IB 

Union Calendar No. 291 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2309 

[Report No. 112–363, Parts I and II] 

To restore the financial solvency of the United States Postal Service and 

to ensure the efficient and affordable nationwide delivery of mail. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 23, 2011 

Mr. ISSA (for himself and Mr. ROSS of Florida) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, 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 

JANUARY 17, 2012 

Reported from the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform with an 

amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

JANUARY 17, 2012 

Referral to the Committee on Rules extended for a period ending not later 

than March 1, 2012 

MARCH 1, 2012 

Referral to the Committee on Rules extended for a period ending not later 

than March 30, 2012 

MARCH 29, 2012 

Reported from the Committee on Rules with an amendment, committed to the 

Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered 

to be printed 

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[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in boldface roman] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on June 23, 2011] 

A BILL 

To restore the financial solvency of the United States Postal 

Service and to ensure the efficient and affordable nationwide delivery of mail. 

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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; REF4 ERENCES. 

5 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

6 ‘‘Postal Reform Act of 2011’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of this 

8 Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents; references. 

TITLE I—POSTAL SERVICE MODERNIZATION 

Subtitle A—Commission on Postal Reorganization 

Sec. 101. Short title. 

Sec. 102. Definitions. 

Sec. 103. Commission on Postal Reorganization. 

Sec. 104. Recommendations for closures and consolidations. 

Sec. 105. Implementation of closures and consolidations. 

Sec. 106. Congressional consideration of final CPR reports. 

Sec. 107. Nonappealability of decisions. 

Sec. 108. Rules of construction. 

Sec. 109. GAO study and report. 

Subtitle B—Other Provisions 

Sec. 111. Implementation of discretionary non-mail delivery days. 

Sec. 112. Efficient and flexible universal postal service. 

Sec. 113. Enhanced reporting on Postal Service efficiency. 

Sec. 114. Applicability of procedures relating to closures and consolidations. 

TITLE II—POSTAL SERVICE FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND 

MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE AUTHORITY 

Subtitle A—Establishment and Organization 

Sec. 201. Purposes. 

Sec. 202. Establishment of the Authority. 

Sec. 203. Membership and qualification requirements. 

Sec. 204. Organization. 

Sec. 205. Executive Director and staff. 

Sec. 206. Funding. 

Subtitle B—Powers of the Authority 

Sec. 211. Powers. 

Sec. 212. Exemption from liability for claims. 

Sec. 213. Treatment of actions arising under this title. 

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Sec. 214. Delivery point modernization. 

Subtitle C—Establishment and Enforcement of Financial Plan and Budget for 

the Postal Service 

Sec. 221. Development of financial plan and budget for the Postal Service. 

Sec. 222. Supplementary borrowing authority during a control period. 

Sec. 223. Process for submission and approval of financial plan and budget. 

Sec. 224. Responsibilities of the Authority. 

Sec. 225. Effect of finding noncompliance with financial plan and budget. 

Sec. 226. Recommendations regarding financial stability, etc. 

Sec. 227. Special rules for fiscal year in which control period commences. 

Sec. 228. Assistance in achieving financial stability, etc. 

Sec. 229. Obtaining reports. 

Sec. 230. Reports and comments. 

Subtitle D—Termination of a Control Period 

Sec. 231. Termination of control period, etc. 

Sec. 232. Congressional consideration of recommendation. 

TITLE III—POSTAL SERVICE WORKFORCE 

Subtitle A—General Provisions 

Sec. 301. Modifications relating to determination of pay comparability. 

Sec. 302. Limitation on postal contributions under FEGLI and FEHBP. 

Sec. 303. Repeal of provision relating to overall value of fringe benefits. 

Sec. 304. Applicability of reduction-in-force procedures. 

Sec. 305. Modifications relating to collective bargaining. 

Sec. 306. One-time transfer of net surplus postal retirement contributions. 

Subtitle B—Postal Service Workers’ Compensation Reform 

Sec. 311. Postal Service workers’ compensation reform. 

TITLE IV—POSTAL SERVICE REVENUE 

Sec. 401. Adequacy, efficiency, and fairness of postal rates. 

Sec. 402. Repeal of rate preferences for qualified political committees. 

Sec. 403. Rate preferences for nonprofit advertising. 

Sec. 404. Streamlined review of qualifying service agreements for competitive 

products. 

Sec. 405. Submission of service agreements for streamlined review. 

Sec. 406. Transparency and accountability for service agreements. 

Sec. 407. Nonpostal services. 

Sec. 408. Reimbursement of Alaska bypass mail costs. 

Sec. 409. Appropriations modernization. 

Sec. 410. Retiree health care benefit payment deferral. 

TITLE V—POSTAL CONTRACTING REFORM 

Sec. 501. Contracting provisions. 

Sec. 502. Technical amendment to definition. 

1 (c) REFERENCES.—Except as otherwise expressly pro2 vided, whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal is exmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 pressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section 

2 or other provision, the reference shall be considered to be 

3 made to a section or other provision of title 39, United 

4 States Code. 

5 TITLE I—POSTAL SERVICE 

6 MODERNIZATION 

7 Subtitle A—Commission on Postal 

8 Reorganization 

9 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

10 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Commission on Post11 al Reorganization Act’’ or the ‘‘CPR Act’’. 

12 SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS. 

13 For purposes of this title— 

14 (1) the term ‘‘Postal Service’’ means the United 

15 States Postal Service; 

16 (2) the term ‘‘postal retail facility’’ means a post 

17 office, post office branch, post office classified station, 

18 or other facility which is operated by the Postal Serv19 ice, and the primary function of which is to provide 

20 retail postal services; 

21 (3) the term ‘‘mail processing facility’’ means a 

22 processing and distribution center, processing and 

23 distribution facility, network distribution center, or 

24 other facility which is operated by the Postal Service, 

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1 and the primary function of which is to sort and 

2 process mail; 

3 (4) the term ‘‘district office’’ means the central 

4 office of an administrative field unit with responsi5 bility for postal operations in a designated geographic 

6 area (as defined under regulations, directives, or other 

7 guidance of the Postal Service, as in effect on June 

8 23, 2011); 

9 (5) the term ‘‘area office’’ means the central of10 fice of an administrative field unit with responsi11 bility for postal operations in a designated geographic 

12 area which is comprised of designated geographic 

13 areas as referred to in paragraph (4); 

14 (6) the term ‘‘baseline year’’ means the fiscal 

15 year last ending before the date of the enactment of 

16 this Act; and 

17 (7) the term ‘‘Member of Congress’’ has the 

18 meaning given such term by section 2106 of title 5, 

19 United States Code. 

20 SEC. 103. COMMISSION ON POSTAL REORGANIZATION. 

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There shall be established, not 

22 later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this 

23 Act, an independent commission to be known as the ‘‘Com24 mission on Postal Reorganization’’ (hereinafter in this sec25 tion referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

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1 (b) DUTIES.—The Commission shall carry out the du2 ties specified for it in this subtitle. 

3 (c) MEMBERS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall be com5 posed of 5 members who shall be appointed by the 

6 President, and of whom— 

7 (A) 1 shall be appointed from among indi8 viduals recommended by the Speaker of the 

9 House of Representatives; 

10 (B) 1 shall be appointed from among indi11 viduals recommended by the majority leader of 

12 the Senate; 

13 (C) 1 shall be appointed from among indi14 viduals recommended by the minority leader of 

15 the House of Representatives; 

16 (D) 1 shall be appointed from among indi17 viduals recommended by the minority leader of 

18 the Senate; and 

19 (E) 1 shall be appointed from among indi20 viduals recommended by the Comptroller Gen21 eral. 

22 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Members of the Commis24 sion shall be chosen to represent the public intermstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 est generally, and shall not be representatives of 

2 specific interests using the Postal Service. 

3 (B) INELIGIBILITY.—An individual may 

4 not be appointed to serve as a member of the 

5 Commission if such individual is a Member of 

6 Congress or served as an employee of the Postal 

7 Service or the Postal Regulatory Commission, or 

8 of a labor organization representing employees of 

9 the Postal Service or the Postal Regulatory Com10 mission, during the 3-year period ending on the 

11 date of such appointment. 

12 (3) POLITICAL AFFILIATION.—Not more than 3 

13 members of the Commission may be of the same polit14 ical party. 

15 (d) TERMS.—Each member of the Commission shall be 

16 appointed for the life of the Commission and may be re17 moved only for cause. 

18 (e) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commission shall 

19 be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. 

20 (f) CHAIRMAN.—The President shall, at the time of 

21 making appointments under subsection (c), designate one 

22 of the members to serve as chairman of the Commission. 

23 (g) COMPENSATION AND TRAVEL EXPENSES.— 

24 (1) COMPENSATION.— 

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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

2 subparagraph (B), each member of the Commis3 sion shall be paid at a rate equal to the daily 

4 equivalent of $40,000 per year for each day (in5 cluding travel time) during which the member is 

6 engaged in the actual performance of duties vest7 ed in the Commission. 

8 (B) EXCEPTION.—Any member of the Com9 mission who is a full-time officer or employee of 

10 the United States may not receive additional 

11 pay, allowances, or benefits by reason of such 

12 member’s service on the Commission. 

13 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member shall re14 ceive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 

15 subsistence, in accordance with applicable provisions 

16 of subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States 

17 Code. 

18 (h) DIRECTOR.—The Commission shall have a Direc19 tor who shall be appointed by the Commission. The Director 

20 shall be paid at the rate of basic pay for level IV of the 

21 Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United 

22 States Code. An appointment under this subsection shall 

23 be subject to the requirements of subsection (c)(2). 

24 (i) ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.—With the approval of 

25 the Commission, the Director may appoint and fix the pay 

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1 of such additional personnel as the Director considers ap2 propriate. Such additional personnel may be appointed 

3 without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States 

4 Code, governing appointments in the competitive service, 

5 and may be paid without regard to the provisions of chapter 

6 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating 

7 to classification and General Schedule pay rates, except 

8 that an individual so appointed may not receive pay at 

9 a rate of basic pay in excess of the rate of basic pay payable 

10 to the Director. An individual appointed under this sub11 section shall serve at the pleasure of the Director. 

12 (j) PROVISIONS RELATING TO DETAILS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon request of the Director, 

14 the head of any Federal department or agency may 

15 detail any of the personnel of such department or 

16 agency to the Commission to assist the Commission in 

17 carrying out its duties under this subtitle. Notwith18 standing any other provision of law, to provide con19 tinuity in the work of the Commission, such details 

20 may be extended beyond 1 year at the request of the 

21 Director. 

(2) NUMERICAL LIMITATION.—Not more than 1 22 ⁄3

23 of the personnel of the Commission may consist of the 

24 number of individuals on detail from the Postal Serv25 ice and the Postal Regulatory Commission combined. 

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1 (3) OTHER LIMITATIONS.—A person may not be 

2 detailed to the Commission from the Postal Service or 

3 the Postal Regulatory Commission if such person par4 ticipated personally and substantially on any matter, 

5 within the Postal Service or the Postal Regulatory 

6 Commission, concerning the preparation of rec7 ommendations for closures or consolidations of postal 

8 facilities under this subtitle. No employee of the Post9 al Service or the Postal Regulatory Commission (in10 cluding a detailee to the Postal Service or the Postal 

11 Regulatory Commission) may— 

12 (A) prepare any report concerning the effec13 tiveness, fitness, or efficiency of the performance, 

14 on the staff of the Commission, of any person de15 tailed from the Postal Service or the Postal Reg16 ulatory Commission to such staff; 

17 (B) review the preparation of such a report; 

18 or 

19 (C) approve or disapprove such a report. 

20 (k) OTHER AUTHORITIES.— 

21 (1) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Commis22 sion may procure by contract, to the extent funds are 

23 available, temporary or intermittent services under 

24 section 3109 of title 5, United States Code. 

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1 (2) LEASING, ETC.—The Commission may lease 

2 space and acquire personal property to the extent 

3 funds are available. 

4 (l) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In order to 

5 carry out this section, there are authorized to be appro6 priated out of the Postal Service Fund $20,000,000, which 

7 funds shall remain available until expended. 

8 (m) FINANCIAL REPORTING.— 

9 (1) AUDIT AND EXPENDITURES.—The Commis10 sion shall be responsible for issuing annual financial 

11 statements and for establishing and maintaining ade12 quate controls over its financial reporting. 

13 (2) INTERNAL AUDITS.—The Commission shall 

14 maintain an adequate internal audit of its financial 

15 transactions. 

16 (3) ANNUAL CERTIFICATION.—The Commission 

17 shall obtain an annual certification for each fiscal 

18 year from an independent, certified public accounting 

19 firm of the accuracy of its financial statements. 

20 (4) COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—The accounts and 

21 operations of the Commission shall be audited by the 

22 Comptroller General and reports thereon made to the 

23 Congress to the extent and at such times as the Comp24 troller General may determine. 

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1 (n) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate 

2 60 days after submitting its final reports under section 

3 104(d)(3). 

4 SEC. 104. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CLOSURES AND CON5 SOLIDATIONS. 

6 (a) PLAN FOR THE CLOSURE OR CONSOLIDATION OF

7 POSTAL RETAIL FACILITIES.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after 

9 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Postal Serv10 ice, in consultation with the Postal Regulatory Com11 mission, shall develop and submit to the Commission 

12 on Postal Reorganization a plan for the closure or 

13 consolidation of such postal retail facilities as the 

14 Postal Service considers necessary and appropriate so 

15 that the total annual costs attributable to the oper16 ation of postal retail facilities will be, for each fiscal 

17 year beginning at least 2 years after the date on 

18 which the Commission transmits to Congress its final 

19 report under subsection (d)(3)(A) relating to this sub20 section, at least $1,000,000,000 less than the cor21 responding total annual costs for the baseline year. 

22 (2) CONTENTS.—The plan shall include— 

23 (A) a list of the postal retail facilities pro24 posed for closure or consolidation under this sub25 title; 

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1 (B) a proposed schedule under which— 

2 (i) closures and consolidations of postal 

3 retail facilities would be carried out under 

4 this subtitle; and 

5 (ii) all closures and consolidations of 

6 postal retail facilities under this subtitle 

7 would be completed by not later than 2 

8 years after the date on which the Commis9 sion transmits to Congress its final report 

10 under subsection (d)(3)(A) relating to such 

11 plan; 

12 (C) the estimated total annual cost savings 

13 attributable to the proposed closures and consoli14 dations described in the plan; 

15 (D) the criteria and process used to develop 

16 the information described in subparagraphs (A) 

17 and (B); 

18 (E) the methodology and assumptions used 

19 to derive the estimates described in subparagraph 

20 (C); and 

21 (F) any changes to the processing, transpor22 tation, delivery, or other postal operations an23 ticipated as a result of the proposed closures and 

24 consolidations described in the plan. 

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1 (3) CONSISTENCY.—The methodology and as2 sumptions used to derive the cost estimates described 

3 in paragraph (2)(C) shall be consistent with the 

4 methodology and assumptions which would have been 

5 used by the Postal Service if those closures and con6 solidations had instead taken effect in the baseline 

7 year. 

8 (b) PLAN FOR THE CLOSURE OR CONSOLIDATION OF

9 MAIL PROCESSING FACILITIES.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 300 days after 

11 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Postal Serv12 ice, in consultation with the Inspector General of the 

13 United States Postal Service, shall develop and sub14 mit to the Commission on Postal Reorganization a 

15 plan for the closure or consolidation of such mail 

16 processing facilities as the Postal Service considers 

17 necessary and appropriate so that— 

18 (A) the total annual costs attributable to the 

19 operation of mail processing facilities will be, for 

20 each fiscal year beginning at least 2 years after 

21 the date on which the Commission transmits to 

22 Congress its final report under subsection 

23 (d)(3)(A) relating to this subsection, at least 

24 $2,000,000,000 less than the corresponding total 

25 annual costs for the baseline year; and 

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1 (B) the Postal Service has, for fiscal years 

2 beginning at least 2 years after the date on 

3 which the Commission transmits to Congress its 

4 final report under subsection (d)(3)(A) relating 

5 to this subsection, no more than 10 percent excess 

6 mail processing capacity. 

7 (2) CONTENTS.—The plan shall include— 

8 (A) a list of the mail processing facilities 

9 proposed for closure or consolidation under this 

10 subtitle; 

11 (B) a proposed schedule under which— 

12 (i) closures and consolidations of mail 

13 processing facilities would be carried out 

14 under this subtitle; and 

15 (ii) all closures and consolidations of 

16 mail processing facilities under this subtitle 

17 would be completed by not later than 2 

18 years after the date on which the Commis19 sion transmits to Congress its final report 

20 under subsection (d)(3)(A) relating to such 

21 plan; 

22 (C) the estimated total annual cost savings 

23 attributable to the proposed closures and consoli24 dations described in the plan; 

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1 (D) the criteria and process used to develop 

2 the information described in subparagraphs (A) 

3 and (B); 

4 (E) the methodology and assumptions used 

5 to derive the estimates described in subparagraph 

6 (C); and 

7 (F) any changes to the processing, transpor8 tation, delivery, or other postal operations an9 ticipated as a result of the proposed closures and 

10 consolidations described in the plan. 

11 (3) CONSISTENCY.—The methodology and as12 sumptions used to derive the cost estimates described 

13 in paragraph (2)(C) shall be consistent with the 

14 methodology and assumptions which would have been 

15 used by the Postal Service if those closures and con16 solidations had instead taken effect in the baseline 

17 year. 

18 (4) EXCESS MAIL PROCESSING CAPACITY.—The 

19 Commission shall cause to be published in the Federal 

20 Register notice of a proposed definition of ‘‘excess 

21 mail processing capacity’’ for purposes of this section 

22 within 120 days after the date of the enactment of 

23 this Act, and shall provide a period of 30 days for 

24 public comment on the proposed definition. Not later 

25 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 

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1 Act, the Commission shall issue and cause to be pub2 lished in the Federal Register a final definition of 

3 ‘‘excess mail processing capacity’’ for purposes of this 

4 section. Such definition shall include an estimate of 

5 the total amount of excess mail processing capacity in 

6 mail processing facilities as of the date of the enact7 ment of this Act. 

8 (5) UNDERUTILIZED MAIL PROCESSING FACILI9 TIES.—In developing a plan under this subsection, 

10 the Postal Service may include the estimated total 

11 cost savings that would result from moving mail proc12 essing operations to any mail processing facility that, 

13 as of the date of introduction of this Act— 

14 (A) is not currently used by the Postal 

15 Service; and 

16 (B) is capable of processing mail to the 

17 Postal Service’s standards. 

18 (c) PLAN FOR THE CLOSURE OR CONSOLIDATION OF

19 AREA AND DISTRICT OFFICES.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 300 days after 

21 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Postal Serv22 ice, in consultation with the Inspector General of the 

23 United States Postal Service, shall develop and sub24 mit to the Commission on Postal Reorganization a 

25 plan for the closure or consolidation of such area and 

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1 district offices as the Postal Service considers nec2 essary and appropriate so that the combined total 

3 number of area and district offices will be, for each 

4 fiscal year beginning at least 2 years after the date 

5 on which the Commission transmits to Congress its 

6 final report under subsection (d)(3)(A) relating to 

7 this subsection, at least 30 percent less than the cor8 responding combined total for the baseline year. 

9 (2) CONTENTS.—The plan shall include— 

10 (A) a list of the area and district offices 

11 proposed for closure or consolidation under this 

12 subtitle; 

13 (B) a proposed schedule under which— 

14 (i) closures and consolidations of area 

15 and district offices would be carried out 

16 under this subtitle; and 

17 (ii) all closures and consolidations of 

18 area and district offices under this subtitle 

19 would be completed by not later than 2 

20 years after the date on which the Commis21 sion transmits to Congress its final report 

22 under subsection (d)(3)(A) relating to such 

23 plan; 

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1 (C) the estimated total annual cost savings 

2 attributable to the proposed closures and consoli3 dations described in the plan; 

4 (D) the criteria and process used to develop 

5 the information described in subparagraphs (A) 

6 and (B); 

7 (E) the methodology and assumptions used 

8 to derive the estimates described in subparagraph 

9 (C); and 

10 (F) any changes to the processing, transpor11 tation, delivery, or other postal operations an12 ticipated as a result of the proposed closures and 

13 consolidations described in the plan. 

14 (3) CONSISTENCY.—The methodology and as15 sumptions used to derive the cost estimates described 

16 in paragraph (2)(C) shall be consistent with the 

17 methodology and assumptions which would have been 

18 used by the Postal Service if those closures and con19 solidations had instead taken effect in the baseline 

20 year. 

21 (d) REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMIS22 SION.— 

23 (1) INITIAL REPORTS.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—After receiving the plan 

25 of the Postal Service under subsection (a), (b), or 

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1 (c), the Commission on Postal Reorganization 

2 shall transmit to Congress and publish in the 

3 Federal Register a report under this paragraph, 

4 which shall contain the Commission’s findings 

5 based on a review and analysis of such plan, to6 gether with the Commission’s initial rec7 ommendations for closures and consolidations of 

8 postal facilities, mail processing facilities, or 

9 area and district offices (as the case may be). 

10 (B) EXPLANATION OF CHANGES.—The Com11 mission shall explain and justify in its report 

12 any recommendations made by the Commission 

13 that are different from those contained in the 

14 Postal Service plan to which such report per15 tains. 

16 (C) DEADLINES.—A report of the Commis17 sion under this paragraph shall be transmitted 

18 and published, in accordance with subparagraph 

19 (A), within— 

20 (i) if the report pertains to the plan 

21 under subsection (a), 60 days after the date 

22 on which the Commission receives such 

23 plan; or 

24 (ii) if the report pertains to the plan 

25 under subsection (b) or (c), 90 days after 

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1 the date on which the Commission receives 

2 such plan. 

3 (2) PUBLIC HEARINGS.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—After receiving the plan 

5 of the Postal Service under subsection (a), (b), or 

6 (c), the Commission on Postal Reorganization 

7 shall conduct at least 5 public hearings on such 

8 plan. The hearings shall be conducted in geo9 graphic areas chosen so as to reflect a broadly 

10 representative range of needs and interests. 

11 (B) TESTIMONY.—All testimony before the 

12 Commission at a public hearing conducted under 

13 this paragraph shall be given under oath. 

14 (C) DEADLINES.—All hearings under this 

15 paragraph shall be completed within 60 days 

16 after the date as of which the Commission satis17 fies the requirements of paragraph (1) with re18 spect to such plan. 

19 (3) FINAL REPORTS.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—After satisfying the re21 quirements of paragraph (2) with respect to the 

22 plan of the Postal Service under subsection (a), 

23 (b), or (c) (as the case may be), the Commission 

24 shall transmit to Congress and publish in the 

25 Federal Register a report under this paragraph 

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1 containing a summary of the hearings conducted 

2 with respect to such plan, together with the Com3 mission’s final recommendations for closures and 

4 consolidations of postal facilities, mail proc5 essing facilities, or area and district offices (as 

6 the case may be). 

7 (B) APPROVAL.—Recommendations under 

8 subparagraph (A) shall not be considered to be 

9 final recommendations unless they are made 

10 with— 

11 (i) except as provided in clause (ii), 

12 the concurrence of at least 4 members of the 

13 Commission; or 

14 (ii) to the extent that the requirements 

15 of subsection (b)(1)(A) or (c)(1) are not met, 

16 the concurrence of all sitting members, but 

17 only if the shortfall (relative to the require18 ments of subsection (b)(1)(A) or (c)(1), as 

19 the case may be) does not exceed 25 percent. 

20 (C) CONTENTS.—A report under this para21 graph shall include— 

22 (i) the information required by para23 graph (2) of subsection (a), (b), or (c) (as 

24 the case may be); and 

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1 (ii) a description of the operations that 

2 will be affected by the closure or consolida3 tion and the facilities or offices which will 

4 be performing or ceasing to perform such 

5 operations as a result of such closure or con6 solidation. 

7 (D) DEADLINES.—A report of the Commis8 sion under this paragraph shall be transmitted 

9 and published, in accordance with subparagraph 

10 (A), within 60 days after the date as of which 

11 the Commission satisfies the requirements of 

12 paragraph (2) with respect to the plan involved. 

13 (e) LIMITATION RELATING TO POSTAL RETAIL FACILI14 TIES IDENTIFIED FOR CLOSURE OR CONSOLIDATION.— 

15 (1) APPLICABILITY.—This subsection applies to 

16 any plan of the Postal Service under subsection (a) 

17 and any report of the Commission under subsection 

18 (d) (whether initial or final) pertaining to such plan. 

19 (2) LIMITATION.—Of the total number of postal 

20 retail facilities recommended for closure or consolida21 tion (combined) under any plan or report to which 

22 this subsection applies, the number of such facilities 

23 that are within the K or L cost ascertainment group24 ing (combined) shall account for not more than 10 

25 percent of such total number. 

