I 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3536 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 27, 2008 

Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 

AN ACT 

To amend section 5402 of title 39, United States Code, 

to modify the authority relating to United States Postal 

Service air transportation contracts, and for other purposes. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Air Carriage of Inter3 national Mail Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. AIR CARRIAGE OF INTERNATIONAL MAIL. 

5 (a) CONTRACTING AUTHORITY.—Section 5402 of 

6 title 39, United States Code, is amended by striking sub7 sections (b) and (c) and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘(b) INTERNATIONAL MAIL.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

10 ‘‘(A) Except as otherwise provided in this 

11 subsection, the Postal Service may contract for 

12 the transportation of mail by aircraft between 

13 any of the points in foreign air transportation 

14 only with certificated air carriers. A contract 

15 may be awarded to a certificated air carrier to 

16 transport mail by air between any of the points 

17 in foreign air transportation that the Secretary 

18 of Transportation has authorized the carrier to 

19 serve either directly or through a code-share re20 lationship with one or more foreign air carriers. 

21 ‘‘(B) If the Postal Service has sought of22 fers or proposals from certificated air carriers 

23 to transport mail in foreign air transportation 

24 between points, or pairs of points within a geo25 graphic region or regions, and has not received 

26 offers or proposals that meet Postal Service reVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:34 Sep 30, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3536.RFH S3536

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1 quirements at a fair and reasonable price from 

2 at least 2 such carriers, the Postal Service may 

3 seek offers or proposals from foreign air car4 riers. Where service in foreign air transpor5 tation meeting the Postal Service’s require6 ments is unavailable at a fair and reasonable 

7 price from at least 2 certificated air carriers, ei8 ther directly or through a code-share relation9 ship with one or more foreign air carriers, the 

10 Postal Service may contract with foreign air 

11 carriers to provide the service sought if, when 

12 the Postal Service seeks offers or proposals 

13 from foreign air carriers, it also seeks an offer 

14 or proposal to provide that service from any 

15 certificated air carrier providing service between 

16 those points, or pairs of points within a geo17 graphic region or regions, on the same terms 

18 and conditions that are being sought from for19 eign air carriers. 

20 ‘‘(C) For purposes of this subsection, the 

21 Postal Service shall use a methodology for de22 termining fair and reasonable prices for the 

23 Postal Service designated region or regions de24 veloped in consultation with, and with the con25 currence of, certificated air carriers repVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:34 Sep 30, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3536.RFH S3536

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1 resenting at least 51 percent of available ton 

2 miles in the markets of interest. 

3 ‘‘(D) For purposes of this subsection, ceil4 ing prices determined pursuant to the method5 ology used under subparagraph (C) shall be 

6 presumed to be fair and reasonable if they do 

7 not exceed the ceiling prices derived from— 

8 ‘‘(i) a weighted average based on mar9 ket rate data furnished by the Inter10 national Air Transport Association or a 

11 subsidiary unit thereof; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) if such data are not available 

13 from those sources, such other neutral, 

14 regularly updated set of weighted average 

15 market rates as the Postal Service, with 

16 the concurrence of certificated air carriers 

17 representing at least 51 percent of avail18 able ton miles in the markets of interest, 

19 may designate. 

20 ‘‘(E) If, for purposes of subparagraph 

21 (D)(ii), concurrence cannot be attained, then 

22 the most recently available market rate data de23 scribed in this subparagraph shall continue to 

24 apply for the relevant market or markets. 


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1 ‘‘(2) CONTRACT PROCESS.—The Postal Service 

2 shall contract for foreign air transportation as set 

3 forth in paragraph (1) through an open procurement 

4 process that will provide— 

5 ‘‘(A) potential offerors with timely notice 

6 of business opportunities in sufficient detail to 

7 allow them to make a proposal; 

8 ‘‘(B) requirements, proposed terms and 

9 conditions, and evaluation criteria to potential 

10 offerors; and 

11 ‘‘(C) an opportunity for unsuccessful 

12 offerors to receive prompt feedback upon re13 quest. 

14 ‘‘(3) EMERGENCY OR UNANTICIPATED CONDI15 TIONS; INADEQUATE LIFT SPACE.—The Postal Serv16 ice may enter into contracts to transport mail by air 

17 in foreign air transportation with a certificated air 

18 carrier or a foreign air carrier without complying 

19 with the requirements of paragraphs (b)(1) and (2) 

20 if— 

21 ‘‘(A) emergency or unanticipated condi22 tions exist that make it impractical for the 

23 Postal Service to comply with such require24 ments; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) its demand for lift exceeds the space 

2 available to it under existing contracts and— 

3 ‘‘(i) there is insufficient time available 

4 to seek additional lift using procedures 

5 that comply with those requirements with6 out compromising the Postal Service’s 

7 service commitments to its own customers; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(ii) the Postal Service first offers 

10 any certificated air carrier holding a con11 tract to carry mail between the relevant 

12 points the opportunity to carry such excess 

13 volumes under the terms of its existing 

14 contract. 

