I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3717

To reform the postal laws of the United States.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 25, 1996

Mr. MCHUGH (for himself and Mr. CLINGER) introduced the following bill;

which was referred to the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, 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 postal laws 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 ‘‘Postal Reform Act of 1996’’.

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

7 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

TITLE I—ORGANIZATION

Sec. 101. Redesignations relating to the Governors and the Board of

Governors.
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Sec. 102. Redesignations relating to the Postmaster General and the Deputy

Postmaster General.

Sec. 103. Change in salary of Directors.

Sec. 104. Amendments relating to establishing an Office of Inspector General

within the United States Postal Service and certain other

matters.

Sec. 105. Clarification relating to execution of amendments.

TITLE II—GENERAL AUTHORITY

Sec. 201. Employment of postal police officers.

Sec. 202. Date of postmark to be treated as date of appeal in connection with

the closing or consolidation of post offices.

TITLE III—PRESIDENTIAL POSTAL EMPLOYEE-MANAGEMENT

COMMISSION

Sec. 301. Presidential Postal Employee-Management Commission.

TITLE IV—FINANCE

Sec. 401. End of Treasury control of Postal Service banking.

Sec. 402. Postal Service investments.

Sec. 403. Exclusion from Federal Financing Bank.

Sec. 404. Elimination of Treasury preemption of borrowing by the Postal

Service.

Sec. 405. Elimination of Postal Service ‘‘put’’ on Treasury.

TITLE V—BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS PROCESS

Sec. 501. Repeal of provision relating to transitional appropriations.

Sec. 502. Provisions relating to benefits under chapter 81 of title 5, United

States Code, for officers and employees of the former Post

Office Department.

Sec. 503. Repeal of authorizations of appropriations for public service costs,

revenue forgone, and certain compensatory appropriations.

Sec. 504. Congressional oversight preserved.

TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS RELATING TO POSTAL

RATES, CLASSES, AND SERVICES

Sec. 601. Change-of-address order involving a commercial mail receiving

agency.

Sec. 602. Reduced rates for certain nonprofit organizations.

Sec. 603. Powers of the Postal Rate Commission.

Sec. 604. Volume discounts.

TITLE VII—PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE TRANSPORTATION,

CARRIAGE, OR DELIVERY OF MAIL

Sec. 701. Obsolete provisions.

Sec. 702. Expanded contracting authority.

Sec. 703. Private carriage of letters.

Sec. 704. Mailbox demonstration project.

TITLE VIII—DIRECT APPEAL OF DECISIONS OF THE MERIT

SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD
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Sec. 801. Direct appeal of decisions of the Merit Systems Protection Board.

TITLE IX—LAW ENFORCEMENT

Subtitle A—Amendments to Title 39, United States Code

Sec. 901. Make Federal assault statutes applicable to postal contract

employees.

Sec. 902. Sexually oriented advertising.

Sec. 903. Allow Postal Service to retain asset forfeiture recoveries.

Sec. 904. Hazardous matter.

Subtitle B—Other Provisions

Sec. 911. Stalking Federal officers and employees.

Sec. 912. Nonmailability of controlled substances.

Sec. 913. Enhanced penalties.

Sec. 914. Postal burglary provisions.

Sec. 915. Mail, money, or other property of the United States.

TITLE X—NEW SYSTEM RELATING TO POSTAL RATES, CLASSES,

AND SERVICES

Sec. 1001. Establishment.

Sec. 1002. Termination of ratemaking authority under chapter 36 and related

matters.

1 TITLE I—ORGANIZATION

2 SEC. 101. REDESIGNATIONS RELATING TO THE GOVERNORS

3 AND THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS.

4 (a) REFERENCES IN TITLE 39.—Title 39, United

5 States Code, is amended—

6 (1) by striking ‘‘Board of Governors’’ each

7 place it appears and inserting ‘‘Board of Directors’’;

8 (2) by striking ‘‘Governors’’ each place it ap9 pears (except wherever it appears in ‘‘Board of Gov10 ernors’’) and inserting ‘‘Directors’’; and

11 (3) by striking ‘‘Governor’’ each place it ap12 pears and inserting ‘‘Director’’.

13 (b) REFERENCES OUTSIDE TITLE 39.—Any ref14 erence in any provision of law outside title 39, United
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1 States Code, enacted before the date of the enactment of

2 this Act—

3 (1) to the Board of Governors, within the

4 meaning of section 102(2) of title 39, United States

5 Code, as in effect before the date of the enactment

6 of this Act, shall be treated as referring to the

7 Board of Directors, within the meaning of such sec8 tion 102(2), as amended by subsection (a); or

9 (2) to any of the Governors, within the meaning

10 of section 102(3) of title 39, United States Code, as

11 in effect before the date of the enactment of this

12 Act, shall be treated as referring to the correspond13 ing Director or Directors, within the meaning of

14 such section 102(3), as amended by subsection (a).

15 SEC. 102. REDESIGNATIONS RELATING TO THE POST16 MASTER GENERAL AND THE DEPUTY POST17 MASTER GENERAL.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Section 202(c) of title 39,

19 United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Postmaster

20 General’’ and inserting ‘‘Chief Executive Officer of the

21 United States Postal Service’’.

22 (2) Section 202(d) of such title 39 is amended by

23 striking ‘‘Deputy Postmaster General’’ and inserting

24 ‘‘Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the United States

25 Postal Service’’.
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1 (3) Section 102 of such title 39 is amended by strik2 ing ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (2), by striking the

3 period at the end of paragraph (3) and inserting a semi4 colon, and by adding after paragraph (3) the following:

5 ‘‘(4) ‘Chief Executive Officer’, unless the con6 text otherwise requires, means the Chief Executive

7 Officer of the United States Postal Service ap8 pointed under section 202(c); and

9 ‘‘(5) ‘Deputy Chief Executive Officer’, unless

10 the context otherwise requires, means the Deputy

11 Chief Executive Officer of the United States Postal

12 Service appointed under section 202(d).’’.

13 (b) OTHER REFERENCES IN TITLE 39.—Title 39,

14 United States Code, is further amended—

15 (1) by striking ‘‘Postmaster General’’ each

16 place it appears (except wherever it appears in

17 ‘‘Deputy Postmaster General’’) and inserting ‘‘Chief

18 Executive Officer’’; and

19 (2) by striking ‘‘Deputy Postmaster General’’

20 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Deputy Chief

21 Executive Officer’’.

22 (c) REFERENCES OUTSIDE TITLE 39.—Any ref23 erence in any provision of law outside title 39, United

24 States Code, enacted before the date of the enactment of

25 this Act—
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1 (1) to the Postmaster General shall be treated

2 as referring to the Chief Executive Officer of the

3 United States Postal Service; and

4 (2) to the Deputy Postmaster General shall be

5 treated as referring to the Deputy Chief Executive

6 Officer of the United States Postal Service.

7 SEC. 103. CHANGE IN SALARY OF DIRECTORS.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 202(a) of title 39, United

9 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘$10,000 a year’’ and

10 inserting ‘‘$30,000 a year.’’.

11 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (a) shall take ef12 fect at the beginning of the next applicable pay period be13 ginning after the date of the enactment of this Act.

14 SEC. 104. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO ESTABLISHING AN

15 OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL WITHIN

16 THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE AND

17 CERTAIN OTHER MATTERS.

18 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 11 of the Inspector Gen19 eral Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended—

20 (1) in paragraph (1) by inserting ‘‘the Board of

21 Directors, United States Postal Service;’’ after ‘‘the

22 Attorney General;’’; and

23 (2) in paragraph (2) by inserting ‘‘the United

24 States Postal Service;’’ after ‘‘Treasury;’’.
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1 (b) TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS.—Paragraph (1) of

2 section 9(a) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 is

3 amended—

4 (1) in subparagraph (U) by striking ‘‘and’’

5 after the semicolon; and

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

7 ‘‘(X) of the United States Postal Service,

8 that portion of the Postal Inspection Service

9 which is engaged in internal audit activities or

10 program review activities; and’’.

11 (c) SPECIAL PROVISIONS.—The Inspector General

12 Act of 1978 is amended by redesignating the first and sec13 ond sections 8G as sections 8H and 8I, respectively, and

14 by inserting after section 8F the following:

15 ‘‘SPECIAL PROVISIONS CONCERNING THE UNITED STATES

16 POSTAL SERVICE

17 ‘‘SEC. 8G. (a) In carrying out the duties and respon18 sibilities specified in this Act, the Inspector General of the

19 United States Postal Service shall have oversight respon20 sibility for all activities of the Postal Inspection Service,

21 including any internal investigation performed by the

22 Postal Inspection Service. The Chief Postal Inspector shall

23 promptly report to such Inspector General the significant

24 activities being carried out by the Postal Inspection Serv25 ice.
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1 ‘‘(b) Notwithstanding paragraphs (7) and (8) of sec2 tion 6(a), the Inspector General of the United States Post3 al Service may select, appoint, and employ such officers

4 and employees as may be necessary for carrying out the

5 functions, powers, and duties of the Office of Inspector

6 General, and to obtain the temporary or intermittent serv7 ices of experts or consultants or an organization of experts

8 or consultants, subject to the applicable laws and regula9 tions that govern such selections, appointments, and em10 ployment, and the obtaining of such services, within the

11 United States Postal Service.’’.

12 (d) OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL AS A SEP13 ARATE ITEM IN ANNUAL BUDGET AND OTHER REQUIRE14 MENTS.—

15 (1) SEPARATE ITEM IN ANNUAL BUDGET.—For

16 purposes of the fifth sentence of section 2009 of title

17 39, United States Code, the operations of the Office

18 of Inspector General of the United States Postal

19 Service shall be considered a major type of activity.

20 (2) PAY.—Section 5315 of title 5, United

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

22 following:

23 ‘‘Inspector General, United States Postal Serv24 ice.’’.
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1 The amendment made by this paragraph shall apply

2 notwithstanding section 410 or any other provision

3 of title 39, United States Code.

4 (3) STRATEGIC PLANS.—

5 (A) OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL OF

6 THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE.—The

7 first Inspector General of the United States

8 Postal Service appointed pursuant to the

9 amendments made by this section shall prepare

10 a strategic plan addressing staffing require11 ments, general goals and objectives for major

12 functions and operations of the Office, and a

13 description of how goals and objectives of the

14 Office are to be achieved (including a descrip15 tion of operational processes, skills and tech16 nology, and the human, capital, information,

17 and other resources required to meet those

18 goals and objectives). Such plan shall be pre19 pared in time to be included with the annual

20 budget under section 2009 of title 39, United

21 States Code, next due to be submitted after the

22 end of the 6-month period beginning on the

23 date of appointment.

24 (B) POSTAL INSPECTION SERVICE.—The

25 Chief Postal Inspector shall, with respect to the
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1 Postal Inspection Service, prepare a strategic

2 plan similar in content to that required under

3 subparagraph (A) with respect to the Office of

4 Inspector General of the United States Postal

5 Service. Such plan shall be prepared in time to

6 be included with the annual budget under sec7 tion 2009 of such title 39 next due to be sub8 mitted after the end of the 30-day period begin9 ning on the date of the enactment of this Act.

10 (4) COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS.—

11 (A) OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL OF

12 THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE.—Com13 pensation and benefits for all officers and em14 ployees serving in or under the Office of Inspec15 tor General of the United States Postal Service

16 shall be maintained on a standard of com17 parability to the compensation and benefits paid

18 for comparable levels of work in the Office of

19 Inspector General of other establishments

20 (within the meaning of section 11(2) of the In21 spector General Act of 1978).

22 (B) POSTAL INSPECTORS.—Compensation

23 and benefits for all Postal Inspectors shall be

24 maintained on a standard of comparability to

25 the compensation and benefits paid for com-
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1 parable levels of work in the executive branch of

2 the Government outside of the United States

3 Postal Service. As used in this subparagraph,

4 the term ‘‘Postal Inspector’’ includes any agent

5 to whom any investigative powers are granted

6 under section 3061 of title 18, United States

7 Code.

8 (e) POSTAL RATE COMMISSION.—Section 8H of the

9 Inspector General Act of 1978 (as so redesignated by sub10 section (c)) is amended in subsection (a)(2) by inserting

11 ‘‘the Postal Rate Commission,’’ after ‘‘the Smithsonian

12 Institution,’’.

13 (f) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

14 (1) RELATING TO TITLE 39, UNITED STATES

15 CODE.—(A) Section 410(b) of title 39, United States

16 Code, is amended—

17 (i) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para18 graph (9); and

19 (ii) by amending paragraph (10) to read as

20 follows:

21 ‘‘(10) the Inspector General Act of 1978; and’’.

22 (B)(i) Section 204 of such title 39 is amend23 ed—

24 (I) by amending the section heading to

25 read as follows:
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1 ‘‘§ 204. General Counsel; Judicial Officer; Chief Postal

2 Inspector’’;

3 (II) in the first sentence by striking ‘‘such

4 number of Assistant Postmasters General as

5 the Board shall consider appropriate, and a Ju6 dicial Officer.’’ and inserting ‘‘a Judicial Offi7 cer, and a Chief Postal Inspector.’’;

8 (III) in the second sentence by striking

9 ‘‘and the Judicial Officer’’ and inserting ‘‘the

10 Judicial Officer, and the Chief Postal Inspec11 tor’’; and

12 (IV) by adding at the end the following:

13 ‘‘The Chief Postal Inspector shall report to, and

14 be under the general supervision of, the Chief

15 Executive Officer. The Chief Executive Officer

16 shall promptly notify the Directors and both

17 Houses of Congress in writing if he or she re18 moves the Chief Postal Inspector or transfers

19 the Chief Postal Inspector to another position

20 or location within the Postal Service, and shall

21 include in any such notification the reasons for

22 the removal or transfer.’’.

