II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1742 

To improve the provision of postal services to rural areas of the United 

States. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 9, 2015 

Ms. HEITKAMP (for herself, Mr. TESTER, Mrs. MCCASKILL, and Mr. PETERS) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To improve the provision of postal services to rural areas 

of the United States. 

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 ‘‘Rural Postal Act of 2015’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Maintenance of delivery service standards. 

Sec. 4. Preservation of 6-day delivery. 

Sec. 5. Protection of rural post offices. 

Sec. 6. Protection of workforce rights. 


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Sec. 7. Alternative Means of Transportation contracts. 

Sec. 8. Rural Postal Service Advisory Commission. 

Sec. 9. Equipping delivery vehicles for rural areas. 

Sec. 10. Wi-Fi in rural post offices. 

Sec. 11. Protection of door and curbside delivery. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act, the following definitions shall apply: 

3 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

4 means the Postal Regulatory Commission. 

5 (2) POSTAL SERVICE.—The term ‘‘Postal Serv6 ice’’ means the United States Postal Service. 

7 SEC. 3. MAINTENANCE OF DELIVERY SERVICE STANDARDS. 

8 (a) PRESERVING MAIL PROCESSING CAPACITY; RE9 VIEW OF DISCONTINUANCES, CLOSINGS, AND CONSOLIDA10 TIONS.— 

11 (1) MORATORIUM ON CLOSING OR CONSOLI12 DATING POSTAL FACILITIES.—During the 2-year pe13 riod beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, 

14 the Postal Service may not close or consolidate any 

15 postal facility (as defined in section 404(f) of title 

16 39, United States Code, as added by this sub17 section). 

18 (2) PROCEDURES FOR CLOSING OR CONSOLIDA19 TION OF POSTAL FACILITIES.—Section 404 of title 

20 39, United States Code, is amended by adding at 

21 the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(f) CLOSING OR CONSOLIDATION OF CERTAIN

23 POSTAL FACILITIES.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

2 ‘postal facility’ means a processing and distribution 

3 center, processing and distribution facility, network 

4 distribution center, or other facility that is operated 

5 by the Postal Service, the primary function of which 

6 is to sort and process mail. 

7 ‘‘(2) AREA MAIL PROCESSING STUDIES.— 

8 ‘‘(A) APPLICABILITY.—In this para9 graph— 

10 ‘‘(i) the term ‘area mail processing 

11 study’ means an area mail processing fea12 sibility study described in section 2–1 of 

13 Handbook PO–408 of the Postal Service, 

14 entitled ‘Area Mail Processing Guidelines’, 

15 as in effect on October 1, 2013; 

16 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘closing’, with respect to 

17 a covered postal facility, means the trans18 fer of all incoming and outgoing mail 

19 sortation and processing operations of the 

20 covered postal facility to a different cov21 ered postal facility; 

22 ‘‘(iii) the term ‘consolidate’, with re23 spect to a covered postal facility, means 

24 the transfer of either all incoming or all 

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1 erations of the covered postal facility to a 

2 different covered postal facility; and 

3 ‘‘(iv) the term ‘covered postal facility’ 

4 means a postal facility, the primary func5 tion of which is to sort and process first6 class mail originating or designating within 

7 a defined geographic area. 

8 ‘‘(B) NEW AREA MAIL PROCESSING STUD9 IES.—Before making a determination under 

10 subsection (a)(3) as to the necessity for the 

11 closing or consolidation of a covered postal fa12 cility, the Postal Service shall— 

13 ‘‘(i) conduct an area mail processing 

14 study relating to the covered postal facility 

15 that includes consideration of a plan to re16 duce the capacity of the covered postal fa17 cility without closing the covered postal fa18 cility; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) upon completing the study under 

20 clause (i)— 

21 ‘‘(I) publish the results of the 

22 study on the website of the Postal 

23 Service; and 

24 ‘‘(II) publish a notice that the 

25 study is complete and the results of 


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1 the study are available to the public, 

2 including on the website of the Postal 

3 Service. 

4 ‘‘(C) COMPLETED OR ONGOING AREA MAIL

5 PROCESSING STUDIES.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a 

7 covered postal facility described in clause 

8 (ii), the Postal Service shall— 

9 ‘‘(I) consider a plan to reduce the 

10 capacity of the covered postal facility 

11 without closing the covered postal fa12 cility; and 

13 ‘‘(II) publish the results of the 

14 consideration under subclause (I) with 

15 or as an amendment to the area mail 

16 processing study relating to the cov17 ered postal facility. 

18 ‘‘(ii) POSTAL FACILITIES.—A covered 

19 postal facility described in this clause is a 

20 covered postal facility— 

21 ‘‘(I) for which, as of the date of 

22 enactment of this subsection, an area 

23 mail processing study— 

24 ‘‘(aa) has been completed 

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1 duce the capacity of the covered 

2 postal facility without closing the 

3 covered postal facility; or 

4 ‘‘(bb) is in progress; and 

5 ‘‘(II) which, as of the date of en6 actment of this subsection, has not 

7 been closed or consolidated. 

8 ‘‘(3) NOTICE, PUBLIC COMMENT, AND PUBLIC

9 HEARING.—If the Postal Service makes a determina10 tion under subsection (a)(3) to close or consolidate 

11 a postal facility, the Postal Service shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) provide notice of the determination 

13 to— 

14 ‘‘(i) Congress; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) the Postal Regulatory Commis16 sion; 

17 ‘‘(B) provide adequate public notice of the 

18 intention of the Postal Service to close or con19 solidate the postal facility; 

20 ‘‘(C) ensure that interested persons have 

21 an opportunity to submit public comments dur22 ing a 45-day period after the Postal Service 

23 provides the notice of intention under subpara24 graph (B); 


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1 ‘‘(D) before the 45-day period described in 

2 subparagraph (C), provide public notice of the 

3 opportunity under subparagraph (C) to submit 

4 public comments during that period by— 

5 ‘‘(i) publication on the website of the 

6 Postal Service; 

7 ‘‘(ii) posting at the affected postal fa8 cility; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) publicizing the date and location 

10 of the public community meeting under 

11 subparagraph (E); and 

12 ‘‘(E) during the 45-day period described in 

13 subparagraph (C), conduct a public meeting 

14 that provides an opportunity for comments to 

15 be submitted verbally or in writing. 