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1 (3) REFERENCES.—For purposes of this sub2 section— 

3 (A) any reference to a ‘‘cost ascertainment 

4 grouping’’ shall be considered to refer to a cost 

5 ascertainment grouping as described in section 

6 123.11 of the Postal Operations Manual (as in 

7 effect on June 23, 2011); and 

8 (B) any reference to a particular category 

9 (designated by a letter) of a cost ascertainment 

10 grouping shall be considered to refer to such cat11 egory, as described in such section 123.11 (as in 

12 effect on the date specified in subparagraph (A)). 

13 (f) ANNUAL REPORTS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be included in the 

15 next 5 annual reports submitted under section 2402 

16 of title 39, United States Code, beginning with the re17 port covering any period of time occurring after the 

18 date of enactment of this Act, the following (shown on 

19 a State-by-State basis): 

20 (A) In connection with closures and consoli21 dations taking effect in the year covered by the 

22 report, the total number of individuals separated 

23 from employment with the Postal Service, in24 cluding, if separation occurs in a year other 

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1 than the year in which the closing or consolida2 tion occurs, the year in which separation occurs. 

3 (B) Of the total numbers under subpara4 graph (A)— 

5 (i) the number and percentage com6 prising preference eligibles or veterans; and 

7 (ii) the number and percentage com8 prising individuals other than preference 

9 eligibles or veterans. 

10 (C) Of the total numbers under subpara11 graph (A), the number and percentage reem12 ployed in a position within the general com13 muting area of the facility or office involved (in14 cluding, if reemployment occurs in a year other 

15 than the year in which the closing or consolida16 tion occurs, the year in which reemployment oc17 curs)— 

18 (i) with the Postal Service; or 

19 (ii) with an employer other than the 

20 Postal Service. 

21 (D) The methodology and assumptions used 

22 to derive the estimates described in subparagraph 

23 (B). 

24 (E) The criteria and process used to develop 

25 the information described in subparagraph (C). 

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1 (2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub2 section— 

3 (A) the term ‘‘preference eligible’’ has the 

4 meaning given such term in section 2108(3) of 

5 title 5, United States Code; and 

6 (B) the term ‘‘veteran’’ has the meaning 

7 given such term in section 101(2) of title 38, 

8 United States Code. 

9 SEC. 105. IMPLEMENTATION OF CLOSURES AND CONSOLI10 DATIONS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the Postal 

12 Service shall— 

13 (1) close or consolidate (as the case may be) the 

14 facilities and offices recommended by the Commission 

15 in each of its final reports under section 104(d)(3); 

16 and 

17 (2) carry out those closures and consolidations in 

18 accordance with the timetable recommended by the 

19 Commission in such report, except that in no event 

20 shall any such closure or consolidation be completed 

21 later than 2 years after the date on which such report 

22 is submitted to Congress. 

23 (b) CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Postal Service may not 

25 carry out any closure or consolidation recommended 

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1 by the Commission in a final report if a joint resolu2 tion disapproving the recommendations of the Com3 mission is enacted, in accordance with section 106, 

4 before the earlier of— 

5 (A) the end of the 30-day period beginning 

6 on the date on which the Commission transmits 

7 those recommendations to Congress under section 

8 104(d)(3); or 

9 (B) the adjournment of the Congress sine 

10 die for the session during which such report is 

11 transmitted. 

12 (2) DAYS OF SESSION.—For purposes of para13 graph (1) and subsections (a) and (c) of section 106, 

14 the days on which either House of Congress is not in 

15 session because of an adjournment of more than 7 

16 days to a day certain shall be excluded in the com17 putation of a period. 

18 SEC. 106. CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION OF FINAL CPR 

19 REPORTS. 

20 (a) TERMS OF THE RESOLUTION.—For purposes of 

21 this subtitle, the term ‘‘joint resolution’’, as used with re22 spect to a report under section 104(d)(3), means only a 

23 joint resolution— 

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1 (1) which is introduced within the 10-day period 

2 beginning on the date on which such report is received 

3 by Congress; 

4 (2) the matter after the resolving clause of which 

5 is as follows: ‘‘That Congress disapproves the rec6 ommendations of the Commission on Postal Reorga7 nization, submitted by such Commission on ll, 

8 and pertaining to the closure or consolidation of 

9 ll.’’, the first blank space being filled in with the 

10 appropriate date and the second blank space being 

11 filled in with ‘‘postal retail facilities’’, ‘‘mail proc12 essing facilities’’, or ‘‘area and district offices’’ (as the 

13 case may be); 

14 (3) the title of which is as follows: ‘‘Joint resolu15 tion disapproving the recommendations of the Com16 mission on Postal Reorganization.’’; and 

17 (4) which does not have a preamble. 

18 (b) REFERRAL.—A resolution described in subsection 

19 (a) that is introduced in the House of Representatives or 

20 the Senate shall be referred to the appropriate committees 

21 of the House of Representatives or the Senate, respectively. 

22 (c) DISCHARGE.—If the committee to which a resolu23 tion described in subsection (a) is referred has not reported 

24 such resolution (or an identical resolution) by the end of 

25 the 20-day period beginning on the date on which the Commstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 mission transmits the report (to which such resolution per2 tains) to Congress under section 104(d)(3), such committee 

3 shall, at the end of such period, be discharged from further 

4 consideration of such resolution, and such resolution shall 

5 be placed on the appropriate calendar of the House in6 volved. 

7 (d) CONSIDERATION.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—On or after the third day 

9 after the date on which the committee to which such 

10 a resolution is referred has reported, or has been dis11 charged (under subsection (c)) from further consider12 ation of, such a resolution, it is in order (even though 

13 a previous motion to the same effect has been dis14 agreed to) for any Member of the respective House to 

15 move to proceed to the consideration of the resolution. 

16 A Member may make the motion only on the day 

17 after the calendar day on which the Member an18 nounces to the House concerned the Member’s inten19 tion to make the motion, except that, in the case of 

20 the House of Representatives, the motion may be 

21 made without such prior announcement if the motion 

22 is made by direction of the committee to which the 

23 resolution was referred. All points of order against the 

24 resolution (and against consideration of the resolu25 tion) are waived. The motion is highly privileged in 

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1 the House of Representatives and is privileged in the 

2 Senate and is not debatable. The motion is not subject 

3 to amendment, or to a motion to postpone, or to a 

4 motion to proceed to the consideration of other busi5 ness. A motion to reconsider the vote by which the 

6 motion is agreed to or disagreed to shall not be in 

7 order. If a motion to proceed to the consideration of 

8 the resolution is agreed to, the respective House shall 

9 immediately proceed to consideration of the joint reso10 lution without intervening motion, order, or other 

11 business, and the resolution shall remain the unfin12 ished business of the respective House until disposed 

13 of. 

14 (2) DEBATE.—Debate on the resolution, and on 

15 all debatable motions and appeals in connection 

16 therewith, shall be limited to not more than 2 hours, 

17 which shall be divided equally between those favoring 

18 and those opposing the resolution. An amendment to 

19 the resolution is not in order. A motion further to 

20 limit debate is in order and not debatable. A motion 

21 to postpone, or a motion to proceed to the consider22 ation of other business, or a motion to recommit the 

23 resolution is not in order. A motion to reconsider the 

24 vote by which the resolution is agreed to or disagreed 

25 to is not in order. 

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1 (3) VOTE ON FINAL PASSAGE.—Immediately fol2 lowing the conclusion of the debate on a resolution de3 scribed in subsection (a) and a single quorum call at 

4 the conclusion of the debate if requested in accordance 

5 with the rules of the appropriate House, the vote on 

6 final passage of the resolution shall occur. 

7 (4) APPEALS.—Appeals from the decisions of the 

8 Chair relating to the application of the rules of the 

9 Senate or the House of Representatives, as the case 

10 may be, to the procedure relating to a resolution de11 scribed in subsection (a) shall be decided without de12 bate. 

13 (e) CONSIDERATION BY OTHER HOUSE.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—If, before the passage by one 

15 House of a resolution of that House described in sub16 section (a), that House receives from the other House 

17 a resolution (described in subsection (a)) relating to 

18 the same report, then the following procedures shall 

19 apply: 

20 (A) The resolution of the other House shall 

21 not be referred to a committee and may not be 

22 considered in the House receiving it except in the 

23 case of final passage as provided in subpara24 graph (B)(ii). 

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1 (B) With respect to the resolution described 

2 in subsection (a) (relating to the report in ques3 tion) of the House receiving the resolution— 

4 (i) the procedure in that House shall be 

5 the same as if no resolution (relating to the 

6 same report) had been received from the 

7 other House; but 

8 (ii) the vote on final passage shall be 

9 on the resolution of the other House. 

10 (2) DISPOSITION OF A RESOLUTION.—Upon dis11 position of the resolution received from the other 

12 House, it shall no longer be in order to consider the 

13 resolution that originated in the receiving House. 

14 (f) RULES OF THE SENATE AND HOUSE.—This section 

15 is enacted by Congress— 

16 (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the 

17 Senate and House of Representatives, respectively, 

18 and as such it is deemed a part of the rules of each 

19 House, respectively, but applicable only with respect 

20 to the procedure to be followed in that House in the 

21 case of a resolution described in subsection (a), and 

22 it supersedes other rules only to the extent that it is 

23 inconsistent with such rules; and 

24 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional 

25 right of either House to change the rules (so far as remstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 lating to the procedure of that House) at any time, 

2 in the same manner, and to the same extent as in the 

3 case of any other rule of that House. 

4 SEC. 107. NONAPPEALABILITY OF DECISIONS. 

5 (a) TO PRC.—The closing or consolidation of any fa6 cility or office under this subtitle may not be appealed to 

7 the Postal Regulatory Commission under section 404(d) or 

8 any other provision of title 39, United States Code, or be 

9 the subject of an advisory opinion issued by the Postal Reg10 ulatory Commission under section 3661 of such title. 

11 (b) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—No process, report, rec12 ommendation, or other action of the Commission on Postal 

13 Reorganization shall be subject to judicial review. 

14 SEC. 108. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 

15 (a) CONTINUED AVAILABILITY OF AUTHORITY TO

16 CLOSE OR CONSOLIDATE POSTAL FACILITIES.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this subtitle shall 

18 be considered to prevent the Postal Service from clos19 ing or consolidating any postal facilities, in accord20 ance with otherwise applicable provisions of law, ei21 ther before or after the implementation of any closures 

22 or consolidations under this subtitle. 

23 (2) COORDINATION RULE.—No appeal or deter24 mination under section 404(d) of title 39, United 

25 States Code, or any other provision of law shall 

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1 delay, prevent, or otherwise affect any closure or con2 solidation under this subtitle. 

3 (b) INAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The provisions of law identi5 fied in paragraph (2)— 

6 (A) shall not apply to any closure or con7 solidation carried out under this subtitle; and 

8 (B) shall not be taken into account for pur9 poses of carrying out section 103 or 104. 

10 (2) PROVISIONS IDENTIFIED.—The provisions of 

11 law under this paragraph are— 

12 (A) section 101(b) of title 39, United States 

13 Code; and 

14 (B) section 404(d) of title 39, United States 

15 Code. 

16 SEC. 109. GAO STUDY AND REPORT. 

17 (a) STUDY.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 

18 enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 

19 States shall conduct a study on the effects, with respect to 

20 the unemployment rate of minority communities, of the pro21 posed closures and consolidations of postal retail facilities, 

22 mail processing facilities, and area or district offices under 

23 this subtitle. 

24 (b) REPORT.—Upon completion of the study required 

25 under subsection (a), the Comptroller General of the United 

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1 States shall submit a report to Congress regarding the find2 ings of such study. 

3 Subtitle B—Other Provisions 

4 SEC. 111. IMPLEMENTATION OF DISCRETIONARY NON-MAIL 

5 DELIVERY DAYS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 404 is amended by insert7 ing after subsection (e) the following: 

8 ‘‘(f)(1) The Postmaster General may, with respect to 

9 any year for which 6-day delivery is otherwise required, 

10 declare up to 12 non-mail delivery days. Not later than 1 

11 month before the beginning of the year, the Postmaster Gen12 eral shall submit to the Board of Governors a report listing 

13 the non-mail delivery days in such year. 

14 ‘‘(2) A non-mail delivery day under this subsection 

15 shall be a day other than— 

16 ‘‘(A) a Sunday; 

17 ‘‘(B) a legal public holiday listed in section 

18 6103(a) of title 5 or any other day declared to be a 

19 holiday by Federal statute or Executive order; or 

20 ‘‘(C) during the 30-day period that ends on the 

21 date of a regularly scheduled general election for Fed22 eral office. 

23 ‘‘(3) Any day which is declared under this subsection 

24 to be a non-mail delivery day— 

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1 ‘‘(A) shall, for purposes of mail delivery and 

2 such other postal operations as the Postal Service 

3 may by regulation prescribe, be treated as if it were 

4 a Sunday; except that 

5 ‘‘(B) an employee of the Postal Service (other 

6 than one who is prevented from working on such day 

7 by reason of this subsection) shall be entitled to the 

8 same pay and benefits for that day as if this sub9 section had not been enacted. 

10 ‘‘(4)(A) The 6-day mail delivery requirement shall not 

11 apply with respect to a week in which a non-mail delivery 

12 day under this subsection occurs. 

13 ‘‘(B) The authority to declare a non-mail delivery day 

14 under this subsection shall be considered to be within the 

15 right of the Postal Service to determine the methods, means, 

16 and personnel by which postal operations are to be con17 ducted. 

18 ‘‘(5) Not less than 6 months after the date of enactment 

19 of this subsection, the Postal Service may submit a proposal 

20 under section 3661 for a nationwide change in service to 

21 reduce mail delivery from 6 days to 5 days each week. Not22 withstanding any other provision of law, the Postal Service 

23 shall maintain 6-day delivery service as the standard mail 

24 delivery schedule until 90 days following the rendering of 

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1 an advisory opinion on 5-day delivery by the Postal Regu2 latory Commission.’’. 

3 SEC. 112. EFFICIENT AND FLEXIBLE UNIVERSAL POSTAL 

4 SERVICE. 

5 (a) POSTAL POLICY.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 101(b) is amended to 

7 read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(b) The Postal Service shall provide effective and reg9 ular postal services to rural areas, communities, and small 

10 towns where post offices are not self-sustaining.’’. 

11 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Clause (iii) of 

12 section 404(d)(2)(A) is amended to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(iii) whether such closing or consolidation 

14 is consistent with the policy of the Government, 

15 as stated in section 101(b), that the Postal Serv16 ice shall provide effective and regular postal 

17 services to rural areas, communities, and small 

18 towns where post offices are not self-sustaining;’’. 

19 (b) GENERAL DUTY.—Paragraph (3) of section 403(b) 

20 is amended to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(3) to ensure that postal patrons throughout the 

22 Nation will, consistent with reasonable economies of 

23 postal operations, have ready access to essential postal 

24 services.’’. 

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1 (c) PRC REVIEW OF DETERMINATIONS TO CLOSE OR

2 CONSOLIDATE A POST OFFICE.— 

3 (1) DEADLINE FOR REVIEW.—Section 404(d)(5) 

4 is amended by striking ‘‘120 days’’ and inserting ‘‘60 

5 days’’. 

6 (2) EXCLUSION FROM REVIEW.—Section 404(d) 

7 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(7)(A) The appeals process set forth in paragraph (5) 

9 shall not apply to a determination of the Postal Service 

10 to close a post office if there is located, within 2 miles of 

11 such post office, a qualified contract postal unit. 

12 ‘‘(B) For purposes of this paragraph— 

13 ‘‘(i) the term ‘contract postal unit’ means a store 

14 or other place of business which— 

15 ‘‘(I) is not owned or operated by the Postal 

16 Service; and 

17 ‘‘(II) in addition to its usual operations, 

18 provides postal services to the general public 

19 under contract with the Postal Service; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘qualified contract postal unit’, as 

21 used in connection with a post office, means a con22 tract postal unit which— 

23 ‘‘(I) begins to provide postal services to the 

24 general public during the period— 

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1 ‘‘(aa) beginning 1 year before the date 

2 on which the closure or consolidation of 

3 such post office is scheduled to take effect; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(bb) ending on the 15th day after the 

6 date on which the closure or consolidation of 

7 such post office is scheduled to take effect; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(II) has not, pursuant to subparagraph 

10 (A), served as the basis for exempting any other 

11 post office from the appeals process set forth in 

12 paragraph (5). 

13 ‘‘(C)(i) If the contract postal unit (which is providing 

14 postal services that had been previously provided by the post 

15 office that was closed) does not continue to provide postal 

16 services, as required by subparagraph (B)(i)(II), for at least 

17 the 2-year period beginning on the date on which such post 

18 office was closed, the contract postal unit shall be subject 

19 to a closure determination by the Postal Service to decide 

20 whether a post office must be reopened within the area (de21 limited by the 2-mile radius referred to in subparagraph 

22 (A)). 

23 ‘‘(ii) A decision under clause (i) not to reopen a post 

24 office may be appealed to the Postal Regulatory Commis25 sion under procedures which the Commission shall by regumstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 lation prescribe. Such procedures shall be based on para2 graph (5), except that, for purposes of this clause, para3 graph (5)(C) shall be applied by substituting ‘in violation 

4 of section 101(b), leaving postal patrons without effective 

5 and regular access to postal services’ for ‘unsupported by 

6 substantial evidence on the record’.’’. 

7 (3) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by 

8 this subsection shall not apply with respect to any 

9 appeal, notice of which is received by the Postal Reg10 ulatory Commission before the date of the enactment 

11 of this Act (determined applying the rules set forth in 

12 section 404(d)(6) of title 39, United States Code). 

13 (d) EXPEDITED PROCEDURES.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3661 is amended by 

15 adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(d)(1) The Commission shall issue its opinion within 

17 90 days after the receipt of any proposal (as referred to 

18 in subsection (b)) concerning— 

19 ‘‘(A) the closing or consolidation of postal retail 

20 facilities (as that term is defined in section 102(2) of 

21 the Postal Reform Act of 2011) to a degree that will 

22 generally affect service on a nationwide or substan23 tially nationwide basis; or 

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1 ‘‘(B) an identical or substantially identical pro2 posal on which the Commission issued an opinion 

3 within the preceding 5 years. 

4 ‘‘(2) If necessary in order to comply with the 90-day 

5 requirement under paragraph (1), the Commission may 

6 apply expedited procedures which the Commission shall by 

7 regulation prescribe.’’. 

8 (2) REGULATIONS.—The Postal Regulatory Com9 mission shall prescribe any regulations necessary to 

10 carry out the amendment made by paragraph (1) 

11 within 90 days after the date of the enactment of this 

12 Act. 

13 (3) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by 

14 this subsection shall apply with respect to any pro15 posal received by the Postal Regulatory Commission 

16 on or after the earlier of— 

17 (A) the 90th day after the date of the enact18 ment of this Act; or 

19 (B) the effective date of the regulations 

20 under paragraph (2). 

21 SEC. 113. ENHANCED REPORTING ON POSTAL SERVICE EF22 FICIENCY. 

23 Section 3652(a) is amended— 

24 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ after the 

25 semicolon; 

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1 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at 

2 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

3 (3) by adding after paragraph (2) the following: 

4 ‘‘(3) which shall provide the overall change in 

5 Postal Service productivity and the resulting effect of 

6 such change on overall Postal Service costs during 

7 such year, using such methodologies as the Commis8 sion shall by regulation prescribe.’’. 

9 SEC. 114. APPLICABILITY OF PROCEDURES RELATING TO 

10 CLOSURES AND CONSOLIDATIONS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 404(d) is amended by add12 ing after paragraph (7) (as added by section 112(c)(2)) the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(8) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘post of15 fice’ means a post office and any other facility described 

16 in section 102(2) of the Postal Reform Act of 2011.’’. 

17 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by sub18 section (a) shall be effective with respect to any closure or 

19 consolidation, the proposed effective date of which occurs on 

20 or after the 60th day following the date of enactment of 

21 this Act. 

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1 TITLE II—POSTAL SERVICE FI2 NANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY 

3 AND MANAGEMENT ASSIST4 ANCE AUTHORITY 

5 Subtitle A—Establishment and 

6 Organization 

7 SEC. 201. PURPOSES. 

8 (a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this title are as fol9 lows: 

10 (1) To eliminate budget deficits and cash short11 ages of the Postal Service through strategic financial 

12 planning, sound budgeting, accurate revenue forecasts, 

13 and careful spending. 

14 (2) To ensure the universal service mandate de15 tailed in section 101 of title 39, United States Code, 

16 is maintained during a period of fiscal emergency. 

17 (3) To conduct necessary investigations and 

18 studies to determine the fiscal status and operational 

19 efficiency of the Postal Service. 

20 (4) To assist the Postal Service in— 

21 (A) restructuring its organization and 

22 workforce to bring expenses in line with dimin23 ishing revenue and generate sufficient profits for 

24 capital investment and repayment of debt; 

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1 (B) meeting all fiscal obligations to the 

2 Treasury of the United States; and 

3 (C) ensuring the appropriate and efficient 

4 delivery of postal services. 

5 (5) To provide the Postal Service with a tem6 porary increase in its borrowing authority to enable 

7 the Postal Service to complete necessary restructuring. 

8 (6) To ensure the long-term financial, fiscal, and 

9 economic vitality and operational efficiency of the 

10 Postal Service. 

11 (b) RESERVATION OF POWERS.—Nothing in this title 

12 may be construed— 

13 (1) to relieve any obligations existing as of the 

14 date of the enactment of this Act of the Postal Service 

15 to the Treasury of the United States; or 

16 (2) to limit the authority of Congress to exercise 

17 ultimate legislative authority over the Postal Service. 

18 SEC. 202. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE AUTHORITY. 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There shall be established, 

20 upon the commencement of any control period, an entity 

21 to be known as the ‘‘Postal Service Financial Responsibility 

22 and Management Assistance Authority’’ (hereinafter in this 

23 title referred to as the ‘‘Authority’’). 

24 (b) CONTROL PERIOD.— 

25 (1) COMMENCEMENT OF A CONTROL PERIOD.— 

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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of this 

2 title, a control period commences whenever the 

3 Postal Service has been in default to the Treas4 ury of the United States, with respect to any 

5 debts, obligations, loans, bonds, notes, or other 

6 form of borrowing, or any scheduled payments to 

7 any fund in the Treasury of the United States, 

8 for a period of at least 30 days. 

9 (B) ADVISORY PERIOD.—For purposes of 

10 the first control period, the Authority shall oper11 ate exclusively in an advisory period for two full 

12 fiscal years after the commencement of the con13 trol period. At the completion of the second full 

14 fiscal year or any year thereafter during the 

15 length of the control period, if the Postal Serv16 ice’s annual deficit is greater than 

17 $2,000,000,000, the Authority shall be fully in 

18 force according to the provisions of this title. 

19 During an advisory period— 

20 (i) the Authority is not authorized to 

21 employ any staff and the Postal Service 

22 shall designate a Level-Two Postal Service 

23 Executive as a liaison with the members of 

24 the Authority; 

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1 (ii) any provision of this title that re2 quires the Authority or the Postal Service to 

3 take any action shall be considered only to 

4 take effect in the event the Authority comes 

5 into full force and that effective date shall 

6 be considered to be the date of the com7 mencement of the control period for the pur8 poses any provision not mention in this 

9 subparagraph; and 

10 (iii) the Postal Service shall have ac11 cess to the funds available under section 222 

12 according to applicable provisions of this 

13 Act, subject to the approval of the Postal 

14 Service Board of Governors without the ap15 proval of the Authority. 

16 (2) TREATMENT OF AUTHORITIES AND RESPON17 SIBILITIES OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS, ETC. DUR18 ING A CONTROL PERIOD.—During a control period— 

19 (A) all authorities and responsibilities of 

20 the Board of Governors, and the individual Gov21 ernors, of the Postal Service under title 39, 

22 United States Code, and any other provision of 

23 law shall be assumed by the Authority; and 

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1 (B) the Board of Governors, and the indi2 vidual Governors, may act in an advisory capac3 ity only. 

4 (3) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN POSTAL SERVICE

5 EXECUTIVES DURING A CONTROL PERIOD.— 

6 (A) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this 

7 section, the term ‘‘Level-Two Postal Service Ex8 ecutive’’ includes the Postmaster General, the 

9 Deputy Postmaster General, and all other offi10 cers or employees of the Postal Service in level 

11 two of the Postal Career Executive Service (or 

12 the equivalent). 

