64374 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 233 / Monday, December 7, 2009 / The Regulatory Plan 

POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION 

(PRC) 

Statement of Regulatory Priorities 

The Postal Regulatory Commission 

serves as the primary regulator of the 

United States Postal Service. Its primary 

mission is to ensure accountability and 

transparency of the Postal Service to 

Congress, stakeholders and the general 

public on issues such as financial 

operations, pricing policies, and 

delivery performance. 

In fiscal year 2010, the Commission 

will evaluate its current regulations 

with a goal of improving and 

streamlining those regulations to ensure 

that the Postal Service is in full 

compliance with applicable law. The 

Commission’s principal regulatory 

priority for fiscal year 2010 is to develop 

and establish regulations relating to the 

Periodic Reporting of Service 

Performance Measurements and 

Customer Satisfaction for Postal Service 

market dominant products. The 

Commission has begun this process and 

will continue to do so well into fiscal 

year 2010. 

PRC 

FINAL RULE STAGE 

178. ∑ PERIODIC REPORTING OF 

SERVICE PERFORMANCE 

MEASUREMENTS AND CUSTOMER 

SATISFACTION 

Priority: 

Other Significant. Major status under 5 

USC 801 is undetermined. 

Legal Authority: 

39 USC 3652(a)(2)(B); 39 USC 3652(e); 

39 USC 3651 

CFR Citation: 

Not Yet Determined 

Legal Deadline: 

None 

Abstract: 

Section 3652(a)(2)(B) of title 39 requires 

the United States Postal Service to 

prepare and submit to the Postal 

Regulatory Commission periodic 

reports which in part provide measures 

of the quality of service afforded each 

market dominant product in terms of 

the level of service and the degree of 

customer satisfaction. Section 3652(e) 

directs the Postal Regulatory 

Commission to prescribe the content 

and form of such reports provided by 

the United States Postal Service under 

39 USC 3652. Section 3651(c) also 

authorizes the Postal Regulatory 

Commission to obtain information from 

the Postal Service in order to prepare 

periodic reports. This regulation will 

fulfill the Commission’s statutory 

responsibility to prescribe the content 

and form of reports related to the 

quality of service. 

Statement of Need: 

Establishing requirements for the 

reporting of quality of service afforded 

each market dominant product is 

required by the Postal Accountability 

and Enhancement Act. The reporting of 

quality of service provides visibility 

into the United States Postal Service’s 

provision of those products. This is a 

necessary element of a modern system 

of regulation to ensure that quality of 

service is not compromised under a 

new price cap based rate system. 

Congress tasked the Postal Regulatory 

Commission with the job of prescribing 

reporting requirements to accomplish 

these goals. These regulations are the 

Commission’s implementation of that 

Congressional directive. 

Summary of Legal Basis: 

Title 39 USC 3652(a)(2)(B) and 39 USC 

3651 require the United States Postal 

Service to prepare and submit to the 

Postal Regulatory Commission periodic 

reports which in part provide measures 

of the quality of service afforded each 

market dominant product. Title 39 USC 

3652(e) requires the Postal Regulatory 

Commission to issue regulations to 

prescribe the content and form of 

public reports (and any nonpublic 

annex and supporting matter relating to 

the report) provided by the Postal 

Service under 39 USC 3652. Title 39 

USC 3651(c) also authorizes the Postal 

Regulatory Commission to obtain 

information from the Postal Service in 

order to prepare periodic reports. 

Alternatives: 

There are no alternative methods of 

complying with the requirements of 39 

USC 3652(e) or 39 USC 3651 other than 

by issuing regulations. 

Anticipated Cost and Benefits: 

The United States Postal Service will 

incur costs associated with developing 

and implementing systems to measure 

the quality of service afforded each 

market dominant product. The United 

States Postal Service also will incur the 

costs of annual reporting. The Postal 

Regulatory Commission will incur the 

costs of reviewing annual reports. 

These costs were anticipated by 

Congress when establishing the 

reporting requirements of 39 USC 3651 

and 39 USC 3652. The benefits of 

incurring these costs are to provide 

visibility into the quality of service 

afforded each market dominant product 

provided by the United States Postal 

Service. 

Risks: 

There are no known risks to this 

regulatory action. 

Timetable: 

Action Date FR Cite 

NPRM 09/25/09 74 FR 49190 

NPRM Comment 

Period End 

10/26/09 

Reply Comment 

Deadline 

11/24/09 

Final Action 02/00/10 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

Required: 

No 

Government Levels Affected: 

Federal 

Agency Contact: 

Stephen L. Sharfman 

General Counsel 

Postal Regulatory Commission 

Suite 200 

901 New York Avenue NW 

Washington, DC 20268–0001 

Phone: 202 789–6820 

Fax: 202 789–6861 

Email: stephen.sharfman@prc.gov 

RIN: 3211–AA05 

BILLING CODE 7710–FW–S 


erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with RULES