for market-dominant products. 

Sec. 18. Electronic communication products. 

3 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

4 For purposes of this Act— 

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

6 States Postal Service; 

7 (2) the term ‘‘market-dominant product’’ has 

8 the meaning given such term by section 102 of title 

9 39, United States Code; 

10 (3) the term ‘‘Postal fleet’’ means that portion 

11 of the Federal fleet (within the meaning of section 

12 303(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 

13 13212(b)) which is owned, operated, leased, or oth14 erwise controlled by or assigned to the Postal Serv15 ice and used primarily in the delivery of mail; 


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1 (4) the term ‘‘motor vehicle’’ means any self2 propelled vehicle designed for transporting persons 

3 or property on a street or highway; 

4 (5) the term ‘‘electric motor vehicle’’ means a 

5 motor vehicle powered solely by an electric motor 

6 that draws current from rechargeable storage bat7 teries, fuel cells, photovoltaic arrays, or other 

8 sources of electric current; 

9 (6) the term ‘‘small business concern’’ means a 

10 small business as defined pursuant to section 3 of 

11 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632) and rel12 evant regulations promulgated pursuant thereto; 

13 (7) the term ‘‘State’’ includes the District of 

14 Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 

15 Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Com16 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and 

17 any other territory or possession of the United 

18 States; and 

19 (8) the term ‘‘United States’’, as used in a geo20 graphical sense, includes the District of Columbia, 

21 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Is22 lands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth 

23 of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any other ter24 ritory or possession of the United States. 


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1 SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE TO FACILITATE VOTING BY MAIL. 

2 It is the sense of Congress that the Postal Service 

3 should consider a simplified rate structure for election bal4 lots sent by voters by mail as part of its review of potential 

5 new election mail products. 

6 SEC. 4. PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE POSTAL DELIVERY 

7 VEHICLE FLEET. 

8 (a) ELECTRIC VEHICLES.—The Postal Service shall 

9 implement a plan, which it shall present in advance to 

10 Congress, to replace or convert 2,000 gasoline-powered de11 livery vehicles with electric vehicles by January 1, 2017. 

12 (b) CONVERSION TO ELECTRIC MOTOR VEHICLES.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—It is the sense of Congress 

14 that the Postal Service should— 

15 (A) during each year in the 10-year period 

16 beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, 

17 replace at least 10 percent of the gasoline-pow18 ered motor vehicles in the Postal fleet with elec19 tric motor vehicles; 

20 (B) take such measures as may be nec21 essary to ensure that, by the end of the 10-year 

22 period described in subparagraph (A), at least 

23 75 percent of the Postal fleet is comprised of 

24 electric motor vehicles; and 

25 (C) carry out the preceding provisions of 

26 this paragraph, in coordination with local elecVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:57 Mar 31, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1262.IH H1262

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1 tric distribution companies, in a manner con2 sistent with the goals of— 

3 (i) maintaining electric grid reliability; 

4 and 

5 (ii) minimizing charging costs of elec6 tric motor vehicles in the Postal fleet. 

7 (2) BUY AMERICAN.—Notwithstanding any 

8 other provision of law, electric motor vehicles ac9 quired to carry out this subsection shall be electric 

10 motor vehicles manufactured in the United States. 

11 The Postal Service shall ensure that manufacturers 

12 of electric motor vehicles so acquired solicit competi13 tive bids for electric drive components and storage 

14 devices from domestic manufacturers that partici15 pate in the Department of Energy’s Electric Drive 

16 Vehicle Battery and Component Manufacturing Ini17 tiative (or successor program, as determined by the 

18 Postal Service in consultation with the Secretary of 

19 Energy). 

20 (3) BORROWING AUTHORITY.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Postal Service may 

22 borrow money and issue and sell such obliga23 tions as it determines necessary to carry out 

24 this subsection. 