13 (B) TREATMENT.—Notwithstanding any 

14 other provision of law or employment contract, 

15 during a control period— 

16 (i) all Level-Two Postal Service Execu17 tives shall serve at the pleasure of the Au18 thority; 

19 (ii) the duties and responsibilities of 

20 all Level-Two Postal Service Executives, as 

21 well as the terms and conditions of their 

22 employment (including their compensation), 

23 shall be subject to determination or redeter24 mination by the Authority; 

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1 (iii) total compensation of a Level-Two 

2 Postal Service Executive may not, for any 

3 year in such control period, exceed the an4 nual rate of basic pay payable for level I of 

5 the Executive Schedule under section 5312 

6 of title 5, United States Code, for such year; 

7 for purposes of this clause, the term ‘‘total 

8 compensation’’ means basic pay, bonuses, 

9 awards, and all other monetary compensa10 tion; 

11 (iv) the percentage by which the rate of 

12 basic pay of a Level-Two Postal Service Ex13 ecutive is increased during any year in 

14 such control period may not exceed the per15 centage change in the Consumer Price Index 

16 for All Urban Consumers, unadjusted for 

17 seasonal variation, for the most recent 12- 

18 month period available, except that, in the 

19 case of a Level-Two Postal Service Execu20 tive who has had a significant change in job 

21 responsibilities, a greater change shall be al22 lowable if approved by the Authority; 

23 (v) apart from basic pay, a Level-Two 

24 Postal Service Executive may not be af25 forded any bonus, award, or other monetary 

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1 compensation for any fiscal year in the con2 trol period if expenditures of the Postal 

3 Service for such fiscal year exceeded reve4 nues of the Postal Service for such fiscal 

5 year (determined in accordance with gen6 erally accepted accounting principles); and 

7 (vi) no deferred compensation may be 

8 paid, accumulated, or recognized in the case 

9 of any Level-Two Postal Service Executive, 

10 with respect to any year in a control pe11 riod, which is not generally paid, accumu12 lated, or recognized in the case of employees 

13 of the United States (outside of the Postal 

14 Service) in level I of the Executive Schedule 

15 under section 5312 of title 5, United States 

16 Code, with respect to such year. 

17 (C) BONUS AUTHORITY.—Section 3686 of 

18 title 39, United States Code, shall, during the pe19 riod beginning on the commencement date of the 

20 control period and ending on the termination 

21 date of the control period— 

22 (i) be suspended with respect to all 

23 Level-Two Postal Service Executives; but 

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1 (ii) remain in effect for all other offi2 cers and employees of the Postal Service 

3 otherwise covered by this section. 

4 (4) TERMINATION OF A CONTROL PERIOD.—Sub5 ject to subtitle D, a control period terminates upon 

6 certification by the Authority, with the concurrence of 

7 the Secretary of the Treasury and the Director of the 

8 Office of Personnel Management, that— 

9 (A) for 2 consecutive fiscal years (occurring 

10 after the date of the enactment of this Act), ex11 penditures of the Postal Service did not exceed 

12 revenues of the Postal Service (as determined in 

13 accordance with generally accepted accounting 

14 principles); 

15 (B) the Authority has approved a Postal 

16 Service financial plan and budget that shows ex17 penditures of the Postal Service not exceeding 

18 revenues of the Postal Service (as so determined) 

19 for the fiscal year to which such budget pertains 

20 and each of the next 3 fiscal years; and 

21 (C) the Postal Service financial plan and 

22 budget (as referred to in subparagraph (B)) in23 cludes plans— 

24 (i) for the repayment of any supple25 mentary debt under section 222, in equal 

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1 annual installments over a period of not 

2 more than 5 years; and 

3 (ii) to properly fund Postal Service 

4 pensions and retiree health benefits in ac5 cordance with law. 

6 SEC. 203. MEMBERSHIP AND QUALIFICATION REQUIRE7 MENTS. 

8 (a) MEMBERSHIP.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Authority shall consist of 

10 5 members appointed by the President who meet the 

11 qualifications described in subsection (b), except that 

12 the Authority may take any action under this title at 

13 any time after the President has appointed 4 of its 

14 members. 

15 (2) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Of the 5 members so 

16 appointed— 

17 (A) 1 shall be appointed from among indi18 viduals recommended by the Speaker of the 

19 House of Representatives; 

20 (B) 1 shall be appointed from among indi21 viduals recommended by the majority leader of 

22 the Senate; 

23 (C) 1 shall be appointed from among indi24 viduals recommended by the minority leader of 

25 the House of Representatives; 

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1 (D) 1 shall be appointed from among indi2 viduals recommended by the minority leader of 

3 the Senate; and 

4 (E) 1 shall be appointed from among indi5 viduals recommended by the Comptroller Gen6 eral. 

7 (3) POLITICAL AFFILIATION.—No more than 3 

8 members of the Authority may be of the same political 

9 party. 

10 (4) CHAIR.—The President shall designate 1 of 

11 the members of the Authority as the Chair of the Au12 thority. 

13 (5) SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING DEADLINE

14 FOR APPOINTMENT.—It is the sense of Congress that 

15 the President should appoint the members of the Au16 thority as soon as practicable after the date on which 

17 a control period commences, but no later than 30 

18 days after such date. 

19 (6) TERM OF SERVICE.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

21 subparagraph (B), each member of the Authority 

22 shall be appointed for a term of 3 years. 

23 (B) APPOINTMENT FOR TERM FOLLOWING

24 INITIAL TERM.—As designated by the President 

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1 diately following the initial term, of the members 

2 appointed for the term immediately following the 

3 initial term— 

4 (i) 1 member shall be appointed for a 

5 term of 1 year; 

6 (ii) 2 members shall be appointed for 

7 a term of 2 years; and 

8 (iii) 2 members shall be appointed for 

9 a term of 3 years. 

10 (C) REMOVAL.—The President may remove 

11 any member of the Authority only for cause. 

12 (D) NO COMPENSATION FOR SERVICE.— 

13 Members of the Authority shall serve without 

14 pay, but may receive reimbursement for any rea15 sonable and necessary expenses incurred by rea16 son of service on the Authority. 

17 (b) QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—An individual meets the 

19 qualifications for membership on the Authority if the 

20 individual— 

21 (A) has significant knowledge and expertise 

22 in finance, management, and the organization or 

23 operation of businesses having more than 500 

24 employees; and 

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1 (B) represents the public interest generally, 

2 is not a representative of specific interests using 

3 or belonging to the Postal Service, and does not 

4 have any business or financial interest in any 

5 enterprise in the private sector of the economy 

6 engaged in the delivery of mail matter. 

7 (2) SPECIFIC CONDITIONS.—An individual shall 

8 not be considered to satisfy paragraph (1)(B) if, at 

9 any time during the 5-year period ending on the date 

10 of appointment, such individual— 

11 (A) has been an officer, employee, or private 

12 contractor with the Postal Service or the Postal 

13 Regulatory Commission; or 

14 (B) has served as an employee or contractor 

15 of a labor organization representing employees of 

16 the Postal Service or the Postal Regulatory Com17 mission. 

18 SEC. 204. ORGANIZATION. 

19 (a) ADOPTION OF BY-LAWS FOR CONDUCTING BUSI20 NESS.—As soon as practicable after the appointment of its 

21 members, the Authority shall adopt by-laws, rules, and pro22 cedures governing its activities under this title, including 

23 procedures for hiring experts and consultants. Upon adop24 tion, such by-laws, rules, and procedures shall be submitted 

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1 by the Authority to the Postmaster General, the President, 

2 and Congress. 

3 (b) CERTAIN ACTIVITIES REQUIRING APPROVAL OF

4 MAJORITY OF MEMBERS.—Under its by-laws, the Authority 

5 may conduct its operations under such procedures as it con6 siders appropriate, except that an affirmative vote of a ma7 jority of the members of the Authority shall be required in 

8 order for the Authority to— 

9 (1) approve or disapprove a financial plan and 

10 budget as described by subtitle C; 

11 (2) implement recommendations on financial 

12 stability and management responsibility under sec13 tion 226; 

14 (3) take any action under authority of section 

15 202(b)(3)(B)(i); or 

16 (4) initiate the establishment of a new workers’ 

17 compensation system for the Postal Service in accord18 ance with section 311. 

19 SEC. 205. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND STAFF. 

20 (a) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The Authority shall have 

21 an Executive Director who shall be appointed by the Chair 

22 with the consent of the Authority. The Executive Director 

23 shall be paid at a rate determined by the Authority, except 

24 that such rate may not exceed the rate of basic pay payable 

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1 for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 

2 of title 5, United States Code. 

3 (b) STAFF.—With the approval of the Authority, the 

4 Executive Director may appoint and fix the pay of such 

5 additional personnel as the Executive Director considers 

6 appropriate, except that no individual appointed by the 

7 Executive Director may be paid at a rate greater than the 

8 rate of pay for the Executive Director. Personnel appointed 

9 under this subsection shall serve at the pleasure of the Exec10 utive Director. 

11 (c) INAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL SERVICE

12 LAWS.—The Executive Director and staff of the Authority 

13 may be appointed without regard to the provisions of title 

14 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the com15 petitive service, and paid without regard to the provisions 

16 of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title 

17 relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates. 

18 (d) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon request of 

19 the Chair, the head of any Federal department or agency 

20 may detail, on a reimbursable or nonreimbursable basis, 

21 any of the personnel of such department or agency to the 

22 Authority to assist it in carrying out its duties under this 

23 title. 

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1 SEC. 206. FUNDING. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro3 priated, out of the Postal Service Fund, such sums as may 

4 be necessary for the Authority. In requesting an appropria5 tion under this section for a fiscal year, the Authority shall 

6 prepare and submit to the Congress under section 2009 of 

7 title 39, United States Code, a budget of the Authority’s 

8 expenses, including expenses for facilities, supplies, com9 pensation, and employee benefits not to exceed $10,000,000. 

10 In years in which a control period commences, the Author11 ity shall submit a budget within 30 days of the appoint12 ment of the members of the Authority. 

13 (b) AMENDMENT TO SECTION 2009.—Section 2009 is 

14 amended in the next to last sentence— 

15 (1) by striking ‘‘, and (3)’’ and inserting ‘‘, (3)’’; 

16 and 

17 (2) by striking the period and inserting ‘‘, and 

18 (4) the Postal Service Financial Responsibility and 

19 Management Assistance Authority requests to be ap20 propriated, out of the Postal Service Fund, under sec21 tion 206 of the Postal Reform Act of 2011.’’. 

22 Subtitle B—Powers of the Authority 

23 SEC. 211. POWERS. 

24 (a) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any mem25 ber or agent of the Authority may, if authorized by the Aumstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 thority, take any action which the Authority is authorized 

2 by this section to take. 

3 (b) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA FROM THE POSTAL

4 SERVICE.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 

5 Authority may secure copies of such records, documents, in6 formation, or data from any entity of the Postal Service 

7 necessary to enable the Authority to carry out its respon8 sibilities under this title. At the request of the Authority, 

9 the Authority shall be granted direct access to such informa10 tion systems, records, documents, information, or data as 

11 will enable the Authority to carry out its responsibilities 

12 under this title. The head of the relevant entity of the Postal 

13 Service shall provide the Authority with such information 

14 and assistance (including granting the Authority direct ac15 cess to automated or other information systems) as the Au16 thority requires under this subsection. 

17 (c) GIFTS, BEQUESTS, AND DEVISES.—The Authority 

18 may accept, use, and dispose of gifts, bequests, or devises 

19 of services or property, both real and personal, for the pur20 pose of aiding or facilitating the work of the Authority. 

21 Gifts, bequests, or devises of money and proceeds from sales 

22 of other property received as gifts, bequests, or devises shall 

23 be deposited in such account as the Authority may establish 

24 and shall be available for disbursement upon order of the 

25 Chair. 

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1 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—Upon the 

2 request of the Authority, the Administrator of General Serv3 ices may provide to the Authority, on a reimbursable basis, 

4 the administrative support services necessary for the Au5 thority to carry out its responsibilities under this title. 

6 (e) AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO CONTRACTS.—The 

7 Executive Director may enter into such contracts as the Ex8 ecutive Director considers appropriate (subject to the ap9 proval of the Chair) to carry out the Authority’s respon10 sibilities under this title. 

11 (f) CIVIL ACTIONS TO ENFORCE POWERS.—The Au12 thority may seek judicial enforcement of its authority to 

13 carry out its responsibilities under this title. 

14 (g) PENALTIES.— 

15 (1) ADMINISTRATIVE DISCIPLINE.—Any officer 

16 or employee of the Postal Service who, by action or 

17 inaction, fails to comply with any directive or other 

18 order of the Authority under section 226(c) shall be 

19 subject to appropriate administrative discipline, in20 cluding suspension from duty without pay or removal 

21 from office, by order of either the Postmaster General 

22 or the Authority. 

23 (2) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Whenever an 

24 officer or employee of the Postal Service takes or fails 

25 to take any action which is noncompliant with any 

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1 directive or other order of the Authority under section 

2 226(c), the Postmaster General shall immediately re3 port to the Authority all pertinent facts, together with 

4 a statement of any actions taken by the Postmaster 

5 General or proposed by the Postmaster General to be 

6 taken under paragraph (1). 

7 (h) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress 

8 that, in making determinations that affect prior collective 

9 bargaining agreements and prior agreements on workforce 

10 reduction, any rightsizing effort within the Postal Service 

11 that results in a decrease in the number of postal employees 

12 should ensure that such employees can receive their full pen13 sions, are fully compensated, and that the collective bar14 gaining agreements and prior agreements on workforce re15 duction that they entered into with Postal Service manage16 ment are fully honored. 

17 SEC. 212. EXEMPTION FROM LIABILITY FOR CLAIMS. 

18 The Authority and its members may not be liable for 

19 any obligation of or claim against the Postal Service result20 ing from actions taken to carry out this title. 

21 SEC. 213. TREATMENT OF ACTIONS ARISING UNDER THIS 

22 TITLE. 

23 (a) JURISDICTION ESTABLISHED IN UNITED STATES

24 COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIR25 CUIT.—A person (including the Postal Service) adversely 

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1 affected or aggrieved by an order or decision of the Author2 ity may, within 30 days after such order or decision be3 comes final, institute proceedings for review thereof by fil4 ing a petition in the United States Court of Appeals for 

5 the District of Columbia Circuit. The court shall review the 

6 order or decision in accordance with section 706 of title 

7 5, United States Code, and chapter 158 and section 2112 

8 of title 28, United States Code. Judicial review shall be lim9 ited to the question of whether the Authority acted in excess 

10 of its statutory authority, and determinations of the Au11 thority with respect to the scope of its statutory authority 

12 shall be upheld if based on a permissible construction of 

13 the statutory authority. 

14 (b) PROMPT APPEAL TO THE SUPREME COURT.—Not15 withstanding any other provision of law, review by the Su16 preme Court of the United States of a decision of the Court 

17 of Appeals which is issued pursuant to subsection (a) may 

18 be had only if the petition for such review is filed within 

19 10 days after the entry of such decision. 

20 (c) TIMING OF RELIEF.—No order of any court grant21 ing declaratory or injunctive relief against the Authority, 

22 including relief permitting or requiring the obligation, bor23 rowing, or expenditure of funds, shall take effect during the 

24 pendency of the action before such court, during the time 

25 appeal may be taken, or (if appeal is taken) during the 

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1 period before the court has entered its final order disposing 

2 of such action. 

3 (d) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION.—It shall be the duty 

4 of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of 

5 Columbia and the Supreme Court of the United States to 

6 advance on the docket and to expedite to the greatest pos7 sible extent the disposition of any matter brought under 

8 subsection (a). 

9 SEC. 214. DELIVERY POINT MODERNIZATION. 

10 (a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 

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

12 or other receptacle to which mail is delivered; 

13 (2) the term ‘‘primary mode of delivery’’ means 

14 the typical method by which the Postal Service deliv15 ers letter mail to the delivery point of a postal pa16 tron; 

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

18 mode of mail delivery whereby mail is placed into a 

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

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

21 include curbside or centralized delivery; 

22 (4) the term ‘‘centralized delivery’’ means a pri23 mary mode of mail delivery whereby mail receptacles 

24 are grouped or clustered at a single location; and 

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1 (5) the term ‘‘curbside delivery’’ means a pri2 mary mode of mail delivery whereby a mail recep3 tacle is situated at the edge of a roadway or curb. 

4 (b) REDUCTION IN TOTAL NUMBER OF DELIVERY

5 POINTS.—The Authority shall, during the first control pe6 riod commencing under this title, take such measures as 

7 may be necessary and appropriate so that— 

8 (1) in each fiscal year beginning at least 2 years 

9 after the commencement date of such first control pe10 riod— 

11 (A) the total number of delivery points for 

12 which door delivery is the primary mode of mail 

13 delivery does not exceed 25 percent of the cor14 responding number for the fiscal year last ending 

15 before such commencement date; and 

16 (B) the total annual costs attributable to 

17 door delivery, centralized delivery, and curbside 

18 delivery combined will be at least $3,500,000,000 

19 less than the corresponding total annual costs for 

20 the fiscal year last ending before such commence21 ment date; and 

22 (2) in each fiscal year beginning at least 4 years 

23 after the commencement date of such first control pe24 riod, the total number of delivery points for which 

25 door delivery is the primary mode of mail delivery 

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1 does not exceed 10 percent of the corresponding num2 ber for the fiscal year last ending before such com3 mencement date. 

4 In making any decision under this subsection involving the 

5 continuation or termination of door delivery with respect 

6 to any locality or addresses within a locality, the Authority 

7 shall consider rates of poverty, population density, histor8 ical value, whether such locality is in a registered historic 

9 district (as that term is defined in section 47(c)(3)(B) of 

10 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986), whether such address 

11 is another place on the National Register of Historic Places, 

12 and other appropriate factors. 

13 (c) ORDER OF PRECEDENCE.—In order to carry out 

14 subsection (b)— 

15 (1) in making conversions from door delivery to 

16 other primary modes of delivery— 

17 (A) conversion shall be to centralized deliv18 ery; except 

19 (B) if subparagraph (A) is impractical, 

20 conversion shall be to curbside delivery; and 

21 (2) in the case of delivery points established after 

22 the commencement date of the first control period 

23 under this title— 

24 (A) centralized delivery shall be the pri25 mary mode of delivery; except 

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1 (B) if subparagraph (A) is impractical, 

2 curbside delivery shall be the primary mode of 

3 delivery. 

4 (d) WAIVER FOR PHYSICAL HARDSHIP.—The Postal 

5 Service shall establish and maintain a waiver program 

6 under which, upon application, door delivery may be con7 tinued or provided in any case in which— 

8 (1) centralized or curbside delivery would, but 

9 for this subsection, otherwise be the primary mode of 

10 delivery; and 

11 (2) door delivery is necessary in order to avoid 

12 causing significant physical hardship to a postal pa13 tron. 

14 (e) CENTRALIZED DELIVERY PLACEMENT.—It is the 

15 sense of the Congress that the Postal Service should nego16 tiate with State and local governments, businesses, local as17 sociations, and property owners to place centralized deliv18 ery units in locations that maximize delivery efficiency, 

19 ease of use for postal patrons, and respect for private prop20 erty rights. 

21 (f) VOUCHER PROGRAM.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Postal Service may, in 

23 accordance with such standards and procedures as the 

24 Postal Service shall by regulation prescribe, provide 

25 for a voucher program under which— 

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1 (A) upon application, the Postal Service 

2 may defray all or any portion of the costs associ3 ated with conversion from door delivery under 

4 this section which would otherwise be borne by 

5 postal patrons; and 

6 (B) the Postal Service Competitive Products 

7 Fund is made available for that purpose. 

8 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

9 2011(a)(2) is amended— 

10 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

11 after the semicolon; 

12 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the 

13 period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

14 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(C) vouchers under the program described in 

16 section 214(f)(1) of the Postal Reform Act of 2011.’’. 

17 (g) AUDITS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector General of the 

19 United States Postal Service— 

20 (A) shall conduct an annual audit to deter21 mine whether the Postal Service is in compliance 

22 with the requirements of subsection (b); and 

23 (B) shall make such recommendations as the 

24 Inspector General considers appropriate to im25 prove the administration of such subsection. 

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1 (2) SUBMISSION.—The audit and recommenda2 tions under paragraph (1) shall be submitted by the 

3 Inspector General to— 

4 (A) the Committee on Oversight and Gov5 ernment Reform of the House of Representatives; 

6 and 

7 (B) the Committee on Homeland Security 

8 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate. 

9 (3) INFORMATION.—Upon request, the Postal 

10 Service shall furnish such information as the Inspec11 tor General may require in order to carry out this 

12 subsection. 

13 (h) SAVINGS REPORT.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—In the event that a reduction 

15 in door delivery points is required under this section, 

16 the Authority shall submit a report to Congress, not 

17 later than 1 year after the date on which such reduc18 tions commence, describing the cost savings realized to 

19 the date of such submission and the estimated addi20 tional cost savings anticipated as a result of such re21 ductions occurring after such submission. The report 

22 shall include— 

23 (A) the measures taken to achieve the real24 ized savings and the assumptions and methodolomstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 gies used to compute the estimated cost savings; 

2 and 

3 (B) information with respect to what addi4 tional measures might be necessary to achieve the 

5 cost savings required under this section. 

6 (2) REDUCTION LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding 

7 any other provision of this Act, if the Authority deter8 mines that the measures described pursuant to sub9 paragraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) are not fea10 sible, not cost effective, or otherwise detrimental to the 

11 mail delivery policy of the Postal Service, the Author12 ity shall submit a report to Congress stating any leg13 islative changes recommended for door delivery mod14 ernization procedures under this section, including 

15 increasing flexibility of this section’s requirements or 

16 the postponement of further conversion. 

17 Subtitle C—Establishment and En18 forcement of Financial Plan and 

19 Budget for the Postal Service 

20 SEC. 221. DEVELOPMENT OF FINANCIAL PLAN AND BUDGET 

21 FOR THE POSTAL SERVICE. 

22 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF FINANCIAL PLAN AND BUDG23 ET.—For each fiscal year for which the Postal Service is 

24 in a control period, the Postmaster General shall develop 

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1 and submit to the Authority a financial plan and budget 

2 for the Postal Service in accordance with this section. 

3 (b) CONTENTS OF FINANCIAL PLAN AND BUDGET.— 

4 A financial plan and budget for the Postal Service for a 

5 fiscal year shall specify the budget for the Postal Service 

6 as required by section 2009 of title 39, United States Code, 

7 for the applicable fiscal year and the next 3 fiscal years, 

8 in accordance with the following requirements: 

9 (1) The financial plan and budget shall meet the 

10 requirements described in subsection (c) to promote 

11 the financial stability of the Postal Service. 

12 (2) The financial plan and budget shall— 

13 (A) include the Postal Service’s annual 

14 budget program (under section 2009 of title 39, 

15 United States Code) and the Postal Service’s 

16 plan commonly referred to as its ‘‘Integrated Fi17 nancial Plan’’; 

18 (B) describe lump-sum expenditures by all 

19 categories traditionally used by the Postal Serv20 ice; 

21 (C) describe capital expenditures (together 

22 with a schedule of projected capital commitments 

23 and cash outlays of the Postal Service and pro24 posed sources of funding); 

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1 (D) contain estimates of overall debt (both 

2 outstanding and anticipated to be issued); and 

3 (E) contain cash flow and liquidity fore4 casts for the Postal Service at such intervals as 

5 the Authority may require. 

6 (3) The financial plan and budget shall include 

7 a statement describing methods of estimations and 

8 significant assumptions. 

9 (4) The financial plan and budget shall include 

10 any other provisions and shall meet such other cri11 teria as the Authority considers appropriate to meet 

12 the purposes of this title, including provisions for— 

13 (A) changes in personnel policies and levels 

14 for each component of the Postal Service; and 

15 (B) management initiatives to promote pro16 ductivity, improvement in the delivery of serv17 ices, or cost savings. 

18 (c) REQUIREMENTS TO PROMOTE FINANCIAL STA19 BILITY.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The requirements to promote 

21 the financial stability of the Postal Service applicable 

22 to the financial plan and budget for a fiscal year are 

23 as follows: 

24 (A) In each fiscal year (following the first 

25 full fiscal year) in a control period, budgeted exmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 penditures of the Postal Service for the fiscal 

2 year involved may not exceed budgeted revenues 

3 of the Postal Service for the fiscal year involved. 

4 (B) In each fiscal year in a control period, 

5 the Postal Service shall make continuous, sub6 stantial progress towards long-term fiscal sol7 vency and shall have substantially greater net 

8 income than in the previous fiscal year. 

9 (C) The Postal Service shall provide for the 

10 orderly liquidation of any supplementary debt 

11 under section 222. 

12 (D) The financial plan and budget shall as13 sure the continuing long-term financial stability 

14 of the Postal Service, as indicated by factors such 

15 as the efficient management of the Postal Serv16 ice’s workforce and the effective provision of serv17 ices by the Postal Service. 

18 (2) APPLICATION OF SOUND BUDGETARY PRAC19 TICES.—In meeting the requirement described in 

20 paragraph (1) with respect to a financial plan and 

21 budget for a fiscal year, the Postal Service shall apply 

22 sound budgetary practices, including reducing costs 

23 and other expenditures, improving productivity, in24 creasing revenues, or a combination of such practices. 

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1 (3) ASSUMPTIONS BASED ON CURRENT LAW.—In 

2 meeting the requirements described in paragraph (1) 

3 with respect to a financial plan and budget for a fis4 cal year, the Postal Service shall base estimates of 

5 revenues and expenditures on Federal law as in effect 

6 at the time of the preparation of such financial plan 

7 and budget. 