23 (ii) The table of sections for chapter 2 of such

24 title 39 is amended by striking the item relating to

25 section 204 and inserting the following:

‘‘204. General Counsel; Judicial Officer; Chief Postal Inspector.’’.
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1 (2) RELATING TO THE INSPECTOR GENERAL

2 ACT OF 1978.—The Inspector General Act of 1978 is

3 amended—

4 (A) in section 8H (as so redesignated by

5 subsection (c))—

6 (i) in subsection (a)(2) by striking

7 ‘‘Tennessee Valley Authority,’’ and all that

8 follows through the semicolon and insert9 ing ‘‘Tennessee Valley Authority, and the

10 United States International Trade Com11 mission;’’; and

12 (ii)(I) by striking subsection (f) and

13 redesignating subsections (g) and (h) as

14 subsections (f) and (g), respectively;

15 (II) in paragraphs (3) and (4) of sub16 section (a) by striking ‘‘(h)(1)’’ and insert17 ing ‘‘(g)(1)’’; and

18 (III) in subsection (c) by striking

19 ‘‘Except as provided under subsection (f)

20 of this section, the’’ and inserting ‘‘The’’;

21 and

22 (B) in section 8I (as so redesignated by

23 subsection (c)) by striking ‘‘or 8E’’ and insert24 ing ‘‘8E, or 8G’’.
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1 (3) RELATED PROVISION.—Section 304C(b)(1)

2 of the Federal Property and Administrative Services

3 Act (41 U.S.C. 254d(b)(1)) is amended by striking

4 ‘‘8G’’ and inserting ‘‘8H’’.

5 (g) EFFECTIVE DATE; INTERIM SERVICE.—

6 (1) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section and the

7 amendments made by this section shall take effect

8 upon the expiration of the 3-month period beginning

9 on the date of the enactment of this Act.

10 (2) INTERIM SERVICE.—The individual serving

11 as Inspector General of the United States Postal

12 Service on the day before this section takes effect

13 may continue to serve in that capacity until—

14 (A) an Inspector General of the United

15 States Postal Service has been appointed and

16 taken office pursuant to the amendments made

17 by this section; or

18 (B) if earlier, such individual ceases to be

19 the Chief Postal Inspector.

20 SEC. 105. CLARIFICATION RELATING TO EXECUTION OF

21 AMENDMENTS.

22 Any amendment made in this title to a term ‘‘each

23 place it appears’’ (or other words to the same effect) shall

24 be considered to include such term when it appears in a

25 table of contents or a section heading.
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1 TITLE II—GENERAL AUTHORITY

2 SEC. 201. EMPLOYMENT OF POSTAL POLICE OFFICERS.

3 Section 404 of title 39, United States Code, is

4 amended by adding at the end the following:

5 ‘‘(c)(1) The Postal Service may employ guards for all

6 buildings and areas owned or occupied by the Postal Serv7 ice or under the charge and control of the Postal Service,

8 and such guards shall have, with respect to such property,

9 the powers of special policemen provided by the first sec10 tion of the Act cited in paragraph (2), and, as to such

11 property, the Chief Executive Officer (or his designee)

12 may take any action that the Administrator of General

13 Services (or his designee) may take under section 2 or 3

14 of such Act, attaching thereto penalties under the author15 ity and within the limits provided in section 4 of such Act.

16 ‘‘(2) The Act cited in this paragraph is the Act of

17 June 1, 1948 (62 Stat. 281), commonly known as the Pro18 tection of Public Property Act.’’.

19 SEC. 202. DATE OF POSTMARK TO BE TREATED AS DATE OF

20 APPEAL IN CONNECTION WITH THE CLOSING

21 OR CONSOLIDATION OF POST OFFICES.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 404(b) of title 39, United

23 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the follow24 ing:
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1 ‘‘(6) For purposes of paragraph (5), any appeal re2 ceived by the Commission shall—

3 ‘‘(A) if sent to the Commission through the

4 mails, be considered to have been received on the

5 date of the Postal Service postmark on the envelope

6 or other cover in which such appeal is mailed; or

7 ‘‘(B) if lawfully delivered to the Commission by

8 an enterprise in the private sector of the economy

9 engaged in the delivery of mail, be considered to

10 have been received on the date determined based on

11 any appropriate documentation or other indicia (as

12 determined under regulations of the Commission).’’.

13 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section and the amend14 ments made by this section shall apply with respect to any

15 determination to close or consolidate a post office which

16 is first made available, in accordance with paragraph (3)

17 of section 404(b) of title 39, United States Code, after

18 the end of the 3-month period beginning on the date of

19 the enactment of this Act.
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1 TITLE III—PRESIDENTIAL POST2 AL EMPLOYEE-MANAGEMENT

3 COMMISSION

4 SEC. 301. PRESIDENTIAL POSTAL EMPLOYEE-MANAGE5 MENT COMMISSION.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 206 of title 39, United

7 States Code, is amended to read as follows:

8 ‘‘§ 206. Presidential Postal Employee-Management

9 Commission

10 ‘‘(a) There shall be established a Presidential Postal

11 Employee-Management Commission (hereinafter in this

12 section referred to as the ‘Commission’).

13 ‘‘(b)(1) The Commission shall study and make rec14 ommendations, in accordance with this section, on how

15 employee-management relations within the Postal Service

16 might be improved.

17 ‘‘(2) The Commission shall submit its recommenda18 tions—

19 ‘‘(A) to the President and the Congress, to the

20 extent that they involve any legislation; and

21 ‘‘(B) to the Postal Service, to the extent that

22 no legislation would be involved.

23 ‘‘(3) All recommendations shall be submitted in the

24 form of a written report, with the first set of reports due

25 within 18 months after the Commission is first con-
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1 stituted, and the second and third sets of reports in 12-

2 month intervals thereafter.

3 ‘‘(4) The Commission shall terminate after submit4 ting its third set of reports.

5 ‘‘(c)(1) The Commission shall be composed of 7 mem6 bers, all of whom shall be appointed by the President. Of

7 the members—

8 ‘‘(A) 2 shall be appointed from among persons

9 who will represent the views of nonpostal labor orga10 nizations familiar with issues common to postal em11 ployees;

12 ‘‘(B) 2 shall be appointed from among persons

13 who will represent the views of the management of

14 private corporations similar in size to the Postal

15 Service;

16 ‘‘(C) 2 shall be appointed from among persons

17 well known in the fields of employee-management re18 lations, labor mediation, and collective bargaining;

19 and

20 ‘‘(D) 1 shall be appointed from among persons

21 well known in the fields described in subparagraph

22 (C), who are also generally viewed as not being pre23 disposed to the interests of employees or manage24 ment.
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1 ‘‘(2) All members shall be appointed for the life of

2 the Commission.

3 ‘‘(3) Not more than 4 members may be of the same

4 political party.

5 ‘‘(4) Members shall serve without compensation, but

6 shall be reimbursed for necessary travel and reasonable

7 expenses incurred in attending meetings of the Commis8 sion.

9 ‘‘(5) The member appointed under paragraph (1)(D)

10 shall serve as chairman of the Commission.

11 ‘‘(d)(1) The Commission shall have a Director who

12 shall be appointed by the Commission and paid at a rate

13 not to exceed the rate of basic pay payable for level IV

14 of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5.

15 ‘‘(2) Upon request of the Commission, the Federal

16 Mediation and Conciliation Service may detail, on a reim17 bursable basis, any of the personnel of that agency to the

18 Commission to assist it in carrying out its duties under

19 this Act.

20 ‘‘(3) The Commission may not appoint or retain any

21 staff, except as provided in paragraph (1) or (2).’’.

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

23 at the beginning of chapter 2 of title 39, United States

24 Code, is amended by striking the item relating to section

25 206 and inserting the following:

‘‘206. Presidential Postal Employee-Management Commission.’’.
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1 TITLE IV—FINANCE

2 SEC. 401. END OF TREASURY CONTROL OF POSTAL SERV3 ICE BANKING.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (d) of section 2003 of

5 title 39, United States Code, is amended to read as fol6 lows:

7 ‘‘(d)(1) The Postal Service, in its sole discretion—

8 ‘‘(A) may provide that amounts which would

9 otherwise be deposited in the revolving fund referred

10 to in subsection (a) shall instead, to the extent con11 sidered appropriate by the Postal Service, be directly

12 deposited in a Federal Reserve bank or a depository

13 for public funds selected by the Postal Service; and

14 ‘‘(B) may provide for transfers of amounts

15 under this subsection between or among—

16 ‘‘(i) Federal Reserve banks;

17 ‘‘(ii) depositories for public funds; and

18 ‘‘(iii) the revolving fund referred to in sub19 section (a).

20 ‘‘(2) The Postal Service, after consultation with the

21 Secretary of the Treasury, shall prepare and may from

22 time to time revise a master plan for the exercise of any

23 authority under this subsection. Such plan shall address—
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1 ‘‘(A) the criteria that shall be applied by the

2 Postal Service in deciding when and how any such

3 authority shall be exercised;

4 ‘‘(B) matters such as risk limitations, reserve

5 balances, allocation or distribution of monies, liquid6 ity requirements, and measures to safeguard against

7 losses;

8 ‘‘(C) the types of notification or consultation re9 quirements the Postal Service shall follow in connec10 tion with any exercise or proposed exercise of au11 thority under this subsection; and

12 ‘‘(D) procedures under which the Postal Service

13 shall, at least annually, render a full accounting as

14 to how any authority under this subsection has been

15 exercised during the period involved.

16 ‘‘(3)(A) Authority under this subsection may not be

17 exercised except in accordance with applicable provisions

18 of the master plan under paragraph (2).

19 ‘‘(B) The Postal Service shall submit its master plan

20 (and any revision thereof) to the President, the Secretary

21 of the Treasury, and each House of Congress at least 30

22 days before the date of its proposed implementation.’’.

23 (b) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Until the authority under

24 section 2003(d) of title 39, United States Code, as amend25 ed by subsection (a), becomes available, the provisions of
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1 such section 2003(d), as last in effect before being so

2 amended, shall be treated as if still in effect.

3 (c) STATUS OF MONIES UNCHANGED.—(1) Any

4 amounts invested under section 2003(c) of title 39, United

5 States Code, as amended by this title, shall be considered

6 to be part of the Postal Service Fund, to the same extent

7 as if they had been invested under section 2003(c) of such

8 title 39, as last in effect before the date of the enactment

9 of this Act.

10 (2) Any amounts deposited or transferred under sec11 tion 2003(d) of title 39, United States Code, as amended

12 by this title, shall be considered to be part of the Postal

13 Service Fund, to the same extent as if they had been

14 transferred under section 2003(d) of such title 39, as last

15 in effect before the date of the enactment of this Act.

16 SEC. 402. POSTAL SERVICE INVESTMENTS.

17 Section 2003(c) of title 39, United States Code, is

18 amended by striking all after ‘‘it may’’ and inserting the

19 following: ‘‘invest such amounts as it considers appro20 priate in obligations of, or obligations guaranteed by, the

21 Government of the United States.’’.

22 SEC. 403. EXCLUSION FROM FEDERAL FINANCING BANK.

23 Section 2005(d) of title 39, United States Code, is

24 amended—
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1 (1) in paragraph (4) by striking ‘‘and’’ after

2 the semicolon;

3 (2) in paragraph (5) by striking the period and

4 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

5 (3) by adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(6) notwithstanding the provisions of the Fed7 eral Financing Bank Act of 1973 or any other provi8 sion of law (except as may be specifically provided

9 by reference to this paragraph in any Act enacted

10 after this paragraph takes effect), not be eligible for

11 purchase by, or commitment to purchase by, or sale

12 or issuance to, the Federal Financing Bank.’’.

13 SEC. 404. ELIMINATION OF TREASURY PREEMPTION OF

14 BORROWING BY THE POSTAL SERVICE.

15 Section 2006(a) of title 39, United States Code, is

16 amended by striking all after the first sentence.

17 SEC. 405. ELIMINATION OF POSTAL SERVICE ‘‘PUT’’ ON

18 TREASURY.

19 Section 2006(b) of title 39, United States Code, is

20 amended to read as follows:

21 ‘‘(b) The Secretary of the Treasury may purchase ob22 ligations of the Postal Service in such amounts as the Sec23 retary of the Treasury and the Postal Service, in their dis24 cretion, may agree.’’.
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1 TITLE V—BUDGET AND

2 APPROPRIATIONS PROCESS

3 SEC. 501. REPEAL OF PROVISION RELATING TO TRANSI4 TIONAL APPROPRIATIONS.

5 (a) REPEAL.—(1) Section 2004 of title 39, United

6 States Code, is repealed.

7 (2) The item relating to section 2004 in the table of

8 sections at the beginning of chapter 20 of such title 39

9 is repealed.

10 (3) Section 2003(e)(2) of such title 39 is amended

11 by striking ‘‘sections 2401 and 2004’’ each place it ap12 pears and inserting ‘‘section 2401’’.

13 (b) CLARIFICATION THAT LIABILITIES FORMERLY

14 PAID PURSUANT TO SECTION 2004 REMAIN LIABILITIES

15 PAYABLE BY THE POSTAL SERVICE.—Section 2003 of

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

17 end the following:

18 ‘‘(h) Liabilities of the former Post Office Department

19 to the Employees’ Compensation Fund (appropriations for

20 which were authorized by former section 2004, as in effect

21 before the effective date of this subsection) shall be liabil22 ities of the Postal Service payable out of the Fund.’’.

23 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section and the amend24 ments made by this section shall take effect on October

25 1, 1997.
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1 SEC. 502. PROVISIONS RELATING TO BENEFITS UNDER

2 CHAPTER 81 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES

3 CODE, FOR OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES OF

4 THE FORMER POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 8 of the Postal Reorga6 nization Act (39 U.S.C. 1001 note) is amended by insert7 ing ‘‘(a)’’ after ‘‘8.’’ and by adding at the end the follow8 ing:

9 ‘‘(b) For purposes of chapter 81 of title 5, United

10 States Code, the Postal Service shall, with respect to any

11 individual receiving benefits under such chapter as an offi12 cer or employee of the former Post Office Department,

13 have the same authorities and responsibilities as it has

14 with respect to an officer or employee of the Postal Service

15 receiving such benefits.’’.

16 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section and the amend17 ments made by this section shall take effect on October

18 1, 1997.