16 ‘‘(4) FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS.—The Postal 

17 Service, in making a determination under subsection 

18 (a)(3) to close or consolidate a postal facility, shall 

19 consider— 

20 ‘‘(A) the views presented by interested per21 sons under paragraph (3); 

22 ‘‘(B) the effect of the closing or consolida23 tion on the affected community, including the 

24 impact the closing or consolidation may have on 

25 a State, region, or locality; 


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1 ‘‘(C) the effect of the closing or consolida2 tion on the travel times and distances for af3 fected customers to access services under the 

4 proposed closing or consolidation; 

5 ‘‘(D) the effect of the closing or consolida6 tion on delivery times for all classes of mail and 

7 packages; 

8 ‘‘(E) any characteristics of certain geo9 graphical areas, such as remoteness, broadband 

10 internet availability with a lower rates of access 

11 than the average rate of access in other geo12 graphical areas of the United States, and 

13 weather-related obstacles, that may result in 

14 the closing or consolidation having a unique ef15 fect; 

16 ‘‘(F) the effect of the closing or consolida17 tion on small businesses in the area, including 

18 shipping and communications with customers 

19 and suppliers and the corresponding impact on 

20 revenues, operations, and growth; 

21 ‘‘(G) the extent to which significant 

22 changes in delivery service resulting from the 

23 closure or consolidation of the postal facility 

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1 nesses in the region served by the postal facility 

2 to participate in the national economy; 

3 ‘‘(H) the ability of the Postal Service to 

4 maintain a safe working environment at each 

5 postal facility that, as a result of the closing or 

6 consolidation, would process the mail that had 

7 been processed by the closed or consolidated 

8 postal facility, including by examining— 

9 ‘‘(i) the capacity of each affected post10 al facility to process a greater volume of 

11 mail; 

12 ‘‘(ii) the ability of the workforce at 

13 each affected postal facility to handle a 

14 larger workload; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) whether the Postal Service 

16 would need to hire additional employees at 

17 affected postal facilities to process the in18 creased volume of mail; 

19 ‘‘(I) the extent to which the Postal Service 

20 can take action to mitigate significant negative 

21 impacts identified through the considerations 

22 under this paragraph; and 

23 ‘‘(J) any other factor the Postal Service 

24 determines is necessary. 


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1 ‘‘(5) NOTICE OF FINAL DETERMINATION; JUS2 TIFICATION STATEMENT.—If the Postal Service de3 termines to close or consolidate a postal facility, the 

4 Postal Service shall post on the website of the Postal 

5 Service— 

6 ‘‘(A) notice of the final determination to 

7 close or consolidate the postal facility; and 

8 ‘‘(B) a closing or consolidation justification 

9 statement that includes— 

10 ‘‘(i) a response to the public com11 ments received with respect to the consid12 erations described under paragraph (4); 

13 ‘‘(ii) a description of the consider14 ations made by the Postal Service under 

15 paragraph (4); and 

16 ‘‘(iii) the actions that the Postal Serv17 ice will take to mitigate any significant 

18 negative effects identified under paragraph 

19 (4). 

20 ‘‘(6) CLOSING OR CONSOLIDATION OF POSTAL

21 FACILITIES.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not earlier than 15 

23 days after the date on which the Postal Service 

24 posts notice of a final determination and a jus25 tification statement under paragraph (5) with 


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1 respect to a postal facility, the Postal Service 

2 may close or consolidate the postal facility. 

3 ‘‘(B) ALTERNATIVE INTAKE OF MAIL.—If 

4 the Postal Service closes or consolidates a post5 al facility under subparagraph (A), the Postal 

6 Service shall make reasonable efforts to ensure 

7 continued mail receipt from customers of the 

8 closed or consolidated postal facility at the 

9 same location or at another appropriate location 

10 in close geographic proximity to the closed or 

11 consolidated postal facility. 

12 ‘‘(7) PROTECTION OF CERTAIN INFORMA13 TION.—Nothing in this subsection shall be construed 

14 to require the Postal Service to disclose any— 

15 ‘‘(A) proprietary data; 

16 ‘‘(B) information relating to the security of 

17 a postal facility; or 

18 ‘‘(C) information that is exempt from dis19 closure under section 552 of title 5. 

20 ‘‘(8) POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION AP21 PEALS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) RIGHT TO APPEAL.—A determination 

23 of the Postal Service to close or consolidate any 

24 postal facility may be appealed by any person 

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1 latory Commission not later than 30 days after 

2 the date on which the determination is posted 

3 on the Postal Service website under paragraph 

4 (5). 

5 ‘‘(B) REVIEW BASED ON RECORD.—The 

6 Commission shall review a determination ap7 pealed under this paragraph on the basis of the 

8 record before the Postal Service in the making 

9 of the determination. 

10 ‘‘(C) DEADLINE FOR COMMISSION DETER11 MINATION.—The Commission shall make a de12 termination based upon a review conducted 

13 under subparagraph (B) not later than 90 days 

14 after the date on which the Commission receives 

15 the appeal of the determination under subpara16 graph (A). 

17 ‘‘(D) BASES FOR SETTING ASIDE POSTAL

18 SERVICE DETERMINATIONS.—In making a de19 termination under subparagraph (C), the Com20 mission shall set aside any determination, find21 ing, or conclusion of the Postal Service that the 

22 Commission determines— 

23 ‘‘(i) is arbitrary, capricious, an abuse 

24 of discretion, or otherwise not in accord25 ance with the law; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) is without observance of the pro2 cedures required under this subsection or 

3 any other applicable law; or 

4 ‘‘(iii) is unsupported by substantial 

5 evidence on the record. 

6 ‘‘(E) OPTION TO AFFIRM OR REMAND.— 

7 The Commission— 

8 ‘‘(i) may affirm a determination of the 

9 Postal Service appealed under this para10 graph or order that the entire matter be 

11 returned for further consideration; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) may not modify the determina13 tion of the Postal Service. 

14 ‘‘(F) TEMPORARY SUSPENSION.—The 

15 Commission may suspend the effectiveness of a 

16 determination of the Postal Service appealed 

17 under this paragraph until the final disposition 

18 of the appeal. 

19 ‘‘(G) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER LAWS.— 

20 The provisions of section 556, section 557, and 

21 chapter 7 of title 5 shall not apply to any re22 view carried out by the Commission under this 

23 paragraph. 


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1 ‘‘(H) DATE OF RECEIPT OF APPEAL.—For 

2 purposes of subparagraph (A), any appeal re3 ceived by the Commission shall— 

4 ‘‘(i) if sent to the Commission 

5 through the mails, be considered to have 

6 been received on the date of the Postal 

7 Service postmark on the envelope or other 

8 cover in which the appeal is mailed; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) if otherwise lawfully delivered to 

10 the Commission, be considered to have 

11 been received on the date determined based 

12 on any appropriate documentation or other 

13 indicia (as determined under regulations of 

14 the Commission).’’. 

15 (b) MAINTENANCE OF DELIVERY SERVICE STAND16 ARDS.— 

17 (1) REINSTATEMENT OF OVERNIGHT SERVICE

18 STANDARDS.— 

19 (A) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the 

20 term ‘‘market-dominant product’’ means a 

21 product subject to subchapter I of chapter 36 

22 of title 39, United States Code. 