8 SEC. 222. SUPPLEMENTARY BORROWING AUTHORITY DUR9 ING A CONTROL PERIOD. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the commencement of a con11 trol period, subject to the approval of the Authority, the 

12 Postal Service is authorized to borrow money and issue and 

13 sell such obligations as may be necessary to carry out the 

14 purposes of this title, to the same extent, in the same man15 ner, and subject to the same terms and conditions as if the 

16 maximum amount allowable under the provisions of section 

17 2005(a)(2) of title 39, United States Code, for the fiscal year 

18 involved were equal to the maximum amount which (but 

19 for this section) would otherwise be allowable under such 

20 provisions, increased by $10,000,000,000. The authoriza21 tion to issue obligations under this section shall extend for 

22 a period of not more than 10 years beginning on the date 

23 of commencement of a control period, as described in section 

24 202(b). At the end of such a 10-year period, the Postal Serv25 ice shall dispose of real property of the Postal Service genermstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 ating sufficient proceeds to repay any outstanding obliga2 tion incurred under this subsection in its entirety. 

3 (b) EXCLUSION.—The last sentence of section 

4 2005(a)(1) of title 39, United States Code, shall not apply 

5 with respect to any amounts borrowed or obligations issued 

6 or sold under authority of this section (which, but for sub7 section (a), would not otherwise have been allowable). 

8 (c) DEPOSIT.—Any amounts received under this sec9 tion shall be deposited in the Postal Service Fund. 

10 (d) COLLATERAL.—For the purposes of funds acquired 

11 under subsection (a), the Postal Service shall provide an 

12 appropriate level of collateral in the form of pledged Postal 

13 Service property assets. For each fiscal year in which there 

14 remain funds made available to the Postal Service under 

15 subsection (a), the Postal Service shall dispose of real prop16 erty equal to an amount that is at least 10 percent of the 

17 total funds obligated by the Postal Service under subsection 

18 (a), and the proceeds of such disposal shall be used to repay 

19 any outstanding obligation made by the Postal Service 

20 under subsection (a) in its entirety. 

21 SEC. 223. PROCESS FOR SUBMISSION AND APPROVAL OF FI22 NANCIAL PLAN AND BUDGET. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year for which the 

24 Postal Service is in a control period, the Postmaster Gen25 eral shall submit to the Authority— 

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1 (1) by February 1 before the start of such fiscal 

2 year, a preliminary financial plan and budget under 

3 section 221 for such fiscal year; and 

4 (2) by August 1 before the start of such fiscal 

5 year, a final financial plan and budget under section 

6 221 for such fiscal year. 

7 (b) REVIEW BY AUTHORITY.—Upon receipt of a finan8 cial plan and budget under subsection (a) (whether prelimi9 nary or final), the Authority shall promptly review such 

10 financial plan and budget. In conducting the review, the 

11 Authority may request any additional information it con12 siders necessary and appropriate to carry out its duties 

13 under this subtitle. 

14 (c) APPROVAL OF POSTMASTER GENERAL’S FINANCIAL

15 PLAN AND BUDGET.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Authority determines 

17 that the final financial plan and budget for the fiscal 

18 year submitted by the Postmaster General under sub19 section (a) meets the requirements of section 221— 

20 (A) the Authority shall approve the finan21 cial plan and budget and shall provide the Post22 master General, the President, and Congress 

23 with a notice certifying its approval; and 

24 (B) the Postmaster General shall promptly 

25 submit the annual budget program to the Office 

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1 of Management and Budget pursuant to section 

2 2009 of title 39, United States Code. 

3 (2) DEEMED APPROVAL AFTER 30 DAYS.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the Authority has not 

5 provided the Postmaster General, the President, 

6 and Congress with a notice certifying approval 

7 under paragraph (1)(A) or a statement of dis8 approval under subsection (d) before the expira9 tion of the 30-day period which begins on the 

10 date the Authority receives the financial plan 

11 and budget from the Postmaster General under 

12 subsection (a), the Authority shall be deemed to 

13 have approved the financial plan and budget 

14 and to have provided the Postmaster General, the 

15 President, and Congress with the notice certi16 fying approval under paragraph (1)(A). 

17 (B) EXPLANATION OF FAILURE TO RE18 SPOND.—If subparagraph (A) applies with re19 spect to a financial plan and budget, the Author20 ity shall provide the Postmaster General, the 

21 President and Congress with an explanation for 

22 its failure to provide the notice certifying ap23 proval or the statement of disapproval during 

24 the 30-day period described in such subpara25 graph. 

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1 (d) DISAPPROVAL OF POSTMASTER GENERAL’S BUDG2 ET.—If the Authority determines that the final financial 

3 plan and budget for the fiscal year submitted by the Post4 master General under subsection (a) does not meet the re5 quirements applicable under section 221, the Authority 

6 shall disapprove the financial plan and budget, and shall 

7 provide the Postmaster General, the President, and Con8 gress with a statement containing— 

9 (1) the reasons for such disapproval; 

10 (2) the amount of any shortfall in the budget or 

11 financial plan; and 

12 (3) any recommendations for revisions to the 

13 budget the Authority considers appropriate to ensure 

14 that the budget is consistent with the financial plan 

15 and budget. 

16 (e) AUTHORITY REVIEW OF POSTMASTER GENERAL’S

17 REVISED FINAL FINANCIAL PLAN AND BUDGET.— 

18 (1) SUBMISSION OF POSTMASTER GENERAL’S RE19 VISED FINAL FINANCIAL PLAN AND BUDGET.—Not 

20 later than 15 days after receiving the statement from 

21 the Authority under subsection (d), the Postmaster 

22 General shall promptly adopt a revised final finan23 cial plan and budget for the fiscal year which ad24 dresses the reasons for the Authority’s disapproval 

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1 cited in the statement, and shall submit such finan2 cial plan and budget to the Authority. 

3 (2) APPROVAL OF POSTMASTER GENERAL’S RE4 VISED FINAL FINANCIAL PLAN AND BUDGET.—If, after 

5 reviewing the revised final financial plan and budget 

6 for a fiscal year submitted by the Postmaster General 

7 under paragraph (1) in accordance with the proce8 dures described in this section, the Authority deter9 mines that the revised final financial plan and budget 

10 meets the requirements applicable under section 

11 221— 

12 (A) the Authority shall approve the finan13 cial plan and budget and shall provide the Post14 master General, the President, and Congress 

15 with a notice certifying its approval; and 

16 (B) the Postmaster General shall promptly 

17 submit the annual budget program to the Office 

18 of Management and Budget pursuant to section 

19 2009 of title 39, United States Code. 

20 (3) DISAPPROVAL OF POSTMASTER GENERAL’S

21 REVISED FINAL FINANCIAL PLAN AND BUDGET.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—If, after reviewing the 

23 revised final financial plan and budget for a fis24 cal year submitted by the Postmaster General 

25 under paragraph (1) in accordance with the promstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 cedures described in this subsection, the Author2 ity determines that the revised final financial 

3 plan and budget does not meet the applicable re4 quirements under section 221, the Authority 

5 shall— 

6 (i) disapprove the financial plan and 

7 budget; 

8 (ii) provide the Postmaster General, 

9 the President, and Congress with a state10 ment containing the reasons for such dis11 approval and describing the amount of any 

12 shortfall in the financial plan and budget; 

13 and 

14 (iii) approve and recommend a finan15 cial plan and budget for the Postal Service 

16 which meets the applicable requirements 

17 under section 221, and submit such finan18 cial plan and budget to the Postmaster Gen19 eral, the President, and Congress. 

20 (B) SUBMISSION TO OMB.—Upon receipt of 

21 the recommended financial plan and budget 

22 under subparagraph (A)(iii), the Postmaster 

23 General shall promptly submit the recommended 

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1 ment and Budget pursuant to section 2009 of 

2 title 39, United States Code. 

3 (4) DEEMED APPROVAL AFTER 15 DAYS.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the Authority has not 

5 provided the Postmaster General, the President, 

6 and Congress with a notice certifying approval 

7 under paragraph (2)(A) or a statement of dis8 approval under paragraph (3) before the expira9 tion of the 15-day period which begins on the 

10 date the Authority receives the revised final fi11 nancial plan and budget submitted by the Post12 master General under paragraph (1), the Au13 thority shall be deemed to have approved the re14 vised final financial plan and budget and to 

15 have provided the Postmaster General, the Presi16 dent, and Congress with the notice certifying ap17 proval described in paragraph (2)(A). 

18 (B) EXPLANATION OF FAILURE TO RE19 SPOND.—If subparagraph (A) applies with re20 spect to a financial plan and budget, the Author21 ity shall provide the Postmaster General, the 

22 President and Congress with an explanation for 

23 its failure to provide the notice certifying ap24 proval or the statement of disapproval during 

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1 the 15-day period described in such subpara2 graph. 

3 (f) DEADLINE FOR TRANSMISSION OF FINANCIAL PLAN

4 AND BUDGET BY AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding any other 

5 provision of this section, not later than September 30th be6 fore each fiscal year which is in a control period, the Au7 thority shall— 

8 (1) provide Congress with a notice certifying its 

9 approval of the Postmaster General’s initial financial 

10 plan and budget for the fiscal year under subsection 

11 (c); 

12 (2) provide Congress with a notice certifying its 

13 approval of the Postmaster General’s revised final fi14 nancial plan and budget for the fiscal year under 

15 subsection (e)(2); or 

16 (3) submit to Congress an approved and rec17 ommended financial plan and budget of the Authority 

18 for the Postal Service for the fiscal year under sub19 section (e)(3)(A)(iii). 

20 (g) REVISIONS TO FINANCIAL PLAN AND BUDGET.— 

21 (1) PERMITTING POSTMASTER GENERAL TO SUB22 MIT REVISIONS.—The Postmaster General may sub23 mit proposed revisions to the financial plan and 

24 budget for a control period to the Authority at any 

25 time during the year. 

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1 (2) PROCESS FOR REVIEW, APPROVAL, DIS2 APPROVAL, AND POSTMASTER GENERAL ACTION.—Ex3 cept as provided in paragraph (3), the procedures de4 scribed in subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) shall apply 

5 with respect to a proposed revision to a financial 

6 plan and budget in the same manner as such proce7 dures apply with respect to the original financial 

8 plan and budget. 

9 (3) EXCEPTION FOR REVISIONS NOT AFFECTING

10 SPENDING.—To the extent that a proposed revision to 

11 a financial plan and budget adopted by the Post12 master General pursuant to this subsection does not 

13 increase the amount of spending with respect to any 

14 account of the Postal Service, the revision shall be15 come effective upon the Authority’s approval of such 

16 revision. 

17 SEC. 224. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE AUTHORITY. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Authority shall direct the exer19 cise of the powers of the Postal Service, including— 

20 (1) determining its overall strategies (both long21 term and short-term); 

22 (2) determining its organizational structure, 

23 particularly for senior management at the level of 

24 vice president and higher; 

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1 (3) hiring, monitoring, compensating, and, when 

2 necessary, replacing senior management at the level of 

3 vice president and higher, as well as ensuring ade4 quate succession planning for these positions; 

5 (4) approving major policies, particularly those 

6 that have an important effect on the Postal Service’s 

7 financial position and the provision of universal post8 al service; 

9 (5) approving corporate budgets, financial and 

10 capital plans, operational and service performance 

11 standards and targets, human resources strategies, 

12 collective bargaining strategies, negotiation param13 eters, and collective bargaining agreements, and the 

14 compensation structure for nonbargaining employees; 

15 (6) approving substantial capital projects and 

16 any substantial disposition of capital assets, such as 

17 surplus property; 

18 (7) approving changes in rates and classifica19 tions, new products and services, policy regarding 

20 other substantial matters before the Postal Regulatory 

21 Commission, and any appeals of its decisions or or22 ders to the Federal courts; 

23 (8) approving the Postal Service Annual Report, 

24 Annual Comprehensive Statement, and strategic 

25 plans, performance plans, and performance program 

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1 reports under chapter 28 of title 39, United States 

2 Code; 

3 (9) formulating and communicating organiza4 tional policy and positions on legislative and other 

5 public policy matters to Congress and the public; 

6 (10) ensuring organizational responsiveness to 

7 oversight by Congress, the Postal Regulatory Commis8 sion, the Treasury of the United States, and other 

9 audit entities; 

10 (11) ensuring adequate internal controls and se11 lecting, monitoring, and compensating an inde12 pendent public accounting firm to conduct an annual 

13 audit of the Postal Service; and 

14 (12) carrying out any responsibility, not other15 wise listed in this subsection, that was the responsi16 bility of the Board of Governors at any time during 

17 the 5-year period ending on the date of the enactment 

18 of this Act. 

19 (b) REVIEW OF POSTAL SERVICE PROPOSALS.— 

20 (1) SUBMISSION OF POSTAL SERVICE PROPOSALS

21 TO THE AUTHORITY.—During a control period, the 

22 Postmaster General shall submit to the Authority any 

23 proposal that has a substantial effect on any item 

24 listed in subsection (a). 

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1 (2) PROMPT REVIEW BY AUTHORITY.—Upon re2 ceipt of a proposal from the Postmaster General 

3 under paragraph (1), the Authority shall promptly 

4 review the proposal to determine whether it is con5 sistent with the applicable financial plan and budget 

6 approved under this title. 

7 (3) ACTIONS BY AUTHORITY.— 

8 (A) APPROVAL.—If the Authority deter9 mines that a proposal is consistent with the ap10 plicable financial plan and budget, the Authority 

11 shall notify the Postmaster General that it ap12 proves the proposal. 

13 (B) FINDING OF INCONSISTENCY.—If the 

14 Authority determines that a proposal is signifi15 cantly inconsistent with the applicable financial 

16 plan and budget, the Authority shall— 

17 (i) notify the Postmaster General of its 

18 finding; 

19 (ii) provide the Postmaster General 

20 with an explanation of the reasons for its 

21 finding; and 

22 (iii) to the extent the Authority con23 siders appropriate, provide the Postmaster 

24 General with recommendations for modi25 fications to the proposal. 

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1 (4) DEEMED APPROVAL.—If the Authority does 

2 not notify the Postmaster General that it approves or 

3 disapproves a proposal submitted under this sub4 section during the 7-day period which begins on the 

5 date the Postmaster General submits the proposal to 

6 the Authority, the Authority shall be deemed to have 

7 approved the proposal in accordance with paragraph 

8 (3)(A). At the option of the Authority, the previous 

9 sentence shall be applied as if the reference in such 

10 sentence to ‘‘7-day period’’ were a reference to ‘‘14- 

11 day period’’ if, during the 7-day period referred to in 

12 the preceding sentence, the Authority so notifies the 

13 Postmaster General. 

14 (c) EFFECT OF APPROVED FINANCIAL PLAN AND

15 BUDGET ON CONTRACTS AND LEASES.— 

16 (1) MANDATORY PRIOR APPROVAL FOR CERTAIN

17 CONTRACTS AND LEASES.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a contract 

19 or lease described in subparagraph (B) which is 

20 proposed to be entered into, renewed, modified, 

21 or extended by the Postal Service during a con22 trol period, the Postmaster General (or the ap23 propriate officer or agent of the Postal Service) 

24 shall submit the proposed contract or lease to the 

25 Authority. The Authority shall review each conmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 tract or lease submitted under this subpara2 graph, and the Postmaster General (or the ap3 propriate officer or agent of the Postal Service) 

4 may not enter into the contract or lease unless 

5 the Authority determines that the proposed con6 tract or lease is consistent with the financial 

7 plan and budget for the fiscal year. 

8 (B) CONTRACTS AND LEASES DESCRIBED.— 

9 A contract or lease described in this subpara10 graph is— 

11 (i) a labor contract entered into 

12 through collective bargaining; or 

13 (ii) such other type of contract or lease 

14 as the Authority may specify for purposes of 

15 this subparagraph. 

16 (2) AUTHORITY TO REVIEW OTHER CONTRACTS

17 AFTER EXECUTION.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the prior 

19 approval of certain contracts and leases, the 

20 Postal Service shall submit to the Authority— 

21 (i) any Level-Two Post Career Execu22 tive Service employee contract that is in ef23 fect during a control period; and 

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1 (ii) any collective bargaining agree2 ment entered into by the Postal Service that 

3 is in effect during a control period. 

4 Any such contract or agreement shall be sub5 mitted to the Authority upon the commencement 

6 of a control period and at such other times as the 

7 Authority may require. 

8 (B) REVIEW BY AUTHORITY.—The Author9 ity shall review each contract submitted under 

10 subparagraph (A) to determine if the contract is 

11 consistent with the financial plan and budget for 

12 the fiscal year. If the Authority determines that 

13 the contract is not consistent with the financial 

14 plan and budget, the Authority shall take such 

15 actions as are within the Authority’s powers to 

16 revise the contract. 

17 SEC. 225. EFFECT OF FINDING NONCOMPLIANCE WITH FI18 NANCIAL PLAN AND BUDGET. 

19 (a) SUBMISSION OF REPORTS.—Not later than 30 

20 days after the expiration of each quarter of each fiscal year 

21 beginning in a control period, the Postmaster General shall 

22 submit reports to the Authority describing the actual reve23 nues obtained and expenditures made by the Postal Service 

24 during the quarter with its cash flows during the quarter, 

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1 and comparing such actual revenues, expenditures, and 

2 cash flows with the most recent projections for these items. 

3 (b) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—If the Authority de4 termines, based on reports submitted by the Postmaster 

5 General under subsection (a), independent audits, or such 

6 other information as the Authority may obtain, that the 

7 revenues or expenditures of the Postal Service during a con8 trol period are not consistent with the financial plan and 

9 budget for the year, the Authority shall require the Post10 master General to provide such additional information as 

11 the Authority determines to be necessary to explain the in12 consistency. 

13 (c) CERTIFICATION OF VARIANCE.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—After requiring the Post15 master General to provide additional information 

16 under subsection (b), the Authority shall certify to the 

17 Postmaster General, the President, the Secretary of 

18 the Treasury, and Congress that the Postal Service is 

19 at variance with the financial plan and budget un20 less— 

21 (A) the additional information provides an 

22 explanation for the inconsistency which the Au23 thority finds reasonable and appropriate; or 

24 (B)(i) the Postal Service adopts or imple25 ments remedial action (including revising the fimstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 nancial plan and budget pursuant to section 

2 223(g)) to correct the inconsistency which the 

3 Authority finds reasonable and appropriate, tak4 ing into account the terms of the financial plan 

5 and budget; and 

6 (ii) the Postmaster General agrees to submit 

7 the reports described in subsection (a) on a 

8 monthly basis for such period as the Authority 

9 may require. 

10 (2) SPECIAL RULE FOR INCONSISTENCIES AT11 TRIBUTABLE TO ACTS OF CONGRESS.— 

12 (A) DETERMINATION BY AUTHORITY.—If 

13 the Authority determines that the revenues or ex14 penditures of the Postal Service during a control 

15 period are not consistent with the financial plan 

16 and budget for the year as approved by the Au17 thority under section 223 as a result of the terms 

18 and conditions of any law enacted by Congress 

19 which affects the Postal Service, the Authority 

20 shall so notify the Postmaster General. 

21 (B) CERTIFICATION.—In the case of an in22 consistency described in subparagraph (A), the 

23 Authority shall certify to the Postmaster Gen24 eral, the President, the Secretary of the Treas25 ury, and Congress that the Postal Service is at 

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1 variance with the financial plan and budget un2 less the Postal Service adopts or implements re3 medial action (including revising the financial 

4 plan and budget pursuant to section 202(e)) to 

5 correct the inconsistency which the Authority 

6 finds reasonable and appropriate, taking into 

7 account the terms of the financial plan and 

8 budget. 

9 (d) EFFECT OF CERTIFICATION.—If the Authority cer10 tifies to the Secretary of the Treasury that a variance exists, 

11 the Authority or the Secretary may withhold access by the 

12 Postal Service to additional supplementary debt authorized 

13 by this title. 

14 SEC. 226. RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING FINANCIAL STA15 BILITY, ETC. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Authority may at any time 

17 submit recommendations to the Postmaster General, the 

18 President, and Congress on actions the Postal Service or 

19 any other entity of the Federal Government should take to 

20 ensure compliance by the Postal Service with a financial 

21 plan and budget or to otherwise promote the financial sta22 bility, management responsibility, and service delivery effi23 ciency of the Postal Service, including recommendations re24 lating to— 

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1 (1) the management of the Postal Service’s fi2 nancial affairs, including cash forecasting, informa3 tion technology, placing controls on expenditures for 

4 personnel, reducing benefit costs, reforming procure5 ment practices, and placing other controls on expend6 itures; 

7 (2) the relationship between the Postal Service 

8 and other entities of the Federal Government; 

9 (3) the structural relationship of subdivisions 

10 within the Postal Service; 

11 (4) the modification of existing revenue struc12 tures, or the establishment of additional revenue 

13 structures; 

14 (5) the establishment of alternatives for meeting 

15 obligations to pay for the pensions and retirement 

16 benefits of current and future Postal Service retirees; 

17 (6) modifications of services which are the re18 sponsibility of and are delivered by the Postal Serv19 ice; 

20 (7) modifications of the types of services which 

21 are delivered by entities other than the Postal Service 

22 under alternative service delivery mechanisms; 

23 (8) the effects of Federal Government laws and 

24 court orders on the operations of the Postal Service; 

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1 (9) the increased use of a personnel system for 

2 employees of the Postal Service which is based upon 

3 employee performance standards; and 

4 (10) the improvement of personnel training and 

5 proficiency, the adjustment of staffing levels, and the 

6 improvement of training and performance of manage7 ment and supervisory personnel. 

8 (b) RESPONSE TO RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACTIONS

9 WITHIN AUTHORITY OF POSTAL SERVICE.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any rec11 ommendations submitted under subsection (a) during 

12 a control period which are within the authority of the 

13 Postal Service to adopt, not later than 90 days after 

14 receiving the recommendations, the Postmaster Gen15 eral shall submit a statement to the Authority, the 

16 President, and Congress which provides notice as to 

17 whether the Postal Service will adopt the rec18 ommendations. 

19 (2) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN REQUIRED FOR

20 ADOPTED RECOMMENDATIONS.—If the Postmaster 

21 General notifies the Authority and Congress under 

22 paragraph (1) that the Postal Service will adopt any 

23 of the recommendations submitted under subsection 

24 (a), the Postmaster General shall include in the statemstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 ment a written plan to implement the recommenda2 tion which includes— 

3 (A) specific performance measures to deter4 mine the extent to which the Postal Service has 

5 adopted the recommendation; and 

6 (B) a schedule for auditing the Postal Serv7 ice’s compliance with the plan. 

8 (3) EXPLANATIONS REQUIRED FOR REC9 OMMENDATIONS NOT ADOPTED.—If the Postmaster 

10 General notifies the Authority, the President, and 

11 Congress under paragraph (1) that the Postal Service 

12 will not adopt any recommendation submitted under 

13 subsection (a) which the Postal Service has authority 

14 to adopt, the Postmaster General shall include in the 

15 statement explanations for the rejection of the rec16 ommendations. 

17 (c) IMPLEMENTATION OF REJECTED RECOMMENDA18 TIONS BY AUTHORITY.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Postmaster General no20 tifies the Authority, the President, and Congress 

21 under subsection (b)(1) that the Postal Service will 

22 not adopt any recommendation submitted under sub23 section (a) which the Postal Service has authority to 

24 adopt, the Authority may by a majority vote of its 

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1 ommendation as it deems appropriate, after con2 sulting with the Committee on Oversight and Govern3 ment Reform of the House of Representatives and the 

4 Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 

5 Affairs of the Senate. 

6 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection shall 

7 apply with respect to recommendations of the Author8 ity made after the expiration of the 6-month period 

9 which begins on the date of the commencement of a 

10 control period. 

11 SEC. 227. SPECIAL RULES FOR FISCAL YEAR IN WHICH CON12 TROL PERIOD COMMENCES. 

13 (a) ADOPTION OF TRANSITION BUDGET.—Notwith14 standing any provision of section 223 to the contrary, in 

15 the case of a fiscal year in which a control period com16 mences, the following rules shall apply: 

17 (1) Not later than 45 days after the appointment 

18 of its members, the Authority shall review the pro19 posed Integrated Financial Plan for the Postal Serv20 ice for such fiscal year and shall submit any rec21 ommendations for modifications to such plan to pro22 mote the financial stability of the Postal Service to 

23 the Postmaster General, the President, and Congress. 

24 (2) Not later than 15 days after receiving the 

25 recommendations of the Authority submitted under 

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1 paragraph (1), the Postmaster General shall promptly 

2 adopt a revised budget for the fiscal year (in this sec3 tion referred to as the ‘‘transition budget’’), and shall 

4 submit the transition budget to the Authority, the 

5 President, and Congress. 

6 (3) Not later than 15 days after receiving the 

7 transition budget from the Postmaster General under 

8 paragraph (2), the Authority shall submit a report to 

9 the Postmaster General, the President, and Congress 

10 analyzing the budget (taking into account any items 

11 or provisions disapproved by the Postmaster General) 

12 and shall include in the report such recommendations 

13 for revisions to the transition budget as the Authority 

14 considers appropriate to promote the financial sta15 bility of the Postal Service during the fiscal year. 