19 SEC. 503. REPEAL OF AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIA20 TIONS FOR PUBLIC SERVICE COSTS, REVE21 NUE FORGONE, AND CERTAIN COMPEN22 SATORY APPROPRIATIONS.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2401 of title 39, United

24 States Code, is amended by striking subsections (b), (c),

25 (d), (f), and (g), and by redesignating subsection (e) as

26 subsection (b).
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•HR 3717 IH

1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(1) Section 2003

2 of title 39, United States Code, is amended—

3 (A) in subsection (e) by striking paragraph (2)

4 and by redesignating subsection (e)(1) as subsection

5 (e); and

6 (B) by striking subsection (f) and by redesig7 nating subsection (g) as subsection (f).

8 (2) Section 2009 of such title 39 is amended by strik9 ing the last two sentences.

10 (3) Sections 2803(a) and 2804(a) of such title 39 are

11 amended by striking ‘‘2401(g)’’ and inserting ‘‘2401(b)’’.

12 (4) Section 3626(a)(2)(B) of such title 39 is amended

13 by striking ‘‘paragraph (3)(A) or section 2401(c);’’ and

14 inserting ‘‘paragraph (3)(A), section 3217, or sections

15 3403–3406;’’.

16 (5)(A) Section 3627 of such title 39 is repealed.

17 (B) The item relating to section 3627 in the table

18 of sections at the beginning of chapter 36 of such title

19 39 is repealed.

20 (C) Section 3684 of such title 39 is amended by strik21 ing ‘‘Except as provided in section 3627 of this title, no’’

22 and inserting ‘‘No’’.

23 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section and the amend24 ments made by this section shall take effect on October

25 1, 1997.
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•HR 3717 IH

1 SEC. 504. CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT PRESERVED.

2 Subsection (b) of section 2401 of title 39, United

3 States Code, as so redesignated by section 503(a), is

4 amended—

5 (1) by striking ‘‘Committee on Post Office and

6 Civil Service’’ each place it appears and inserting

7 ‘‘Committee on Government Reform and Oversight’’;

8 (2) by striking ‘‘and the Committees on Appro9 priations of the Senate and the House of Represent10 atives’’;

11 (3) in the matter before paragraph (1)—

12 (A) by striking ‘‘2009 of this title,’’ and

13 inserting ‘‘2009 for a fiscal year,’’; and

14 (B) by striking ‘‘for the fiscal year for

15 which funds are requested to be appropriated,’’

16 and inserting ‘‘for such fiscal year,’’;

17 (4) in paragraph (3) by striking ‘‘during the

18 fiscal year for which funds are requested to be ap19 propriated,’’ and inserting ‘‘during the fiscal year re20 ferred to in the matter before paragraph (1),’’;

21 (5) by striking ‘‘Not later than March 15 of

22 each year,’’ and inserting ‘‘Each year,’’; and

23 (6) by striking ‘‘any such committee considers

24 necessary to determine the amount of funds to be

25 appropriated for the operation of the Postal Serv-
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•HR 3717 IH

1 ice,’’ and inserting ‘‘either such committee considers

2 necessary,’’.

3 TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS

4 PROVISIONS RELATING TO

5 POSTAL RATES, CLASSES,

6 AND SERVICES

7 SEC. 601. CHANGE-OF-ADDRESS ORDER INVOLVING A COM8 MERCIAL MAIL RECEIVING AGENCY.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter V of chapter 36 of

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

11 end the following:

12 ‘‘§ 3686. Change-of-address order involving a commer13 cial mail receiving agency

14 ‘‘(a) For the purpose of this section, the term ‘com15 mercial mail receiving agency’ or ‘CMRA’ means a private

16 business that acts as the mail receiving agent for specific

17 clients.

18 ‘‘(b) Upon termination of an agency relationship be19 tween an addressee and a commercial mail receiving agen20 cy—

21 ‘‘(1) the addressee or, if authorized to do so,

22 the CMRA may file a change-of-address order with

23 the Postal Service with respect to such addressee;
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•HR 3717 IH

1 ‘‘(2) a change-of-address order so filed shall, to

2 the extent practicable, be given full force and effect;

3 and

4 ‘‘(3) any mail for the addressee that is delivered

5 to the CMRA after the filing of an appropriate order

6 under this subsection shall be subject to subsection

7 (c).

8 ‘‘(c) Mail described in subsection (b)(3) shall, if

9 marked for forwarding and remailed by the CMRA, be for10 warded by the Postal Service in the same manner as, and

11 subject to the same terms and conditions (including limita12 tions on the period of time for which a change-of-address

13 order shall be given effect) as apply to, mail forwarded

14 directly by the Postal Service to the addressee.’’.

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

16 at the beginning of chapter 36 of title 39, United States

17 Code, is amended by adding after the item relating to sec18 tion 3685 the following:

‘‘3686. Change-of-address order involving a commercial mail receiving agency.’’.

19 SEC. 602. REDUCED RATES FOR CERTAIN NONPROFIT OR20 GANIZATIONS.

21 (a) RATES FOR CERTAIN NONPROFIT EDUCATIONAL

22 INSTITUTIONS.—Section 3626(b)(3) of title 39, United

23 States Code, is amended by striking the period and insert24 ing ‘‘, and includes a nonprofit organization that coordi25 nates a network of college-level courses that is sponsored
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•HR 3717 IH

1 primarily by nonprofit educational institutions for an older

2 adult constituency.’’.

3 (b) RATES FOR MAIL UNDER FORMER SECTION

4 4358.—Section 3626 of title 39, United States Code, is

5 amended by adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(n) In the administration of this section, matter

7 shall not be excluded from being mailed at the rates for

8 mail under former section 4358 solely because such matter

9 does not meet the requirements of former section

10 4354(a)(5).’’.

11 SEC. 603. POWERS OF THE POSTAL RATE COMMISSION.

12 Section 3604 of title 39, United States Code, is

13 amended by adding at the end the following:

14 ‘‘(f)(1) Any Commissioner of the Commission, any

15 administrative law judge appointed by the Commission

16 under section 3105 of title 5, and any employee of the

17 Commission designated by the Commission may admin18 ister oaths, examine witnesses, take depositions, and re19 ceive evidence.

20 ‘‘(2) The Chairman of the Commission, any Commis21 sioner designated by the Chairman, and any administra22 tive law judge appointed by the Commission under section

23 3105 of title 5 may, with respect to any proceeding under

24 section 3624 or 3661 or chapter 37—
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•HR 3717 IH

1 ‘‘(A) issue subpenas requiring the attendance

2 and presentation of testimony of any individual, and

3 the production of documentary or other evidence,

4 from any place in the United States, any territory

5 or possession of the United States, the Common6 wealth of Puerto Rico, or the District of Columbia;

7 and

8 ‘‘(B) order the taking of depositions and re9 sponses to written interrogatories.

10 The written concurrence of a majority of the Commis11 sioners then holding office shall, with respect to each sub12 pena under subparagraph (A), be required in advance of

13 its issuance.

14 ‘‘(3) In the case of contumacy or failure to obey a

15 subpena issued under this subsection, upon application by

16 the Commission, the district court of the United States

17 for the district in which the person to whom the subpena

18 is addressed resides or is served may issue an order requir19 ing such person to appear at any designated place to tes20 tify or produce documentary or other evidence. Any failure

21 to obey the order of the court may be punished by the

22 court as a contempt thereof.

23 ‘‘(g)(1) If the Postal Service determines that any doc24 ument or other matter it provides to the Commission pur25 suant to a subpena issued under subsection (f), or other-
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•HR 3717 IH

1 wise at the request of the Commission in connection with

2 any proceeding or other purpose under this chapter or

3 chapter 37, contains information which is described in sec4 tion 410(c) of this title, or exempt from public disclosure

5 under section 552(b) of title 5, the Postal Service shall,

6 at the time of providing such matter to the Commission,

7 notify the Commission, in writing, of its determination

8 (and the reasons therefor).

9 ‘‘(2) No officer or employee of the Commission may,

10 with respect to any information as to which the Commis11 sion has been notified under paragraph (1)—

12 ‘‘(A) use such information for purposes other

13 than the purposes for which it is supplied; or

14 ‘‘(B) permit anyone who is not an officer or

15 employee of the Commission to have access to any

16 such information.

17 ‘‘(3) Paragraph (2) shall not prevent information

18 from being furnished under any process of discovery estab19 lished under this title in connection with a proceeding

20 under this chapter or chapter 37 which is conducted in

21 accordance with sections 556 and 557 of title 5. The Com22 mission shall, by regulations based on rule 26(c) of the

23 Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, establish appropriate ad24 ministrative and other safeguards to ensure the security
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•HR 3717 IH

1 and confidentiality of any information furnished under the

2 preceding sentence.’’.

3 SEC. 604. VOLUME DISCOUNTS.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (c) of section 403 of

5 title 39, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘(c)’’

6 and inserting ‘‘(c)(1)’’ and by adding at the end the fol7 lowing:

8 ‘‘(2) Nothing in this title shall be considered to pre9 clude the Postal Service from offering any discount in a

10 rate or fee, on the basis of volume, so long as—

11 ‘‘(A) all persons are, with respect to the class

12 of mail or postal service involved, eligible for the

13 same volume discount; and

14 ‘‘(B) the discounted rate—

15 ‘‘(i) if a product in the noncompetitive cat16 egory of mail is involved, does not exceed the

17 maximum rate then allowable for such product

18 under subchapter II of chapter 37; or

19 ‘‘(ii) if a product in the competitive cat20 egory of mail is involved, satisfies the require21 ment under section 3742(b) that each such

22 product bear the direct and indirect postal costs

23 attributable to such product plus a reasonable

24 contribution to all other costs of the Postal

25 Service.’’.
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•HR 3717 IH

1 (b) DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.—

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—

3 (A) PURPOSE.—As soon as practicable

4 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the

5 United States Postal Service shall conduct a

6 demonstration project, the purpose of which

7 shall be to determine the feasibility and desir8 ability of affording volume discounts to mailers

9 on a negotiated basis.

10 (B) LIMITATION.—The demonstration

11 project shall be limited to products in the com12 petitive category of mail (within the meaning of

13 section 3741(2) of title 39, United States Code,

14 as amended by section 1001).

15 (C) DISCOUNTS.—Under the demonstra16 tion project, any discounts shall be on such

17 terms and conditions as may be mutually

18 agreed to by the Postal Service and the mailer,

19 subject to section 403(c)(2)(B)(ii) of title 39,

20 United States Code (as amended by subsection

21 (a)).

22 (2) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—Subsections

23 (c)(1)(A), (d)(1) (excluding subparagraphs (A)(i),

24 (B)(ii), and (C)(ii) thereof), and (e) of section 704
35

•HR 3717 IH

1 shall apply with respect to the demonstration project

2 under this subsection.

3 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section and the amend4 ments made by this section shall take effect on the date

5 on which section 1002 (relating to termination of rate6 making authority under chapter 36 and related matters)

7 takes effect.

8 TITLE VII—PROVISIONS RELAT9 ING TO TRANSPORTATION,

10 CARRIAGE, OR DELIVERY OF

11 MAIL

12 SEC. 701. OBSOLETE PROVISIONS.

13 (a) REPEAL.—Chapter 52 of title 39, United States

14 Code, is repealed.

15 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(1) Section

16 5005(a) of title 39, United States Code, is amended—

17 (A) by repealing paragraph (1); and

18 (B) in paragraph (4) by striking ‘‘(as defined in

19 section 5201(6) of this title)’’.

20 (2) Section 10721(b)(1) of title 49, United States

21 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘chapters 50 and 52’’ and

22 inserting ‘‘chapter 50’’.

23 (c) ELIMINATING RESTRICTION ON LENGTH OF CON24 TRACTS.—(1) Section 5005(b)(1) of title 39, United

25 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘shall be for periods
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•HR 3717 IH

1 not in excess of 4 years (or where the Postal Service deter2 mines that special conditions or the use of special equip3 ment warrants, not in excess of 6 years) and’’.

4 (2) Section 5402(c) of such title 39 is amended by

5 striking ‘‘for a period of not more than 4 years’’.

6 (3) Section 5605 of such title 39 is amended by strik7 ing ‘‘for periods of not in excess of 4 years’’.

8 SEC. 702. EXPANDED CONTRACTING AUTHORITY.

9 Subsection (d) of section 5402 of title 39, United

10 States Code, is amended to read as follows:

11 ‘‘(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections

12 (a) through (c), the Postal Service may contract for the

13 transportation of mail by aircraft, except as provided in

14 subsections (f) and (g).’’.

15 SEC. 703. PRIVATE CARRIAGE OF LETTERS.

16 Section 601(a) of title 39, United States Code, is

17 amended by inserting ‘‘when the amount paid for private

18 carriage of the letter is at least $2, or’’ before ‘‘when’’.

19 SEC. 704. MAILBOX DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.

20 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to de21 termine the feasibility and desirability of allowing non22 postage bearing matter to be deposited in private

23 letterboxes.
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•HR 3717 IH

1 (b) PROJECT.—As soon as practicable after the date

2 of the enactment of this Act, the United States Postal

3 Service shall—

4 (1) develop a plan for the conducting of a dem5 onstration project under this section; and

6 (2) within 18 months after the date of the en7 actment of this Act, commence implementation of

8 such plan.

9 (c) SPECIFICATIONS.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The demonstration project—

11 (A) shall be conducted over a 3-year pe12 riod;

13 (B) shall include such areas as the Postal

14 Service considers appropriate, except that such

15 project shall include at least 1 urban area, 1

16 rural area, and 1 suburban area, each of which

17 shall involve a sufficient level of participation so

18 as to ensure meaningful results; and

19 (C) shall include provisions under which

20 any person may elect not to participate, or to

21 cease to participate, in the project.

22 (2) TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF SECTION 1725

23 OF TITLE 18.—Section 1725 of title 18, United

24 States Code, shall not apply with respect to conduct

25 occurring—
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•HR 3717 IH

1 (A) within an area included in the dem2 onstration project; and

3 (B) while the demonstration project is on4 going.