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1 (B) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The au2 thority under subparagraph (A) shall be avail3 able to the Postal Service, subject to the provi4 sions of sections 2005 through 2007 of title 39, 

5 United States Code, to the same extent and in 

6 the same manner as if it were the cor7 responding authority described in the first sen8 tence of subsection (a)(1) of such section 2005, 

9 except that— 

10 (i) the amount of obligations out11 standing under this paragraph shall not be 

12 taken into account nor subject to— 

13 (I) the last sentence of subsection 

14 (a)(1) of such section 2005; 

15 (II) subsection (a)(2) of such sec16 tion 2005, except as provided in 

17 clause (iv); or 

18 (III) the dollar-amount limitation 

19 set forth in section 2006(b) of such 

20 title; 

21 (ii) obligations issued by the Postal 

22 Service under this paragraph shall mature 

23 within a period not to exceed 10 years 

24 from the date of issuance; 


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1 (iii)(I) if the Secretary of the Treas2 ury makes an election under section 

3 2006(a) to purchase such obligations, the 

4 rate of interest on such obligations shall be 

5 zero; and 

6 (II) if those obligations are issued and 

7 sold under the last sentence of section 

8 2006(a) to a party or parties other than 

9 the Secretary of the Treasury, any interest 

10 on such obligations shall be payable by the 

11 Government of the United States and not 

12 by the Postal Service; 

13 (iv) if the Postal Service does not 

14 repay the principal of any obligations 

15 under this paragraph (whether sold in the 

16 manner described in clause (iii)(I) or 

17 issued in the manner described in clause 

18 (iii)(II)) in timely fashion— 

19 (I) the unpaid portion of such 

20 principal shall, after the deadline for 

21 repayment, be taken into account for 

22 purposes of section 2005(a)(2) of such 

23 title 39; and 

24 (II) if the application of sub25 clause (I) causes the aggregate 


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1 amount of obligations, issued by the 

2 Postal Service, which are outstanding 

3 at any one time to exceed the max4 imum amount allowable under such 

5 section 2005(a)(2), the further exer6 cise of any borrowing authority under 

7 this paragraph shall be suspended 

8 until such aggregate amount is re9 duced to a level that does not exceed 

10 that maximum amount allowable; and 

11 (v) the aggregate amount of obliga12 tions outstanding under this paragraph at 

13 any one time shall not exceed 

14 $6,000,000,000. 

15 (c) AUTHORITY TO USE FLEET VEHICLES FOR CER16 TAIN PURPOSES BESIDES MAIL DELIVERY.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 404(a) of title 39, 

18 United States Code, is amended— 

19 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (6) 

20 through (8) as paragraphs (7) through (9), re21 spectively; and 

22 (B) by inserting after paragraph (5) the 

23 following: 

24 ‘‘(6) to provide services, other than postal serv25 ices (as defined in section 102(5)) and in a manner 


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1 that generates revenue for the Postal Service, if the 

2 Postal Service determines that the provision of that 

3 service would utilize the processing, transportation, 

4 delivery, retail network, or technology of the Postal 

5 Service in a manner that is consistent with the pub6 lic interest;’’. 

7 (2) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 

8 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

9 Postal Service shall submit to Congress a written re10 port on the operation of the amendment made by 

11 paragraph (1). Such report shall specifically include 

12 a description of any agreements or other arrange13 ments entered into by the Postal Service for the pur14 pose of allowing vehicles in the Postal fleet to be 

15 used for purposes relating to monitoring weather 

16 conditions (including air pollution) or road condi17 tions. Such report shall— 

18 (A) to the extent that it relates to moni19 toring weather conditions, be prepared in con20 sultation with the National Weather Service; 

21 (B) to the extent that it relates to moni22 toring air pollution, be prepared in consultation 

23 with the Environmental Protection Agency; and 


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1 (C) to the extent that it relates to moni2 toring road conditions, be prepared in consulta3 tion with the Department of Transportation. 