16 (b) FINANCIAL PLAN AND BUDGET.— 

17 (1) DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION.—For purposes 

18 of section 223, the Postmaster General shall submit 

19 the financial plan and budget for the applicable fiscal 

20 year as soon as practicable after the commencement 

21 of a control period (in accordance with guidelines es22 tablished by the Authority). 

23 (2) ADOPTION BY POSTMASTER GENERAL.—In 

24 accordance with the procedures applicable under sec25 tion 223 (including procedures providing for review 

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1 by the Authority) the Postmaster General shall adopt 

2 the financial plan and budget for the applicable fiscal 

3 year (including the transition budget incorporated in 

4 the financial plan and budget). 

5 (3) TRANSITION BUDGET AS TEMPORARY FINAN6 CIAL PLAN AND BUDGET.—Until the approval of the 

7 financial plan and budget for the applicable fiscal 

8 year by the Authority under this subsection, the tran9 sition budget established under subsection (a) shall 

10 serve as the financial plan and budget adopted under 

11 this subtitle for purposes of this Act (and any provi12 sion of law amended by this Act) for the applicable 

13 fiscal year. 

14 SEC. 228. ASSISTANCE IN ACHIEVING FINANCIAL STA15 BILITY, ETC. 

16 In addition to any other actions described in this title, 

17 the Authority may undertake cooperative efforts to assist 

18 the Postal Service in achieving financial stability and man19 agement efficiency, including— 

20 (1) assisting the Postal Service in avoiding de21 faults, eliminating and liquidating deficits, main22 taining sound budgetary practices, and avoiding 

23 interruptions in the delivery of services; 

24 (2) assisting the Postal Service in improving the 

25 delivery of services, the training and effectiveness of 

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1 personnel of the Postal Service, and the efficiency of 

2 management and supervision; and 

3 (3) making recommendations to the President for 

4 transmission to Congress on changes to this Act or 

5 other Federal laws, or other actions of the Federal 

6 Government, which would assist the Postal Service in 

7 complying with an approved financial plan and 

8 budget under subtitle B. 

9 SEC. 229. OBTAINING REPORTS. 

10 The Authority may require the Postmaster General, the 

11 Chief Financial Officer of the Postal Service, and the In12 spector General of the Postal Service, to prepare and submit 

13 such reports as the Authority considers appropriate to assist 

14 it in carrying out its responsibilities under this title, in15 cluding submitting copies of any reports regarding reve16 nues, expenditures, budgets, costs, plans, operations, esti17 mates, and other financial or budgetary matters of the Post18 al Service. 

19 SEC. 230. REPORTS AND COMMENTS. 

20 (a) ANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 

21 30 days after the last day of each fiscal year which is a 

22 control year, the Authority shall submit a report to Con23 gress describing— 

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1 (1) the progress made by the Postal Service in 

2 meeting the objectives of this title during the fiscal 

3 year; 

4 (2) the assistance provided by the Authority to 

5 the Postal Service in meeting the purposes of this title 

6 for the fiscal year; and 

7 (3) any other activities of the Authority during 

8 the fiscal year. 

9 (b) REVIEW AND ANALYSIS OF PERFORMANCE AND FI10 NANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY REPORTS.—The Authority shall 

11 review each yearly report prepared and submitted by the 

12 Postmaster General to the Postal Regulatory Commission 

13 and Congress and shall submit a report to Congress ana14 lyzing the completeness and accuracy of such reports. 

15 (c) COMMENTS REGARDING ACTIVITIES OF POSTAL

16 SERVICE.—At any time during a control period, the Au17 thority may submit a report to Congress describing any ac18 tion taken by the Postal Service (or any failure to act by 

19 the Postal Service) which the Authority determines will ad20 versely affect the Postal Service’s ability to comply with an 

21 approved financial plan and budget under subtitle B or will 

22 otherwise have a significant adverse impact on the best in23 terests of the Postal Service. 

24 (d) REPORTS ON EFFECT OF FEDERAL LAWS ON THE

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1 thority may submit a report to the Postmaster General, the 

2 President, and Congress on the effect of laws enacted by 

3 Congress on the financial plan and budget for the year and 

4 on the financial stability and management efficiency of the 

5 Postal Service in general. 

6 (e) MAKING REPORTS PUBLICLY AVAILABLE.—The 

7 Authority shall make any report submitted under this sec8 tion available to the public, except to the extent that the 

9 Authority determines that the report contains confidential 

10 material. 

11 Subtitle D—Termination of a 

12 Control Period 

13 SEC. 231. TERMINATION OF CONTROL PERIOD, ETC. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—After the completion of the require15 ments for the termination of a control period described in 

16 section 202(b)(4), the Authority shall submit a rec17 ommendation to Congress requesting the termination of 

18 such control period, the dissolution of the Authority, and 

19 the reinstatement to the Board of Governors (and the indi20 vidual Governors) of the Postal Service of the authorities 

21 and responsibilities referred to in section 202(b)(2)(A). 

22 (b) CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—A control period shall not be 

24 terminated unless a joint resolution approving of the 

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1 recommendation in subsection (a) is enacted, in ac2 cordance with section 232, before the earlier of— 

3 (A) the end of the 30-day period beginning 

4 on the date on which the Authority transmits the 

5 recommendation to Congress under subsection 

6 (a); or 

7 (B) the adjournment of the Congress sine 

8 die for the session during which such rec9 ommendation is transmitted. 

10 (2) DAYS OF SESSION.—For purposes of para11 graph (1) and subsections (a) and (c) of section 232, 

12 the days on which either House of Congress is not in 

13 session because of an adjournment of more than 3 

14 days to a day certain shall be excluded in the com15 putation of a period. 

16 SEC. 232. CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION OF REC17 OMMENDATION. 

18 (a) TERMS OF THE RESOLUTION.—For purposes of 

19 this subtitle, the term ‘‘joint resolution’’ means only a joint 

20 resolution which is introduced within the 10-day period be21 ginning on the date on which the recommendation referred 

22 to in section 231(a) is received by Congress— 

23 (1) the matter after the resolving clause of which 

24 is as follows: ‘‘That Congress approves the rec25 ommendation of the Postal Service Financial Responmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 sibility and Management Assistance Authority, sub2 mitted by such Authority on ll.’’, the blank space 

3 being filled in with the appropriate date; 

4 (2) the title of which is as follows: ‘‘Joint resolu5 tion approving the recommendation of Postal Service 

6 Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance 

7 Authority.’’; and 

8 (3) which does not have a preamble. 

9 (b) REFERRAL.—A resolution described in subsection 

10 (a) that is introduced in the House of Representatives or 

11 the Senate shall be referred to the appropriate committees 

12 of the House of Representatives or the Senate, respectively. 

13 (c) DISCHARGE.—If the committee to which a resolu14 tion described in subsection (a) is referred has not reported 

15 such resolution (or an identical resolution) by the end of 

16 the 20-day period beginning on the date on which the Au17 thority transmits its recommendation to Congress under 

18 section 231(a) such committee shall, at the end of such pe19 riod, be discharged from further consideration of such reso20 lution, and such resolution shall be placed on the appro21 priate calendar of the House involved. 

22 (d) CONSIDERATION.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—On or after the third day 

24 after the date on which the committee to which such 

25 a resolution is referred has reported, or has been dismstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 charged (under subsection (c)) from further consider2 ation of, such a resolution, it is in order (even though 

3 a previous motion to the same effect has been dis4 agreed to) for any Member of the respective House to 

5 move to proceed to the consideration of the resolution. 

6 A Member may make the motion only on the day 

7 after the calendar day on which the Member an8 nounces to the House concerned the Member’s inten9 tion to make the motion, except that, in the case of 

10 the House of Representatives, the motion may be 

11 made without such prior announcement if the motion 

12 is made by direction of the committee to which the 

13 resolution was referred. All points of order against the 

14 resolution (and against consideration of the resolu15 tion) are waived. The motion is highly privileged in 

16 the House of Representatives and is privileged in the 

17 Senate and is not debatable. The motion is not subject 

18 to amendment, or to a motion to postpone, or to a 

19 motion to proceed to the consideration of other busi20 ness. A motion to reconsider the vote by which the 

21 motion is agreed to or disagreed to shall not be in 

22 order. If a motion to proceed to the consideration of 

23 the resolution is agreed to, the respective House shall 

24 immediately proceed to consideration of the joint reso25 lution without intervening motion, order, or other 

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1 business, and the resolution shall remain the unfin2 ished business of the respective House until disposed 

3 of. 

4 (2) DEBATE.—Debate on the resolution, and on 

5 all debatable motions and appeals in connection 

6 therewith, shall be limited to not more than 2 hours, 

7 which shall be divided equally between those favoring 

8 and those opposing the resolution. An amendment to 

9 the resolution is not in order. A motion further to 

10 limit debate is in order and not debatable. A motion 

11 to postpone, or a motion to proceed to the consider12 ation of other business, or a motion to recommit the 

13 resolution is not in order. A motion to reconsider the 

14 vote by which the resolution is agreed to or disagreed 

15 to is not in order. 

16 (3) VOTE ON FINAL PASSAGE.—Immediately fol17 lowing the conclusion of the debate on a resolution de18 scribed in subsection (a) and a single quorum call at 

19 the conclusion of the debate if requested in accordance 

20 with the rules of the appropriate House, the vote on 

21 final passage of the resolution shall occur. 

22 (4) APPEALS.—Appeals from the decisions of the 

23 Chair relating to the application of the rules of the 

24 Senate or the House of Representatives, as the case 

25 may be, to the procedure relating to a resolution demstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 scribed in subsection (a) shall be decided without de2 bate. 

3 (e) CONSIDERATION BY OTHER HOUSE.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—If, before the passage by one 

5 House of a resolution of that House described in sub6 section (a), that House receives from the other House 

7 a resolution described in subsection (a), then the fol8 lowing procedures shall apply: 

9 (A) The resolution of the other House shall 

10 not be referred to a committee and may not be 

11 considered in the House receiving it except in the 

12 case of final passage as provided in subpara13 graph (B)(ii). 

14 (B) With respect to a resolution described in 

15 subsection (a) of the House receiving the resolu16 tion— 

17 (i) the procedure in that House shall be 

18 the same as if no resolution had been re19 ceived from the other House; but 

20 (ii) the vote on final passage shall be 

21 on the resolution of the other House. 

22 (2) DISPOSITION OF A RESOLUTION.—Upon dis23 position of the resolution received from the other 

24 House, it shall no longer be in order to consider the 

25 resolution that originated in the receiving House. 

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1 (f) RULES OF THE SENATE AND HOUSE.—This section 

2 is enacted by Congress— 

3 (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the 

4 Senate and House of Representatives, respectively, 

5 and as such it is deemed a part of the rules of each 

6 House, respectively, but applicable only with respect 

7 to the procedure to be followed in that House in the 

8 case of a resolution described in subsection (a), and 

9 it supersedes other rules only to the extent that it is 

10 inconsistent with such rules; and 

11 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional 

12 right of either House to change the rules (so far as re13 lating to the procedure of that House) at any time, 

14 in the same manner, and to the same extent as in the 

15 case of any other rule of that House. 

16 TITLE III—POSTAL SERVICE 

17 WORKFORCE 

18 Subtitle A—General Provisions 

19 SEC. 301. MODIFICATIONS RELATING TO DETERMINATION 

20 OF PAY COMPARABILITY. 

21 (a) POSTAL POLICY.—The first sentence of section 

22 101(c) is amended— 

23 (1) by inserting ‘‘total’’ before ‘‘rates and types 

24 of compensation’’; and 

25 (2) by inserting ‘‘entire’’ before ‘‘private sector’’. 

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1 (b) EMPLOYMENT POLICY.—The second sentence of sec2 tion 1003(a) is amended— 

3 (1) by inserting ‘‘total’’ before ‘‘compensation 

4 and benefits’’ each place it appears; and 

5 (2) by inserting ‘‘entire’’ before ‘‘private sector’’. 

6 (c) CONSIDERATIONS.—For purposes of the amend7 ments made by this section, any determination of ‘‘total 

8 rates and types of compensation’’ or ‘‘total compensation 

9 and benefits’’ shall, at a minimum, take into account pay, 

10 health benefits, retirement benefits, life insurance benefits, 

11 leave, holidays, and continuity and stability of employ12 ment. 

13 SEC. 302. LIMITATION ON POSTAL CONTRIBUTIONS UNDER 

14 FEGLI AND FEHBP. 

15 Section 1003 is amended by adding at the end the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(e)(1) At least 1 month before the start of each fiscal 

18 year as described in paragraph (2), the Postmaster General 

19 shall transmit to the Postal Regulatory Commission certifi20 cation (together with such supporting documentation as the 

21 Postal Regulatory Commission may require) that contribu22 tions of the Postal Service for such fiscal year will not ex23 ceed— 

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1 ‘‘(A) in the case of life insurance under chapter 

2 87 of title 5, the Government contributions deter3 mined under section 8708 of such title; and 

4 ‘‘(B) in the case of health insurance under chap5 ter 89 of title 5, the Government contributions deter6 mined under 8906 of such title. 

7 ‘‘(2) This subsection applies with respect to— 

8 ‘‘(A) except as provided in subparagraph (B), 

9 each fiscal year beginning after September 30, 2013; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(B) in the case of officers and employees of the 

12 Postal Service covered by a collective bargaining 

13 agreement which is in effect on the date of the enact14 ment of this subsection— 

15 ‘‘(i) each fiscal year beginning after the ex16 piration date of such agreement, including 

17 ‘‘(ii) for the fiscal year in which such expi18 ration date occurs, any portion of such fiscal 

19 year remaining after such expiration date. 

20 ‘‘(3)(A) If, after reasonable notice and opportunity for 

21 hearing is afforded to the Postal Service, the Postal Regu22 latory Commission finds that the contributions of the Postal 

23 Service for a fiscal year will exceed or are exceeding the 

24 limitation specified in subparagraph (A) or (B) of para25 graph (1), the Commission shall order that the Postal Servmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 ice take such action as the Commission considers necessary 

2 to achieve full and immediate compliance with the applica3 ble limitation or limitations. 

4 ‘‘(B) Sections 3663 and 3664 shall apply with respect 

5 to any order issued by the Postal Regulatory Commission 

6 under subparagraph (A). 

7 ‘‘(C) Nothing in this paragraph shall be considered to 

8 permit the issuance of an order requiring reduction of con9 tributions below the level specified by the provision of law 

10 cited in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1), as ap11 plicable.’’. 

12 SEC. 303. REPEAL OF PROVISION RELATING TO OVERALL 

13 VALUE OF FRINGE BENEFITS. 

14 The last sentence of section 1005(f) is repealed. 

15 SEC. 304. APPLICABILITY OF REDUCTION-IN-FORCE PROCE16 DURES. 

17 Section 1206 is amended by adding at the end the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(d) Collective-bargaining agreements between the 

20 Postal Service and bargaining representatives recognized 

21 under section 1203, ratified after the date of enactment of 

22 this subsection, shall contain no provision restricting the 

23 applicability of reduction-in-force procedures under title 5 

24 with respect to members of the applicable bargaining unit. 

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1 ‘‘(e) Any collective-bargaining agreement between the 

2 Postal Service and the bargaining representatives recog3 nized under section 1203 ratified before the date of enact4 ment of this Act that contain any provision violating sub5 section (d) shall be renegotiated with a new collective-bar6 gaining agreement to be ratified or imposed through an ar7 bitration decision under section 1207 within 9 months after 

8 such date of enactment. 

9 ‘‘(f)(1) If a collective-bargaining agreement between 

10 the Postal Service and bargaining representatives recog11 nized under section 1203, ratified after the date of enact12 ment of this subsection, includes reduction-in-force proce13 dures which can be applied in lieu of reduction-in-force pro14 cedures under title 5, the Postal Service may, in its discre15 tion, apply with respect to members of the applicable bar16 gaining unit— 

17 ‘‘(A) the alternative procedures (or, if 2 or more 

18 are agreed to, 1 of the alternative procedures); or 

19 ‘‘(B) the reduction-in-force procedures under title 

20 5. 

21 ‘‘(2) In no event may, if procedures for the resolution 

22 of a dispute or impasse arising in the negotiation of a col23 lective-bargaining agreement (whether through binding ar24 bitration or otherwise) are invoked under this chapter, the 

25 award or other resolution reached under such procedures 

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1 provide for the elimination of, or the substitution of any 

2 alternative procedures in lieu of, reduction-in-force proce3 dures under title 5.’’. 

4 SEC. 305. MODIFICATIONS RELATING TO COLLECTIVE BAR5 GAINING. 

6 Section 1207 is amended by striking subsections (c) 

7 and (d) and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘(c)(1) If no agreement is reached within 30 days after 

9 the appointment of a mediator under subsection (b), or if 

10 the parties decide upon arbitration before the expiration of 

11 the 30-day period, an arbitration board shall be established 

12 consisting of 1 member selected by the Postal Service (from 

13 the list under paragraph (2)), 1 member selected by the bar14 gaining representative of the employees (from the list under 

15 paragraph (2)), and the mediator appointed under sub16 section (b). 

17 ‘‘(2) Upon receiving a request from either of the parties 

18 referred to in paragraph (1), the Director of the Federal 

19 Mediation and Conciliation Service shall provide a list of 

20 not less than 9 individuals who are well qualified to serve 

21 as neutral arbitrators. Each person listed shall be an arbi22 trator of nationwide reputation and professional nature, a 

23 member of the National Academy of Arbitrators, and an 

24 individual whom the Director has determined to be willing 

25 and available to serve. If, within 7 days after the list is 

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1 provided, either of the parties has not selected an individual 

2 from the list, the Director shall make the selection within 

3 3 days. 

4 ‘‘(3) The arbitration board shall give the parties a full 

5 and fair hearing, including an opportunity to present evi6 dence in support of their claims, and an opportunity to 

7 present their case in person, by counsel, or by other rep8 resentative as they may elect. The hearing shall be con9 cluded no more than 40 days after the arbitration board 

10 is established. 

11 ‘‘(4) No more than 7 days after the hearing is con12 cluded, each party shall submit to the arbitration board 2 

13 offer packages, each of which packages shall specify the 

14 terms of a proposed final agreement. 

15 ‘‘(5) If no agreement is reached within 7 days after 

16 the last day date for the submission of an offer package 

17 under paragraph (4), each party shall submit to the arbi18 tration board a single final offer package specifying the 

19 terms of a proposed final agreement. 

20 ‘‘(6) No later than 3 days after the submission of the 

21 final offer packages under paragraph (5), the arbitration 

22 board shall select 1 of those packages as its tentative award, 

23 subject to paragraph (7). 

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1 ‘‘(7)(A) The arbitration board may not select a final 

2 offer package under paragraph (6) unless it satisfies each 

3 of the following: 

4 ‘‘(i) The offer complies with the requirements of 

5 sections 101(c) and 1003(a). 

6 ‘‘(ii) The offer takes into account the current fi7 nancial condition of the Postal Service. 

8 ‘‘(iii) The offer takes into account the long-term 

9 financial condition of the Postal Service. 

10 ‘‘(B)(i) If the board unanimously determines, based on 

11 clear and convincing evidence presented during the hearing 

12 under paragraph (3), that neither final offer package satis13 fies the conditions set forth in subparagraph (A), the board 

14 shall by majority vote— 

15 ‘‘(I) select the package that best meets such con16 ditions; and 

17 ‘‘(II) modify the package so selected to the min18 imum extent necessary to satisfy such conditions. 

19 ‘‘(ii) If modification (as described in subparagraph 

20 (B)(i)(II)) is necessary, the board shall have an additional 

21 7 days to render its tentative award under this subpara22 graph. 

23 ‘‘(8) The parties may negotiate a substitute award to 

24 replace the tentative award selected under paragraph (6) 

25 or rendered under paragraph (7) (as the case may be). If 

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1 no agreement on a substitute award is reached within 10 

2 days after the date on which the tentative award is so se3 lected or rendered, the tentative award shall become final. 

4 ‘‘(9) The arbitration board shall review any substitute 

5 award negotiated under paragraph (8) to determine if it 

6 satisfies the conditions set forth in paragraph (7)(A). If the 

7 arbitration board, by a unanimous vote taken within 3 

8 days after the date on which the agreement on the substitute 

9 award is reached under paragraph (8), determines that the 

10 substitute award does not satisfy such conditions, the ten11 tative award shall become final. In the absence of a vote, 

12 as described in the preceding sentence, the substitute agree13 ment shall become final. 

14 ‘‘(10) If, under paragraph (5), neither party submits 

15 a final offer package by the last day allowable under such 

16 paragraph, the arbitration board shall develop and issue 

17 a final award no later than 20 days after such last day. 

18 ‘‘(11) A final award or agreement under this sub19 section shall be conclusive and binding upon the parties. 

20 ‘‘(12) Costs of the arbitration board and mediation 

21 shall be shared equally by the Postal Service and the bar22 gaining representative. 

23 ‘‘(d) In the case of a bargaining unit whose recognized 

24 collective-bargaining representative does not have an agree25 ment with the Postal Service, if the parties fail to reach 

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1 agreement within 90 days after the commencement of collec2 tive bargaining, a mediator shall be appointed in accord3 ance with the provisions of subsection (b), unless the parties 

4 have previously agreed to another procedure for a binding 

5 resolution of their differences. If the parties fail to reach 

6 agreement within 180 days after the commencement of col7 lective bargaining, an arbitration board shall be established 

8 to provide conclusive and binding arbitration in accordance 

9 with the provisions of subsection (c).’’. 

10 SEC. 306. ONE-TIME TRANSFER OF NET SURPLUS POSTAL 

11 RETIREMENT CONTRIBUTIONS. 

12 (a) TRANSFER REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 2 

13 weeks after the date of enactment of this Act, there shall 

14 be appropriated to the Postal Service Fund, from the Postal 

15 Service Federal Employee Retirement System account with16 in the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund, an 

17 amount equal to the absolute value of the amount computed 

18 as of September 30, 2010, under section 8423(b)(1)(B) of 

19 title 5, United States Code, less the sum of— 

20 (1) the Postal supplemental liability, calculated 

21 as of September 30, 2010, under section 8348(h) of 

22 title 5, United States Code; and 

23 (2) any contribution required by section 8423 of 

24 such title that the Postal Service has not made during 

25 fiscal years 2011 or 2012, as determined by the Office 

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1 of Personnel Management no later than one week 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act 

3 (b) LIMITATIONS ON USE.—The amount transferred to 

4 the Postal Service Fund under this section— 

5 (1) may be used for such purposes as the Postal 

6 Service considers appropriate; except that 

7 (2) if any amounts so transferred remain in the 

8 Postal Service Fund after September 30, 2015, such 

9 amounts shall be used— 

10 (A) first, to satisfy any supplemental liabil11 ity computed under section 8423(b)(1)(B) of title 

12 5, United States Code; 

13 (B) second, to satisfy any supplemental li14 ability computed under section 8348(h) of title 5, 

15 United States Code; and 

16 (C) third, to satisfy any obligations of the 

17 Postal Service under section 2005 of title 39, 

18 United States Code. 

19 (c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 

20 (1) the term ‘‘Civil Service Retirement and Dis21 ability Fund’’ refers to the fund under section 8348 

22 of title 5, United States Code; and 

23 (2) the term ‘‘Postal Service Fund’’ refers to the 

24 fund under section 2003 of title 39, United States 

25 Code. 

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1 (d) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress 

2 that the Postal Service should use any funds under sub3 section (b)(1) for separation incentives for Postal employees. 

4 Subtitle B—Postal Service Workers’ 

5 Compensation Reform 

6 SEC. 311. POSTAL SERVICE WORKERS’ COMPENSATION RE7 FORM. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Effective 12 months after the trig9 gering date of this section (as defined in subsection (e)(2)), 

10 section 1005 is amended by striking subsection (c) and in11 serting the following: 

12 ‘‘(c)(1) For purposes of this subsection— 

13 ‘‘(A) the term ‘postal employee’ means an officer 

14 or employee of the Postal Service or the former Post 

15 Office Department; 

16 ‘‘(B) the term ‘retirement age’ has the meaning 

17 given such term under section 216(l)(1) of the Social 

18 Security Act; and 

19 ‘‘(C) the term ‘appropriate committees of Con20 gress’ means— 

21 ‘‘(i) the Committee on Oversight and Gov22 ernment Reform of the House of Representatives; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(ii) the Committee on Homeland Security 

25 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate. 

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1 ‘‘(2) The Postal Service shall design and administer 

2 a program for the payment of benefits for the disability or 

3 death of an individual resulting from personal injury sus4 tained while in the performance of such individual’s duties 

5 as a postal employee. 