5 (d) PROCEDURES.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Postal Service shall—

7 (A) develop a plan for the demonstration

8 project which identifies—

9 (i) the specific areas to be included in

10 the project;

11 (ii) the commencement and termi12 nation dates of the project;

13 (iii) the legal authority for the project;

14 and

15 (iv) specific details as to what the

16 project will entail;

17 (B) at least 90 days before commencing

18 implementation of the project—

19 (i) publish the proposed plan in the

20 Federal Register, including notice as to the

21 time and manner in which interested per22 sons may submit written comments; and

23 (ii) provide notification of the pro24 posed plan to persons served within the

25 areas to be included in the project, includ-
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•HR 3717 IH

1 ing the relevant information as to the time,

2 form, and manner in which any such per3 son shall have the opportunity to present

4 their views, in writing or by oral presen5 tation, as they may elect; and

6 (C) after considering the comments and

7 views and any other information received under

8 subparagraph (B), prepare the final version of

9 the plan for such project and, not later than 30

10 days before commencing implementation of the

11 project—

12 (i) publish the final plan in the Fed13 eral Register; and

14 (ii) provide notification of the final

15 plan to persons served within the areas to

16 be included in the project.

17 (2) FACTORS TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT IN

18 SELECTING AREAS FOR INCLUSION.—In identifying

19 areas for inclusion in the demonstration project, the

20 Postal Service shall take into account—

21 (A) what types of data are needed in order

22 to permit a meaningful evaluation under sub23 section (e); and

24 (B) such other factors as the Postal Serv25 ice considers appropriate.
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•HR 3717 IH

1 (3) WRITTEN DETERMINATIONS.—Any deter2 mination of the Postal Service to commence imple3 mentation of the demonstration project shall be in

4 writing and shall include the findings of the Postal

5 Service with respect to the factors required to be

6 taken into account under paragraph (2). Such deter7 mination and findings shall be made available to the

8 persons served by the Postal Service within each

9 area included in the project.

10 (e) EVALUATION.—Not later than 1 year after the

11 demonstration project ends, the Comptroller General of

12 the United States shall submit to each House of Congress

13 a written evaluation of such project, including rec14 ommendations as to whether or not the authority tested

15 by the project should be broadened in scope and made per16 manent and, if so, with what modifications (if any).

17 TITLE VIII—DIRECT APPEAL OF

18 DECISIONS OF THE MERIT

19 SYSTEMS PROTECTION

20 BOARD

21 SEC. 801. DIRECT APPEAL OF DECISIONS OF THE MERIT

22 SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD.

23 Section 7703 of title 5, United States Code, is

24 amended by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(e)(1) The Chief Executive Officer may, with respect

2 to any employee of the Postal Service or applicant for em3 ployment with the Postal Service, and subject to the provi4 sions of sections 409(b)–(e) and 411 of title 39, obtain

5 review of any final order or decision of the Board by filing

6 a petition for judicial review in the United States Court

7 of Appeals for the Federal Circuit if the Chief Executive

8 Officer determines, in his or her discretion, that the Board

9 erred in interpreting a civil service law, rule, or regulation

10 affecting personnel management and that the Board’s de11 cision will have a substantial impact on a civil service law,

12 rule, regulation, or policy directive, as applied with respect

13 to the Postal Service. If the Chief Executive Officer did

14 not intervene in a matter before the Board, the Chief Ex15 ecutive Officer may not petition for review of a Board deci16 sion under this section unless the Chief Executive Officer

17 first petitions the Board for a reconsideration of its deci18 sion, and such petition is denied. In addition to the named

19 respondent, the Board and all other parties to the proceed20 ings before the Board shall have the right to appear in

21 the proceeding before the Court of Appeals. The granting

22 of the petition for judicial review shall be at the discretion

23 of the Court of Appeals.

24 ‘‘(2) For purposes of applying the provisions of sec25 tion 7701(e) in the case of a decision that relates to an
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1 employee of the Postal Service or applicant for employ2 ment with the Postal Service, such provisions shall be ap3 plied by substituting ‘Director or Chief Executive Officer

4 of the United States Postal Service’ for ‘Director’.

5 ‘‘(3) For purposes of this subsection—

6 ‘‘(A) the term ‘Chief Executive Officer’ means

7 the Chief Executive Officer of the United States

8 Postal Service; and

9 ‘‘(B) the term ‘Postal Service’ means the Unit10 ed States Postal Service.’’.

11 TITLE IX—LAW ENFORCEMENT

12 Subtitle A—Amendments to Title

13 39, United States Code

14 SEC. 901. MAKE FEDERAL ASSAULT STATUTES APPLICABLE

15 TO POSTAL CONTRACT EMPLOYEES.

16 Section 1008 of title 39, United States Code, is

17 amended—

18 (1) in subsection (a) by inserting ‘‘or entrusted

19 with mail under contract with the Postal Service’’

20 after ‘‘mail’’; and

21 (2) in subsection (b) by inserting ‘‘an employee

22 of the Postal Service for the purposes of sections

23 111 and 1114 of title 18, and’’ after ‘‘deemed’’.
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1 SEC. 902. SEXUALLY ORIENTED ADVERTISING.

2 (a) CIVIL PENALTY.—Section 3011 of title 39, Unit3 ed States Code, is amended—

4 (1) by redesignating subsections (b) through (e)

5 as subsections (c) through (f), respectively; and

6 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the follow7 ing:

8 ‘‘(b)(1) Upon a finding by the court that a sexually

9 oriented advertisement has been mailed in violation of sec10 tion 3010(b), the court may assess, on whoever made the

11 mailing or caused it to be made, a civil penalty of not

12 less than $500 and not more than $1,500 for each viola13 tion. Each piece of mail sent in violation of section

14 3010(b) shall constitute a separate violation.

15 ‘‘(2) For purposes of this subsection—

16 ‘‘(A) receipt of a sexually oriented advertise17 ment after the recipient’s name and address have

18 been listed (as described in section 3010(b)) for at

19 least 60 days shall create a rebuttable presumption

20 that such advertisement was mailed more than 30

21 days after that individual’s name and address be22 came so listed; and

23 ‘‘(B) receipt in the mail of a sexually oriented

24 advertisement addressed to ‘Occupant’ or ‘Resident’

25 (or any other term permitted by Postal Service

26 standards on simplified addressing) at the recipient’s
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•HR 3717 IH

1 address, or which is specifically addressed to the re2 cipient, but with an inconsequential error or vari3 ation in the recipient’s name or address, shall, for

4 purposes of applying the mailing prohibition of sec5 tion 3010(b), create a rebuttable presumption that

6 such advertisement was mailed to such recipient.

7 ‘‘(3) Any penalty assessed under paragraph (1) shall

8 be paid to the Postal Service for deposit in the Postal

9 Service Fund established by section 2003.’’.

10 (b) REPEAL.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3008 of title 39,

12 United States Code, and the item relating to such

13 section in the table of sections at the beginning of

14 chapter 30 of such title, are repealed.

15 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(A) Sub16 section (f) of section 3011 of such title 39 (as so re17 designated by subsection (a)) is amended by striking

18 ‘‘section 3006, 3007, or 3008’’ and inserting ‘‘sec19 tion 3006 or 3007’’.

20 (B) Section 1737 of title 18, United States

21 Code, is amended—

22 (i) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘3008 or’’;

23 and

24 (ii) in subsection (b) by striking ‘‘3008(a)

25 or’’.
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1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section and the amend2 ments made by this section shall take effect 90 days after

3 the date of the enactment of this Act. The amendments

4 made by this section shall be treated as if they had never

5 been enacted for purposes of any mailing made or caused

6 to be made before this section takes effect.

7 SEC. 903. ALLOW POSTAL SERVICE TO RETAIN ASSET FOR8 FEITURE RECOVERIES.

9 Paragraph (7) of section 2003(b) of title 39, United

10 States Code, is amended to read as follows:

11 ‘‘(7) amounts (including proceeds from the sale

12 of forfeited items) from any civil forfeiture con13 ducted by the Postal Service and from any forfeiture

14 resulting from an investigation in which the Postal

15 Service has primary responsibility, except that noth16 ing in this paragraph shall preclude the Postal Serv17 ice, on such terms as it may determine, from sharing

18 such amounts with any Federal, State, or local law

19 enforcement agency which participated in any of the

20 acts which led to the seizure or forfeiture of the

21 property; and’’.

22 SEC. 904. HAZARDOUS MATTER.

23 (a) CIVIL PENALTY.—Chapter 30 of title 39, United

24 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the follow25 ing:
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1 ‘‘§ 3016. Civil penalty for prohibited mailing and defi2 cient packaging of hazardous matter

3 ‘‘(a) For the purposes of this section—

4 ‘‘(1) the term ‘parcel’ includes any kind of

5 package, envelope, container, or other piece of mail;

6 ‘‘(2) the term ‘manner’ includes the preparation

7 and packaging of a piece of mail;

8 ‘‘(3) a person shall be considered to have acted

9 knowingly if—

10 ‘‘(A) such person had actual knowledge of

11 the facts giving rise to the violation; or

12 ‘‘(B) a reasonable person acting in the

13 same circumstances and exercising due care

14 would have had such knowledge; and

15 ‘‘(4) the term ‘hazardous matter’ has the mean16 ing given such term by section 1716 of title 18.

17 ‘‘(b) Any person—

18 ‘‘(1) who knowingly mails or causes to be

19 mailed any parcel, the contents of which constitute

20 or include any hazardous matter which has been de21 clared by statute or Postal Service regulation to be

22 nonmailable under any circumstances;

23 ‘‘(2) who knowingly mails or causes to be

24 mailed a parcel in violation of any statute or Postal

25 Service regulation restricting the time, place, or
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1 manner in which hazardous matter may be mailed;

2 or

3 ‘‘(3) who knowingly manufactures, distributes,

4 or sells any container, packaging kit, or similar de5 vice that—

6 ‘‘(A) is represented, marked, certified, or

7 sold by such person for use in the mailing of

8 any hazardous matter; and

9 ‘‘(B) fails to conform with any statute or

10 Postal Service regulation setting forth stand11 ards for containers, packaging kits, or similar

12 devices used for the mailing of hazardous mat13 ter;

14 shall be liable to the Postal Service for a civil penalty in

15 an amount not to exceed $25,000 per violation.

16 ‘‘(c) The Postal Service may enforce this section by

17 commencing a civil action in accordance with section

18 409(d). The action may be brought in the district court

19 of the United States for the district in which the defend20 ant resides or any district in which the defendant conducts

21 business or in which a violation of this section was discov22 ered.

23 ‘‘(d) In determining the amount of any civil penalty

24 to be assessed under this section, the district court—

25 ‘‘(1) shall treat as a separate violation—
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1 ‘‘(A) each parcel mailed or caused to be

2 mailed as described in paragraph (1) or (2) of

3 subsection (b); and

4 ‘‘(B) each container, packaging kit, or

5 similar device manufactured, distributed, or

6 sold as described in subsection (b)(3); and

7 ‘‘(2) shall take into account—

8 ‘‘(A) the nature, circumstances, extent,

9 and gravity of each violation committed; and

10 ‘‘(B) with respect to the person found to

11 have committed such violation, the degree of

12 culpability, any history of prior offenses, ability

13 to pay, effect on ability to continue to do busi14 ness, and such other matters as justice may re15 quire.

16 ‘‘(e) All penalties collected under authority of this

17 section shall be paid into the Postal Service Fund estab18 lished by section 2003.’’.

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

20 at the beginning of chapter 30 of title 39, United States

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

‘‘3016. Civil penalty for prohibited mailing and deficient packaging of hazardous

matter.’’.
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1 Subtitle B—Other Provisions

2 SEC. 911. STALKING FEDERAL OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 41 of title 18, United

4 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the follow5 ing:

6 ‘‘§ 881. Stalking Federal and postal officers and em7 ployees

8 ‘‘(a) Whoever—

9 ‘‘(1) repeatedly engages in a pattern of conduct

10 (including maintaining a visual or physical proximity

11 or verbal or written threat) directed at another per12 son who is or was an officer or employee—

13 ‘‘(A) in the executive, legislative, or judicial

14 branch of the Federal Government; or

15 ‘‘(B) in the United States Postal Service;

16 while such other person is engaged in official duties

17 or on account of such duties;

18 ‘‘(2) knows that such conduct is likely to place

19 that other person in reasonable fear of sexual bat20 tery, bodily injury, or death; and

21 ‘‘(3) thereby induces such fear in that other

22 person;

23 shall be punished as provided in subsection (b) of this sec24 tion.
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•HR 3717 IH

1 ‘‘(b)(1) The punishment for an offense under sub2 section (a) of this section is the greatest of the following:

3 ‘‘(A) In the case of a first conviction under

4 such subsection, a fine under this title or imprison5 ment for not more than 3 years, or both.

6 ‘‘(B) In the case of a second or subsequent con7 viction under such subsection, a fine under this title

8 or imprisonment for not more than 15 years, or

9 both.

10 ‘‘(C) If, during the commission of the offense,

11 the offender uses a deadly or dangerous weapon, a

12 fine under this title or imprisonment for not more

13 than 10 years, or both.

14 ‘‘(D) If the offense violates a protective order,

15 a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more

16 than 5 years, or both.

17 ‘‘(2) If a sentence of probation is imposed for an of18 fense under subsection (a) of this section, the court shall

19 require the defendant to undergo appropriate psychiatric,

20 psychological, or social counselling.

21 ‘‘(c) As used in this section, the term ‘protective

22 order’ means any court order that requires an individual—

23 ‘‘(1) to refrain from behavior prohibited by sub24 section (a) of this section; or
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•HR 3717 IH

1 ‘‘(2) to refrain from contact with the person

2 who subsequently is a victim of the offense under

3 such subsection that is committed by that individual.

4 ‘‘(d)(1) Whoever is or is about to be aggrieved by a

5 violation of subsection (a) of this section may, in a civil

6 action, obtain from the person engaging or about to en7 gage in that violation, appropriate relief, including puni8 tive damages in the case of a completed violation and rea9 sonable attorney’s fees.

10 ‘‘(2) If—

11 ‘‘(A) the court issues an injunction against the

12 person engaging or about to engage in a violation of

13 subsection (a) of this section;

14 ‘‘(B) such person is an officer or employee in

15 the executive branch of the Federal Government or

16 in the United States Postal Service; and

17 ‘‘(C) there is a nexus between the enjoined con18 duct and such person’s office or employment;

19 the court may order that the person be suspended or sum20 marily discharged from such office or employment.’’.

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

22 at the beginning of chapter 41 of title 18, United States

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

‘‘881. Stalking Federal and postal officers and employees.’’.
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1 SEC. 912. NONMAILABILITY OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES.