15 ‘‘(c) GOOD FAITH EFFORT REQUIRED.—The Postal 

16 Service and potential offerors shall put a good-faith effort 

17 into resolving disputes concerning the award of contracts 

18 made under subsection (b).’’. 

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 49.— 

20 (1) Section 41901(a) is amended by striking 

21 ‘‘39.’’ and inserting ‘‘39, and in foreign air trans22 portation under section 5402(b) and (c) of title 39.’’. 

23 (2) Section 41901(b)(1) is amended by striking 

24 ‘‘in foreign air transportation or’’. 

25 (3) Section 41902 is amended— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘in foreign air transpor2 tation or’’ in subsection (a); 

3 (B) by striking subsection (b) and insert4 ing the following: 

5 ‘‘(b) STATEMENTS ON PLACES AND SCHEDULES.— 

6 Every air carrier shall file with the United States Postal 

7 Service a statement showing— 

8 ‘‘(1) the places between which the carrier is au9 thorized to transport mail in Alaska; 

10 ‘‘(2) every schedule of aircraft regularly oper11 ated by the carrier between places described in para12 graph (1) and every change in each schedule; and 

13 ‘‘(3) for each schedule, the places served by the 

14 carrier and the time of arrival at, and departure 

15 from, each such place.’’; 

16 (C) by striking ‘‘subsection (b)(3)’’ each 

17 place it appears in subsections (c)(1) and (d) 

18 and inserting ‘‘subsection (b)(2)’’; and 

19 (D) by striking subsections (e) and (f). 

20 (4) Section 41903 is amended by striking ‘‘in 

21 foreign air transportation or’’ each place it appears. 

22 (5) Section 41904 is amended— 

23 (A) by striking ‘‘to or in foreign 

24 countries’’ in the section heading; 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘to or in a foreign coun2 try’’ and inserting ‘‘between two points outside 

3 the United States’’; and 

4 (C) by inserting after ‘‘transportation.’’ 

5 the following: ‘‘Nothing in this section shall af6 fect the authority of the Postal Service to make 

7 arrangements with noncitizens for the carriage 

8 of mail in foreign air transportation under sub9 sections 5402(b) and (c) of title 39.’’. 

10 (6) Section 41910 is amended by striking the 

11 first sentence and inserting ‘‘The United States 

12 Postal Service may weigh mail transported by air13 craft between places in Alaska and make statistical 

14 and –administrative computations necessary in the 

15 interest of mail service.’’. 

16 (7) Chapter 419 is amended— 

17 (A) by striking sections 41905, 41907, 

18 41908, and 41911; and 

19 (B) redesignating sections 41906, 41909, 

20 41910, and 49112 as sections 41905, 41906, 

21 41907, and 41908, respectively. 

22 (8) The chapter analysis for chapter 419 is 

23 amended by redesignating the items relating to sec24 tions 41906, 41909, 41910, and 49112 as relating 


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1 to sections 41905, 41906, 41907, and 41908, re2 spectively. 

3 (9) Section 101(f) of title 39, United States 

4 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘mail and shall make 

5 a fair and equitable distribution of mail business to 

6 carriers providing similar modes of transportation 

7 services to the Postal Service.’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘mail.’’. 

9 (10) Subsections (b) and (c) of section 3401 of 

10 title 39, United States Code, are amended— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘at rates fixed and deter12 mined by the Secretary of Transportation in ac13 cordance with section 41901 of title 49’’ and in14 serting ‘‘or, for carriage of mail in foreign air 

15 transportation, other air carriers, air taxi oper16 ators or foreign air carriers as permitted by 

17 section 5402 of this title’’; 

18 (B) by striking ‘‘at rates not to exceed 

19 those so fixed and determined for scheduled 

20 United States air carriers’’; 

21 (C) by striking ‘‘scheduled’’ each place it 

22 appears and inserting ‘‘certificated’’; and 

23 (D) by striking the last sentence in each 

24 such subsection. 


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1 (11) Section 5402(a) of title 39, United States 

2 Code, is amended— 

3 (A) by inserting ‘‘ ‘foreign air carrier’.’’ 

4 after ‘‘ ‘interstate air transportation’,’’ in para5 graph (2); 

6 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (7) 

7 through (23) as paragraphs (8) through (24) 

8 and inserting after paragraph (6) the following: 

9 ‘‘(7) the term ‘certificated air carrier’ means an 

10 air carrier that holds a certificate of public conven11 ience and necessity issued under section 41102(a) of 

12 title 49;’’; 

13 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (9) 

14 through (24), as redesignated, as paragraphs 

15 (10) through (25), respectively, and inserting 

16 after paragraph (8) the following: 

17 ‘‘(9) the term ‘code-share relationship’ means a 

18 relationship pursuant to which any certificated air 

19 carrier or foreign air carrier’s designation code is 

20 used to identify a flight operated by another air car21 rier or foreign air carrier;’’; and 

22 (D) by inserting ‘‘foreign air carrier,’’ 

23 after ‘‘terms’’ in paragraph (2). 


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1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 this section shall take effect on October 1, 2008. 

Passed the Senate September 26, 2008 (legislative 

day, September 17), 2008. 

Attest: NANCY ERICKSON, 

Secretary. 


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