6 ‘‘(3) The program under this subsection— 

7 ‘‘(A) shall be designed by the Postal Service in 

8 consultation with appropriate employee representa9 tives; 

10 ‘‘(B) shall not provide for any amount payable 

11 to a disabled postal employee to be augmented on the 

12 basis of number of dependents; and 

13 ‘‘(C) shall include provisions for automatic tran14 sition, upon attainment of retirement age, to benefits 

15 involving, coordinated with, or otherwise determined 

16 by reference to retirement benefits.’’. 

17 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 6 months 

18 after the triggering date— 

19 (1) the Office of Personnel Management shall 

20 submit to the appropriate committees of Congress rec21 ommendations for any legislation or administrative 

22 actions which the Office considers necessary to carry 

23 out the purposes of this section with respect to any 

24 matter within the jurisdiction of the Office, including 

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1 any amendments which may be necessary with respect 

2 to chapter 87 or 89 of title 5, United States Code; and 

3 (2) the Postal Service shall submit to the appro4 priate committees of Congress recommendations for 

5 any legislation which the Postal Service considers 

6 necessary to carry out the purposes of this section 

7 with respect to any matter within the jurisdiction of 

8 the Postal Service. 

9 (c) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.—Not later than 9 

10 months after the triggering date, the Postal Service shall 

11 submit to the appropriate committees of Congress and shall 

12 cause to be published in the Federal Register a description 

13 of the program proposed by the Postal Service for imple14 mentation under section 1005(c) of title 39, United States 

15 Code, as amended by subsection (a). Included in the notifi16 cation provided under the preceding sentence shall be— 

17 (1) a detailed statement of the benefits to be of18 fered and the persons eligible to receive those benefits; 

19 (2) provisions to ensure an orderly transition to 

20 the system proposed to be implemented; and 

21 (3) such other information as the Postal Service 

22 considers appropriate. 

23 (d) COMMENCEMENT DATE.—The program under sec24 tion 1005(c) of title 39, United States Code, as amended 

25 by this section— 

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1 (1) shall begin to operate on such date as the 

2 Postmaster General shall determine, except that such 

3 date shall be a date occurring— 

4 (A) not earlier than 12 months after the 

5 triggering date; and 

6 (B) not later than 24 months after the trig7 gering date; and 

8 (2) shall apply with respect to amounts payable 

9 for periods beginning on or after the date on which 

10 the program begins to operate, irrespective of date of 

11 the disability or death to which such amounts relate. 

12 (e) CONDITION PRECEDENT.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The preceding provisions of 

14 this section shall not become effective until the date on 

15 which a Postal Service Financial Responsibility and 

16 Management Assistance Authority (established under 

17 section 202)— 

18 (A) makes a written determination that 

19 conditions warrant their implementation; and 

20 (B) submits such written determination to 

21 the Postal Service, the Office of Personnel Man22 agement, and the appropriate committees of Con23 gress (within the meaning of the amendment 

24 made by subsection (a)). 

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1 (2) TRIGGERING DATE.—For purposes of this 

2 section, the term ‘‘triggering date of this section’’ or 

3 ‘‘triggering date’’ means the date described in para4 graph (1). 

5 TITLE IV—POSTAL SERVICE 

6 REVENUE 

7 SEC. 401. ADEQUACY, EFFICIENCY, AND FAIRNESS OF POST8 AL RATES. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3622(d) is amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

11 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) 

12 through (E) as subparagraph (D) through (G), 

13 respectively; and 

14 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(B) subject to the limitation under sub17 paragraph (A), establish postal rates to fulfill the 

18 requirement that each market-dominant class, 

19 product, and type of mail service (except for an 

20 experimental product or service) bear the direct 

21 and indirect postal costs attributable to such 

22 class, product, or type through reliably identified 

23 causal relationships plus that portion of all other 

24 costs of the Postal Service reasonably assignable 

25 to such class, product, or type; 

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1 ‘‘(C) establish postal rates for each group of 

2 functionally equivalent agreements between the 

3 Postal Service and users of the mail that— 

4 ‘‘(i) cover attributable cost; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) improve the net financial position 

6 of the Postal Service; 

7 for purposes of this subparagraph, a group of 

8 functionally equivalent agreements shall consist 

9 of all service agreements that are functionally 

10 equivalent to each other within the same market11 dominant product, but shall not include agree12 ments within an experimental product;’’; and 

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

14 ‘‘(4) PRC STUDY.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Within 90 days after 

16 the end of the first fiscal year beginning after the 

17 date of enactment of the Postal Reform Act of 

18 2011, the Postal Regulatory Commission shall 

19 complete a study to determine the quantitative 

20 impact of the Postal Service’s excess capacity on 

21 the direct and indirect postal costs attributable 

22 to any class that bears less than 100 percent of 

23 its costs attributable (as described in paragraph 

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1 termination of the Postal Regulatory Commis2 sion under section 3653. 

3 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The study required 

4 under subparagraph (A) shall— 

5 ‘‘(i) be conducted pursuant to regula6 tions that the Postal Regulatory Commis7 sion shall prescribe within 90 days after the 

8 date of enactment of the Postal Reform Act 

9 of 2011, taking into account existing regula10 tions for proceedings to improve the quality, 

11 accuracy, or completeness of ratemaking in12 formation under section 3652(e)(2) in effect 

13 on such date; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) for any year in which any class 

15 of mail bears less than 100 percent of its 

16 costs attributable (as described in para17 graph (1)(B)), be updated annually by the 

18 Postal Service and included in its annual 

19 report to the Commission under section 

20 3652, using such methodologies as the Com21 mission shall by regulation prescribe. 

22 ‘‘(5) ADDITIONAL RATES.—Starting not earlier 

23 than 12 months and not later than 18 months after 

24 the date on which the first study described in para25 graph (4) is completed, and at least once in each submstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 sequent 12-month period, the Postal Service shall es2 tablish postal rates for each loss-making class of mail 

3 to eliminate such losses (other than those caused by 

4 the Postal Service’s excess capacity) by exhausting all 

5 unused rate authority as well as maximizing incen6 tives to reduce costs and increase efficiency, subject to 

7 the following: 

8 ‘‘(A) The term ‘loss-making’, as used in this 

9 paragraph with respect to a class of mail, means 

10 a class of mail that bears less than 100 percent 

11 of its costs attributable (as described in para12 graph (1)(B)), according to the most recent an13 nual determination of the Postal Regulatory 

14 Commission under section 3653, adjusted to ac15 count for the quantitative effect of excess capac16 ity on the costs attributable of the class (as de17 scribed in paragraph (1)(C)). 

18 ‘‘(B) Unused rate authority shall be annu19 ally increased by 2 percent for each class of mail 

20 that bears less than 90 percent of its costs attrib21 utable (as described in paragraph (1)(B)), ac22 cording to the most recent annual determination 

23 of the Postal Regulatory Commission under sec24 tion 3653, adjusted to account for the quan25 titative effect of excess capacity on the costs atmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 tributable of the class (as described in paragraph 

2 (1)(C)), with such increase in unused rate au3 thority to take effect 30 days after the date that 

4 the Commission issues such determination.’’. 

5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subparagraph (A) of 

6 section 3622(c)(10) is amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(A) improve the net financial position of 

8 the Postal Service through reducing Postal Serv9 ice costs or increasing the overall contribution to 

10 the institutional costs of the Postal Service; 

11 and’’. 

12 (c) EXCEPTION.—Section 3622(d) is amended by add13 ing after paragraph (5) (as added by subsection (a)(2)) the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(6) EXCEPTION.—The requirements of para16 graph (1)(B) shall not apply to a market-dominant 

17 product for which a substantial portion of the prod18 uct’s mail volume consists of inbound international 

19 mail with terminal dues rates determined by the Uni20 versal Postal Union (and not by bilateral agreements 

21 or other arrangements).’’. 

22 SEC. 402. REPEAL OF RATE PREFERENCES FOR QUALIFIED 

23 POLITICAL COMMITTEES. 

24 Subsection (e) of section 3626 is repealed. 

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1 SEC. 403. RATE PREFERENCES FOR NONPROFIT ADVER2 TISING. 

3 (a) PROVISIONS RELATING TO FORMER SECTION

4 4358(f).—Section 3626(a)(5) is amended by adding at the 

5 end the following: ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of 

6 this paragraph, the percentage specified in the preceding 

7 sentence shall be increased by an additional 2 percentage 

8 points as of the first day of each calendar year beginning 

9 at least 3 years after the date of the enactment of the Postal 

10 Reform Act of 2011, until such percentage reaches 80 per11 cent.’’. 

12 (b) PROVISIONS RELATING TO FORMER SECTION 4452 

13 (b) AND (c).—Section 3626(a)(6) is amended by inserting 

14 after subparagraph (C) the following (as a flush left sen15 tence): 

16 ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of this paragraph, 

17 the percentage specified in subparagraph (A) shall be in18 creased by an additional 2 percentage points as of the first 

19 day of each calendar year beginning at least 3 years after 

20 the date of the enactment of the Postal Reform Act of 2011, 

21 until such percentage reaches 80 percent.’’. 

22 SEC. 404. STREAMLINED REVIEW OF QUALIFYING SERVICE 

23 AGREEMENTS FOR COMPETITIVE PRODUCTS. 

24 Section 3633 is amended by adding at the end the fol25 lowing: 

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1 ‘‘(c) STREAMLINED REVIEW.—Within 90 days after 

2 the date of the enactment of this subsection, after notice and 

3 opportunity for public comment, the Postal Regulatory 

4 Commission shall promulgate (and may from time to time 

5 thereafter revise) regulations for streamlined after-the-fact 

6 review of new agreements between the Postal Service and 

7 users of the mail that provide rates not of general applica8 bility for competitive products, and are functionally equiva9 lent to existing agreements that have collectively covered at10 tributable costs and collectively improved the net financial 

11 position of the Postal Service. Streamlined review will be 

12 concluded within 5 working days after the agreement is 

13 filed with the Commission and shall be limited to approval 

14 or disapproval of the agreement as a whole based on the 

15 Commission’s determination of its functional equivalence. 

16 Agreements not approved may be resubmitted without prej17 udice under section 3632(b)(3).’’. 

18 SEC. 405. SUBMISSION OF SERVICE AGREEMENTS FOR 

19 STREAMLINED REVIEW. 

20 Section 3632(b) is amended— 

21 (1) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para22 graph (5); and 

23 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol24 lowing: 

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1 ‘‘(4) RATES FOR STREAMLINED REVIEW.—In the 

2 case of rates not of general applicability for competi3 tive products that the Postmaster General considers 

4 eligible for streamlined review under section 3633(c), 

5 the Postmaster General shall cause each agreement to 

6 be filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission by 

7 such date, on or before the effective date of any new 

8 rate, as the Postmaster General considered appro9 priate.’’. 

10 SEC. 406. TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR 

11 SERVICE AGREEMENTS. 

12 Section 3653 is amended— 

13 (1) by redesignating subsections (c) through (e) 

14 as subsections (d) through (f), respectively; and 

15 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(c) Each annual written determination of the Com18 mission under section 3653 shall include the following writ19 ten determinations: 

20 ‘‘(1) Whether each product covered its costs, and 

21 if it did not, the determination shall state that such 

22 product is in noncompliance under section 3653(c). 

23 ‘‘(2) For each group of functionally equivalent 

24 agreements between the Postal Service and users of 

25 the mail, whether it fulfilled requirements to— 

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1 ‘‘(A) cover attributable costs; and 

2 ‘‘(B) improve the net financial position of 

3 the Postal Service. 

4 ‘‘(3) Any group of functionally equivalent agree5 ments (as referred to in subparagraph (B)) not meet6 ing subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (2) 

7 shall be determined to be in noncompliance under this 

8 subsection. 

9 ‘‘(4) For purposes of this subsection, a group of 

10 functionally equivalent agreements (as referred to in 

11 paragraph (2)) shall consist of all service agreements 

12 that are functionally equivalent to each other within 

13 the same market-dominant or competitive product, 

14 but shall not include agreements within an experi15 mental product.’’. 

16 SEC. 407. NONPOSTAL SERVICES. 

17 (a) NONPOSTAL SERVICES.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Part IV is amended by add19 ing after chapter 36 the following: 

20 ‘‘CHAPTER 37—NONPOSTAL SERVICES 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘3701. Purpose. 

‘‘3702. Definitions. 

‘‘3703. Postal Service advertising program. 

‘‘3704. Postal Service program for State governments. 

‘‘3705. Postal Service program for other government agencies. 

‘‘3706. Transparency and accountability for nonpostal services. 

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1 ‘‘§ 3701. Purpose 

2 ‘‘This chapter is intended to enable the Postal Service 

3 to increase its net revenues through specific nonpostal prod4 ucts and services that are expressly authorized by this chap5 ter. Postal Service revenues and expenses under this chapter 

6 shall be funded through the Postal Service Fund. 

7 ‘‘§ 3702. Definitions 

8 ‘‘As used in this chapter— 

9 ‘‘(1) the term ‘nonpostal services’ is limited to 

10 services offered by the Postal Service that are ex11 pressly authorized by this chapter and are not postal 

12 products or services; 

13 ‘‘(2) the term ‘Postal Service advertising pro14 gram’ means a program, managed by the Postal Serv15 ice, by which the Postal Service receives revenues from 

16 entities which advertise at Postal Service facilities 

17 and on Postal Service vehicles; 

18 ‘‘(3) the term ‘Postal Service program for State 

19 governments’ means a program, managed by the Post20 al Service, by which the Postal Service receives rev21 enue from State governments (including their agen22 cies) for providing services on their behalf at Postal 

23 Service facilities; 

24 ‘‘(4) the term ‘attributable costs’ has the same 

25 meaning as is given such term in section 3631; and 

26 ‘‘(5) the term ‘year’ means a fiscal year. 

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1 ‘‘§ 3703. Postal Service advertising program 

2 ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, the 

3 Postal Service may establish and manage a program that 

4 allows entities to advertise at Postal Service facilities and 

5 on Postal Service vehicles. Such a program shall be subject 

6 to the following requirements: 

7 ‘‘(1) The Postal Service shall at all times ensure 

8 advertising it permits is consistent with the integrity 

9 of the Postal Service. 

10 ‘‘(2) Any advertising program is required to 

11 cover a minimum of 200 percent of its attributable 

12 costs in each year. 

13 ‘‘(3) All advertising expenditures and revenues 

14 are subject to annual compliance determination (in15 cluding remedies for noncompliance) applicable to 

16 nonpostal products. 

17 ‘‘(4) Total advertising expenditures and revenues 

18 must be disclosed in Postal Service annual reports. 

19 ‘‘§ 3704. Postal Service program for State governments 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi21 sion of this title, the Postal Service may establish a pro22 gram to provide services for agencies of State governments 

23 within the United States, but only if such services— 

24 ‘‘(1) shall provide enhanced value to the public, 

25 such as by lowering the cost or raising the quality of 

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1 such services or by making such services more acces2 sible; 

3 ‘‘(2) do not interfere with or detract from the 

4 value of postal services, including— 

5 ‘‘(A) the cost and efficiency of postal serv6 ices; and 

7 ‘‘(B) access to postal retail service, such as 

8 customer waiting time and access to parking; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(3) provide a reasonable contribution to the in11 stitutional costs of the Postal Service, defined as re12 imbursement for each service and to each agency cov13 ering at least 150 percent of the attributable costs of 

14 such service in each year. 

15 ‘‘(b) PUBLIC NOTICE.—At least 90 days before offering 

16 any services under this section, the Postal Service shall 

17 make each agreement with State agencies readily available 

18 to the public on its website, including a business plan that 

19 describes the specific services to be provided, the enhanced 

20 value to the public, terms of reimbursement, the estimated 

21 annual reimbursement to the Postal Service, and the esti22 mated percentage of attributable Postal Service costs that 

23 will be covered by reimbursement (with documentation to 

24 support these estimates). The Postal Service shall solicit 

25 public comment for at least 30 days, with comments posted 

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1 on its website, followed by its written response posted on 

2 its website at least 30 days before offering such services. 

3 ‘‘(c) APPROVAL REQUIRED.—The Governors of the 

4 Postal Service shall approve the provision of services under 

this section by a recorded vote, with at least 2 5 ⁄3 of its mem6 bership voting for approval, with the vote publicly disclosed 

7 on the Postal Service website. 

8 ‘‘(d) CLASSIFICATION OF SERVICES.—All services for 

9 a given agency provided under this section shall be classi10 fied as a separate activity subject to the requirements of 

11 annual reporting under section 3706. Such reporting shall 

12 also include information on the quality of service and re13 lated information to demonstrate that it satisfied the re14 quirements of subsection (a). Information provided under 

15 this section shall be according to requirements that the Post16 al Regulatory Commission shall by regulation prescribe. 

17 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—For the purpose of this section— 

18 ‘‘(1) the term ‘State’ includes the District of Co19 lumbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 

20 United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American 

21 Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

22 Islands, and any other territory or possession of the 

23 United States; and 

24 ‘‘(2) the term ‘United States’, when used in a 

25 geographical sense, means the States. 

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1 ‘‘§ 3705. Postal Service program for other government 

2 agencies 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Postal Service may establish 

4 a program to provide property and services for other gov5 ernment agencies within the meaning of section 411, but 

6 only if such program provides a reasonable contribution to 

7 the institutional costs of the Postal Service, defined as reim8 bursement by each agency that covers at least 100 percent 

9 of the attributable costs of all property and service provided 

10 by the Postal Service in a each year to such agency. 

11 ‘‘(b) CLASSIFICATION OF SERVICES.—For each agency, 

12 all property and services provided by the Postal Service 

13 under this section shall be classified as a separate activity 

14 subject to the requirements of annual reporting under sec15 tion 3706. Information provided under this section shall be 

16 according to requirements that the Postal Regulatory Com17 mission shall by regulation prescribe. 

18 ‘‘§ 3706. Transparency and accountability for non19 postal services 

20 ‘‘(a) ANNUAL REPORTS TO THE COMMISSION.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Postal Service shall, no 

22 later than 90 days after the end of each year, prepare 

23 and submit to the Postal Regulatory Commission a 

24 report (together with such nonpublic annex to the re25 port as the Commission may require under subsection 

26 (b)) which shall analyze costs, revenues, rates, and 

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1 quality of service for this chapter, using such meth2 odologies as the Commission shall by regulation pre3 scribe, and in sufficient detail to demonstrate compli4 ance with all applicable requirements of this chapter. 

5 ‘‘(2) AUDITS.—The Inspector General shall regu6 larly audit the data collection systems and procedures 

7 utilized in collecting information and preparing such 

8 report. The results of any such audit shall be sub9 mitted to the Postal Service and the Postal Regu10 latory Commission. 

11 ‘‘(b) SUPPORTING MATTER.—The Postal Regulatory 

12 Commission shall have access, in accordance with such reg13 ulations as the Commission shall prescribe, to the working 

14 papers and any other supporting matter of the Postal Serv15 ice and the Inspector General in connection with any infor16 mation submitted under this section. 

17 ‘‘(c) CONTENT AND FORM OF REPORTS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Postal Regulatory Com19 mission shall, by regulation, prescribe the content and 

20 form of the public reports (and any nonpublic annex 

21 and supporting matter relating to the report) to be 

22 provided by the Postal Service under this section. 

23 Such reports shall be included with the annual com24 pliance determination reported under section 3653. In 

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1 carrying out this subsection, the Commission shall 

2 give due consideration to— 

3 ‘‘(A) providing the public with timely, ade4 quate information to assess compliance; 

5 ‘‘(B) avoiding unnecessary or unwarranted 

6 administrative effort and expense on the part of 

7 the Postal Service; and 

8 ‘‘(C) protecting the confidentiality of infor9 mation that is commercially sensitive or is ex10 empt from public disclosure under section 552(b) 

11 of title 5. 

12 ‘‘(2) REVISED REQUIREMENTS.—The Commis13 sion may, on its own motion or on request of any in14 terested party, initiate proceedings (to be conducted 

15 in accordance with regulations that the Commission 

16 shall prescribe) to improve the quality, accuracy, or 

17 completeness of Postal Service data required by the 

18 Commission under this subsection whenever it shall 

19 appear that— 

20 ‘‘(A) the attribution of costs or revenues to 

21 property or services under this chapter has be22 come significantly inaccurate or can be signifi23 cantly improved; 

24 ‘‘(B) the quality of service data provided to 

25 the Commission for annual reports under this 

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1 chapter has become significantly inaccurate or 

2 can be significantly improved; or 

3 ‘‘(C) such revisions are, in the judgment of 

4 the Commission, otherwise necessitated by the 

5 public interest. 

6 ‘‘(d) CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Postal Service deter8 mines that any document or portion of a document, 

9 or other matter, which it provides to the Postal Regu10 latory Commission in a nonpublic annex under this 

11 section contains information which is described in 

12 section 410(c) of this title, or exempt from public dis13 closure under section 552(b) of title 5, the Postal 

14 Service shall, at the time of providing such matter to 

15 the Commission, notify the Commission of its deter16 mination, in writing, and describe with particularity 

17 the documents (or portions of documents) or other 

18 matter for which confidentiality is sought and the 

19 reasons therefor. 

20 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT.—Any information or other 

21 matter described in paragraph (1) to which the Com22 mission gains access under this section shall be sub23 ject to paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 504(g) in the 

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1 tion with respect to such matter under section 

2 504(g)(1). 

3 ‘‘(e) ANNUAL COMPLIANCE DETERMINATION.— 

4 ‘‘(1) OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.— 

5 After receiving the reports required under subsection 

6 (a) for any year, the Postal Regulatory Commission 

7 shall promptly provide an opportunity for comment 

8 on such reports by any interested party, and an offi9 cer of the Commission who shall be required to rep10 resent the interests of the general public. 

11 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF COMPLIANCE OR NON12 COMPLIANCE.—Not later than 90 days after receiving 

13 the submissions required under subsection (a) with re14 spect to a year, the Postal Regulatory Commission 

15 shall make a written determination as to whether any 

16 nonpostal activities during such year were or were 

17 not in compliance with applicable provisions of this 

18 chapter (or regulations promulgated under this chap19 ter). The Postal Regulatory Commission shall issue a 

20 determination of noncompliance if the requirements 

21 for coverage of attributable costs are not met. If, with 

22 respect to a year, no instance of noncompliance is 

23 found to have occurred in such year, the written de24 termination shall be to that effect. 

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1 ‘‘(3) NONCOMPLIANCE.—If, for a year, a timely 

2 written determination of noncompliance is made 

3 under this chapter, the Postal Regulatory Commission 

4 shall take appropriate action. If the requirements for 

5 coverage of attributable costs specified by this chapter 

6 are not met, the Commission shall, within 60 days 

7 after the determination, prescribe remedial action to 

8 restore compliance as soon as practicable, which shall 

9 also include the full restoration of revenue shortfalls 

10 during the following fiscal year. The Commission 

11 may order the Postal Service to discontinue a non12 postal service under section 3703 or 3704 that persist13 ently fails to meet cost coverage requirements. 

14 ‘‘(4) ANY DELIBERATE NONCOMPLIANCE.—In ad15 dition, in cases of deliberate noncompliance by the 

16 Postal Service with the requirements of this chapter, 

17 the Postal Regulatory Commission may order, based 

18 on the nature, circumstances, extent, and seriousness 

19 of the noncompliance, a fine (in the amount specified 

20 by the Commission in its order) for each incidence of 

21 noncompliance. All receipts from fines imposed under 

22 this subsection shall be deposited in the general fund 

23 of the Treasury of the United States.’’. 

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1 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of chap2 ters at the beginning of part IV is amended by adding 

3 after the item relating to chapter 36 the following: 

‘‘37. Nonpostal Services ........................................................................ 3701’’. 

4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

5 (1) SECTION 404(e).—Section 404(e) is amended 

6 by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(6) Nothing in this section shall be considered to pre8 vent the Postal Service from establishing nonpostal products 

9 and services that are expressly authorized by chapter 37.’’. 

10 (2) SECTION 411.—The last sentence of section 

11 411 is amended by striking ‘‘including 

12 reimbursability’’ and inserting ‘‘including 

13 reimbursability within the limitations of chapter 37’’. 

14 (3) TREATMENT OF EXISTING NONPOSTAL SERV15 ICES.—All nonpostal services continued pursuant to 

16 section 404(e) of title 39, United States Code, shall be 

17 considered to be expressly authorized by chapter 37 of 

18 such title (as added by subsection (a)(1)) and shall be 

19 subject to the requirements of such chapter. 

20 SEC. 408. REIMBURSEMENT OF ALASKA BYPASS MAIL 

21 COSTS. 

22 (a) COST ESTIMATES BY POSTAL REGULATORY COM23 MISSION.—Section 3651(b) is amended— 

24 (1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para25 graph (3); and 

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1 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(2) ALASKA BYPASS MAIL COSTS.—In addition 

4 to the information required under subsection (a), each 

5 report under this section shall also include, with re6 spect to the period covered by such report, an estimate 

7 of the costs incurred by the Postal Service in pro8 viding Alaska bypass mail service under section 

9 5402.’’. 

