I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1837 

To amend title 39, United States Code, to enhance the security and efficiency 

of nationwide mail and parcel delivery. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 16, 2015 

Mr. ISSA (for himself and Mr. FARENTHOLD) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 

A BILL 

To amend title 39, United States Code, to enhance the 

security and efficiency of nationwide mail and parcel delivery. 

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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Secure Delivery for 

5 America Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DELIVERY-POINT MODERNIZATION. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter VII of chapter 36 of 

8 title 39, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

9 end the following: 


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1 ‘‘§ 3692. Delivery-point modernization 

2 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this sec3 tion— 

4 ‘‘(1) the term ‘delivery point’ means a mailbox 

5 or other receptacle to which mail is delivered; 

6 ‘‘(2) the term ‘primary mode of mail delivery’ 

7 means the typical method by which the Postal Serv8 ice delivers letter mail to the delivery point of a 

9 postal patron; 

10 ‘‘(3) the term ‘door delivery’ means a primary 

11 mode of mail delivery whereby mail is placed into a 

12 slot or receptacle at or near the postal patron’s door 

13 or is hand delivered to a postal patron, but does not 

14 include centralized, curbside, or sidewalk delivery; 

15 ‘‘(4) the term ‘centralized delivery’ means a pri16 mary mode of mail delivery whereby mail receptacles 

17 of a number of delivery points are grouped or clus18 tered at a single location; 

19 ‘‘(5) the term ‘curbside delivery’ means a pri20 mary mode of mail delivery whereby a mail recep21 tacle is situated at the edge of a sidewalk abutting 

22 a road or curb, at a road, or at a curb, and can be 

23 served by a letter carrier from a motorized vehicle; 

24 and 

25 ‘‘(6) the term ‘sidewalk delivery’ means a pri26 mary mode of mail delivery whereby a mail recepVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Apr 25, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1837.IH H1837

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1 tacle is situated at the edge of a sidewalk and can 

2 be served by a letter carrier from the sidewalk. 

3 ‘‘(b) POLICY.—It shall be the policy of the Postal 

4 Service— 

5 ‘‘(1) to provide access to secure, convenient 

6 package delivery receptacles to the greatest number 

7 of postal patrons feasible; and 

8 ‘‘(2) to use the most cost-effective primary 

9 mode of mail delivery feasible for postal patrons. 

10 ‘‘(c) PHASEOUT OF DOOR DELIVERY.— 

11 ‘‘(1) NEW ADDRESSES.—For new addresses es12 tablished after September 30, 2016, the Postal Serv13 ice shall provide a primary mode of mail delivery 

14 other than door delivery, with a preference for se15 cure, centralized delivery to the maximum extent 

16 feasible. 

17 ‘‘(2) BUSINESS ADDRESS CONVERSION.—Sub18 ject to paragraph (4), the Postal Service shall imple19 ment a program to convert existing business ad20 dresses with door delivery to centralized delivery to 

21 the maximum extent feasible. 

22 ‘‘(3) RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS CONVERSION.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IDENTIFICATION.—Within 1 year 

24 after the date of the enactment of this section, 

25 each Postal Service district office shall identify 


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1 residential addresses within its service area that 

2 are appropriate candidates for conversion from 

3 door delivery to centralized, curbside, or side4 walk delivery, in accordance with standards es5 tablished by the Postal Service. 

6 ‘‘(B) VOLUNTARY CONVERSION.—Subject 

7 to paragraph (4), the Postal Service shall seek 

8 to voluntarily convert the delivery points identi9 fied under subparagraph (A) from door delivery 

10 to more cost-effective primary modes of mail 

11 delivery. 

12 ‘‘(C) PROCEDURES.—In carrying out con13 versions under subparagraph (B), the Postal 

14 Service shall establish procedures— 

15 ‘‘(i) to solicit, consider, and respond 

16 to input from postal patrons, State and 

17 local governments, local associations, and 

18 property owners; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) to place centralized delivery 

20 points in locations that maximize delivery 

21 efficiency, ease of use for postal patrons, 

22 and respect for private property rights. 