2 Section 1716 of title 18, United States Code, is

3 amended by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘Whoever knowingly deposits for mailing or delivery,

5 or knowingly causes to be delivered by mail, according to

6 the direction thereon, or at any place at which it is di7 rected to be delivered by the person to whom it is ad8 dressed, unless in accordance with the rules and regula9 tions authorized to be prescribed by the Postal Service,

10 any controlled substance, as that term is defined for the

11 purposes of the Controlled Substances Act, shall, if the

12 distribution of a like amount of such substance is a felony

13 under such Act, be fined under this title or imprisoned

14 not more than 5 years, or both.’’.

15 SEC. 913. ENHANCED PENALTIES.

16 Pursuant to its authority under section 994 of title

17 28, United States Code, the United States Sentencing

18 Commission shall amend its sentencing guidelines to—

19 (1) appropriately enhance penalties in cases in

20 which a defendant is convicted of stealing or de21 stroying a quantity of undelivered United States

22 mail, in violation of sections 1702, 1703, 1708,

23 1709, 2114, or 2115 of title 18, United States Code;

24 and

25 (2) establish that the intended loss in a theft of

26 an access device as defined in section 1029(e)(1) of
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1 title 18, United States Code, shall be based on the

2 credit line of the access device or the actual unau3 thorized charges, whichever amount is greater.

4 SEC. 914. POSTAL BURGLARY PROVISIONS.

5 (a) LARCENY INVOLVING POST OFFICE BOXES AND

6 POSTAL STAMP VENDING MACHINES.—Section 2115 of

7 title 18, United States Code, is amended—

8 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ before ‘‘any building’’;

9 (2) by inserting ‘‘or any post office box or post10 al products vending machine,’’ after ‘‘used in whole

11 or in part as a post office,’’;

12 (3) by inserting ‘‘or in such box or machine,’’

13 after ‘‘so used’’; and

14 (4) by striking ‘‘not more than $1,000’’ and in15 serting ‘‘under this title’’.

16 (b) RECEIPT, POSSESSION, CONCEALMENT, OR DIS17 POSITION OF PROPERTY.—Section 2115 of title 18, Unit18 ed States Code, is amended—

19 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ before ‘‘Whoever’’; and

20 (2) by adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘(b) Whoever receives, possesses, conceals, or dis22 poses of any mail matter, money, or other property of the

23 United States, that has been obtained in violation of this

24 section, knowing the same to have been unlawfully ob-
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•HR 3717 IH

1 tained, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not

2 more than 5 years, or both.’’.

3 SEC. 915. MAIL, MONEY, OR OTHER PROPERTY OF THE

4 UNITED STATES.

5 (a) ENHANCED PENALTY FOR ROBBERY.—Sub6 section (a) of section 2114 of title 18, United States Code,

7 is amended to read as follows:

8 ‘‘(a) ASSAULT.—Whoever assaults any person having

9 lawful charge, control, or custody of any mail matter or

10 of any money or other property of the United States, with

11 intent to rob, steal, or purloin such mail matter, money,

12 or other property of the United States, or robs or attempts

13 to rob any such person of mail matter, or of any money,

14 or other property of the United States, shall, for the first

15 offense, be imprisoned not more than 10 years or fined

16 under this title, or both. If, in effecting or attempting to

17 effect such robbery the defendant wounds the person hav18 ing custody of such mail, money, or other property of the

19 United States, or puts that person’s life in jeopardy by

20 the use of a dangerous weapon, or the offense is a subse21 quent offense under this subsection, the defendant shall

22 be imprisoned not more than 25 years or fined under this

23 title, or both. If the death of any person results from the

24 offense under this subsection, the defendant shall be pun25 ished by death or life imprisonment.’’.
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1 (b) ATTEMPT OFFENSES.—

2 (1) The second paragraph of section 501 of title

3 18, United States Code, is amended by striking

4 ‘‘uses or sells,’’ and inserting ‘‘uses or sells or at5 tempts to use or sell,’’.

6 (2) Section 1711 of title 18, United States

7 Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘attempts to loan,

8 use, pledge, hypothecate, or convert to this own

9 use,’’ after ‘‘converts to his own use,’’.

10 TITLE X—NEW SYSTEM RELAT11 ING TO POSTAL RATES,

12 CLASSES, AND SERVICES

13 SEC. 1001. ESTABLISHMENT.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title 39, United States Code, is

15 amended by adding after chapter 36 the following:

16 ‘‘CHAPTER 37—NEW SYSTEM FOR ESTABLISHING

17 POSTAL RATES, CLASSES, AND SERVICES

‘‘SUBCHAPTER I—BASELINE RATES AND FEES

‘‘Sec.

‘‘3701. Establishment of baseline rates and fees.

‘‘SUBCHAPTER II—RATES AND FEES FOR PRODUCTS IN THE

NONCOMPETITIVE CATEGORY OF MAIL

‘‘3721. Definitions.

‘‘3722. Maximum rates.

‘‘3723. Adjustment factor.

‘‘3724. Action of the Directors.

‘‘SUBCHAPTER III—RATES AND FEES FOR PRODUCTS IN THE

COMPETITIVE CATEGORY OF MAIL

‘‘3741. Definitions.

‘‘3742. Action of the Directors.
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‘‘3743. Transfers of products from the noncompetitive category of mail.

‘‘3744. Application of antitrust laws.

‘‘SUBCHAPTER IV—MARKET TESTS OF EXPERIMENTAL

PRODUCTS

‘‘3761. Market tests.

‘‘SUBCHAPTER V—REPORTING REQUIREMENTS AND RELATED

PROVISIONS

‘‘3781. Definition.

‘‘3782. Reporting requirements.

‘‘3783. Use of profits.

1 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER I—BASELINE RATES AND FEES

2 ‘‘§ 3701. Establishment of baseline rates and fees

3 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT THAT A RATEMAKING REQUEST

4 BE MADE.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para6 graph (2), the Postal Service shall, within 18

7 months after the effective date of this chapter, re8 quest the Postal Rate Commission to submit a rec9 ommended decision on appropriate changes in rates

10 of postage and in fees for postal services, in accord11 ance with section 3622(a).

12 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—A request under this sub13 section may not be made if, on the effective date of

14 this chapter—

15 ‘‘(A) a new schedule of rates and fees

16 takes effect under subchapter II of chapter 36

17 pursuant to a previous request under section

18 3622(a); or
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1 ‘‘(B) a recommended decision or further

2 recommended decision pursuant to a previous

3 request under section 3622(a), or judicial re4 view of any such decision or recommended deci5 sion, is pending.

6 ‘‘(b) BASELINE RATES AND FEES ESTABLISHED

7 PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this title,

9 the baseline rates and fees established pursuant to

10 this section shall be—

11 ‘‘(A) the rates and fees taking effect pur12 suant to a request made under subsection

13 (a)(1), subject to subparagraph (C)(i) or para14 graph (2)(A) (as applicable);

15 ‘‘(B) the rates and fees—

16 ‘‘(i) that, by virtue of subsection

17 (a)(2)(A), preclude the making of a re18 quest under subsection (a)(1); or

19 ‘‘(ii) that take effect upon completion

20 of all proceedings referred to in subsection

21 (a)(2)(B), subject to subparagraph (C)(ii)

22 or paragraph (2)(B) (as applicable); or

23 ‘‘(C)(i) if a request under subsection (a)(1)

24 is made, but proceedings pursuant to such re25 quest have not been completed by the end of
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1 the 18-month period beginning on the date on

2 which such request is made, the rates and fees

3 in effect at the end of such period (including

4 any temporary rate or fee then in effect under

5 subchapter III of chapter 36); or

6 ‘‘(ii) if a request under subsection (a)(1) is

7 precluded by virtue of the provisions of sub8 section (a)(2)(B), but the proceedings referred

9 to in such provisions have not been completed

10 by the end of the 18-month period referred to

11 in subsection (a)(1), the rates and fees in effect

12 at the end of such period (including any tem13 porary rate or fee then in effect under sub14 chapter III of chapter 36).

15 ‘‘(2) APPLICABLE STATUTORY DEADLINE NOT

16 CHANGEABLE BY ADMINISTRATIVE OR OTHER AC17 TION.—Rates and fees established under chapter 36

18 pursuant to—

19 ‘‘(A) a request made under subsection

20 (a)(1) shall take effect as of the date deter21 mined in accordance with section 3625(f) or

22 otherwise applicable provisions of such chapter,

23 except that in no event may the date so deter24 mined be later than the last day of the 18-
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1 month period referred to in paragraph

2 (1)(C)(i); or

3 ‘‘(B) a previous request, as referred to in

4 subsection (a)(2)(B), shall take effect as of the

5 date determined in accordance with section

6 3625(f) or otherwise applicable provisions of

7 such chapter, except that in no event may the

8 date so determined be later than the last day of

9 the 18-month period referred to in subsection

10 (a)(1).

11 ‘‘(c) PRIORITY OF RATEMAKING FACTORS IF PURSU12 ANT TO A REQUEST UNDER THIS SECTION.—If a request

13 under subsection (a)(1) is made, then, for purposes of all

14 proceedings under chapter 36 relating to such request,

15 subsection (b) of section 3622 shall be considered to be

16 amended to read as follows:

17 ‘‘ ‘(b) Upon receiving a request, the Commission shall

18 make a recommended decision on the request for changes

19 in rates or fees in each class of mail or type of service

20 in accordance with the policies of this title and the follow21 ing factors, set forth in descending order of priority:

22 ‘‘ ‘(1) The requirement that each class of mail

23 or type of mail service bear the direct and indirect

24 postal costs attributable to such class or type plus
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1 that portion of all other costs of the Postal Service

2 reasonably assignable to such class or type.

3 ‘‘ ‘(2) The value of the mail service to senders,

4 as reflected by the volume response of classes of

5 mail and types of service to changes in postal rates

6 and fees, and, as appropriate, the price and quality

7 of alternative means of sending mail.

8 ‘‘ ‘(3) The quality of mail service actually pro9 vided each class or type of mail service, including

10 the collection, mode of transportation, priority of de11 livery, and timeliness of delivery (as measured by

12 reference to standards established by the Postal

13 Service).

14 ‘‘ ‘(4) The available alternative means of send15 ing and receiving letters and other mail matter at

16 reasonable costs.

17 ‘‘ ‘(5) The degree of preparation of mail for de18 livery into the postal system performed by the mailer

19 and its effect upon reducing costs to the Postal

20 Service.

21 ‘‘ ‘(6) The effect of rate increases upon users of

22 the mail and the general public.

23 ‘‘ ‘(7) Simplicity of structure for the entire

24 schedule and simple, identifiable relationships be-
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1 tween the rates or fees charged the various classes

2 of mail for postal services.

3 ‘‘ ‘(8) The educational, cultural, scientific, and

4 informational value to the recipient of mail matter.

5 ‘‘ ‘(9) The establishment and maintenance of a

6 fair and equitable schedule.

7 ‘‘ ‘(10) Such other factors as the Commission

8 deems appropriate.’.

9 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER II—RATES AND FEES FOR PROD10 UCTS IN THE NONCOMPETITIVE CATEGORY

11 OF MAIL

12 ‘‘§ 3721. Definitions

13 ‘‘For purposes of this subchapter—

14 ‘‘(1) YEAR.—The term ‘year’ means a calendar

15 year.

16 ‘‘(2) GDPPI.—The term ‘GDPPI’ means the

17 Gross Domestic Product Chain-Type Price Index

18 (published quarterly by the Bureau of Economic

19 Analysis of the Department of Commerce).

20 ‘‘(3) PRODUCT.—The term ‘product’ means a

21 class of mail or type of postal service, including—

22 ‘‘(A) a subclass or other similar subordi23 nate unit thereof; and
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1 ‘‘(B) any further subordinate unit thereof

2 (below the first level of subordinate units re3 ferred to in subparagraph (A)).

4 ‘‘(4) PRODUCTS IN THE NONCOMPETITIVE CAT5 EGORY OF MAIL.—The term ‘products in the non6 competitive category of mail’ means the respective

7 products in the first, second, third, and fourth bas8 kets of products (within the meaning of section

9 3723(a)).

10 ‘‘(5) RATE.—The term ‘rate’, used with respect

11 to a product, means—

12 ‘‘(A) for a class of mail, the rate for such

13 class of mail; and

14 ‘‘(B) for a type of postal service, the fee

15 for such service.

16 ‘‘(6) NONCOMPETITIVE PRODUCT.—The term

17 ‘noncompetitive product’ means a product in the

18 noncompetitive category of mail.

19 ‘‘§ 3722. Maximum rates

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in

21 this subchapter, the rate for a noncompetitive product

22 may not, in any year, exceed the maximum rate allowable

23 for such product in such year under this section.

24 ‘‘(b) COMPUTATION OF MAXIMUM RATE ALLOW25 ABLE.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The maximum rate allow2 able for a noncompetitive product in any year shall

3 be computed by multiplying—

4 ‘‘(A) the change in the GDPPI for such

5 year, adjusted by the adjustment factor for

6 such year, times

7 ‘‘(B) the maximum rate allowable for such

8 product in the preceding year (determined dis9 regarding paragraph (4), any exercise of au10 thority under section 3724(d), and any alter11 native limitation under section 1002(e) of the

12 Postal Reform Act of 1996).

13 ‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub14 section—

15 ‘‘(A) CHANGE IN THE GDPPI.—The change

16 in the GDPPI for any year shall be equal to the

17 percentage (if any) by which—

18 ‘‘(i) the GDPPI for the preceding

19 year, exceeds

20 ‘‘(ii) the GDPPI for the second pre21 ceding year.

22 ‘‘(B) GDPPI FOR ANY YEAR.—The

23 GDPPI for any year is the average of the

24 GDPPI for the 4 consecutive calendar quarters

25 ending on September 30th of such year.
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1 ‘‘(C) ADJUSTMENT FACTOR.—The adjust2 ment factor for any year shall be determined in

3 accordance with section 3723.

4 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE FOR FIRST COMPUTA5 TION.—For purposes of the first computation of a

6 maximum rate allowable under this section for any

7 product, the rate applied under paragraph (1)(B)

8 shall be the baseline rate established for such prod9 uct under section 3701.