23 (B) STANDARDS FOR MARKET-DOMINANT

24 PRODUCTS.—The Postal Service shall apply the 

25 service standards for market-dominant products 


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1 under part 121 of title 39, Code of Federal 

2 Regulations, that were in effect on July 1, 

3 2012. 

4 (2) COMMISSION STUDY AND REPORT.— 

5 (A) STUDY.—The Commission shall con6 duct a study that assesses— 

7 (i) how the Postal Service measures 

8 delivery times for the purpose of deter9 mining whether service standards have 

10 been met; and 

11 (ii) whether the method used by the 

12 Postal Service to measure delivery times 

13 reflects the total period of time beginning 

14 when a mailed item is transferred from a 

15 postal customer and ending when the 

16 mailed item arrives at its final destination. 

17 (B) REPORT.— 

18 (i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 

19 year after the date of enactment of this 

20 Act, and after conducting the hearing 

21 under clause (ii), the Commission shall 

22 submit to the Committee on Homeland Se23 curity and Governmental Affairs of the 

24 Senate and the Committee on Oversight 

25 and Government Reform of the House of 


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1 Representatives a report on the findings of 

2 the study conducted under subparagraph 

3 (A) that includes recommendations as to 

4 whether the Postal Service should use ad5 ditional or improved methods to— 

6 (I) measure the actual delivery 

7 times experienced by postal cus8 tomers; and 

9 (II) assess compliance with the 

10 service standards promulgated under 

11 section 3691 of title 39, United States 

12 Code. 

13 (ii) HEARING.—Before the Commis14 sion submits the report under clause (i), 

15 the Commission shall— 

16 (I) conduct a hearing on the 

17 record under sections 556 and 557 of 

18 title 5, United States Code, to provide 

19 the Postal Service, users of the mail, 

20 and an officer of the Commission re21 quired to represent the interests of 

22 the general public the opportunity to 

23 present views on the proposed report; 

24 and 


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1 (II) revise the report as the Com2 mission determines appropriate to in3 corporate the views presented at the 

4 hearing conducted under subclause 

5 (I). 

6 (C) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the 

7 study under subparagraph (A), the Commission 

8 shall consult with the Inspector General of the 

9 Postal Service. 

10 SEC. 4. PRESERVATION OF 6-DAY DELIVERY. 

11 Section 403 of title 39, United States Code, is 

12 amended by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(d) The Postal Service shall provide 6-day delivery 

14 and rural delivery of mail at not less than the level re15 quired under the second proviso under the heading ‘PAY16 MENT TO THE POSTAL SERVICE FUND’ under the heading 

17 ‘UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE’ under title V of divi18 sion E of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appro19 priations Act, 2015 (Public Law 113–235; 128 Stat. 

20 2373) (commonly referred to as the ‘1983 level’).’’. 

21 SEC. 5. PROTECTION OF RURAL POST OFFICES. 

22 Section 404(d) of title 39, United States Code, is 

23 amended— 

24 (1) by striking ‘‘(6) For purposes of paragraph 

25 (5)’’ and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(8) DATE OF RECEIPT OF APPEALS.—For pur2 poses of paragraph (7)’’; 

3 (2) by striking ‘‘(5) A determination’’ and in4 serting the following: 

5 ‘‘(7) APPEALS.—A determination’’; 

6 (3) by striking ‘‘(d)(1) The Postal Service’’ and 

7 all that follows through the end of paragraph (4) 

8 and inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘(d) DISCONTINUANCE OF POST OFFICES.— 

10 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

11 ‘‘(A) the term ‘discontinuance’ has the 

12 meaning given the term in section 241.3 of title 

13 39, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on 

14 November 1, 2013; 

15 ‘‘(B) the term ‘local government’ means— 

16 ‘‘(i) a county, municipality, city, town, 

17 township, local public authority, special 

18 district, intrastate district, council of gov19 ernment, or regional or interstate govern20 ment entity; 

21 ‘‘(ii) an agency or instrumentality of 

22 an entity described in clause (i); or 

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1 tality of a rural community or an unincor2 porated town or village; 

3 ‘‘(C) the term ‘post office’ means a post 

4 office, post office branch, post office classified 

5 station, or other facility that is operated by the 

6 Postal Service, the primary function of which is 

7 to provide retail postal services; and 

8 ‘‘(D) the term ‘rural post office’ means a 

9 post office that is— 

10 ‘‘(i) in a rural area, as defined by the 

11 Census Bureau; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) within the K or L cost ascertain13 ment grouping, as classified by the Postal 

14 Service. 

15 ‘‘(2) PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS.—The 

16 Postal Service, prior to making a determination 

17 under subsection (a)(3) of this section as to the ne18 cessity for the discontinuance of any post office, 

19 and, with respect to a determination to discontinue 

20 a rural post office, prior to making the determina21 tions required under paragraph (5), shall— 

22 ‘‘(A) consider whether— 

23 ‘‘(i) to discontinue the post office and 

24 combine it with another post office located 

25 within a reasonable distance; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) instead of discontinuing the post 

2 office— 

3 ‘‘(I) to reduce the number of 

4 hours a day that the post office oper5 ates; or 

6 ‘‘(II) to continue operating the 

7 post office for the same number of 

8 hours a day; 

9 ‘‘(iii) to procure a contract providing 

10 full, or less than full, retail postal services 

11 in the community served by the post office; 

12 or 

13 ‘‘(iv) to provide postal services to the 

14 community served by the post office— 

15 ‘‘(I) through a letter carrier or 

16 by Alternate Means of Transportation 

17 delivery contract; 

18 ‘‘(II) by colocating postal services 

19 at a commercial or government entity; 

20 or 

21 ‘‘(III) by implementing an alter22 native proposal made by a local gov23 ernment under subparagraph (B)(iii); 

24 ‘‘(B) provide— 


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1 ‘‘(i) relevant information on financial 

2 costs associated with the operations of the 

3 post office to postal customers and local 

4 governments served by the post office; 

5 ‘‘(ii) postal customers served by the 

6 post office an opportunity to present their 

7 views, which may be by nonbinding survey 

8 conducted by mail; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) local governments served by the 

10 post office an opportunity to present alter11 native proposals for providing postal serv12 ices to the community; and 

13 ‘‘(C) if the Postal Service determines to 

14 discontinue the post office, provide adequate 

15 public notice of its intention to discontinue the 

16 post office at least 60 days prior to the pro17 posed date of the discontinuance to persons and 

18 local governments served by the post office. 