23 ‘‘(4) CONSIDERATIONS.—In making any deter24 mination to convert the primary mode of mail deliv25 ery for an existing address from door delivery to any 


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1 other primary mode of mail delivery, or to provide 

2 a primary mode of mail delivery to a new address, 

3 the Postal Service shall consider— 

4 ‘‘(A) the impact of weather conditions, 

5 physical barriers, or any other factor that may 

6 impact the feasibility of providing a primary 

7 mode of mail delivery other than door delivery 

8 (such as a factor that may significantly reduce 

9 the potential cost savings associated with pro10 viding centralized or curbside delivery); 

11 ‘‘(B) whether the address is in a registered 

12 historic district (as that term is defined in sec13 tion 47(c)(3)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code 

14 of 1986), is listed on the National Register of 

15 Historic Places, is designated as a National 

16 Historic Landmark, or is of historic value; and 

17 ‘‘(C) population density and the concentra18 tion of poverty. 

19 ‘‘(5) WAIVER FOR PHYSICAL HARDSHIP.—The 

20 Postal Service shall establish and maintain a waiver 

21 program under which, upon application, door deliv22 ery may be continued, or provided, at no cost to the 

23 applicant in any case in which— 


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1 ‘‘(A) centralized or curbside delivery would, 

2 but for this paragraph, otherwise be the pri3 mary mode of mail delivery; and 

4 ‘‘(B) door delivery is necessary in order to 

5 avoid causing significant physical hardship or 

6 physical safety risks to a postal patron. 

7 ‘‘(d) DELIVERY MODERNIZATION REQUIREMENT.— 

8 ‘‘(1) DELIVERY-POINT CONVERSIONS.—During 

9 each fiscal year from fiscal year 2017 through fiscal 

10 year 2026, the Postal Service shall convert not less 

11 than 1,500,000 of the door delivery points extant on 

12 December 31, 2015, to centralized, curbside, or side13 walk delivery. 

14 ‘‘(2) CONVERSION TYPE.—In carrying out para15 graph (1), the Postal Service shall, to the greatest 

16 extent feasible, convert delivery points to centralized 

17 delivery and include secure package lockers co-lo18 cated with mail receptacles at the centralized deliv19 ery point. 

20 ‘‘(3) CONVERSION ORDER.—In determining 

21 which delivery points to convert under paragraph 

22 (1), the delivery point or points of postal patrons 

23 who voluntarily agree to convert their delivery point 

24 or points under subsection (c)(3) shall take preceVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Apr 25, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1837.IH H1837

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1 dence over any other conversions to the greatest ex2 tent practicable. 

3 ‘‘(4) PROCEDURES.—In carrying out conver4 sions under paragraph (1), the Postal Service shall 

5 establish procedures to— 

6 ‘‘(A) solicit, consider, and respond to input 

7 from the general public, postal patrons, State 

8 and local governments, local associations, and 

9 property owners which shall include, but not be 

10 limited to— 

11 ‘‘(i) a public community meeting prior 

12 to the commencement of the conversion of 

13 a community; 

14 ‘‘(ii) prior to the completion of the 

15 conversion of a community; and 

16 ‘‘(iii) at any point in the process when 

17 the District Manager makes a change to 

18 the delivery method or the location of cen19 tralized delivery points; 

20 ‘‘(B) calculate and make publicly accessible 

21 the cost or savings of the conversion to the 

22 Postal Service as well as the average conversion 

23 cost or savings to each postal patron and any 

24 cost or savings to the State and local govern25 ment; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) place centralized delivery points in lo2 cations that maximize delivery efficiency, ease 

3 of use for postal patrons, and respect for pri4 vate property rights. 

5 ‘‘(5) NOTIFICATION.—In carrying out conver6 sions under paragraph (1), the Postal Service shall 

7 provide written notice at least 60 days in advance of 

8 the implementation date of a change in primary 

9 mode of mail delivery to postal customers served by 

10 an applicable delivery point. 

11 ‘‘(6) VOUCHER PROGRAM.—The Postal Service 

12 shall, in accordance with such standards and proce13 dures as the Postal Service shall by regulation pre14 scribe, provide for a voucher program under which, 

15 upon application, the Postal Service may defray all 

16 or any portion of the costs associated with conver17 sion from door delivery under this section which 

18 would otherwise be borne by postal patrons. 

19 ‘‘(7) LEGACY DOOR-DELIVERY SERVICE.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Postal Service 

21 may continue to provide, for a fee to be paid by 

22 the addressee, door delivery to an address that 

23 received door delivery as of January 1, 2016, 

24 but was converted or scheduled to be converted 

25 to a different primary mode of mail delivery as 


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1 a result of the requirements of paragraph (1), 

2 subject to succeeding provisions of this para3 graph. 

4 ‘‘(B) OFFSET.—The fee described in sub5 paragraph (A) shall, when taken in the nation6 wide aggregate, offset the additional cost to the 

7 Postal Service for door delivery (compared to 

8 the cost of the primary mode of mail delivery 

9 which would otherwise exist for such address) 

10 as a result of the requirements of subsection 

11 (d). 