4 SEC. 5. FOREVER BOX. 

5 It is the sense of Congress that the Postal Service 

6 should consider creating a ‘‘Forever Box’’ for customers 

7 to mail parcels of a certain size, analogous to the ‘‘Forever 

8 Stamp’’. 

9 SEC. 6. NONPOSTAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES. 

10 (a) CO-LOCATION OF POST OFFICES AT RETAIL FA11 CILITIES.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

13 the date of enactment of this Act, the Postal Service 

14 shall submit a plan on the co-location of post offices 

15 at retail facilities to— 

16 (A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

17 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and 

18 (B) the Committee on Oversight and Gov19 ernment Reform of the House of Representa20 tives. 

21 (2) CONTENTS.—The plan under paragraph (1) 

22 shall— 

23 (A) be developed in consultation with the 

24 Postal Regulatory Commission; 


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1 (B) provide for an increase in the co-loca2 tion of post offices at retail facilities to enable 

3 the United States Postal Service to offer its 

4 products and services at those locations; 

5 (C) consider the impact of any co-location 

6 decisions on small communities and rural areas 

7 before taking actions to co-locate post offices; 

8 and 

9 (D) ensure that— 

10 (i) service shall continue in small com11 munities and rural areas after implementa12 tion of the plan; 

13 (ii) the United States Postal Service 

14 solicits community input before making de15 cisions about co-location; 

16 (iii) the quality of products and serv17 ices offered in co-located facilities are con18 sistent with those offered in post offices; 

19 (iv) products and services provided in 

20 co-located facilities will be provided 

21 through the employment of employees of 

22 the Postal Service, to the same extent as 

23 if such products and services had not been 

24 relocated from a post office; and 


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1 (v) co-location shall be permitted only 

2 to the extent that the Postal Service deter3 mines (and the Postal Regulatory Commis4 sion concurs) that net revenues will in5 crease with respect to the operations of the 

6 post office or post offices so co-located. 

7 (3) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—The Postal 

8 Service shall submit a report, once every 2 years, on 

9 the progress of implementing the plan on the co-lo10 cation of post offices at retail facilities under this 

11 subsection to— 

12 (A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

13 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and 

14 (B) the Committee on Oversight and Gov15 ernment Reform of the House of Representa16 tives. 

17 (b) SPECIFIC POWERS.—Section 404(a) of title 39, 

18 United States Code, is amended— 

19 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (6) through 

20 (8) as paragraphs (7) through (9), respectively; and 

21 (2) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(6) to provide services other than postal serv24 ices, but only after determining that the provision of 

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1 portation, delivery, retail network, and technology of 

2 the Postal Service (whichever apply) in a manner 

3 that is consistent with the public interest;’’. 

4 (c) WINE AND BEER SHIPPING.— 

5 (1) AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 18, UNITED STATES

6 CODE.— 

7 (A) NONMAILABLE ARTICLES.—Section 

8 1716(f) of title 18, United States Code, is 

9 amended by striking ‘‘mails’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘mails, except to the extent that the mailing is 

11 allowable under section 3001(p) of title 39’’. 

12 (B) INTOXICANTS.—Section 1154(a) of 

13 title 18, United States Code, is amended by in14 serting ‘‘or, with respect to the mailing of wine 

15 or malt beverages, to the extent allowed under 

16 section 3001(p) of title 39’’ after ‘‘mechanical 

17 purposes’’. 

18 (2) AMENDMENT TO TITLE 39, UNITED STATES

19 CODE.—Section 3001 of title 39, United States 

20 Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(p)(1) Wine or malt beverages shall be considered 

23 mailable if mailed by a licensed winery or brewery, in ac24 cordance with applicable regulations under paragraph (2). 