19 ‘‘(3) CONSIDERATIONS.—The Postal Service, in 

20 making a determination whether or not to dis21 continue a post office— 

22 ‘‘(A) shall consider— 

23 ‘‘(i) the effect of the discontinuance 

24 on the community served by the post of25 fice; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the effect of the discontinuance 

2 on businesses, including small businesses, 

3 in the area; 

4 ‘‘(iii) the effect of the discontinuance 

5 on employees of the Postal Service em6 ployed at the post office; 

7 ‘‘(iv) whether the discontinuance 

8 would have a significant adverse effect on 

9 regular postal services to rural areas, com10 munities, and small towns where post of11 fices are not self-sustaining; 

12 ‘‘(v) the extent to which the commu13 nity served by the post office lacks access 

14 to Internet, broadband, or cellular tele15 phone service; 

16 ‘‘(vi) the extent to which postal cus17 tomers served by the post office would con18 tinue after the discontinuance to receive 

19 substantially similar access to essential 

20 items, such as prescription drugs and time21 sensitive communications; 

22 ‘‘(vii) the proximity and accessibility 

23 of other post offices; 


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1 ‘‘(viii) whether substantial economic 

2 savings to the Postal Service would result 

3 from the discontinuance; and 

4 ‘‘(ix) any other factors that the Postal 

5 Service determines are necessary; and 

6 ‘‘(B) may not consider compliance with 

7 any provision of the Occupational Safety and 

8 Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.). 

9 ‘‘(4) WRITTEN DETERMINATION AND FIND10 INGS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any determination of 

12 the Postal Service to discontinue a post office 

13 shall— 

14 ‘‘(i) be in writing; 

15 ‘‘(ii) include the findings of the Postal 

16 Service with respect to the considerations 

17 required to be made under paragraph (3); 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(iii) with respect to a determination 

20 to discontinue a rural post office, include a 

21 summary of the determinations required 

22 under paragraph (5). 

23 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY OF FINDINGS.—The 

24 Postal Service shall make available, to persons 

25 served by a post office that the Postal Service 


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1 determines to discontinue, any determination 

2 and findings under subparagraph (A) with re3 spect to that post office. 

4 ‘‘(C) NOTICE BEFORE DISCONTINUANCE.— 

5 The Postal Service may not take any action to 

6 discontinue a post office until 60 days after the 

7 date on which the Postal Service makes avail8 able, to persons served by the post office, the 

9 written determination and findings with respect 

10 to the post office as required under subpara11 graph (B). 

12 ‘‘(5) RURAL POST OFFICES.— 

13 ‘‘(A) MORATORIUM ON DISCONTINUANCE

14 OF RURAL POST OFFICES.—The Postal Service 

15 may not discontinue a rural post office during 

16 the 1-year period beginning on the date of en17 actment of the Rural Postal Act of 2015. 

18 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS FOR DISCONTINU19 ANCE OF RURAL POST OFFICES.—The Postal 

20 Service may not make a determination under 

21 subsection (a)(3) to discontinue a rural post of22 fice unless the Postal Service— 

23 ‘‘(i)(I) determines that postal cus24 tomers served by the post office would con25 tinue after the discontinuance to receive 


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1 substantially similar access to essential 

2 items, such as prescription medications 

3 and time-sensitive communications, that 

4 are sent through the mails; or 

5 ‘‘(II) takes action to substantially 

6 ameliorate any projected reduction in ac7 cess to essential items described in sub8 clause (I); and 

9 ‘‘(ii) determines that— 

10 ‘‘(I) there is unlikely to be sub11 stantial economic loss to the commu12 nity served by the post office as a re13 sult of the discontinuance; 

14 ‘‘(II) the area served by the post 

15 office has adequate access to 

16 broadband Internet service, as identi17 fied on the National Broadband Map 

18 of the National Telecommunications 

19 and Information Administration; and 

20 ‘‘(III) there is a road with year21 round access connecting the commu22 nity to another post office that is 

23 within 10 miles from the post office 

24 proposed to be discontinued. 

25 ‘‘(C) STUDY AND REPORT.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) STUDY.—The Inspector General 

2 shall conduct a study after the discontinu3 ance of a rural post office under this sec4 tion, which shall include— 

5 ‘‘(I) the actual cost savings re6 sulting from the discontinuance; and 

7 ‘‘(II) a comparison between the 

8 findings described in subclause (I) 

9 and the cost savings that the Postal 

10 Service predicted would result from 

11 the discontinuance. 

12 ‘‘(ii) REPORT.—Not later than 2 

13 years after the date of the discontinuance 

14 of a rural post office under this section, 

15 the Inspector General shall submit a report 

16 on the findings of the study conducted 

17 under clause (i) with respect to the rural 

18 post office to— 

19 ‘‘(I) the Postal Regulatory Com20 mission; 

21 ‘‘(II) the Board of Governors; 

22 ‘‘(III) the Committee on Home23 land Security and Governmental Af24 fairs of the Senate; 


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1 ‘‘(IV) the Committee on Over2 sight and Government Reform of the 

3 House of Representatives; 

4 ‘‘(V) the Member of the House of 

5 Representatives in whose district the 

6 rural post office was located; and 

7 ‘‘(VI) the Senators in whose 

8 State the rural post office was lo9 cated. 

10 ‘‘(iii) SUNSET.—This subparagraph is 

11 repealed effective 10 years after the date 

12 of enactment of the Rural Postal Act of 

13 2015. 

14 ‘‘(6) REDUCTIONS IN HOURS OF OPERATION.— 

15 ‘‘(A) MORATORIUM ON REDUCTION OF

16 HOURS OF OPERATION OF RURAL POST OF17 FICES.—The Postal Service may not reduce the 

18 hours of operation of a rural post office during 

19 the 2-year period beginning on the date of en20 actment of the Rural Postal Act of 2015. 

21 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—The Postal Serv22 ice, prior to making a determination under 

23 paragraph (2)(A)(ii)(I) to reduce the number of 

24 hours per day that a post office operates, shall 

25 consider— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the impact of the proposed reduc2 tion in hours on local businesses; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the effect of the proposed reduc4 tion in hours on the community served by 

5 the post office; 

6 ‘‘(iii) the ability of the Postal Service 

7 to hire qualified employees to operate the 

8 post office during the reduced hours; 

9 ‘‘(iv) the proximity and accessibility of 

10 other post offices within 15 miles of the 

11 post office, and the hours those post offices 

12 are open; 

13 ‘‘(v) the impact of the proposed reduc14 tion in hours on the elderly and other vul15 nerable populations; and 

16 ‘‘(vi) the impact of alternative sched17 ules on the community served by the post 

18 office, including consideration of which 

19 schedules would most effectively mitigate 

20 any negative impacts identified under 

21 clauses (i) through (v). 