10 ‘‘(4) ROUNDING.—Any maximum rate com11 puted under this section shall be rounded to the

nearest cent (rounding 1 12 ⁄2 of a cent to the next high13 er cent).

14 ‘‘§ 3723. Adjustment factor

15 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—

16 ‘‘(1) RATEMAKING CYCLE.—

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘ratemaking

18 cycle’ means—

19 ‘‘(i) the 5-year period beginning on

20 the first day of the second year beginning

21 after the effective date of the baseline

22 rates and fees established pursuant to sec23 tion 3701; and

24 ‘‘(ii) each 5-year period beginning on

25 the day after the last day of the imme-
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1 diately preceding 5-year period under this

2 paragraph.

3 ‘‘(B) EARLIER INITIAL DATE.—The Postal

4 Rate Commission may, by written determina5 tion, advance the date applicable under sub6 paragraph (A)(i) to the date which occurs 1

7 year earlier, but only if that earlier date does

8 not precede the date on which all requirements

9 of this section have been completed with respect

10 to the ratemaking cycle involved.

11 ‘‘(2) BASKET OF PRODUCTS TO WHICH THIS

12 SECTION APPLIES.—The term ‘basket of products to

13 which this section applies’ means the first, second,

14 third, and fourth baskets of products.

15 ‘‘(3) FIRST BASKET OF PRODUCTS.—The term

16 ‘first basket of products’ means—

17 ‘‘(A) single-piece first-class letters (both

18 domestic and international);

19 ‘‘(B) single-piece first-class cards (both do20 mestic and international); and

21 ‘‘(C) single-piece first-class parcels (both

22 domestic and international).

23 ‘‘(4) SECOND BASKET OF PRODUCTS.—The

24 term ‘second basket of products’ means all first-class

25 mail not in the first basket of products.
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1 ‘‘(5) THIRD BASKET OF PRODUCTS.—The term

2 ‘third basket of products’ means periodicals.

3 ‘‘(6) FOURTH BASKET OF PRODUCTS.—The

4 term ‘fourth basket of products’ means standard

5 mail (except for parcel post).

6 ‘‘(7) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Mail matter referred

8 to in paragraphs (3) through (6) shall, for pur9 poses of such paragraphs, be considered to have

10 the meaning given them under the mail classi11 fication schedule (within the meaning of section

12 3623) as of the effective date of this chapter.

13 ‘‘(B) UPDATES.—The Board of Directors

14 shall, whenever any relevant change occurs

15 (pursuant to a reclassification under chapter

16 36, a transfer of a product from the non17 competitive category of mail under section

18 3743, or the conversion of an experimental

19 product under subchapter IV to a permanent

20 one), prescribe new lists of products within the

21 baskets under paragraphs (3) through (6), re22 spectively. The revised lists shall indicate how

23 and when any previous lists are superseded.

24 ‘‘(b) PROCEDURES RELATING TO DETERMINING AD25 JUSTMENT FACTORS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) COMMENCEMENT.—

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

3 subparagraph (B), the Postal Rate Commission

4 shall, beginning in December of the second year

5 before the start of each ratemaking cycle, pro6 vide the opportunity for a hearing on the record

7 under sections 556 and 557 of title 5 to the

8 Postal Service, users of the mails, and an offi9 cer of the Commission who shall be required to

10 represent the interests of the general public,

11 with respect to the adjustment factors to be es12 tablished for the upcoming ratemaking cycle.

13 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—For purposes of the

14 first hearing under this subsection, proceedings

15 shall be commenced during the second month

16 beginning on or after the effective date of the

17 baseline rates and fees established pursuant to

18 section 3701.

19 ‘‘(2) RULES OF PROCEEDINGS.—In order to

20 conduct its proceedings with utmost expedition con21 sistent with procedural fairness to the parties, the

22 Commission may (without limitation) adopt rules

23 which provide for—

24 ‘‘(A) the advance submission of written di25 rect testimony;
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1 ‘‘(B) the conduct of prehearing conferences

2 to define issues, and for other purposes to in3 sure orderly and expeditious proceedings;

4 ‘‘(C) discovery both from the Postal Serv5 ice and the parties to the proceedings;

6 ‘‘(D) limitation of testimony; and

7 ‘‘(E) the conduct of the entire proceedings

8 off the record with the consent of the parties.

9 ‘‘(3) PRINTING AND NOTICE REQUIREMENTS.—

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission’s de11 cision and the record of the Commission’s hear12 ings shall be made generally available at the

13 time the decision is issued and shall be printed

14 and made available for sale by the Public Print15 er within 10 days following the day the decision

16 is issued.

17 ‘‘(B) TIMING.—All actions required of the

18 Commission under this section, including those

19 under subparagraph (A), shall be completed as

20 expeditiously as possible, but in no event later

21 than the end of the year before the commence22 ment of the ratemaking cycle to which the deci23 sion relates.
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1 ‘‘(c) FACTORS.—Adjustment factors shall be estab2 lished in accordance with the policies of this title and the

3 following:

4 ‘‘(1) The value of the product to senders, as re5 flected by the volume response of classes of mail and

6 types of service to changes in postal rates and fees,

7 and, as appropriate, the price and quality of alter8 native means of sending mail.

9 ‘‘(2) Cost to the Postal Service of providing the

10 product.

11 ‘‘(3) Productivity of the Postal Service in pro12 viding postal services.

13 ‘‘(4) The level of postal revenues attributable to

14 the product.

15 ‘‘(5) The actual level of service (described in

16 terms of speed of delivery and reliability) provided

17 with respect to the product.

18 ‘‘(6) Such other considerations as the Postal

19 Service and the Commission mutually agree to be

20 appropriate.

21 ‘‘(d) SEPARATE ADJUSTMENT FACTOR REQUIRED

22 FOR EACH BASKET OF PRODUCTS.—A separate adjust23 ment factor shall be established for each basket of prod24 ucts to which this section applies, and, except as provided

25 in section 3724(d), the adjustment factor applicable to any
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1 basket shall be uniformly applied to all products within

2 such basket.

3 ‘‘(e) HOW EACH ADJUSTMENT FACTOR IS TO BE

4 EXPRESSED AND APPLIED.—

5 ‘‘(1) EXPRESSION.—Each adjustment factor es6 tablished under this section shall be expressed as a

7 percentage.

8 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—For purposes of section

9 3722(b)(1)(A), to adjust a change in the GDPPI by

10 an adjustment factor, the adjustment factor shall be

11 added to or subtracted from such change in the

12 GDPPI, as the case may be.

13 ‘‘(f) EXIGENT CIRCUMSTANCES.—

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon a majority vote of

15 the Directors then holding office, the Postal Service

16 may request the Postal Rate Commission to render

17 a decision on changing the adjustment factors to be

18 applied during the then current ratemaking cycle

19 (after having previously been established under this

20 section for such cycle).

21 ‘‘(2) CONDITIONS.—A request made under

22 paragraph (1) may be considered only upon written

23 certification by the Directors that—

24 ‘‘(A) the Postal Service faces severe finan25 cial exigencies; and
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1 ‘‘(B) the change is warranted to restore

2 the Postal Service to fiscal soundness.

3 ‘‘(3) EFFECT; DURATION.—A change granted

4 under this subsection—

5 ‘‘(A) shall supersede the adjustment fac6 tors which would otherwise apply under this

7 section; and

8 ‘‘(B) shall remain effective for the remain9 der of the ratemaking cycle involved, subject to

10 paragraph (5).

11 ‘‘(4) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION.—A request

12 made under paragraph (1) shall be acted on in the

13 same manner as if initiated under subsection (b)(1),

14 except that a decision on such request shall be ren15 dered not later than 6 months after the date on

16 which such request is made.

17 ‘‘(5) FREQUENCY.—Nothing in this section

18 shall be considered to limit the number of times that

19 authority under this subsection may be invoked or

20 exercised during any particular ratemaking cycle.

21 ‘‘(6) FINALITY.—A decision of the Postal Rate

22 Commission under this subsection shall be final and

23 shall not be subject to administrative or judicial re24 view.
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1 ‘‘(g) APPELLATE REVIEW.—Except as provided in

2 subsection (f)(6), a decision of the Postal Rate Commis3 sion under this section may be appealed to any court of

4 appeals of the United States, within 15 days after its pub5 lication by the Public Printer, by an aggrieved party who

6 appeared in the proceedings under subsection (b). The

7 court shall review the decision, in accordance with section

8 706 of title 5, and chapter 158 and section 2112 of title

9 28, except as otherwise provided in this subsection, on the

10 basis of the record before the Commission. The court may

11 affirm the decision or order that the entire matter be re12 turned for further consideration, but the court may not

13 modify the decision. The court may not suspend the effec14 tiveness of the adjustment factors, or otherwise prevent

15 them from taking effect until final disposition of the suit

16 by the court. No court shall have jurisdiction to review

17 a decision made by the Commission under this section ex18 cept as provided in this subsection.

19 ‘‘§ 3724. Action of the Directors

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Directors, with the written

21 concurrence of a majority of all of the Directors then hold22 ing office, shall establish rates for products in the non23 competitive category of mail in accordance with the re24 quirements of this subchapter and the policies of this title.

25 ‘‘(b) PROCEDURES.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Rates under this section

2 shall be established in writing, complete with a

3 statement of explanation and justification.

4 ‘‘(2) PUBLICATION.—The Directors shall cause

5 each such decision and statement to be published in

6 the Federal Register at least 45 days before the rate

7 or rates to which they pertain take effect.

8 ‘‘(c) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORITY.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para10 graph (2)—

11 ‘‘(A) FREQUENCY.—Ratemaking authority

12 under this section may not be exercised more

13 than once for purposes of any year.

14 ‘‘(B) UNIFORM EFFECTIVE DATE.—All

15 changes in rates pursuant to this section shall

16 take effect beginning on the same date.

17 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR CHANGE DUE TO EXI18 GENT CIRCUMSTANCES.—

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the maximum rate

20 allowable for a product in a year changes pur21 suant to a request granted under section

22 3723(f), then, in the event that ratemaking au23 thority under this section was previously exer24 cised with respect to such product for such

25 year, such rate may be modified, not more than
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1 once more in such year, based on the change in

2 the maximum rate allowable.

3 ‘‘(B) UNIFORM EFFECTIVE DATE.—All

4 changes in rates pursuant to this paragraph

5 shall, to the extent based on the same change

6 in the maximum rate allowable, take effect be7 ginning on the same date.

8 ‘‘(d) EXCEPTION TO REQUIREMENT RELATING TO

9 UNIFORM APPLICABILITY OF EACH MAXIMUM.—

10 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub11 section—

12 ‘‘(A) SUBORDINATE UNIT.—The term ‘sub13 ordinate unit’, with respect to a product, means

14 a subclass or other similar subordinate unit of

15 such product, as described in subparagraph (A)

16 of section 3721(3).

17 ‘‘(B) FURTHER SUBORDINATE UNIT.—The

18 term ‘further subordinate unit’, with respect to

19 a subordinate unit, means a further subordinate

20 unit thereof, as described in subparagraph (B)

21 of section 3721(3).

22 ‘‘(2) APPLICABILITY.—This subsection applies

23 with respect to the second, third, and fourth baskets

24 of products.

25 ‘‘(3) RULE.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the

2 uniformity requirement in section 3723(d), for

3 purposes of establishing rates for further subor4 dinate units of any particular subordinate unit

5 of a product, rates may be established at such

6 levels as the Directors consider appropriate,

7 subject to subparagraph (B).

8 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT.—The rates so estab9 lished may not exceed the maximum rates es10 tablished for such further subordinate units in

11 accordance with subparagraph (C).

12 ‘‘(C) ALTERNATIVE MAXIMUM RATES.—Al13 ternative maximum rates may be established

14 under this subparagraph by using adjustment

15 factors (other than those that would otherwise

16 apply absent this subsection) fixed at levels

17 which the Directors consider appropriate, so

18 long as the resulting average maximum rate,

19 for the further subordinate units comprising

20 such subordinate unit (determined separately

21 for each successive level, if there are 2 or more

22 levels of further subordinate units), remains

23 equal to the maximum rate that would other24 wise apply with respect to those further subor25 dinate units.
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1 ‘‘(e) FINALITY OF DECISIONS.—Decisions of the

2 Postal Service under this section shall be final and shall

3 not be subject to administrative or judicial review.

4 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER III—RATES AND FEES FOR

5 PRODUCTS IN THE COMPETITIVE CAT6 EGORY OF MAIL

7 ‘‘§ 3741. Definitions

8 ‘‘For purposes of this subchapter—

9 ‘‘(1) YEAR, PRODUCT, RATE, ETC.—The terms

10 ‘year’, ‘product’, ‘rate’, and ‘product in the non11 competitive category of mail’ each has the meaning

12 given such term by section 3721, unless the context

13 otherwise requires.

14 ‘‘(2) PRODUCTS IN THE COMPETITIVE CAT15 EGORY OF MAIL.—The term ‘products in the com16 petitive category of mail’ means—

17 ‘‘(A) priority mail;

18 ‘‘(B) expedited mail;

19 ‘‘(C) mailgrams;

20 ‘‘(D) international mail;

21 ‘‘(E) parcel post;

22 ‘‘(F) special services; and

23 ‘‘(G) any product transferred to the com24 petitive category of mail under section 3743;
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1 except that such term does not include any product

2 then currently in the noncompetitive category of

3 mail.

4 ‘‘(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Mail matter referred

6 to in paragraph (2) shall, for purposes of such

7 paragraph, be considered to have the meaning

8 given them under the mail classification sched9 ule (within the meaning of section 3623) as of

10 the effective date of this chapter.

11 ‘‘(B) UPDATES.—The Board of Directors

12 shall, whenever any relevant change occurs

13 (pursuant to a reclassification under chapter

14 36, a transfer of a product from the non15 competitive category of mail under section

16 3743, or the conversion of an experimental

17 product under subchapter IV to a permanent

18 one), prescribe a new list of products under

19 subparagraphs (A) through (G) of paragraph

20 (2). The revised list shall indicate how and

21 when any previous list is superseded.