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1 ‘‘(2) The Postal Service shall prescribe such regula2 tions as may be necessary to carry out this subsection, 

3 including regulations providing that— 

4 ‘‘(A) the mailing shall be by a means estab5 lished by the Postal Service to ensure direct delivery 

6 to the addressee or a duly authorized agent at a 

7 postal facility; 

8 ‘‘(B) the addressee shall be an individual at 

9 least 21 years of age, and shall present a valid, gov10 ernment-issued photo identification at the time of 

11 delivery; 

12 ‘‘(C) the wine or malt beverages may not be for 

13 resale or other commercial purpose; and 

14 ‘‘(D) the winery or brewery involved shall— 

15 ‘‘(i) certify in writing to the satisfaction of 

16 the Postal Service that the mailing is not in vio17 lation of any provision of this subsection or reg18 ulation prescribed under this subsection; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) provide any other information or af20 firmation that the Postal Service may require, 

21 including with respect to the prepayment of 

22 State alcohol beverage taxes. 

23 ‘‘(3) For purposes of this subsection, a winery or 

24 brewery shall be considered to be licensed if it holds an 


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1 appropriate basic permit issued under the Federal Alcohol 

2 Administration Act.’’. 

3 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

4 by this subsection shall take effect 180 days after 

5 the date of enactment of this Act. 

6 SEC. 7. STUDY RELATING TO CONSOLIDATED MAILINGS. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 

8 (1) the term ‘‘transpromotional mailing’’ refers 

9 to the use of a single mailing to provide, in addition 

10 to information provided by the mailing source, other 

11 information of potential interest to the recipient 

12 from a different source; and 

13 (2) the term ‘‘consolidated mailing’’ refers to a 

14 combined mailing, contained in a single envelope or 

15 cover, comprised of mail matter from more than one 

16 Federal agency. 

17 (b) STUDY.—The Postal Service shall conduct a 

18 study and submit to Congress, within 2 years after the 

19 date of enactment of this Act, a report on ways to promote 

20 the use of transpromotional or consolidated mailings. In21 cluded as part of such report shall be— 

22 (1) findings regarding the effect that the great23 er use of transpromotional or consolidated mailings 

24 is likely to have in terms of— 

25 (A) expanded mail volume; 


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1 (B) efficiencies in the dissemination of in2 formation by Federal agencies; and 

3 (C) other relevant measures; and 

4 (2) recommendations for such legislation or 

5 other actions as the Postal Service considers nec6 essary to achieve the optimal levels of 

7 transpromotional or consolidated mailings. 

8 SEC. 8. STUDY RELATING TO THE COST OF GOVERNMENT 

9 MAILINGS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 1 year after the date of 

11 enactment of this Act, there shall be submitted to Con12 gress the results of a study relating to the mailing costs, 

13 attributable to each agency or other entity in the executive 

14 branch of the Government, of sending mail by using the 

15 Postal Service, as compared to the services of a carrier 

16 other than the Postal Service. The report shall include, 

17 for the Postal Service and each of the other respective car18 riers— 

19 (1) an estimate of the per-mile mailing costs for 

20 each class of mail; and 

21 (2) such other information as may be necessary 

22 to allow meaningful comparisons to be made. 

23 (b) REGULATIONS.—The requirements of this section 

24 shall be carried out in such manner as the President may 

25 require. 


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1 SEC. 9. PACKAGING OF POSTAL SERVICES AND PRODUCTS. 

2 It is the sense of Congress that the Postal Service 

3 should consider— 

4 (1) establishing packages of postal services and 

5 products; and 

6 (2) marketing those packages to small busi7 nesses and other potential users. 

8 SEC. 10. AFTER-DELIVERY PAYMENT ARRANGEMENTS. 

9 Nothing in title 39, United States Code, or any other 

10 provision of law, shall prevent the Postal Service from en11 tering into arrangements whereby the sender of a mailing 

12 may be allowed to defer payment of postage until after 

13 the item involved has been delivered. 

14 SEC. 11. SMALL BUSINESS MAILING POOLS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in title 39, United States 

16 Code, or any other provision of law, shall prevent the Post17 al Service from promoting, or providing technical assist18 ance in connection with, the creation of small business and 

19 other mailing pools, the purpose of which is to allow each 

20 member of such pool to take advantage of postage rates 

21 applicable to bulk mailings and other discounts. 

22 (b) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—The Postal Service 

23 shall submit a written report to Congress, at least once 

24 every 3 years, on the operation of this section. 