22 ‘‘(C) FINDINGS.—If the Postal Service de23 termines, after considering the factors under 

24 subparagraph (B), to reduce the number of 

25 hours per day that a post office operates, the 


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1 Postal Service shall make available to persons 

2 served by the post office— 

3 ‘‘(i) a summary of the findings of the 

4 Postal Service under subparagraph (B); 

5 ‘‘(ii) the hours during which the post 

6 office will be open; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) an explanation of the change in 

8 hours referred to in clause (ii). 

9 ‘‘(D) REVIEW PERIOD AFTER REDUCTION

10 IN HOURS.— 

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—During the 1-year 

12 period beginning on the date on which the 

13 Postal Service implements a reduction in 

14 hours for a post office under paragraph 

15 (2)(A)(ii)(I), the community served by the 

16 post office may submit a complaint to the 

17 Inspector General if the community finds 

18 that the reduction in hours has signifi19 cantly impacted the community in a nega20 tive manner. 

21 ‘‘(ii) SUFFICIENCY OF COMPLAINT.— 

22 A complaint submitted by a community 

23 under clause (i) shall be sufficient if the 

24 community demonstrates that— 


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1 ‘‘(I) a majority of the members 

2 of the community oppose the reduc3 tion in hours, which may be dem4 onstrated with a signed petition; and 

5 ‘‘(II) the findings of the Postal 

6 Service under subparagraph (B) upon 

7 which the Postal Service based the de8 termination to reduce the hours of the 

9 post office are no longer valid, which 

10 the community may demonstrate 

11 using evidence of— 

12 ‘‘(aa) lobbies in disarray; 

13 ‘‘(bb) long wait times in 

14 line; 

15 ‘‘(cc) insufficient mail ac16 ceptance options; 

17 ‘‘(dd) unaccommodating 

18 post office box service and win19 dow times, including any negative 

20 impact on regional businesses; 

21 ‘‘(ee) retail units closing at 

22 times other than the posted 

23 hours; 

24 ‘‘(ff) inadequate staffing; 


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1 ‘‘(gg) running out of postal 

2 supplies; 

3 ‘‘(hh) unprofessional em4 ployees or an unfriendly atmos5 phere; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) any other factors that 

7 the community believes are rel8 evant. 

9 ‘‘(iii) INSPECTOR GENERAL DETER10 MINATION.— 

11 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—If the In12 spector General determines that a 

13 complaint submitted under clause (i) 

14 is sufficient, in accordance with clause 

15 (ii), not later than 6 months after the 

16 date on which the Inspector General 

17 receives the complaint, the Inspector 

18 General shall analyze the validity of 

19 the complaint. 

20 ‘‘(II) SUBMISSION TO POSTAL

21 SERVICE.—If the Inspector General, 

22 in analyzing a complaint under sub23 clause (I), determines that the com24 munity that submitted the complaint 

25 has been disproportionately impacted 


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1 by the reduction in hours, the Inspec2 tor General shall submit to the Postal 

3 Service a report that includes— 

4 ‘‘(aa) the determination; and 

5 ‘‘(bb) a recommendation on 

6 the number of additional hours of 

7 operation per day that would be 

8 sufficient for the postal cus9 tomers served by the post office 

10 to have access to fair and reliable 

11 service. 

12 ‘‘(iv) IMPLEMENTATION OF REC13 OMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 1 year 

14 after the date on which the Postal Service 

15 receives a report under clause (iii)(II) re16 lating to a post office, the Postal Service 

17 shall adjust the hours of operation of the 

18 post office in accordance with the rec19 ommendation of the Inspector General in 

20 the report.’’; 

21 (4) in paragraph (7), as so designated— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘close or consolidate’’ and 

23 inserting ‘‘discontinue’’; 

24 (B) by striking ‘‘under paragraph (3)’’ and 

25 inserting ‘‘under paragraph (4)’’; 


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1 (C) by moving subparagraphs (A), (B), 

2 and (C) 2 ems to the right; and 

3 (D) by moving the flush text following sub4 paragraph (C) 2 ems to the right; 

5 (5) in paragraph (8), as so designated, by mov6 ing subparagraphs (A) and (B) 2 ems to the right; 

7 and 

8 (6) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(9) MINIMUM RETAIL STANDARDS.—The Post10 al Service shall establish minimum standards for re11 tail postal services.’’. 

12 SEC. 6. PROTECTION OF WORKFORCE RIGHTS. 

13 (a) RIGHT OF APPEAL TO MERIT SYSTEMS PROTEC14 TION BOARD.—Section 1005(a)(4)(A)(ii)(I) of title 39, 

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

16 ‘‘(I) is an officer or employee of the Postal 

17 Service who— 

18 ‘‘(aa) is not represented by a bar19 gaining representative recognized under 

20 section 1203; and 

21 ‘‘(bb) is in a supervisory, professional, 

22 technical, clerical, administrative, or mana23 gerial position covered by the Executive 

24 and Administrative Schedule; and’’. 


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1 (b) SUPERVISORY AND OTHER MANAGERIAL ORGA2 NIZATIONS.—Section 1004 of title 39, United States Code, 

3 is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘and fringe 

5 benefits’’ after ‘‘differentials in rates of pay’’; 

6 (2) in subsection (b), in the second sentence, by 

7 inserting ‘‘as provided under subsection (d) and any 

8 changes in, or termination of, pay policies and 

9 schedules and fringe benefit programs for members 

10 of the supervisors’ organization as provided under 

11 subsection (e). Such pay policies and fringe benefit 

12 programs shall reflect adequate differentials in rates 

13 of pay and fringe benefits as provided under sub14 section (a)’’ before the period; and 

15 (3) in subsection (e)(1), by inserting ‘‘, or ter16 mination of,’’ after ‘‘any changes in’’. 

17 (c) CHIEF MORALE OFFICER.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 2 of title 39, United 

19 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘§ 209. Chief Morale Officer 

22 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There shall be in the Postal 

23 Service a Chief Morale Officer appointed by the Post24 master General. 


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1 ‘‘(b) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Chief Morale Officer 

2 shall have— 

3 ‘‘(1) recognized and significant experience in 

4 such fields as human resources, leadership training, 

5 and public administration; 

6 ‘‘(2) a documented record of innovative think7 ing; 

8 ‘‘(3) significant experience working with em9 ployees and managers; and 

10 ‘‘(4) experience with revitalizing and improving 

11 the morale of organizations, corporations, or commu12 nities that have experienced significant financial 

13 challenges or other challenges. 