12 ‘‘(C) REQUIREMENTS.—The fee shall be 

13 subject to the requirements of section 

14 3622(d)(1)(B) and the Postmaster General may 

15 by regulation prescribe the method of the fee’s 

16 calculation. 

17 ‘‘(D) QUALIFICATIONS.—Postal patrons 

18 may only qualify for the option of legacy door19 delivery service if— 

20 ‘‘(i) the postal patron received mail at 

21 the applicable address on the date on 

22 which— 

23 ‘‘(I) the Postal Service provided 

24 written notice of its intent to convert 


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1 a delivery point in compliance with 

2 paragraph (5); or 

3 ‘‘(II) the primary mode of mail 

4 delivery was changed pursuant to the 

5 requirements of paragraph (1); 

6 ‘‘(ii) the postal patron registered and 

7 paid the initial fee for such service not 

8 later than 6 months after the date on 

9 which the primary mode of mail delivery 

10 was changed for the applicable address; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(iii) the provision of legacy door-de13 livery service has been continuous at the 

14 applicable address since its commencement. 

15 ‘‘(8) TREATMENT OF EXEMPTION.—Addresses 

16 receiving door delivery or legacy door delivery as a 

17 result of subsection (c)(5) or paragraph (7)— 

18 ‘‘(A) shall be counted as addresses that re19 ceive the primary mode of mail delivery which 

20 the address would be subject to if not for the 

21 applicable exemption; and 

22 ‘‘(B) shall, within 60 days after ceasing to 

23 meet the requirements of such subsection (c)(5) 

24 or paragraph (7), as applicable, be converted to 


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1 the primary mode of mail delivery which was 

2 otherwise applicable. 

3 ‘‘(9) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 60 days 

4 after the end of each of fiscal years 2015 through 

5 2024, the Postal Service shall submit to Congress 

6 and the Inspector General of the Postal Service a re7 port on the implementation of this section during 

8 the most recently completed fiscal year. Each such 

9 report shall include— 

10 ‘‘(A) the number of residential and busi11 ness addresses that— 

12 ‘‘(i) receive door delivery as of the end 

13 of the fiscal year preceding the most re14 cently completed fiscal year; 

15 ‘‘(ii) receive door delivery as of the 

16 end of the most recently completed fiscal 

17 year; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) during the most recently com19 pleted fiscal year, were converted from 

20 door delivery to— 

21 ‘‘(I) centralized delivery points; 

22 ‘‘(II) curbside delivery points; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(III) any other primary mode of 

25 mail delivery, respectively; 


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1 ‘‘(B) the estimated cost savings from the 

2 conversions described in subparagraph (A)(iii); 

3 ‘‘(C) a description of the progress made by 

4 the Postal Service toward meeting the require5 ments of subsection (c) and paragraph (1) of 

6 this subsection; and 

7 ‘‘(D) any other information which the 

8 Postal Service considers appropriate. 

9 ‘‘(10) INSPECTOR GENERAL AUDIT.—The In10 spector General of the Postal Service shall issue an 

11 annual audit report on the implementation of the 

12 conversion requirement under paragraph (1) not 

13 later than 90 days after the date on which the Post14 al Service releases its annual report under para15 graph (9). At a minimum, the report under this 

16 paragraph shall contain— 

17 ‘‘(A) an audit of the data contained in the 

18 Postal Service’s report under paragraph (9); 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(B) an evaluation of the Postal Service’s 

21 implementation of the procedural requirements 

22 described in paragraph (4). 

23 ‘‘(e) REVIEW.—Subchapters IV and V shall not apply 

24 with respect to any action taken by the Postal Service 

25 under this section.’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

2 for chapter 36 of title 39, United States Code, is amended 

3 by adding after the item relating to section 3691 the fol4 lowing: 

‘‘3692. Delivery-point modernization.’’. 

5 (c) UPDATED DELIVERY COST DATA.— 

6 (1) STUDY.—Not later than 180 days after the 

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

8 shall begin to collect data on delivery mode costs and 

9 the potential savings of converting to more cost-effi10 cient primary modes of mail delivery. 

11 (2) REPORT.—Not later than October 1, 2017, 

12 the Postal Service shall submit a report to the Com13 mittee on Oversight and Government Reform of the 

14 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

15 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 

16 Senate describing the findings of the study con17 ducted under paragraph (1). 

Æ 


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