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1 SEC. 12. ELECTRONIC POST OFFICE BOX SERVICES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Postal Service may, in part3 nership with a private sector provider of electronic mail 

4 services, carry out a pilot program which is designed to 

5 test the feasibility and desirability of an integrated elec6 tronic system for the receipt, storage, transport, and deliv7 ery of mail directed to physical addresses and post office 

8 boxes. 

9 (b) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Within 3 years after the 

11 date of enactment of this Act, the Postal Service 

12 shall submit to Congress a report describing the de13 sign, operation, and recommendations of the Postal 

14 Service with respect to the pilot program under this 

15 section. 

16 (2) ROLE OF PRC.—At least 6 months before 

17 submitting its report to Congress, the Postal Service 

18 shall transmit a copy of its report to the Postal Reg19 ulatory Commission for comments. The Postal Serv20 ice shall append to the report any written comments 

21 received from the Postal Regulatory Commission 

22 under this paragraph. 

23 SEC. 13. CONTRACTING PROVISIONS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part I of title 39, United States 

25 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘CHAPTER 7—CONTRACTING PROVISIONS


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‘‘Sec. 

‘‘701. Definitions. 

‘‘702. Advocate for competition. 

‘‘703. Delegation of contracting authority. 

‘‘704. Posting of justifications of noncompetitive contracts. 

‘‘705. Review of ethical issues. 

‘‘706. Ban on certain contracts. 

1 ‘‘§ 701. Definitions 

2 ‘‘In this chapter— 

3 ‘‘(1) the term ‘contracting officer’ means an 

4 employee of a covered postal entity who has author5 ity to enter into a postal contract; 

6 ‘‘(2) the term ‘covered postal entity’ means— 

7 ‘‘(A) the United States Postal Service; or 

8 ‘‘(B) the Postal Regulatory Commission; 

9 ‘‘(3) the term ‘head of a covered postal entity’ 

10 means— 

11 ‘‘(A) in the case of the United States Post12 al Service, the Postmaster General; or 

13 ‘‘(B) in the case of the Postal Regulatory 

14 Commission, the Postal Regulatory Commis15 sion; 

16 ‘‘(4) the term ‘postal contract’ means any con17 tract (including any agreement or memorandum of 

18 understanding) entered into by a covered postal enti19 ty for the procurement of goods or services; and 

20 ‘‘(5) the term ‘senior procurement executive’ 

21 means the senior procurement executive of a covered 

22 postal entity. 


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1 ‘‘§ 702. Advocate for competition 

2 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND DESIGNATION.— 

3 ‘‘(1) There is established in each covered postal 

4 entity an advocate for competition. 

5 ‘‘(2) The head of each covered postal entity 

6 shall— 

7 ‘‘(A) designate for the covered postal entity 

8 and for each procuring activity of the covered 

9 postal entity 1 officer or employee (other than 

10 the senior procurement executive) to serve as 

11 the advocate for competition; 

12 ‘‘(B) not assign such officer or employee 

13 any duties or responsibilities that are incon14 sistent with the duties and responsibilities of 

15 the advocates for competition; and 

16 ‘‘(C) provide such officer or employee with 

17 such staff or assistance as may be necessary to 

18 carry out the duties and responsibilities of the 

19 advocate for competition, such as persons who 

20 are specialists in engineering, technical oper21 ations, contract administration, financial man22 agement, supply management, and utilization of 

23 small and disadvantaged business concerns. 