14 ‘‘(c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Chief Morale Officer 

15 shall— 

16 ‘‘(1) oversee the employees of the Postal Serv17 ice, including managers, who work in post offices 

18 and postal facilities (as defined in section 404(f)); 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(2) oversee and develop national initiatives 

21 that address— 

22 ‘‘(A) working conditions, including— 

23 ‘‘(i) employee morale; 

24 ‘‘(ii) the physical strain of work; 

25 ‘‘(iii) handling of overtime; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) consistency of workday hours; 

2 ‘‘(v) flexibility in schedules; 

3 ‘‘(vi) break schedules; 

4 ‘‘(vii) adequate pay; 

5 ‘‘(viii) the time of mail delivery; 

6 ‘‘(ix) the safety of mail delivery; 

7 ‘‘(x) work environment; 

8 ‘‘(xi) work-life balance; 

9 ‘‘(xii) leadership and management; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(xiii) management accountability; 

12 ‘‘(B) staffing, including— 

13 ‘‘(i) sufficient staffing; 

14 ‘‘(ii) hiring strategies; 

15 ‘‘(iii) wages; 

16 ‘‘(iv) turnover rate; and 

17 ‘‘(v) the balance between temporary 

18 and career employees; 

19 ‘‘(C) communication, including— 

20 ‘‘(i) employee feedback process; 

21 ‘‘(ii) communication between employ22 ees and management; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) protections from retribution; and 

24 ‘‘(D) training, including— 


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1 ‘‘(i) sufficient training for new em2 ployees; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the structure of the training pro4 gram; and 

5 ‘‘(iii) addressing frustrations of new 

6 employees. 

7 ‘‘(d) REGIONAL MORALE OFFICERS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) APPOINTMENT.—The Chief Morale Officer 

9 shall appoint a Regional Morale Officer for each 

10 area, as that term is used in section 221.6 of title 

11 39, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor 

12 thereto. 

13 ‘‘(2) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Each Regional Mo14 rale Officer shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) implement the national initiatives of 

16 the Chief Morale Officer at a regional level; 

17 ‘‘(B) hold monthly morale roundtables with 

18 employees of the Postal Service at which the 

19 employees can discuss concerns relating to 

20 working conditions, staffing, communication, 

21 and training; 

22 ‘‘(C) conduct annual regional training ses23 sions for employees; 

24 ‘‘(D) submit biannual feedback reports to 

25 the Chief Morale Officer; and 


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1 ‘‘(E) participate in regular conference calls 

2 with other Regional Morale Officers and the 

3 Chief Morale Officer to provide feedback on 

4 how initiatives are progressing.’’. 

5 (2) DEADLINE FOR INITIAL APPOINTMENT.— 

6 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

7 of this Act, the Postmaster General shall appoint a 

8 Chief Morale Officer under section 209 of title 39, 

9 United States Code, as added by paragraph (1). 

10 (3) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND11 MENT.—The table of sections for chapter 2 of title 

12 39, United States Code, is amended by adding at 

13 the end the following: 

‘‘209. Chief Morale Officer.’’. 

14 SEC. 7. ALTERNATIVE MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION CON15 TRACTS. 

16 (a) RESTRICTION ON DISCONTINUANCE OF ALTER17 NATE MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION CONTRACTS.—Sec18 tion 404 of title 39, United States Code, as amended by 

19 section 3, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(g) ALTERNATIVE MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION

21 CONTRACTS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

23 ‘covered route’ means a route on which first-class 

24 mail and periodicals are transported under an Alter25 nate Means of Transportation contract. 


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1 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS BEFORE CHANGING TO

2 OTHER MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION.—The Postal 

3 Service, prior to making a determination under sub4 section (a)(1) to transport first-class mail or periodi5 cals on a covered route using a means other than 

6 under an Alternate Means of Transportation con7 tract, shall consider— 

8 ‘‘(A) the effect of the change on— 

9 ‘‘(i) each community served by the 

10 covered route; 

11 ‘‘(ii) businesses, including small busi12 nesses, in the area served by the covered 

13 route; and 

14 ‘‘(iii) employees of the Postal Service 

15 involved in transportation on the covered 

16 route; 

17 ‘‘(B) whether the change is consistent with 

18 the policy of the Government, as stated in sec19 tion 101(b), that the Postal Service shall pro20 vide a maximum degree of effective and regular 

21 postal services to rural areas, communities, and 

22 small towns where post offices are not self-sus23 taining; 


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1 ‘‘(C) the extent to which each community 

2 served by the covered route lacks access to 

3 Internet service; 

4 ‘‘(D) the extent to which postal customers 

5 served by the covered route would continue 

6 after the change to receive substantially similar 

7 access to essential items and time-sensitive 

8 communications; 

9 ‘‘(E) whether substantial economic savings 

10 to the Postal Service would result from the 

11 change; 

12 ‘‘(F) the average daily volume of mail 

13 transported on the covered route; 

14 ‘‘(G) any change in the volume of mail 

15 transported on the covered route during the 

16 preceding 12 months; 

17 ‘‘(H) the capacity of available transpor18 tation service providers to meet the volume 

19 needs of the Postal Service on the covered 

20 route; 

21 ‘‘(I) the ability of the Postal Service to 

22 procure and access additional transportation ca23 pacity to meet the volume needs of the Postal 

24 Service on the covered route; 


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1 ‘‘(J) the impact of the change on postal fa2 cilities (as that term is defined in subsection 

3 (f)) that use the covered route; 

4 ‘‘(K) the ability of postal facilities de5 scribed in subparagraph (J) to continue to pro6 vide service that complies with applicable serv7 ice standards after the change; and 

8 ‘‘(L) any other factors that the Postal 

9 Service determines are necessary. 

10 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATIONS.—Any determination of 

11 the Postal Service to transport first-class mail or 

12 periodicals on a covered route using a means other 

13 than under an Alternate Means of Transportation 

14 contract shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) be in writing; 

16 ‘‘(B) include the findings of the Postal 

17 Service with respect to the considerations re18 quired to be made under paragraph (2); and 

19 ‘‘(C) be made available by public notice to 

20 persons served by the covered route. 

21 ‘‘(4) ADVANCE NOTICE OF DETERMINATIONS.— 

22 The Postal Service shall take no action to transport 

23 first-class mail or periodicals on a covered route 

24 using a means other than under an Alternate Means 

25 of Transportation contract until 60 days after the 


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1 date on which the Postal Service makes available to 

2 persons served by the covered route a written deter3 mination under paragraph (3).’’. 

4 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

5 of enactment of this Act, the Postal Service shall submit 

6 to Congress a report on potential cost savings resulting 

7 from any decision made during the 2-year period begin8 ning on the date of enactment of this Act— 

9 (1) to transport first-class mail or periodicals 

10 on a covered route (as defined in section 404(g)(1) 

11 of title 39, United States Code, as added by this sec12 tion) using a means other than under an Alternate 

13 Means of Transportation contract; or 

14 (2) to discontinue a post office. 