10 (b) REIMBURSEMENTS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 54 is amended by 

12 adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘§ 5404. Reimbursement of Alaska bypass mail costs 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The State of Alaska, on an annual 

15 basis, shall make a payment to the Postal Service to reim16 burse the Postal Service for its costs in providing Alaska 

17 bypass mail service under section 5402 of this title. 

18 ‘‘(b) DATE OF FIRST PAYMENT.—The State of Alaska 

19 shall make its first payment under subsection (a) on or be20 fore the last day of the first fiscal year of the State of Alaska 

21 beginning after the date of enactment of this section. 

22 ‘‘(c) PAYMENT AMOUNTS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNTS.—The 

24 amount of a payment under subsection (a) shall be 

25 determined based on the most recent cost estimate premstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 pared by the Postal Regulatory Commission under 

2 section 3651(b)(2) of this title (in this subsection re3 ferred to as the ‘cost estimate’). 

4 ‘‘(2) FIRST PAYMENT.—The first payment under 

5 subsection (a) shall be in an amount equal to 20 per6 cent of the cost estimate. 

7 ‘‘(3) SUBSEQUENT PAYMENTS.—Each subsequent 

8 payment under subsection (a) shall be in an amount 

9 equal to a percentage of the cost estimate determined 

10 by adding 20 percent to the percentage due in the 

11 prior year, except that no payment shall exceed 100 

12 percent of the cost estimate. 

13 ‘‘(d) NOTICE OF PAYMENT AMOUNTS.—Not later than 

14 30 days after the date of issuance of a cost estimate by the 

15 Postal Regulatory Commission under section 3651(b)(2) of 

16 this title, the Postal Service shall furnish the State of Alaska 

17 with written notice of the amount of the next payment due 

18 under subsection (a). 

19 ‘‘(e) DEPOSIT OF PAYMENTS.—Not later than the last 

20 day of the fiscal year of the State of Alaska in which notice 

21 of a payment is provided under subsection (d)— 

22 ‘‘(1) the State of Alaska shall transmit the pay23 ment to the Postal Service; and 

24 ‘‘(2) the Postal Service shall deposit the payment 

25 in the Postal Service Fund.’’. 

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1 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec2 tions at the beginning of chapter 54 is amended by 

3 adding at the end the following: 

‘‘5404. Reimbursement of Alaska bypass mail costs.’’. 

4 SEC. 409. APPROPRIATIONS MODERNIZATION. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2401 is amended by strik6 ing subsections (b) through (d). 

7 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by sub8 section (a) shall be effective with respect to fiscal years be9 ginning after the date of enactment of this Act. 

10 SEC. 410. RETIREE HEALTH CARE BENEFIT PAYMENT DE11 FERRAL. 

12 Section 8909a of title 5, United States Code, is amend13 ed— 

14 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘Ben15 efit’’ and inserting ‘‘Benefits’’; 

16 (2) in subsection (d)(3)(A)(v), by striking 

17 ‘‘$5,500,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$1,000,000,000’’; 

18 (3) in subsection (d)(3)(A)(ix), by striking 

19 ‘‘$5,700,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$7,950,000,000’’; 

20 and 

21 (4) in subsection (d)(3)(A)(x), by striking 

22 ‘‘$5,800,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$8,050,000,000’’. 

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1 TITLE V—POSTAL CONTRACTING 

2 REFORM 

3 SEC. 501. CONTRACTING PROVISIONS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part I is amended by adding at 

5 the end the following: 

6 ‘‘CHAPTER 7—CONTRACTING PROVISIONS 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘701. Definitions. 

‘‘702. Advocate for competition. 

‘‘703. Delegation of contracting authority. 

‘‘704. Posting of noncompetitive purchase requests for noncompetitive contracts. 

‘‘705. Review of ethical issues. 

‘‘706. Ethical restrictions on participation in certain contracting activity. 

7 ‘‘§ 701. Definitions 

8 ‘‘In this chapter— 

9 ‘‘(1) the term ‘contracting officer’ means an em10 ployee of a covered postal entity who has authority to 

11 enter into a postal contract; 

12 ‘‘(2) the term ‘covered postal entity’ means— 

13 ‘‘(A) the Postal Service; or 

14 ‘‘(B) the Postal Regulatory Commission; 

15 ‘‘(3) the term ‘head of a covered postal entity’ 

16 means— 

17 ‘‘(A) in the case of the Postal Service, the 

18 Postmaster General; or 

19 ‘‘(B) in the case of the Postal Regulatory 

20 Commission, the Chairman of the Postal Regu21 latory Commission; 

22 ‘‘(4) the term ‘postal contract’ means— 

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1 ‘‘(A) in the case of the Postal Service, any 

2 contract (including any agreement or memo3 randum of understanding) entered into by the 

4 Postal Service for the procurement of goods or 

5 services; or 

6 ‘‘(B) in the case of the Postal Regulatory 

7 Commission, any contract (including any agree8 ment or memorandum of understanding) in an 

9 amount exceeding the simplified acquisition 

10 threshold (as defined in section 134 of title 41 

11 and adjusted under section 1908 of such title) 

12 entered into by the Postal Regulatory Commis13 sion for the procurement of goods or services; and 

14 ‘‘(5) the term ‘senior procurement executive’ 

15 means the senior procurement executive of a covered 

16 postal entity. 

17 ‘‘§ 702. Advocate for competition 

18 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND DESIGNATION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) There is established in each covered postal 

20 entity an advocate for competition. 

21 ‘‘(2) The head of each covered postal entity shall 

22 designate for the covered postal entity 1 or more offi23 cers or employees (other than the senior procurement 

24 executive) to serve as the advocate for competition. 

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1 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The advocate for competi2 tion of a covered postal entity shall— 

3 ‘‘(1) be responsible for promoting— 

4 ‘‘(A) the contracting out of functions of the 

5 covered postal entity that the private sector can 

6 perform equally well or better, and at lower cost; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(B) competition to the maximum extent 

9 practicable consistent with obtaining best value 

10 by promoting the acquisition of commercial 

11 items and challenging barriers to competition; 

12 ‘‘(2) review the procurement activities of the cov13 ered postal entity; and 

14 ‘‘(3) prepare and transmit the annual report re15 quired under subsection (c). 

16 ‘‘(c) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

17 ‘‘(1) PREPARATION.—The advocate for competi18 tion of a covered postal entity shall prepare an an19 nual report describing the following: 

20 ‘‘(A) The activities of the advocate under 

21 this section. 

22 ‘‘(B) Initiatives required to promote con23 tracting out and competition. 

24 ‘‘(C) Barriers to contracting out and com25 petition. 

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1 ‘‘(D) In the case of the report prepared by 

2 the competition advocate of the Postal Service, 

3 the number of waivers made by the Postal Serv4 ice under section 704(c). 

5 ‘‘(2) TRANSMISSION.—The report under this sub6 section shall be transmitted— 

7 ‘‘(A) to Congress; 

8 ‘‘(B) to the head of the postal entity; 

9 ‘‘(C) to the senior procurement executive of 

10 the entity; 

11 ‘‘(D) in the case of the competition advocate 

12 of the Postal Service, to each member of the Post13 al Service Board of Governors; and 

14 ‘‘(E) in the case of the competition advocate 

15 of the Postal Regulatory Commission, to each of 

16 the Commissioners of the Commission. 

17 ‘‘§ 703. Delegation of contracting authority 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

19 ‘‘(1) POLICY.—Not later than 60 days after the 

20 date of enactment of this chapter, the head of each 

21 covered postal entity shall issue a policy on con22 tracting officer delegations of authority for postal con23 tracts for the covered postal entity. 

24 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The policy issued under para25 graph (1) shall require that— 

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1 ‘‘(A) notwithstanding any delegation of au2 thority with respect to postal contracts, the ulti3 mate responsibility and accountability for the 

4 award and administration of postal contracts re5 sides with the senior procurement executive; and 

6 ‘‘(B) a contracting officer shall maintain 

7 an awareness of and engagement in the activities 

8 being performed on postal contracts of which 

9 that officer has cognizance, notwithstanding any 

10 delegation of authority that may have been exe11 cuted. 

12 ‘‘(b) POSTING OF DELEGATIONS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The head of each covered 

14 postal entity shall make any delegation of authority 

15 for postal contracts outside the functional contracting 

16 unit readily available and accessible on the website of 

17 the covered postal entity. 

18 ‘‘(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This paragraph shall 

19 apply to any delegation of authority made on or after 

20 30 days after the date of enactment of this chapter. 

21 ‘‘§ 704. Posting of noncompetitive purchase requests 

22 for noncompetitive contracts 

23 ‘‘(a) POSTING REQUIRED.— 

24 ‘‘(1) POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION.—The 

25 Postal Regulatory Commission shall make the nonmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 competitive purchase request for any noncompetitive 

2 award for any contract (including any agreement or 

3 memorandum of understanding) entered into by the 

4 Postal Regulatory Commission for the procurement of 

5 goods and services, in an amount of $20,000 or more, 

6 including the rationale supporting the noncompetitive 

7 award, publicly available on the website of the Postal 

8 Regulatory Commission— 

9 ‘‘(A) not later than 14 days after the date 

10 of the award of the noncompetitive contract; or 

11 ‘‘(B) not later than 30 days after the date 

12 of the award of the noncompetitive contract, if 

13 the basis for the award was a compelling busi14 ness interest. 

15 ‘‘(2) POSTAL SERVICE.—The Postal Service shall 

16 make the noncompetitive purchase request for any 

17 noncompetitive award of a postal contract in an 

18 amount of $250,000 or more, including the rationale 

19 supporting the noncompetitive award, publicly avail20 able on the website of the Postal Service— 

21 ‘‘(A) not later than 14 days after the date 

22 of the award; or 

23 ‘‘(B) not later than 30 days after the date 

24 of the award, if the basis for the award was a 

25 compelling business interest. 

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1 ‘‘(3) ADJUSTMENTS TO THE POSTING THRESH2 OLD FOR THE POSTAL SERVICE.— 

3 ‘‘(A) REVIEW AND DETERMINATION.—Not 

4 later than January 31 of each year, the Postal 

5 Service shall— 

6 ‘‘(i) review the $250,000 threshold es7 tablished under paragraph (2); and 

8 ‘‘(ii) based on any change in the Con9 sumer Price Index for all-urban consumers 

10 of the Department of Labor, determine 

11 whether an adjustment to the threshold shall 

12 be made. 

13 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT OF ADJUSTMENTS.—An ad14 justment under subparagraph (A) shall be made 

15 in increments of $5,000. If the Postal Service de16 termines that a change in the Consumer Price 

17 Index for a year would require an adjustment in 

18 an amount that is less than $5,000, the Postal 

19 Service may not make an adjustment to the 

20 threshold for the year. 

21 ‘‘(4) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection shall 

22 apply to any noncompetitive contract awarded on or 

23 after the date that is 90 days after the date of enact24 ment of this chapter. 

25 ‘‘(b) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.— 

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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), the 

2 information required to be made publicly available by 

3 a covered postal entity under subsection (a) shall be 

4 readily accessible on the website of the covered postal 

5 entity. 

6 ‘‘(2) PROTECTION OF PROPRIETARY INFORMA7 TION.—A covered postal entity shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) carefully screen any description of the 

9 rationale supporting a noncompetitive award re10 quired to be made publicly available under sub11 section (a) to determine whether the description 

12 includes proprietary data (including any ref13 erence or citation to the proprietary data) or se14 curity-related information; and 

15 ‘‘(B) remove any proprietary data or secu16 rity-related information before making publicly 

17 available a description of the rationale sup18 porting a noncompetitive award. 

19 ‘‘(c) WAIVERS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) WAIVER PERMITTED.—If the Postal Service 

21 determines that making a noncompetitive purchase 

22 request for a postal contract of the Postal Service pub23 licly available would risk placing the Postal Service 

24 at a competitive disadvantage relative to a private 

25 sector competitor, the senior procurement executive, in 

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1 consultation with the advocate for competition of the 

2 Postal Service, may waive the requirements under 

3 subsection (a). 

4 ‘‘(2) FORM AND CONTENT OF WAIVER.— 

5 ‘‘(A) FORM.—A waiver under paragraph 

6 (1) shall be in the form of a written determina7 tion placed in the file of the contract to which 

8 the noncompetitive purchase agreement relates. 

9 ‘‘(B) CONTENT.—A waiver under para10 graph (1) shall include— 

11 ‘‘(i) a description of the risk associated 

12 with making the noncompetitive purchase 

13 request publicly available; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) a statement that redaction of sen15 sitive information in the noncompetitive 

16 purchase request would not be sufficient to 

17 protect the Postal Service from being placed 

18 at a competitive disadvantage relative to a 

19 private sector competitor. 

20 ‘‘(3) DELEGATION OF WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The 

21 Postal Service may not delegate the authority to ap22 prove a waiver under paragraph (1) to any employee 

23 having less authority than the senior procurement ex24 ecutive. 

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1 ‘‘§ 705. Review of ethical issues 

2 ‘‘If a contracting officer identifies any ethical issues 

3 relating to a proposed contract and submits those issues and 

4 that proposed contract to the designated ethics official for 

5 the covered postal entity before the awarding of that con6 tract, that ethics official shall— 

7 ‘‘(1) review the proposed contract; and 

8 ‘‘(2) advise the contracting officer on the appro9 priate resolution of ethical issues. 

10 ‘‘§ 706. Ethical restrictions on participation in certain 

11 contracting activity 

12 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

13 ‘‘(1) the term ‘covered employee’ means— 

14 ‘‘(A) a contracting officer; or 

15 ‘‘(B) any employee of a covered postal enti16 ty whose decision making affects a postal con17 tract as determined by regulations prescribed by 

18 the head of a covered postal entity; 

19 ‘‘(2) the term ‘final conviction’ means a convic20 tion, whether entered on a verdict or plea, including 

21 a plea of nolo contendere, for which a sentence has 

22 been imposed; and 

23 ‘‘(3) the term ‘covered relationship’ means a cov24 ered relationship described in section 2635.502(b)(1) 

25 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, or any suc26 cessor thereto. 

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1 ‘‘(b) IN GENERAL.— 

2 ‘‘(1) REGULATIONS.—The head of each covered 

3 postal entity shall prescribe regulations that— 

4 ‘‘(A) require a covered employee to include 

5 in the file of any noncompetitive purchase re6 quest for a noncompetitive postal contract a 

7 written certification that— 

8 ‘‘(i) discloses any covered relationship 

9 of the covered employee; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) states that the covered employee 

11 will not take any action with respect to the 

12 noncompetitive purchase request that affects 

13 the financial interests of a friend, relative, 

14 or person with whom the covered employee 

15 is affiliated in a nongovernmental capacity, 

16 or otherwise gives rise to an appearance of 

17 the use of public office for private gain, as 

18 described in section 2635.702 of title 5, 

19 Code of Federal Regulations, or any suc20 cessor thereto; 

21 ‘‘(B) require a contracting officer to consult 

22 with the ethics counsel for the covered postal en23 tity regarding any disclosure made by a covered 

24 employee under subparagraph (A)(i), to deter25 mine whether participation by the covered emmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 ployee in the noncompetitive purchase request 

2 would give rise to a violation of part 2635 of 

3 title 5, Code of Federal Regulations (commonly 

4 referred to as the Standards of Ethical Conduct 

5 for Employees of the Executive Branch), or any 

6 successor thereto; 

7 ‘‘(C) require the ethics counsel for a covered 

8 postal entity to review any disclosure made by 

9 a contracting officer under subparagraph (A)(i) 

10 to determine whether participation by the con11 tracting officer in the noncompetitive purchase 

12 request would give rise to a violation of part 

13 2635 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations 

14 (commonly referred to as the Standards of Eth15 ical Conduct for Employees of the Executive 

16 Branch), or any successor thereto; 

17 ‘‘(D) under subsections (d) and (e) of sec18 tion 2635.502 of title 5, Code of Federal Regula19 tions, or any successor thereto, require the ethics 

20 counsel for a covered postal entity to— 

21 ‘‘(i) authorize a covered employee that 

22 makes a disclosure under subparagraph 

23 (A)(i) to participate in the noncompetitive 

24 postal contract; or 

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1 ‘‘(ii) disqualify a covered employee 

2 that makes a disclosure under subparagraph 

3 (A)(i) from participating in the non4 competitive postal contract; 

5 ‘‘(E) require a contractor to timely disclose 

6 to the contracting officer in a bid, solicitation, 

7 award, or performance of a postal contract any 

8 conflict of interest with a covered employee; and 

9 ‘‘(F) include authority for the head of the 

10 covered postal entity to grant a waiver or other11 wise mitigate any organizational or personal 

12 conflict of interest, if the head of the covered 

13 postal entity determines that the waiver or miti14 gation is in the best interests of the covered post15 al entity. 

16 ‘‘(2) POSTING OF WAIVERS.—Not later than 30 

17 days after the head of a covered postal entity grants 

18 a waiver described in paragraph (1)(F), the head of 

19 the covered postal entity shall make the waiver pub20 licly available on the website of the covered postal en21 tity. 

22 ‘‘(c) CONTRACT VOIDANCE AND RECOVERY.— 

23 ‘‘(1) UNLAWFUL CONDUCT.—In any case in 

24 which there is a final conviction for a violation of 

25 any provision of chapter 11 of title 18 relating to a 

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1 postal contract, the head of a covered postal entity 

2 may— 

3 ‘‘(A) void that contract; and 

4 ‘‘(B) recover the amounts expended and 

5 property transferred by the covered postal entity 

6 under that contract. 

7 ‘‘(2) OBTAINING OR DISCLOSING PROCUREMENT

8 INFORMATION.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which a 

10 contractor under a postal contract fails to timely 

11 disclose a conflict of interest to the appropriate 

12 contracting officer as required under the regula13 tions promulgated under subsection (b)(1)(E), 

14 the head of a covered postal entity may— 

15 ‘‘(i) void that contract; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) recover the amounts expended and 

17 property transferred by the covered postal 

18 entity under that contract. 

19 ‘‘(B) CONVICTION OR ADMINISTRATIVE DE20 TERMINATION.—A case described under subpara21 graph (A) is any case in which— 

22 ‘‘(i) there is a final conviction for an 

23 offense punishable under section 2105 of 

24 title 41; or 

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1 ‘‘(ii) the head of a covered postal entity 

2 determines, based upon a preponderance of 

3 the evidence, that the contractor or someone 

4 acting for the contractor has engaged in 

5 conduct constituting an offense punishable 

6 under section 2105 of such title.’’. 

7 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of chapters at 

8 the beginning of part I is amended by adding at the end 

9 the following: 

‘‘7. Contracting Provisions .................................................................. 701’’. 

10 SEC. 502. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT TO DEFINITION. 

11 Section 7101(8) of title 41, United States Code, is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara14 graph (C); 

15 (2) by striking the period at the end of subpara16 graph (D) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

18 ‘‘(E) the United States Postal Service and 

19 the Postal Regulatory Commission.’’. 

20 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS; REF21 ERENCES. 

22 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as 

23 the ‘‘Postal Reform Act of 2012’’. 

24 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of con25 tents of this Act is as follows: 

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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents; references. 

TITLE I—POSTAL SERVICE MODERNIZATION 

Subtitle A—Commission on Postal Reorganization 

Sec. 101. Short title. 

Sec. 102. Definitions. 

Sec. 103. Commission on Postal Reorganization. 

Sec. 104. Recommendations for closures and consolidations. 

Sec. 105. Implementation of closures and consolidations. 

Sec. 106. Congressional consideration of final CPR reports. 

Sec. 107. Nonappealability of decisions. 

Sec. 108. Rules of construction. 

Sec. 109. GAO study and report. 

Subtitle B—Other Provisions 

Sec. 111. Implementation of discretionary non-mail delivery 

days. 

Sec. 112. Efficient and flexible universal postal service. 

Sec. 113. Enhanced reporting on Postal Service efficiency. 

Sec. 114. Applicability of procedures relating to closures and 

consolidations. 

TITLE II—POSTAL SERVICE FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY 

AND MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE AUTHORITY 

Subtitle A—Establishment and Organization 

Sec. 201. Purposes. 

Sec. 202. Establishment of the Authority. 

Sec. 203. Membership and qualification requirements. 

Sec. 204. Organization. 

Sec. 205. Executive Director and staff. 

Sec. 206. Funding. 

Subtitle B—Powers of the Authority 

Sec. 211. Powers. 

Sec. 212. Exemption from liability for claims. 

Sec. 213. Treatment of actions arising under this title. 

Sec. 214. Delivery point modernization. 

Subtitle C—Establishment and Enforcement of Financial Plan 

and Budget for the Postal Service 

Sec. 221. Development of financial plan and budget for the 

Postal Service. 

Sec. 222. Supplementary borrowing authority during a control 

period. 

Sec. 223. Process for submission and approval of financial plan 

and budget. 

Sec. 224. Responsibilities of the Authority. 

Sec. 225. Effect of finding noncompliance with financial plan 

and budget. 

Sec. 226. Recommendations regarding financial stability, etc. 

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Sec. 227. Special rules for fiscal year in which control period 

commences. 

Sec. 228. Assistance in achieving financial stability, etc. 

Sec. 229. Obtaining reports. 

Sec. 230. Reports and comments. 

TITLE III—POSTAL SERVICE WORKFORCE 

Subtitle A—General Provisions 

Sec. 301. Modifications relating to determination of pay comparability. 

Sec. 302. Limitation on postal contributions under FEGLI and 

FEHBP. 

Sec. 303. Repeal of provision relating to overall value of fringe 

benefits. 

Sec. 304. Applicability of reduction-in-force procedures. 

Sec. 305. Modifications relating to collective bargaining. 

Sec. 306. One-time transfer of net surplus postal retirement 

contributions. 

Subtitle B—Postal Service Workers’ Compensation Reform 

Sec. 311. Postal Service workers’ compensation reform. 

TITLE IV—POSTAL SERVICE REVENUE 

Sec. 401. Adequacy, efficiency, and fairness of postal rates. 

Sec. 402. Repeal of rate preferences for qualified political committees. 

Sec. 403. Rate preferences for nonprofit advertising. 

Sec. 404. Streamlined review of qualifying service agreements 

for competitive products. 

Sec. 405. Submission of service agreements for streamlined review. 

Sec. 406. Transparency and accountability for service agreements. 

Sec. 407. Nonpostal services. 

Sec. 408. Reimbursement of Alaska bypass mail costs. 

Sec. 409. Appropriations modernization. 

Sec. 410. Retiree health care benefit payment deferral. 

TITLE V—POSTAL CONTRACTING REFORM 

Sec. 501. Contracting provisions. 

Sec. 502. Technical amendment to definition. 

1 (c) REFERENCES.—Except as otherwise ex2 pressly provided, whenever in this Act an 

3 amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of 

4 an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or 

5 other provision, the reference shall be considmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 ered to be made to a section or other provi2 sion of title 39, United States Code. 

3 TITLE I—POSTAL SERVICE 

4 MODERNIZATION 

5 Subtitle A—Commission on Postal 

6 Reorganization 

7 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

8 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Commis9 sion on Postal Reorganization Act’’ or the 

10 ‘‘CPR Act’’. 

11 SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS. 

12 For purposes of this title— 

13 (1) the term ‘‘Postal Service’’ means 

14 the United States Postal Service; 

15 (2) the term ‘‘postal retail facility’’ 

16 means a post office, post office branch, 

17 post office classified station, or other fa18 cility which is operated by the Postal 

19 Service, and the primary function of 

20 which is to provide retail postal services; 

21 (3) the term ‘‘mail processing facility’’ 

22 means a processing and distribution cen23 ter, processing and distribution facility, 

24 network distribution center, or other fa25 cility which is operated by the Postal 

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1 Service, and the primary function of 

2 which is to sort and process mail; 

3 (4) the term ‘‘district office’’ means 

4 the central office of an administrative 

5 field unit with responsibility for postal 

6 operations in a designated geographic 

7 area (as defined under regulations, direc8 tives, or other guidance of the Postal 

9 Service, as in effect on June 23, 2011); 

10 (5) the term ‘‘area office’’ means the 

11 central office of an administrative field 

12 unit with responsibility for postal oper13 ations in a designated geographic area 

14 which is comprised of designated geo15 graphic areas as referred to in paragraph 

16 (4); 

17 (6) the term ‘‘baseline year’’ means 

18 the fiscal year last ending before the date 

19 of the enactment of this Act; and 

20 (7) the term ‘‘Member of Congress’’ 

21 has the meaning given such term by sec22 tion 2106 of title 5, United States Code. 

23 SEC. 103. COMMISSION ON POSTAL REORGANIZATION. 

24 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There shall be estab25 lished, not later than 90 days after the date 

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1 of the enactment of this Act, an independent 

2 commission to be known as the ‘‘Commission 

3 on Postal Reorganization’’ (hereinafter in this 

4 section referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

5 (b) DUTIES.—The Commission shall carry 

6 out the duties specified for it in this subtitle. 