24 ‘‘(b) DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS.—The advocate for 

25 competition of each covered postal entity shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) be responsible for challenging barriers to 

2 and promoting full and open competition in the pro3 curement of goods and services by the covered postal 

4 entity; 

5 ‘‘(2) review the procurement activities of the 

6 covered postal entity; 

7 ‘‘(3) identify and report to the senior procure8 ment executive— 

9 ‘‘(A) opportunities and actions taken to 

10 maximize full and open competition in the pro11 curement activities of the covered postal entity; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(B) any condition or action which has the 

14 effect of unnecessarily restricting competition in 

15 the procurement actions of the covered postal 

16 entity; 

17 ‘‘(4) prepare and transmit to the head of each 

18 covered postal entity, the Board of Governors of the 

19 United States Postal Service, and Congress an an20 nual report describing— 

21 ‘‘(A) the activities of the advocate under 

22 this section; 

23 ‘‘(B) initiatives required to increase com24 petition; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) barriers to the use of full and open 

2 competition to the maximum extent practicable; 

3 ‘‘(5) recommend to the senior procurement ex4 ecutive the goals and the plans for increasing com5 petition on a fiscal year basis; 

6 ‘‘(6) recommend to the senior procurement ex7 ecutive a system of personal and organizational ac8 countability for competition, which may include the 

9 use of recognition and awards to motivate program 

10 managers, contracting officers, and others in author11 ity to promote competition in procurement pro12 grams; and 

13 ‘‘(7) describe other ways in which the covered 

14 postal entity has emphasized competition in pro15 grams for procurement training and research. 

16 ‘‘(c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The advocate for competi17 tion for each procuring activity shall be responsible for 

18 promoting full and open competition, promoting the acqui19 sition of commercial items, and challenging barriers to 

20 such acquisition, including such barriers as unnecessarily 

21 restrictive statements of need, unnecessarily detailed spec22 ifications, and unnecessarily burdensome contract clauses. 

23 ‘‘§ 703. Delegation of contracting authority 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) POLICY.—Not later than 60 days after the 

2 date of enactment of the U.S. Postal Service Im3 provements Act of 2010, the head of each covered 

4 postal entity shall issue a policy on contracting offi5 cer delegations of authority for the covered postal 

6 entity. 

7 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The policy issued under 

8 paragraph (1) shall require that— 

9 ‘‘(A) notwithstanding any delegation of 

10 contracting authority, the ultimate responsi11 bility and accountability for the award and ad12 ministration of postal contracts resides with the 

13 senior procurement executive; and 

14 ‘‘(B) a contracting officer shall maintain 

15 an awareness of and engagement in the activi16 ties being performed on postal contracts for 

17 which that officer has cognizance notwith18 standing any delegation of authority that may 

19 have been executed. 

20 ‘‘(b) POSTING OF DELEGATIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The head of each covered 

22 postal entity shall make any delegation of authority 

23 outside the functional contracting unit for the pro24 curement of goods or services which exceeds the sim25 plified acquisition threshold, as defined under secVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:57 Mar 31, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1262.IH H1262

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1 tion 4(11) of the Office of Federal Procurement Pol2 icy Act (41 U.S.C. 403(11)) including any adjust3 ment under section 35A of that Act (41 U.S.C. 

4 431A), available on the website of the covered postal 

5 entity. 

6 ‘‘(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This paragraph shall 

7 apply to any delegation of authority made on or 

8 after 30 days after the date of enactment of the 

9 U.S. Postal Service Improvements Act of 2010. 

10 ‘‘§ 704. Posting of justifications of noncompetitive 

11 contracts 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 14 days after the 

13 date of the award of any noncompetitive contract which 

14 exceeds the simplified acquisition threshold, as defined 

15 under section 4(11) of the Office of Federal Procurement 

16 Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 403(11)) including any adjustment 

17 under section 35A of that Act (41 U.S.C. 431A), or within 

18 30 days if the justification and approval for that contract 

19 is urgent and compelling, a covered postal entity shall 

20 make publicly available the documents containing the jus21 tification and approval of that contract. 

22 ‘‘(b) WEBSITE.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

24 the documents described under subsection (a) shall 


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1 be made available on the website of the covered post2 al entity. 

3 ‘‘(2) PROTECTION OF PROPRIETARY INFORMA4 TION.—The covered postal entity shall carefully 

5 screen all justifications for proprietary data, and any 

6 references and citations as are necessary to protect 

7 the proprietary data, or security related information 

8 and remove all such data or information before mak9 ing the justifications available. 