15 SEC. 8. RURAL POSTAL SERVICE ADVISORY COMMISSION. 

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the 

18 executive branch a Rural Postal Service Advisory 

19 Commission (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Advi20 sory Commission’’). 

21 (2) INDEPENDENCE.—The Advisory Commis22 sion shall not be subject to the supervision of the 

23 Board of Governors of the Postal Service (referred 

24 to in this section as the ‘‘Board of Governors’’), the 


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1 Postmaster General, or any other officer or employee 

2 of the Postal Service. 

3 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Advisory Com4 mission is to— 

5 (1) provide strategic guidance to the President, 

6 Congress, the Board of Governors, and the Post7 master General on enhancing and protecting the 

8 provision of postal services to rural areas of the 

9 United States (referred to in this section as ‘‘rural 

10 postal services’’); and 

11 (2) foster innovative thinking to address the 

12 challenges facing the Postal Service in enhancing 

13 and protecting rural postal services. 

14 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

15 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Advisory Commission 

16 shall be composed of 7 members, of whom— 

17 (A) 3 members shall be appointed by the 

18 President, who shall designate 1 member ap19 pointed under this subparagraph to serve as 

20 Chairperson of the Advisory Commission; and 

21 (B) 1 member shall be appointed by each 

22 of— 

23 (i) the majority leader of the Senate; 

24 (ii) the minority leader of the Senate; 


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1 (iii) the Speaker of the House of Rep2 resentatives; and 

3 (iv) the minority leader of the House 

4 of Representatives. 

5 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—Members of the Advi6 sory Commission shall have— 

7 (A) recognized and significant experience 

8 in such fields as business, technology, and pub9 lic administration; 

10 (B) a documented record of innovative 

11 thinking; 

12 (C) familiarity with new and emerging 

13 technologies; 

14 (D) experience with rural areas of the 

15 United States; and 

16 (E) experience with revitalizing and im17 proving the morale of organizations, corpora18 tions, or communities that have experienced sig19 nificant financial challenges or other challenges. 

20 (3) INCOMPATIBLE OFFICES.—An individual 

21 who is appointed to the Advisory Commission may 

22 not serve as an elected official or an officer or em23 ployee of the Federal Government while serving as 

24 a member of the Advisory Commission, except in the 


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1 capacity of that individual as a member of the Advi2 sory Commission. 

3 (4) DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENT.—Each 

4 member of the Advisory Commission shall be ap5 pointed not later than 60 days after the date of en6 actment of this Act. 

7 (5) MEETINGS; QUORUM; VACANCIES.— 

8 (A) MEETINGS.—The Advisory Commis9 sion shall meet at the call of the Chairperson or 

10 a majority of the members of the Advisory 

11 Commission. 

12 (B) QUORUM.—Four members of the Advi13 sory Commission shall constitute a quorum. 

14 (C) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Advi15 sory Commission shall not affect the powers of 

16 the Advisory Commission, but shall be filled as 

17 soon as practicable in the same manner in 

18 which the original appointment was made. 

19 (d) DUTIES AND POWERS.— 

20 (1) DUTIES.—The Advisory Commission 

21 shall— 

22 (A) study matters that the Advisory Com23 mission determines are necessary and appro24 priate to improve and protect rural postal serv25 ices and develop a strategic blueprint to imVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:58 Jul 11, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1742.IS S1742

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1 prove and protect rural postal services, includ2 ing— 

3 (i) the financial, operational, and 

4 structural condition of the Postal Service; 

5 (ii) alternative strategies and business 

6 models that the Postal Service could adopt 

7 that would improve and protect rural post8 al services; 

9 (iii) opportunities for additional postal 

10 and nonpostal services that the Postal 

11 Service could offer that would assist the 

12 mission of the Postal Service in rural areas 

13 of the United States; 

14 (iv) the comparative postal practices 

15 of other countries in rural areas, including 

16 innovative products and services that post17 al services in other countries have offered; 

18 (v) the governance and organizational 

19 and management structures of the Postal 

20 Service; 

21 (vi) efforts by the Postal Service to 

22 recruit and retain a workforce in rural 

23 areas that is capable of meeting the stra24 tegic needs of the Postal Service regarding 


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1 innovation, nationwide service standards, 

2 and nationwide delivery schedules; 

3 (vii) the morale of the workforce of 

4 the Postal Service, including strategies to 

5 improve the morale of the workforce, with 

6 a focus on the workforce that serves rural 

7 areas; and 

8 (viii) technology that could enhance 

9 and protect rural postal services; and 

10 (B) submit the report required under sub11 section (h). 

12 (2) HEARINGS.—The Advisory Commission may 

13 hold such hearings, take such testimony, and receive 

14 such evidence as is necessary to carry out this sec15 tion. 

16 (3) ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—The Advisory 

17 Commission may secure directly from the Postal 

18 Service, the Board of Governors, the Postal Regu19 latory Commission, and any other Federal depart20 ment or agency such information as the Advisory 

21 Commission considers necessary to carry out this 

22 section. Upon request of the Chairperson of the Ad23 visory Commission, the head of the department or 

24 agency shall furnish the information described in the 

25 preceding sentence to the Advisory Commission. 


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1 (e) APPLICABILITY OF LAWS.—The Federal Advisory 

2 Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) and section 552a of title 

3 5, United States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Privacy 

4 Act of 1974’’) shall apply to the Advisory Commission. 

5 (f) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

6 (1) POSTAL SERVICE.—The Postmaster General 

7 shall provide to the Advisory Commission adminis8 trative support and other services for the perform9 ance of the functions of the Advisory Commission. 

10 (2) OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES.—An 

11 agency of the Federal Government may provide to 

12 the Advisory Committee such services, funds, facili13 ties, staff, and other support services that the agen14 cy determines to be advisable or is otherwise author15 ized under law. 

16 (g) PERSONNEL MATTERS.— 

17 (1) ADVISORY COMMISSION MEMBERS.— 

18 (A) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—Each 

19 member of the Advisory Commission shall be 

20 compensated at a rate equal to the daily equiva21 lent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed 

22 for level IV of the Executive Schedule under 

23 section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for 

24 each day during which the member is engaged 


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1 in the actual performance of the duties of the 

2 Advisory Commission. 

3 (B) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of 

4 the Advisory Commission shall be allowed travel 

5 expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsist6 ence, at the rate authorized for employees serv7 ing intermittently in the Government service 

8 under section 5703 of title 5, United States 

9 Code, while away from home or regular place of 

10 business in the performance of services for the 

11 Advisory Commission. 

12 (2) STAFF.— 

13 (A) APPOINTMENT AND COMPENSATION.— 

14 The Chairperson, in accordance with rules 

15 agreed upon by the Advisory Commission, shall 

16 appoint and fix the compensation of an execu17 tive director and such other personnel as may 

18 be necessary to enable the Advisory Commission 

19 to carry out the functions of the Advisory Com20 mission, without regard to the provisions of title 

21 5, United States Code, governing appointments 

22 in the competitive service, and without regard 

23 to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter 

24 III of chapter 53 of such title relating to classi25 fication of positions and General Schedule pay 


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1 rates, except that a rate of pay fixed under this 

2 subparagraph may not exceed the annual rate 

3 of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Execu4 tive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, 

5 United States Code. 

6 (B) DETAILEES.—Any Federal employee, 

7 including an employee of the Postal Service, 

8 may be detailed to the Advisory Commission 

9 without reimbursement, and such detail shall be 

10 without interruption or loss of the civil service 

11 rights, status, or privilege of the employee. 