22 ‘‘§ 3742. Action of the Directors

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Directors, with the written

24 concurrence of a majority of all of the Directors then hold-
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1 ing office, shall establish rates for products in the competi2 tive category of mail.

3 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—Rates under this section shall

4 be established in accordance with the policies of this title

5 and the requirement that each product in the competitive

6 category of mail bear the direct and indirect postal costs

7 attributable to such product plus a reasonable contribution

8 to all other costs of the Postal Service.

9 ‘‘(c) PROCEDURES.—Subsections (b), (c)(1), and (e)

10 of section 3724 shall apply with respect to rates and deci11 sions under this section.

12 ‘‘§ 3743. Transfers of products from the noncompeti13 tive category of mail

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Postal Service or users of

15 the mails may from time to time request the Postal Rate

16 Commission to submit, or the Commission may submit to

17 the Directors on its own initiative, a recommended deci18 sion on transferring one or more products in the non19 competitive category of mail to the competitive category

20 of mail.

21 ‘‘(b) CRITERIA.—A recommended decision under this

22 section shall be made in accordance with the policies of

23 this title and taking into consideration the availability and

24 nature of enterprises in the private sector engaged in the

25 delivery of the product involved.
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1 ‘‘(c) PROCEDURES.—If the Commission receives a re2 quest under subsection (a) or decides to act on its own

3 initiative, the Commission shall, after proceedings in con4 formity with section 3624, issue a recommended decision

5 which shall be acted upon in accordance with the provi6 sions of section 3625 and subject to review in accordance

7 with the provisions of section 3628.

8 ‘‘§ 3744. Application of antitrust laws

9 ‘‘(a) APPLICABILITY OF THE ANTITRUST LAWS.—

10 The antitrust laws shall apply with respect to the Postal

11 Service to the extent that the Postal Service engages in

12 conduct with respect to—

13 ‘‘(1) any product in the competitive category of

14 mail; and

15 ‘‘(2) any product offered pursuant to a market

16 test under subchapter IV.

17 ‘‘(b) DEFINITION.—For purposes of subsection (a),

18 the term ‘antitrust laws’ has the meaning given such term

19 in subsection (a) of the first section of the Clayton Act

20 (15 U.S.C. 12(a)), but includes section 5 of the Federal

21 Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45) to the extent that

22 such section 5 applies to unfair methods of competition.

23 ‘‘(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall not apply

24 with respect to conduct occurring before the effective date

25 of this chapter.
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1 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER IV—MARKET TESTS OF

2 EXPERIMENTAL PRODUCTS

3 ‘‘§ 3761. Market tests

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Postal Service may conduct

5 market tests of experimental products. Subject to the pro6 visions of this section, the conducting of any such market

7 test by the Postal Service shall not be limited by any lack

8 of specific authority under this title to take the action con9 templated, or by any provision of this title or any rule

10 or regulation prescribed under this title which is inconsist11 ent with the action.

12 ‘‘(b) PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS.—Before con13 ducting a market test, the Postal Service shall—

14 ‘‘(1) develop a plan for such test which identi15 fies—

16 ‘‘(A) the purposes of the test (and how

17 they comport with the provisions of section

18 101);

19 ‘‘(B) the duration;

20 ‘‘(C) the anticipated costs for each year;

21 ‘‘(D) the anticipated revenues for each

22 year;

23 ‘‘(E) a specific description of any aspect of

24 the test for which there is a lack of specific au25 thority; and
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1 ‘‘(F) a specific citation to any provision of

2 law, rule, or regulation which, if not waived

3 under this section, would prohibit the conduct4 ing of the test, or any part of the test as pro5 posed;

6 ‘‘(2) at least 60 days in advance of the date any

7 test proposed under this section is to take effect—

8 ‘‘(A) publish the plan in the Federal Reg9 ister;

10 ‘‘(B) submit such plan to each House of

11 Congress; and

12 ‘‘(C) provide notification of the proposed

13 test to officers and employees likely to be af14 fected by the test.

15 ‘‘(c) RESTRICTIONS.—No market test under this sec16 tion may provide for a waiver of—

17 ‘‘(1) any provision of section 410(b)–(d) (or any

18 law applicable to the Postal Service by virtue of any

19 such provision);

20 ‘‘(2) section 412 or any other provision of law

21 (not otherwise covered by paragraph (1)) providing

22 for the nondisclosure of names or addresses or any

23 other information or matter by the Postal Service;

24 ‘‘(3) the limitation on compensation under the

25 last sentence of section 1003(a);
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1 ‘‘(4) any provision of chapter 10 (relating to

2 employment within the Postal Service);

3 ‘‘(5) any provision of chapter 12 or of any col4 lective-bargaining agreement under such chapter;

5 ‘‘(6) any provision of section 3623(d) (relating

6 to maintaining one or more classes of mail for the

7 transmission of letters sealed against inspection);

8 ‘‘(7) any provision of law—

9 ‘‘(A) providing for equal employment op10 portunity through affirmative action; or

11 ‘‘(B) providing any right or remedy avail12 able to any officer or employee or applicant for

13 employment in the Postal Service; or

14 ‘‘(8) any rule or regulation prescribed under

15 any provision of law referred to in any of the preced16 ing paragraphs of this subsection.

17 ‘‘(d) LIMITATIONS.—

18 ‘‘(1) DURATION.—Each market test under this

19 section shall terminate not later than 3 years after

20 such project takes effect, except that the project

21 may continue beyond the date on which it would oth22 erwise terminate, if proceedings under subsection (g)

23 are then pending with respect to the product in24 volved.
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1 ‘‘(2) DOLLAR LIMITATION.—A market test

2 under this section may not be conducted if the an3 ticipated revenues attributable to such test would,

4 for any calendar year, exceed $100,000,000.

5 ‘‘(e) EMPLOYEES WITHIN BARGAINING UNITS.—Em6 ployees within a unit with respect to which a labor organi7 zation is accorded exclusive recognition under chapter 12

8 shall not be included within any market test under this

9 section—

10 ‘‘(1) if the test would violate a collective-bar11 gaining agreement under such chapter between the

12 Postal Service and the labor organization, unless

13 there is another written agreement with respect to

14 the test between the Postal Service and the organi15 zation permitting the inclusion; or

16 ‘‘(2) if the test is not covered by such a collec17 tive-bargaining agreement, until there has been con18 sultation or negotiation, as appropriate, by the Post19 al Service with the labor organization.

20 ‘‘(f) OTHER EMPLOYEES.—Employees within any

21 unit with respect to which a labor organization has not

22 been accorded exclusive recognition under chapter 12 shall

23 not be included within any market test under this section

24 unless there has been consultation by the Postal Service

25 regarding the test with the employees in the unit.
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1 ‘‘(g) CONVERSION TO PERMANENCE.—A request to

2 make an experimental product (as referred to in sub3 section (a)) permanent—

4 ‘‘(1) shall be made in accordance with the same

5 requirements as set forth in section 3743(b);

6 ‘‘(2) shall be subject to the same procedures

7 (including review) as set forth in section 3743(c),

8 except as provided in subsection (h); and

9 ‘‘(3) may not be considered unless it is made by

10 the Postal Service.

11 ‘‘(h) TIME LIMITATION ON COMMISSION DELIBERA12 TIONS.—For purposes of applying section 3624 (pursuant

13 to subsection (g)(2)) with respect to a request to make

14 an experimental product permanent—

15 ‘‘(1) section 3624(c) (as deemed to have re16 mained in effect under paragraph (2)) shall be ap17 plied with respect to such request in the same man18 ner as would have applied in the case of a request

19 made under section 3622 (as last in effect before

20 being repealed by section 1002); and

21 ‘‘(2) section 3624 (as last in effect before being

22 repealed by section 1002) shall be deemed to have

23 remained in effect, except that subsection (c) of such

24 section (as then in effect) shall be applied by sub25 stituting—
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1 ‘‘(A) ‘6 months’ for ‘10 months’ in para2 graph (1) thereof; and

3 ‘‘(B) ‘6-month period’ for ‘10-month pe4 riod’ in paragraph (2) thereof.

5 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER V—REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

6 AND RELATED PROVISIONS

7 ‘‘§ 3781. Definition

8 ‘‘For purposes of this subchapter, the term ‘product’

9 has the meaning given such term by section 3721(3).

10 ‘‘§ 3782. Reporting requirements

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—No later than 3 months after the

12 last day of each fiscal year, the Postal Service shall submit

13 sufficient information to the Postal Rate Commission to

14 demonstrate that the then current rates for products are

15 in compliance with all applicable requirements of this title.

16 ‘‘(b) AUDITS.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Before submitting any in18 formation under subsection (a), the Postal Service

19 shall have such information audited by an independ20 ent professional accounting organization (from out21 side of government), and such audit shall be submit22 ted along with the information to which it relates.

23 ‘‘(2) ACCESS TO PAPERS AND SUPPORTING MA24 TERIALS.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall

2 have access to the working papers and support3 ing materials of an auditor in connection with

4 any audit conducted by such auditor under this

5 subsection.

6 ‘‘(B) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Any information

7 described in paragraph (3) to which the Com8 mission gains access under subparagraph (A)

9 shall be subject to section 3604(g)(2) in the

10 same way as if the Commission had received

11 notification with respect to such information

12 under section 3604(g)(1).

13 ‘‘(3) IDENTIFICATION OF PROTECTED INFORMA14 TION.—

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

16 shall, in accordance with regulations which it

17 shall prescribe, ensure that—

18 ‘‘(i) any protected information shall,

19 before being furnished to an auditor under

20 this section, be appropriately identified (in21 cluding, to the extent practicable, by being

22 appropriately stamped, labelled, tagged, or

23 otherwise physically marked); and

24 ‘‘(ii) appropriate measures are taken

25 (such as the inclusion of appropriate terms
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1 in any contract or other agreement with

2 the auditor) to safeguard the security and

3 confidentiality of protected information.

4 ‘‘(B) PROTECTED INFORMATION DE5 FINED.—For purposes of this paragraph, the

6 term ‘protected information’ means any infor7 mation which, in the judgment of the Postal

8 Service, is information of a type which is de9 scribed in section 410(c) of this title, or exempt

10 from public disclosure under section 552(b) of

11 title 5.

12 ‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—The Postal

13 Service shall submit to the Commission, at the time of

14 making its submissions under subsections (a) and (b)—

15 ‘‘(1) a copy of the then most recent comprehen16 sive statement under section 2401(b);

17 ‘‘(2) a copy of the then most recent perform18 ance plan and program performance reports required

19 under sections 2803 and 2804, respectively; and

20 ‘‘(3) for the most recently completed fiscal year,

21 with respect to each product in the competitive cat22 egory of mail, each product in the noncompetitive

23 category of mail, and each product under subchapter

24 IV—
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1 ‘‘(A) market information, including mail

2 volumes;

3 ‘‘(B) postal financial information, includ4 ing costs to the Postal Service and revenues;

5 ‘‘(C) measures of the speed and reliability

6 of postal service, including—

7 ‘‘(i) the service standard applicable to

8 each product;

9 ‘‘(ii) the actual level of service (de10 scribed in terms of speed of delivery and

11 reliability) provided; and

12 ‘‘(iii) the degree of customer satisfac13 tion with the service provided; and

14 ‘‘(D) any other information that the Com15 mission and the Postal Service mutually agree

16 upon.

17 ‘‘(d) REGULATIONS.—The Commission shall pre18 scribe regulations specifying the form and detail of the in19 formation required under this section, consistent with oth20 erwise applicable provisions of this title. Such regulations

21 shall give due consideration to avoiding unnecessary or un22 warranted administrative effort and expense on the part

23 of the Postal Service.
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1 ‘‘§ 3783. Use of profits

2 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF PROFITS.—For purposes of this

3 section, the term ‘profits’, with respect to any fiscal year,

4 means the amount by which total income of the Postal

5 Service attributable to such year, exceeds total costs of

6 the Postal Service attributable to such year, as determined

7 by the Directors, in writing, in accordance with generally

8 accepted accounting principles.

9 ‘‘(b) DETERMINATION OF NONCOMPLIANCE.—Not

10 later than 90 days after receiving all the submissions re11 quired under section 3782 with respect to a fiscal year,

12 the Postal Rate Commission shall make a written deter13 mination as to—

14 ‘‘(1) whether any rates or fees were placed in

15 effect during such fiscal year which were not in com16 pliance with applicable provisions of this title;

17 ‘‘(2) whether any performance goals, estab18 lished under section 2803 or 2804 for such fiscal

19 year, were not met; and

20 ‘‘(3) whether any service standards for such fis21 cal year were not met, based on the information

22 under section 3782(c)(3)(C).

23 ‘‘(c) IF NO NONCOMPLIANCE IS FOUND.—If the

24 Commission does not make a timely determination of non25 compliance under subsection (b), or if a timely determina26 tion is made under subsection (b) to the effect that no
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1 instances of noncompliance occurred, up to 100 percent

2 of the profits (if any) from the preceding fiscal year may

3 be used by the Postal Service for the purposes described

4 in subsection (e).

5 ‘‘(d) IF ANY NONCOMPLIANCE IS FOUND.—If the

6 Commission makes a timely determination of noncompli7 ance under subsection (b)—

8 ‘‘(1) the Commission may order, based on the

9 seriousness of the noncompliance, that a specific

10 percentage of the previous fiscal year’s profits (if

11 any), not to exceed 50 percent, be set aside for the

12 purposes described in subsection (f); and

13 ‘‘(2) up to 100 percent of the remainder of the

14 previous fiscal year’s profits (if any) may be used by

15 the Postal Service for the purposes described in sub16 section (e).

17 ‘‘(e) BONUSES.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Postal Service shall es19 tablish a program under which cash bonuses may be

20 paid to officers and employees of the Postal Service

21 out of any profits which are available for that pur22 pose.

23 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—Under the program—
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1 ‘‘(A) bonuses may be paid to officers and

2 employees of the Postal Service under criteria

3 which shall be fair and equitable;

4 ‘‘(B) the sole source of funding shall be

5 any profits from any fiscal year, subject to the

6 application of subsection (d)(1) with respect to

7 such fiscal year; and

8 ‘‘(C) subject to subsection (h), bonuses

9 shall not be precluded by the limitation on com10 pensation under the last sentence of section

11 1003(a).