10 ‘‘§ 705. Review of ethical issues 

11 ‘‘If a contracting officer identifies any ethical issues 

12 relating to a proposed contract and submits those issues 

13 and that proposed contract to the designated ethics official 

14 for the covered postal entity before the awarding of that 

15 contract, that ethics official shall— 

16 ‘‘(1) review the proposed contract; and 

17 ‘‘(2) advise the contracting officer on the appro18 priate resolution of ethical issues. 

19 ‘‘§ 706. Ban on certain contracts 

20 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

21 ‘‘(1) the term ‘covered employee’ means— 

22 ‘‘(A) a contracting officer; or 

23 ‘‘(B) any employee of a covered postal en24 tity whose decisionmaking affects a postal conVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:57 Mar 31, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1262.IH H1262

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1 tract as determined by regulations prescribed 

2 by the head of a covered postal entity; and 

3 ‘‘(2) the term ‘final conviction’ means a convic4 tion, whether entered on a verdict or plea, including 

5 a plea of nolo contendere, for which a sentence has 

6 been imposed; 

7 ‘‘(b) IN GENERAL.— 

8 ‘‘(1) REGULATIONS.—The head of each covered 

9 postal entity shall prescribe regulations that— 

10 ‘‘(A) prohibit a covered employee from en11 tering into a postal contract with any party 

12 with whom that covered employee is closely af13 filiated in a nongovernmental capacity, regard14 less of whether or not the postal contract is for 

15 private gain; 

16 ‘‘(B) require a contractor to timely disclose 

17 to the chief ethics officers of the covered postal 

18 entity any relationship described under sub19 paragraph (A) with a covered employee in a 

20 bid, solicitation, award, or performance of a 

21 postal contract; and 

22 ‘‘(C) include authority for the head of the 

23 covered postal entity to a grant waiver to any 

24 prohibition or requirement under subparagraph 

25 (A) or (B). 


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1 ‘‘(2) POSTING OF WAIVERS.—Not later than 30 

2 days after the head of a covered postal entity grants 

3 a waiver described under paragraph (1)(C), the head 

4 of the covered postal entity shall make the waiver 

5 available on the website of the covered postal entity. 

6 ‘‘(c) CONTRACT VOIDANCE AND RECOVERY.— 

7 ‘‘(1) BRIBERY AND GRAFT CONVICTIONS.—In 

8 any case in which there is a final conviction for a 

9 violation of any provision of chapter 11 of title 18 

10 relating to a postal contract, the head of a covered 

11 postal entity may— 

12 ‘‘(A) void that contract; and 

13 ‘‘(B) recover the amounts expended and 

14 property transferred by the covered postal enti15 ty under that contract. 

16 ‘‘(2) OBTAINING OR DISCLOSING PROCUREMENT

17 INFORMATION.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In any case described 

19 under subparagraph (B) relating to a postal 

20 contract, the head of a covered postal entity 

21 may— 

22 ‘‘(i) void that contract; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) recover the amounts expended 

24 and property transferred by the covered 

25 postal entity under that contract. 


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1 ‘‘(B) CONVICTION OR ADMINISTRATIVE DE2 TERMINATION.—A case described under sub3 paragraph (A) is any case in which— 

4 ‘‘(i) there is a final conviction for an 

5 offense punishable under section 27(e) of 

6 the Office of Federal Procurement Policy 

7 Act (41 U.S.C. 423(e)); or 

8 ‘‘(ii) the head of a covered postal enti9 ty determines, based upon a preponderance 

10 of the evidence, that the contractor or 

11 someone acting for the contractor has en12 gaged in conduct constituting an offense 

13 punishable under section 27(e) of that 

14 Act.’’. 

15 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

16 The table of chapters for part I of title 39, United States 

17 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘7. Contracting Provisions ............................................................. 701’’. 