12 (h) STRATEGIC BLUEPRINT FOR RURAL POSTAL

13 SERVICES.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 9 months 

15 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Advisory 

16 Commission shall submit a report that contains a 

17 strategic blueprint for rural postal services to— 

18 (A) the President; 

19 (B) the Committee on Homeland Security 

20 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 

21 (C) the Committee on Oversight and Gov22 ernment Reform of the House of Representa23 tives; 

24 (D) the Board of Governors; and 

25 (E) the Postmaster General. 


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1 (2) CONTENTS.—The strategic blueprint con2 tained in the report submitted under paragraph (1) 

3 shall include— 

4 (A) an assessment of the effectiveness of 

5 the business model of the Postal Service for 

6 protecting rural postal services as of the date 

7 on which the report is submitted; 

8 (B) an assessment of potential future busi9 ness models for the Postal Service and the im10 pact of those business models on rural postal 

11 services, including an evaluation of the impact 

12 of— 

13 (i) reductions of service on revenue; 

14 and 

15 (ii) additional opportunities for 

16 growth and revenue; 

17 (C) a strategy for addressing challenges 

18 and costs in protecting rural postal services; 

19 (D) identification of opportunities for new 

20 and innovative products and services that would 

21 help protect and enhance rural postal services; 

22 (E) an enumeration of steps that the Post23 al Service needs to take to ensure that, 20 

24 years after the date of enactment of this Act, 


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1 the Postal Service can continue to offer postal 

2 services in rural areas; 

3 (F) a strategy for ensuring that the Postal 

4 Service has a sufficient workforce to comply 

5 with service standards for, and meet the needs 

6 of postal customers in, rural areas; and 

7 (G) recommendations for any legislative 

8 changes necessary to implement the strategic 

9 blueprint described in this paragraph. 

10 (i) TERMINATION OF THE COMMISSION.—The Advi11 sory Commission shall terminate on the earlier of— 

12 (1) the date that is 60 days after the date on 

13 which the Advisory Commission submits the report 

14 on the strategic blueprint for rural postal services 

15 under subsection (h); or 

16 (2) the date that is 1 year after the date of en17 actment of this Act. 

18 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

19 are authorized to be appropriated out of the Postal Service 

20 Fund a total of not more than $3,000,000 for fiscal years 

21 2015 and 2016. 

22 SEC. 9. EQUIPPING DELIVERY VEHICLES FOR RURAL 

23 AREAS. 

24 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con25 gress that— 


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1 (1) while it may be too late for the Postal Serv2 ice to consider rural mail delivery as part of its Next 

3 Generation Delivery Vehicles (commonly known as 

4 ‘‘NGDV’’) initiative, the Postal Service should con5 sider options for a rural delivery truck prototype in 

6 the future, as rural letter carriers currently must 

7 use their own vehicles due to the unique terrain 

8 challenges across the United States; and 

9 (2) the Postal Service should consider the feasi10 bility of equipping delivery vehicles that can not only 

11 handle the challenges described in paragraph (1), 

12 but can also handle severe weather conditions. 

13 (b) GAO STUDY.—Not later than 1 year after the 

14 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

15 of the United States shall— 

16 (1) study the feasibility of the Postal Service 

17 designing mail delivery vehicles that are equipped for 

18 rural areas; and 

19 (2) submit to Congress a report on the findings 

20 of the study conducted under paragraph (1). 

21 SEC. 10. WI-FI IN RURAL POST OFFICES. 

22 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con23 gress that— 

24 (1) because post offices still serve as a central 

25 point in many rural communities where people conVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:58 Jul 11, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00053 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1742.IS S1742

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1 gregate and connect with the rest of the world, the 

2 Postal Service should consider providing wireless 

3 broadband Internet access service at all rural post 

4 offices as a method of incentivizing individuals to 

5 use their community post office as much as possible; 

6 and 

7 (2) because of the challenges that implementing 

8 wireless broadband Internet access service at all 

9 rural post offices would pose, the Postal Service 

10 should first consider implementing a pilot program 

11 under which the Postal Service would provide wire12 less broadband Internet access service at 4 rural 

13 post offices in diverse areas of the United States for 

14 a 2-year period in order to determine whether the 

15 addition of such service in those post offices has an 

16 impact on the amount of business or revenue gen17 erated by each post office. 

18 (b) GAO STUDY.—Not later than 1 year after the 

19 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

20 of the United States shall— 

21 (1) study the feasibility of the Postal Service 

22 providing wireless broadband Internet access service 

23 at all rural post offices; and 

24 (2) submit to Congress a report on the findings 

25 of the study conducted under paragraph (1). 


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1 SEC. 11. PROTECTION OF DOOR AND CURBSIDE DELIVERY. 

2 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

3 (1) the term ‘‘centralized delivery’’ means a pri4 mary mode of mail delivery whereby mail is delivered 

5 to a group or cluster of mail receptacles at a single 

6 location; 

7 (2) the term ‘‘curbside delivery’’ means a pri8 mary mode of mail delivery whereby mail is delivered 

9 to a mail receptacle that is situated at the edge of 

10 a public sidewalk abutting a road or curb, at a road, 

11 or at a curb; 

12 (3) the term ‘‘delivery point’’ means a mailbox 

13 or other receptacle to which mail is delivered; 

14 (4) the term ‘‘door delivery’’— 

15 (A) means a primary mode of mail delivery 

16 whereby mail is— 

17 (i) delivered to a mail receptacle at or 

18 near a postal customer’s door; or 

19 (ii) hand-delivered to a postal cus20 tomer; and 

21 (B) does not include curbside or central22 ized delivery; and 

23 (5) the term ‘‘primary mode of mail delivery’’ 

24 means the typical method by which the Postal Serv25 ice delivers mail to the delivery point of a postal cus26 tomer. 


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1 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con2 gress that the Postal Service should not convert existing 

3 residential or business addresses to centralized delivery 

4 from door delivery or curbside delivery. 

Æ 


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