12 ‘‘(3) DISCRETIONARY NATURE OF PROGRAM.—

13 Nothing in this section shall be considered to create

14 any entitlement to receive bonuses or to require that

15 any portion of the profits from any fiscal year be

16 used for bonuses in excess of whatever amount the

17 Postal Service considers appropriate (if any).

18 ‘‘(4) CONSIDERATIONS RELATING TO THE POR19 TION OF PROFITS TO BE AVAILABLE FOR BO20 NUSES.—In any decision relating to what portion of

21 the available profits from any fiscal year shall be

22 available or used for purposes of the payment of bo23 nuses under this subsection, there shall be taken

24 into consideration—
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1 ‘‘(A) the duty on the part of the Postal

2 Service to provide efficient and economical post3 al services in accordance with the requirements

4 of section 101, section 403, and this chapter;

5 and

6 ‘‘(B) what portion of those profits (if any)

7 should be used—

8 ‘‘(i) to retire debts or other obliga9 tions of the Postal Service;

10 ‘‘(ii) to limit future increases in postal

11 rates or fees for products in the non12 competitive category of mail; or

13 ‘‘(iii) to carry out any other purpose.

14 ‘‘(f) DEDICATION OF FUNDS TOWARD REDUCING

15 RATES AND FEES.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any amounts ordered to be

17 set aside under subsection (d)(1) may not be used

18 for any purpose other than to defray increases in fu19 ture rates and fees for products in the noncompeti20 tive category of mail or to reduce the rates and fees

21 already in effect for such products.

22 ‘‘(2) COMPLIANCE.—Whenever an order under

23 subsection (d)(1) is issued, the Postal Service shall

24 include in its next comprehensive statement under

25 section 2401(b) (and each subsequent statement
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1 thereunder until the order has been fully complied

2 with)—

3 ‘‘(A) a statement of the measures which

4 have been or will be implemented in order to

5 comply with the order;

6 ‘‘(B) the amount of savings actually passed

7 on to mailers during the reporting period, as

8 compared to the estimated savings for such pe9 riod; and

10 ‘‘(C) what measures, if any, have been or

11 will be implemented in order to reconcile any

12 difference identified under subparagraph (B).

13 ‘‘(3) NONREDUNDANT INFORMATION.—Nothing

14 in paragraph (2) shall be considered to require that

15 the same information be reported if included in a

16 previous report under this subsection.

17 ‘‘(g) PROCEDURES.—The provisions of sections 556

18 and 557 of title 5 shall not apply to any review carried

19 out by the Commission under this section.

20 ‘‘(h) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Included in its

21 comprehensive statement under section 2401(b) for any

22 period shall be—

23 ‘‘(1) the name of each person receiving a bonus

24 during such period which would not have been allow25 able but for the provisions of subsection (e)(2)(C);
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1 ‘‘(2) the amount of the bonus; and

2 ‘‘(3) the amount by which the limitation re3 ferred to in subsection (e)(2)(C) was exceeded.’’.

4 (b) REPRESENTATION IN AN ANTITRUST ACTION.—

5 Section 409(d) of title 39, United States Code, is amended

6 by striking ‘‘(d) The’’ and inserting ‘‘(d)(1) Except in any

7 instance in which the Postal Service elects to employ attor8 neys under paragraph (2), the’’ and by adding at the end

9 the following:

10 ‘‘(2)(A) As used in this paragraph, the term ‘anti11 trust laws’ has the meaning given to it by section 3744(b).

12 ‘‘(B) The Postal Service may, in connection with any

13 litigation brought against the Postal Service under any of

14 the antitrust laws, employ attorneys by contract or other15 wise to conduct litigation on its behalf without regard to

16 any provision of paragraph (1).’’.

17 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

18 (1) Section 410(c)(4) of title 39, United States

19 Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘or 37’’ after ‘‘36’’.

20 (2) Section 409(a) of title 39, United States

21 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘section 3628’’ and in22 serting ‘‘section 3628 (or any provision of this title

23 incorporating such section by reference) or section

24 3723(g)’’.
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1 SEC. 1002. TERMINATION OF RATEMAKING AUTHORITY

2 UNDER CHAPTER 36 AND RELATED MATTERS.

3 (a) AUTHORITY TO FIX RATES AND CLASSES.—Sec4 tion 3621 of title 39, United States Code, is amended—

5 (1) in the first sentence by striking ‘‘this chap6 ter’’ and inserting ‘‘this chapter and chapter 37’’;

7 (2) by repealing the last 2 sentences.

8 (b) RATES AND FEES.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3622 of title 39,

10 United States Code, is repealed.

11 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The item relating

12 to section 3622 in the table of sections at the begin13 ning of chapter 36 of such title 39 is repealed.

14 (c) RECOMMENDED DECISIONS OF COMMISSION.—

15 Section 3624 of title 39, United States Code, is amend16 ed—

17 (1) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘section 3622

18 or 3623’’ and inserting ‘‘section 3623’’;

19 (2) by repealing subsection (c); and

20 (3) in subsection (d)—

21 (A) by striking ‘‘rate, fee, or’’; and

22 (B) by striking ‘‘section 3622 or 3623, as

23 the case may be.’’ and inserting ‘‘section

24 3623.’’.

25 (d) ACTION OF THE GOVERNORS.—Section 3625 of

26 title 39, United States Code, is amended—
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1 (1) in the third sentence of subsection (d)—

2 (A) by striking ‘‘(1)’’; and

3 (B) by striking ‘‘chapter, and (2)’’ and all

4 that follows through the period and inserting

5 ‘‘chapter and chapter 37, respectively.’’; and

6 (2) by amending subsection (f) to read as fol7 lows:

8 ‘‘(f) Except as otherwise provided in this title, the

9 Board shall determine—

10 ‘‘(1) the date on which any changes in the mail

11 classification schedule (whether made under this

12 chapter or chapter 37) shall become effective; and

13 ‘‘(2) the date on which new rates and fees

14 under chapter 37 shall become effective.’’.

15 (e) REDUCED-RATE CATEGORIES OF MAIL.—

16 (1) CONTINUED APPLICABILITY OF RELEVANT

17 PROVISIONS OF CHAPTER 36 FOR THE LIMITED PUR18 POSE OF COMPUTING ALTERNATIVE RATE LIMITA19 TIONS FOR NONCOMPETITIVE PRODUCTS.—Notwith20 standing any other provision of this Act (or any

21 amendment made by this Act), the rate of postage

22 established under subchapter II of chapter 37 of

23 title 39, United States Code, as amended by this

24 Act, for a class of mail or kind of mailer referred
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1 to in section 3626(a)(1) of such title may not, at

2 any time, exceed the lesser of—

3 (A) the maximum rate then otherwise al4 lowable under chapter 37 (determined as if this

5 subsection had not been enacted) for such class

6 of mail or kind of mailer; or

7 (B) the rate determined under paragraph

8 (2) for such class of mail or kind of mailer.

9 (2) DETERMINATION OF RATES WHICH WOULD

10 THEN OTHERWISE APPLY UNDER CHAPTER 36.—

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of para12 graph (1)(B), the United States Postal Service

13 shall determine, and subsequently revise when14 ever necessary in order to keep determinations

15 under this paragraph current, the rate of post16 age which would then otherwise apply with re17 spect to each class of mail or kind of mailer re18 ferred to in section 3626(a)(1) of such title 39.

19 (B) METHODOLOGY.—Subparagraph (A)

20 shall be carried out—

21 (i) by applying the provisions of para22 graphs (2) through (5) of section 3626(a)

23 and of section 3642 of such title 39; and

24 (ii) by using the then most recent in25 formation available to the Postal Service
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1 relating to costs attributable and institu2 tional costs (within the meaning of the

3 provisions referred to in clause (i)).

4 (3) LIMITATION UNDER THIS SUBSECTION TO

5 BE USED INSTEAD OF (AND TO BE TREATED AS)

6 THE LIMITATION UNDER SECTION 3722.—The maxi7 mum rate determined for a product under this sub8 section shall, for all purposes (except paragraph

9 (1)(A)), be used instead of (and shall be treated as)

10 the maximum rate allowable for such product under

11 section 3722 of such title 39.

12 (4) STATEMENT OF LIMITED PURPOSE.—Sec13 tion 3626(a) of such title 39 is amended by adding

14 at the end the following:

15 ‘‘(6) Neither this subsection nor section 3642 shall

16 have any force or effect, except for purposes of section

17 1002(e) of the Postal Reform Act of 1996. Nothing in the

18 preceding sentence shall be considered to affect any base19 line rate established pursuant to section 3701.’’.

20 (5) REGULATIONS.—The United States Postal

21 Service shall prescribe such regulations as may be

22 necessary to carry out the provisions of sections

23 3626 (including subsections (b) through (n) thereof)

24 and 3642 of such title 39 (as amended by this Act)

25 in a manner consistent with chapter 37 of such title
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1 39 (as amended by this Act) and with the purposes

2 of this Act.

3 (f) OTHER TEMPORARY RATES.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3641 of title 39,

5 United States Code, is amended—

6 (A) by repealing subsections (a) through

7 (d); and

8 (B) in subsection (f) by striking ‘‘in rates

9 of postage, and fees for postal services, or’’.

10 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—

11 (A)(i) The heading for section 3641 of

12 such title 39 is amended to read as follows:

13 ‘‘§ 3641. Temporary changes in classes’’.

14 (ii) The item relating to section 3641 in

15 the table of sections at the beginning of chapter

16 36 of such title 39 is amended to read as fol17 lows:

‘‘3641. Temporary changes in classes.’’.

18 (B)(i) The heading for subchapter III of

19 chapter 36 of such title 39 is amended to read

20 as follows:

21 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER II—TEMPORARY CLASSES’’.

22 (ii) The analysis for chapter 36 of such

23 title 39 is amended by striking the item relating

24 to subchapter II and inserting the following:
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1 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER II—TEMPORARY CLASSES’’.

2 (g) RATE AND SERVICE COMPLAINTS.—Section 3662

3 of title 39, United States Code, is amended to read as

4 follows:

5 ‘‘§ 3662. Rate and service complaints

6 ‘‘(a) Interested parties who believe the Postal Service

7 is charging rates which do not conform to the policies set

8 out in this title or who believe that they are not receiving

9 postal service in accordance with the policies of this title

10 may lodge a complaint with the Postal Rate Commission

11 in such form and in such manner as it may prescribe. The

12 Commission may in its discretion hold hearings on such

13 complaint.

14 ‘‘(b)(1) If the Commission, in a classification matter

15 covered by subchapter II, determines the complaint to be

16 justified, it shall, after proceedings in conformity with sec17 tion 3624, issue a recommended decision which shall be

18 acted upon in accordance with the provisions of section

19 3625 and subject to review in accordance with the provi20 sions of section 3628.

21 ‘‘(2) If a violation of a limitation under section 3722

22 or 3724(d) (relating to the maximum rate allowable for

23 products in the noncompetitive category of mail) or section

24 3742(b) (relating to requirements applicable with respect

25 to rates established for products in the competitive cat-
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1 egory of mail) is involved, it may issue an appropriate

2 order under section 3783.

3 ‘‘(3) If a matter other than a matter covered by para4 graph (1) or (2) is involved, and the Commission after

5 a hearing finds the complaint to be justified, it shall

6 render a public report thereon to the Postal Service which

7 shall take such action as it deems appropriate.’’.

8 (h) LIMITATIONS.—Section 3684 of title 39, United

9 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘or 34’’ and inserting

10 ‘‘34, or 37’’.

11 (i) MAIL CLASSIFICATION.—Section 3623 of title 39,

12 United States Code, is amended—

13 (1) by repealing subsection (a);

14 (2) in subsection (b) by striking ‘‘Following the

15 establishment of the mail classification schedule re16 quested under subsection (a) of this section, the’’

17 and inserting ‘‘The’’;

18 (3) in subsection (c) (in the matter before para19 graph (1)) by striking ‘‘this title’’ and inserting

20 ‘‘this title, subsection (e),’’; and

21 (4) by adding at the end the following:

22 ‘‘(e)(1) Any change under this subchapter in the mail

23 classification system shall be in accordance with the re24 quirements of paragraph (2).
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1 ‘‘(2) The requirements of this paragraph are as fol2 lows:

3 ‘‘(A) A product may not be reclassified from

4 the competitive to the noncompetitive category of

5 mail.

6 ‘‘(B) The reclassification of a product from one

7 basket to another basket of the noncompetitive cat8 egory of mail shall not be effective during a rate9 making cycle unless notice of the final decision on

10 the reclassification is given to the Postal Rate Com11 mission before the start of proceedings under section

12 3723(b) in connection with such cycle.

13 ‘‘(C)(i) A new product may not be made avail14 able to the public before it has been placed in—

15 ‘‘(I) either the competitive or the non16 competitive category of mail; and

17 ‘‘(II) if placed in the noncompetitive cat18 egory of mail, the appropriate basket thereof.

19 ‘‘(ii) Any decision as to whether a new product

20 should be placed in the competitive or the non21 competitive category of mail shall be made in accord22 ance with the requirements set forth in section

23 3743(b). Such requirements shall be specifically ad24 dressed in any statement required under section

25 3624(d) with respect to such decision.
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1 ‘‘(3) For purposes of this subsection—

2 ‘‘(A) the term ‘product’ has the meaning given

3 such term by section 3721(3);

4 ‘‘(B) the term ‘noncompetitive category of mail’

5 refers to the category of mail under subchapter II of

6 chapter 37;

7 ‘‘(C) the term ‘competitive category of mail’ re8 fers to the category of mail under subchapter III of

9 chapter 37;

10 ‘‘(D) the term ‘basket’ refers to a basket under

11 paragraph (3), (4), (5), or (6) of section 3723(a);

12 ‘‘(E) the term ‘ratemaking cycle’ has the mean13 ing given such term by section 3723(a)(1); and

14 ‘‘(F) the term ‘new product’ means a product

15 which, as of the effective date of this subsection, is

16 not available to the public through the Postal Serv17 ice.’’.

18 (j) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section and the amend19 ments made by this section shall become effective on the

20 effective date of the baseline rates and fees established

21 pursuant to section 3701 of title 39, United States Code,

22 as amended by section 1001.

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