18 SEC. 14. SUPERVISORY AND OTHER MANAGERIAL ORGANI19 ZATIONS OF THE POSTAL SERVICE. 

20 Section 1004 of title 39, United States Code, is 

21 amended— 

22 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘to ensure 

23 reasonable and sustainable workloads and schedules 

24 for supervisory and management employees;’’ after 

25 ‘‘other managerial personnel;’’; 


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1 (2) in subsection (b) (in the second sentence), 

2 by inserting ‘‘as provided under subsection (d) and 

3 any changes in, or termination of, pay policies and 

4 schedules and fringe benefit programs for members 

5 of the supervisors’ organization as provided under 

6 subsection (e)’’ before the period; and 

7 (3) in subsection (e)(1), by inserting ‘‘, or ter8 mination of,’’ after ‘‘any changes in’’. 

9 SEC. 15. ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROJECTS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—In order to help finance energy 

11 efficiency projects with respect to postal operations and 

12 facilities, the Postal Service shall have available to it the 

13 authority described in subsection (b). 

14 (b) AUTHORITY DESCRIBED.—The authority de15 scribed in this subsection is the authority to borrow money 

16 and to issue and sell obligations. The authority described 

17 in the preceding sentence shall be available to the Postal 

18 Service— 

19 (1) in order to carry out subsection (a), subject 

20 to the same terms and conditions as apply with re21 spect to the corresponding authority made available 

22 under paragraph (3) of section 4(a) in order to carry 

23 out the purposes of such section 4(a); except that 


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1 (2) the aggregate amount of obligations out2 standing under this paragraph at any one time shall 

3 not exceed $1,000,000,000. 

4 (c) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—The Postal Service 

5 shall submit a written report to Congress, once every 2 

6 years, on the operation of this section. 

7 SEC. 16. REQUIRED PERIOD FOR NOTICE AND COMMENT 

8 WITH RESPECT TO CHANGES IN MAILING 

9 RULES. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Postal Service shall by regu11 lation establish procedures under which, before adding, 

12 eliminating, or modifying any mailing rules— 

13 (1) notice of the proposed change shall be pro14 vided by publication in the Federal Register; and 

15 (2) a minimum of 30 days shall be provided, 

16 after the date of such publication, for public com17 ment. 

18 (b) EXCEPTIONS.—Subsection (a)— 

19 (1) shall not apply to any classification or other 

20 rules changes that must be brought before the Post21 al Regulatory Commission; and 

22 (2) shall not apply to any change that the Post23 master General certifies has a cumulative cost, to 

24 users of the mail, of less than $5,000,000 per year. 


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1 (c) MAILING RULES DEFINED.—For purposes of this 

2 section, the term ‘‘mailing rules’’ means any rules or other 

3 requirements of the Postal Service— 

4 (1) for qualifying, entering, accepting, certi5 fying, or validating mail for specific rates, products, 

6 or services; or 

7 (2) otherwise affecting utilization of the postal 

8 system, by a business, nonprofit mailer, or other 

9 person. 

10 Such term includes any rule or other requirement that in11 creases the cost of compliance with existing rules or re12 quirements, whether or not reflected in any discount pro13 vided. 

14 SEC. 17. NEGOTIATED SERVICE AGREEMENTS FOR MAR15 KET-DOMINANT PRODUCTS. 

16 The Postal Service shall submit a written report to 

17 Congress, once every 2 years, on measures taken, progress 

18 achieved, and any impediments encountered, with respect 

19 to the implementation of the special classifications and 

20 agreements (as described in section subsection (c)(10) of 

21 section 3622 of title 39, United States Code), in connec22 tion with the establishment and operation of a system for 

23 regulating rates and classes for market-dominant prod24 ucts. 


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1 SEC. 18. ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION PRODUCTS. 

2 The Postal Service and Postal Regulatory Commis3 sion shall, within 12 months after the date of the enact4 ment of this Act, report to Congress on the advisability 

5 of creating a not-for-profit venture capital program to help 

6 the Postal Service identify and develop electronic commu7 nication products that would increase net revenue for the 

8 Postal Service. 

Æ 


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