7 (c) MEMBERS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission 

9 shall be composed of 5 members who 

10 shall be appointed by the President, and 

11 of whom— 

12 (A) 1 shall be appointed from 

13 among individuals recommended by 

14 the Speaker of the House of Rep15 resentatives; 

16 (B) 1 shall be appointed from 

17 among individuals recommended by 

18 the majority leader of the Senate; 

19 (C) 1 shall be appointed from 

20 among individuals recommended by 

21 the minority leader of the House of 

22 Representatives; 

23 (D) 1 shall be appointed from 

24 among individuals recommended by 

25 the minority leader of the Senate; and 

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1 (E) 1 shall be appointed from 

2 among individuals recommended by 

3 the Comptroller General. 

4 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Members of the 

6 Commission shall be chosen to rep7 resent the public interest generally, 

8 and shall not be representatives of 

9 specific interests using the Postal 

10 Service. 

11 (B) INELIGIBILITY.—An individual 

12 may not be appointed to serve as a 

13 member of the Commission if such in14 dividual is a Member of Congress or 

15 served as an employee of the Postal 

16 Service or the Postal Regulatory 

17 Commission, or of a labor organiza18 tion representing employees of the 

19 Postal Service or the Postal Regu20 latory Commission, during the 3-year 

21 period ending on the date of such ap22 pointment. 

23 (3) POLITICAL AFFILIATION.—Not more 

24 than 3 members of the Commission may 

25 be of the same political party. 

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1 (d) TERMS.—Each member of the Commis2 sion shall be appointed for the life of the Com3 mission and may be removed only for cause. 

4 (e) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commis5 sion shall be filled in the same manner as the 

6 original appointment. 

7 (f) CHAIRMAN.—The President shall, at the 

8 time of making appointments under sub9 section (c), designate one of the members to 

10 serve as chairman of the Commission. 

11 (g) COMPENSATION AND TRAVEL EXPENSES.— 

12 (1) COMPENSATION.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro14 vided in subparagraph (B), each 

15 member of the Commission shall be 

16 paid at a rate equal to the daily 

17 equivalent of $40,000 per year for 

18 each day (including travel time) dur19 ing which the member is engaged in 

20 the actual performance of duties vest21 ed in the Commission. 

22 (B) EXCEPTION.—Any member of 

23 the Commission who is a full-time of24 ficer or employee of the United States 

25 may not receive additional pay, almstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 lowances, or benefits by reason of 

2 such member’s service on the Com3 mission. 

4 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member 

5 shall receive travel expenses, including 

6 per diem in lieu of subsistence, in accord7 ance with applicable provisions of sub8 chapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United 

9 States Code. 

10 (h) DIRECTOR.—The Commission shall 

11 have a Director who shall be appointed by the 

12 Commission. The Director shall be paid at the 

13 rate of basic pay for level IV of the Executive 

14 Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United 

15 States Code. An appointment under this sub16 section shall be subject to the requirements of 

17 subsection (c)(2). 

18 (i) ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.—With the ap19 proval of the Commission, the Director may 

20 appoint and fix the pay of such additional 

21 personnel as the Director considers appro22 priate. Such additional personnel may be ap23 pointed without regard to the provisions of 

24 title 5, United States Code, governing appoint25 ments in the competitive service, and may be 

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1 paid without regard to the provisions of chap2 ter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such 

3 title relating to classification and General 

4 Schedule pay rates, except that an individual 

5 so appointed may not receive pay at a rate of 

6 basic pay in excess of the rate of basic pay 

7 payable to the Director. An individual ap8 pointed under this subsection shall serve at 

9 the pleasure of the Director. 

10 (j) PROVISIONS RELATING TO DETAILS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon request of the 

12 Director, the head of any Federal depart13 ment or agency may detail any of the per14 sonnel of such department or agency to 

15 the Commission to assist the Commission 

16 in carrying out its duties under this sub17 title. Notwithstanding any other provi18 sion of law, to provide continuity in the 

19 work of the Commission, such details 

20 may be extended beyond 1 year at the re21 quest of the Director. 

22 (2) NUMERICAL LIMITATION.—Not more 

than 1 23 ⁄3 of the personnel of the Commis24 sion may consist of the number of indi25 viduals on detail from the Postal Service 

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1 and the Postal Regulatory Commission 

2 combined. 

3 (3) OTHER LIMITATIONS.—A person may 

4 not be detailed to the Commission from 

5 the Postal Service or the Postal Regu6 latory Commission if such person partici7 pated personally and substantially on 

8 any matter, within the Postal Service or 

9 the Postal Regulatory Commission, con10 cerning the preparation of recommenda11 tions for closures or consolidations of 

12 postal facilities under this subtitle. No 

13 employee of the Postal Service or the 

14 Postal Regulatory Commission (including 

15 a detailee to the Postal Service or the 

16 Postal Regulatory Commission) may— 

17 (A) prepare any report con18 cerning the effectiveness, fitness, or 

19 efficiency of the performance, on the 

20 staff of the Commission, of any per21 son detailed from the Postal Service 

22 or the Postal Regulatory Commission 

23 to such staff; 

24 (B) review the preparation of 

25 such a report; or 

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1 (C) approve or disapprove such a 

2 report. 

3 (k) OTHER AUTHORITIES.— 

4 (1) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The 

5 Commission may procure by contract, to 

6 the extent funds are available, temporary 

7 or intermittent services under section 

8 3109 of title 5, United States Code. 

9 (2) LEASING, ETC.—The Commission 

10 may lease space and acquire personal 

11 property to the extent funds are avail12 able. 

13 (l) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In 

14 order to carry out this section, there are au15 thorized to be appropriated out of the Postal 

16 Service Fund $20,000,000, which funds shall 

17 remain available until expended. 

18 (m) FINANCIAL REPORTING.— 

19 (1) AUDIT AND EXPENDITURES.—The 

20 Commission shall be responsible for 

21 issuing annual financial statements and 

22 for establishing and maintaining ade23 quate controls over its financial report24 ing. 

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1 (2) INTERNAL AUDITS.—The Commis2 sion shall maintain an adequate internal 

3 audit of its financial transactions. 

4 (3) ANNUAL CERTIFICATION.—The Com5 mission shall obtain an annual certifi6 cation for each fiscal year from an inde7 pendent, certified public accounting firm 

8 of the accuracy of its financial state9 ments. 

10 (4) COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—The ac11 counts and operations of the Commission 

12 shall be audited by the Comptroller Gen13 eral and reports thereon made to the 

14 Congress to the extent and at such times 

15 as the Comptroller General may deter16 mine. 

17 (n) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall 

18 terminate 60 days after submitting its final re19 ports under section 104(d)(3). 

20 SEC. 104. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CLOSURES AND CON21 SOLIDATIONS. 

22 (a) PLAN FOR THE CLOSURE OR CONSOLIDA23 TION OF POSTAL RETAIL FACILITIES.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 

25 days after the date of the enactment of 

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1 this Act, the Postal Service, in consulta2 tion with the Postal Regulatory Commis3 sion, shall develop and submit to the 

4 Commission on Postal Reorganization a 

5 plan for the closure or consolidation of 

6 such postal retail facilities as the Postal 

7 Service considers necessary and appro8 priate so that the total annual costs at9 tributable to the operation of postal re10 tail facilities will be, for each fiscal year 

11 beginning at least 2 years after the date 

12 on which the Commission transmits to 

13 Congress its final report under sub14 section (d)(3)(A) relating to this sub15 section, at least $1,000,000,000 less than 

16 the corresponding total annual costs for 

17 the baseline year. 

18 (2) CONTENTS.—The plan shall in19 clude— 

20 (A) a list of the postal retail facili21 ties proposed for closure or consoli22 dation under this subtitle; 

23 (B) a proposed schedule under 

24 which— 

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1 (i) closures and consolidations 

2 of postal retail facilities would be 

3 carried out under this subtitle; 

4 and 

5 (ii) all closures and consolida6 tions of postal retail facilities 

7 under this subtitle would be com8 pleted by not later than 2 years 

9 after the date on which the Com10 mission transmits to Congress its 

11 final report under subsection 

12 (d)(3)(A) relating to such plan; 

13 (C) the estimated total annual 

14 cost savings attributable to the pro15 posed closures and consolidations de16 scribed in the plan; 

17 (D) the criteria and process used 

18 to develop the information described 

19 in subparagraphs (A) and (B); 

20 (E) the methodology and assump21 tions used to derive the estimates de22 scribed in subparagraph (C); and 

23 (F) any changes to the processing, 

24 transportation, delivery, or other 

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1 sult of the proposed closures and con2 solidations described in the plan. 

3 (3) CONSISTENCY.—The methodology 

4 and assumptions used to derive the cost 

5 estimates described in paragraph (2)(C) 

6 shall be consistent with the methodology 

7 and assumptions which would have been 

8 used by the Postal Service if those clo9 sures and consolidations had instead 

10 taken effect in the baseline year. 

11 (b) PLAN FOR THE CLOSURE OR CONSOLIDA12 TION OF MAIL PROCESSING FACILITIES.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 300 

14 days after the date of the enactment of 

15 this Act, the Postal Service, in consulta16 tion with the Inspector General of the 

17 United States Postal Service, shall de18 velop and submit to the Commission on 

19 Postal Reorganization a plan for the clo20 sure or consolidation of such mail proc21 essing facilities as the Postal Service con22 siders necessary and appropriate so 

23 that— 

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1 essing facilities will be, for each fiscal 

2 year beginning at least 2 years after 

3 the date on which the Commission 

4 transmits to Congress its final report 

5 under subsection (d)(3)(A) relating to 

6 this subsection, at least $2,000,000,000 

7 less than the corresponding total an8 nual costs for the baseline year; and 

9 (B) the Postal Service has, for fis10 cal years beginning at least 2 years 

11 after the date on which the Commis12 sion transmits to Congress its final 

13 report under subsection (d)(3)(A) re14 lating to this subsection, no more 

15 than 10 percent excess mail proc16 essing capacity. 

17 (2) CONTENTS.—The plan shall in18 clude— 

19 (A) a list of the mail processing 

20 facilities proposed for closure or con21 solidation under this subtitle; 

22 (B) a proposed schedule under 

23 which— 

24 (i) closures and consolidations 

25 of mail processing facilities would 

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1 be carried out under this subtitle; 

2 and 

3 (ii) all closures and consolida4 tions of mail processing facilities 

5 under this subtitle would be com6 pleted by not later than 2 years 

7 after the date on which the Com8 mission transmits to Congress its 

9 final report under subsection 

10 (d)(3)(A) relating to such plan; 

11 (C) the estimated total annual 

12 cost savings attributable to the pro13 posed closures and consolidations de14 scribed in the plan; 

15 (D) the criteria and process used 

16 to develop the information described 

17 in subparagraphs (A) and (B); 

18 (E) the methodology and assump19 tions used to derive the estimates de20 scribed in subparagraph (C); and 

21 (F) any changes to the processing, 

22 transportation, delivery, or other 

23 postal operations anticipated as a re24 sult of the proposed closures and con25 solidations described in the plan. 

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1 (3) CONSISTENCY.—The methodology 

2 and assumptions used to derive the cost 

3 estimates described in paragraph (2)(C) 

4 shall be consistent with the methodology 

5 and assumptions which would have been 

6 used by the Postal Service if those clo7 sures and consolidations had instead 

8 taken effect in the baseline year. 

9 (4) EXCESS MAIL PROCESSING CAPAC10 ITY.—The Commission shall cause to be 

11 published in the Federal Register notice 

12 of a proposed definition of ‘‘excess mail 

13 processing capacity’’ for purposes of this 

14 section within 120 days after the date of 

15 the enactment of this Act, and shall pro16 vide a period of 30 days for public com17 ment on the proposed definition. Not 

18 later than 180 days after the date of the 

19 enactment of this Act, the Commission 

20 shall issue and cause to be published in 

21 the Federal Register a final definition of 

22 ‘‘excess mail processing capacity’’ for pur23 poses of this section. Such definition 

24 shall include an estimate of the total 

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1 ity in mail processing facilities as of the 

2 date of the enactment of this Act. 

3 (5) UNDERUTILIZED MAIL PROCESSING

4 FACILITIES.—In developing a plan under 

5 this subsection, the Postal Service may 

6 include the estimated total cost savings 

7 that would result from moving mail proc8 essing operations to any mail processing 

9 facility that, as of the date of introduc10 tion of this Act— 

11 (A) is not currently used by the 

12 Postal Service; and 

13 (B) is capable of processing mail 

14 to the Postal Service’s standards. 

15 (c) PLAN FOR THE CLOSURE OR CONSOLIDA16 TION OF AREA AND DISTRICT OFFICES.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 300 

18 days after the date of the enactment of 

19 this Act, the Postal Service, in consulta20 tion with the Inspector General of the 

21 United States Postal Service, shall de22 velop and submit to the Commission on 

23 Postal Reorganization a plan for the clo24 sure or consolidation of such area and 

25 district offices as the Postal Service conmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 siders necessary and appropriate so that 

2 the combined total number of area and 

3 district offices will be, for each fiscal 

4 year beginning at least 2 years after the 

5 date on which the Commission transmits 

6 to Congress its final report under sub7 section (d)(3)(A) relating to this sub8 section, at least 30 percent less than the 

9 corresponding combined total for the 

10 baseline year. 

11 (2) CONTENTS.—The plan shall in12 clude— 

13 (A) a list of the area and district 

14 offices proposed for closure or con15 solidation under this subtitle; 

16 (B) a proposed schedule under 

17 which— 

18 (i) closures and consolidations 

19 of area and district offices would 

20 be carried out under this subtitle; 

21 and 

22 (ii) all closures and consolida23 tions of area and district offices 

24 under this subtitle would be com25 pleted by not later than 2 years 

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1 after the date on which the Com2 mission transmits to Congress its 

3 final report under subsection 

4 (d)(3)(A) relating to such plan; 

5 (C) the estimated total annual 

6 cost savings attributable to the pro7 posed closures and consolidations de8 scribed in the plan; 

9 (D) the criteria and process used 

10 to develop the information described 

11 in subparagraphs (A) and (B); 

12 (E) the methodology and assump13 tions used to derive the estimates de14 scribed in subparagraph (C); and 

15 (F) any changes to the processing, 

16 transportation, delivery, or other 

17 postal operations anticipated as a re18 sult of the proposed closures and con19 solidations described in the plan. 

20 (3) CONSISTENCY.—The methodology 

21 and assumptions used to derive the cost 

22 estimates described in paragraph (2)(C) 

23 shall be consistent with the methodology 

24 and assumptions which would have been 

25 used by the Postal Service if those clomstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 sures and consolidations had instead 

2 taken effect in the baseline year. 

3 (d) REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE

4 COMMISSION.— 

5 (1) INITIAL REPORTS.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—After receiving 

7 the plan of the Postal Service under 

8 subsection (a), (b), or (c), the Commis9 sion on Postal Reorganization shall 

10 transmit to Congress and publish in 

11 the Federal Register a report under 

12 this paragraph, which shall contain 

13 the Commission’s findings based on a 

14 review and analysis of such plan, to15 gether with the Commission’s initial 

16 recommendations for closures and 

17 consolidations of postal facilities, 

18 mail processing facilities, or area and 

19 district offices (as the case may be). 

20 (B) EXPLANATION OF CHANGES.— 

21 The Commission shall explain and 

22 justify in its report any recommenda23 tions made by the Commission that 

24 are different from those contained in 

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1 the Postal Service plan to which such 

2 report pertains. 

3 (C) DEADLINES.—A report of the 

4 Commission under this paragraph 

5 shall be transmitted and published, in 

6 accordance with subparagraph (A), 

7 within— 

8 (i) if the report pertains to the 

9 plan under subsection (a), 60 days 

10 after the date on which the Com11 mission receives such plan; or 

12 (ii) if the report pertains to 

13 the plan under subsection (b) or 

14 (c), 90 days after the date on 

15 which the Commission receives 

16 such plan. 

17 (2) PUBLIC HEARINGS.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—After receiving 

19 the plan of the Postal Service under 

20 subsection (a), (b), or (c), the Commis21 sion on Postal Reorganization shall 

22 conduct at least 5 public hearings on 

23 such plan. The hearings shall be con24 ducted in geographic areas chosen so 

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1 as to reflect a broadly representative 

2 range of needs and interests. 

3 (B) TESTIMONY.—All testimony be4 fore the Commission at a public hear5 ing conducted under this paragraph 

6 shall be given under oath. 

7 (C) DEADLINES.—All hearings 

8 under this paragraph shall be com9 pleted within 60 days after the date 

10 as of which the Commission satisfies 

11 the requirements of paragraph (1) 

12 with respect to such plan. 

13 (3) FINAL REPORTS.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—After satisfying 

15 the requirements of paragraph (2) 

16 with respect to the plan of the Postal 

17 Service under subsection (a), (b), or 

18 (c) (as the case may be), the Commis19 sion shall transmit to Congress and 

20 publish in the Federal Register a re21 port under this paragraph containing 

22 a summary of the hearings conducted 

23 with respect to such plan, together 

24 with the Commission’s final rec25 ommendations for closures and conmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 solidations of postal facilities, mail 

2 processing facilities, or area and dis3 trict offices (as the case may be). 

4 (B) APPROVAL.—Recommendations 

5 under subparagraph (A) shall not be 

6 considered to be final recommenda7 tions unless they are made with— 

8 (i) except as provided in 

9 clause (ii), the concurrence of at 

10 least 4 members of the Commis11 sion; or 

12 (ii) to the extent that the re13 quirements of subsection (b)(1)(A) 

14 or (c)(1) are not met, the concur15 rence of all sitting members, but 

16 only if the shortfall (relative to 

17 the requirements of subsection 

18 (b)(1)(A) or (c)(1), as the case may 

19 be) does not exceed 25 percent. 

20 (C) CONTENTS.—A report under 

21 this paragraph shall include— 

22 (i) the information required 

23 by paragraph (2) of subsection (a), 

24 (b), or (c) (as the case may be); 

25 and 

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1 (ii) a description of the oper2 ations that will be affected by the 

3 closure or consolidation and the 

4 facilities or offices which will be 

5 performing or ceasing to perform 

6 such operations as a result of 

7 such closure or consolidation. 

8 (D) DEADLINES.—A report of the 

9 Commission under this paragraph 

10 shall be transmitted and published, in 

11 accordance with subparagraph (A), 

12 within 60 days after the date as of 

13 which the Commission satisfies the 

14 requirements of paragraph (2) with 

15 respect to the plan involved. 

16 (e) LIMITATION RELATING TO POSTAL RETAIL

17 FACILITIES IDENTIFIED FOR CLOSURE OR CON18 SOLIDATION.— 

19 (1) APPLICABILITY.—This subsection 

20 applies to any plan of the Postal Service 

21 under subsection (a) and any report of 

22 the Commission under subsection (d) 

23 (whether initial or final) pertaining to 

24 such plan. 

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1 (2) LIMITATION.—Of the total number 

2 of postal retail facilities recommended 

3 for closure or consolidation (combined) 

4 under any plan or report to which this 

5 subsection applies, the number of such 

6 facilities that are within the K or L cost 

7 ascertainment grouping (combined) shall 

8 account for not more than 10 percent of 

9 such total number. 

10 (3) REFERENCES.—For purposes of this 

11 subsection— 

12 (A) any reference to a ‘‘cost ascer13 tainment grouping’’ shall be consid14 ered to refer to a cost ascertainment 

15 grouping as described in section 

16 123.11 of the Postal Operations Man17 ual (as in effect on June 23, 2011); and 

18 (B) any reference to a particular 

19 category (designated by a letter) of a 

20 cost ascertainment grouping shall be 

21 considered to refer to such category, 

22 as described in such section 123.11 

23 (as in effect on the date specified in 

24 subparagraph (A)). 

25 (f) ANNUAL REPORTS.— 

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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be in2 cluded in the next 5 annual reports sub3 mitted under section 2402 of title 39, 

4 United States Code, beginning with the 

5 report covering any period of time occur6 ring after the date of enactment of this 

7 Act, the following (shown on a State-by8 State basis): 

9 (A) In connection with closures 

10 and consolidations taking effect in 

11 the year covered by the report, the 

12 total number of individuals separated 

13 from employment with the Postal 

14 Service, including, if separation oc15 curs in a year other than the year in 

16 which the closing or consolidation oc17 curs, the year in which separation oc18 curs. 

19 (B) Of the total numbers under 

20 subparagraph (A)— 

21 (i) the number and percentage 

22 comprising preference eligibles or 

23 veterans; and 

24 (ii) the number and percent25 age comprising individuals other 

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1 than preference eligibles or vet2 erans. 

3 (C) Of the total numbers under 

4 subparagraph (A), the number and 

5 percentage reemployed in a position 

6 within the general commuting area of 

7 the facility or office involved (includ8 ing, if reemployment occurs in a year 

9 other than the year in which the clos10 ing or consolidation occurs, the year 

11 in which reemployment occurs)— 

12 (i) with the Postal Service; or 

13 (ii) with an employer other 

14 than the Postal Service. 

15 (D) The methodology and assump16 tions used to derive the estimates de17 scribed in subparagraph (B). 

18 (E) The criteria and process used 

19 to develop the information described 

20 in subparagraph (C). 

21 (2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this 

22 subsection— 

23 (A) the term ‘‘preference eligible’’ 

24 has the meaning given such term in 

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1 section 2108(3) of title 5, United 

2 States Code; and 

3 (B) the term ‘‘veteran’’ has the 

4 meaning given such term in section 

5 101(2) of title 38, United States Code. 

6 SEC. 105. IMPLEMENTATION OF CLOSURES AND CONSOLI7 DATIONS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), 

9 the Postal Service shall— 

10 (1) close or consolidate (as the case 

11 may be) the facilities and offices rec12 ommended by the Commission in each of 

13 its final reports under section 104(d)(3); 

14 and 

15 (2) carry out those closures and con16 solidations in accordance with the time17 table recommended by the Commission in 

18 such report, except that in no event shall 

19 any such closure or consolidation be com20 pleted later than 2 years after the date on 

21 which such report is submitted to Con22 gress. 

23 (b) CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Postal Service 

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1 dation recommended by the Commission 

2 in a final report if a joint resolution dis3 approving the recommendations of the 

4 Commission is enacted, in accordance 

5 with section 106, before the earlier of— 

6 (A) the end of the 45-day period 

7 beginning on the date on which the 

8 Commission transmits those rec9 ommendations to Congress under sec10 tion 104(d)(3); or 

11 (B) the adjournment of the Con12 gress sine die for the session during 

13 which such report is transmitted. 

14 (2) DAYS OF SESSION.—For purposes of 

15 paragraph (1) and section 106, a day on 

16 which either House of Congress is not in 

17 session because of an adjournment of 

18 more than 3 days to a day certain shall be 

19 excluded in the computation of a period. 

20 SEC. 106. CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION OF FINAL CPR 

21 REPORTS. 

22 (a) TERMS OF THE RESOLUTION.—For pur23 poses of this subtitle, the term ‘‘joint resolu24 tion’’, as used with respect to a report under 

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1 section 104(d)(3), means only a joint resolu2 tion— 

3 (1) which has no preamble; 

4 (2) the title of which is as follows: 

5 ‘‘Joint resolution disapproving the rec6 ommendations of the Commission on 

7 Postal Reorganization.’’; 

8 (3) the matter after the resolving 

9 clause of which is as follows: ‘‘That Con10 gress disapproves the recommendations 

11 of the Commission on Postal Reorganiza12 tion, submitted by such Commission on 

13 ll, and pertaining to the closure or con14 solidation of ll.’’, the first blank space 

15 being filled in with the appropriate date 

16 and the second blank space being filled 

17 in with ‘‘postal retail facilities’’, ‘‘mail 

18 processing facilities’’, or ‘‘area and dis19 trict offices’’ (as the case may be); and 

20 (4) which is introduced in accordance 

21 with subsection (b). 

22 (b) INTRODUCTION.—After a House of Con23 gress receives a report under section 

24 104(d)(3), the majority leader of that House 

25 (or a designee thereof) shall introduce (by remstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 quest, if appropriate) a joint resolution with 

2 respect to such report within— 

3 (1) in the case of the House of Rep4 resentatives, 3 legislative days; and 

5 (2) in the case of the Senate, 3 session 

6 days. 

7 (c) CONSIDERATION IN THE HOUSE OF REP8 RESENTATIVES.— 

9 (1) DISCHARGE.—Any committee of the 

10 House of Representatives to which a joint 

11 resolution described in subsection (a) is 

12 referred shall report it to the House, 

13 without amendment, not later than the 

14 10th legislative day after the date of its 

15 introduction. If a committee fails to re16 port the joint resolution within that pe17 riod, it shall be in order to move that the 

18 House discharge such committee from 

19 further consideration of the joint resolu20 tion. Such a motion shall be in order only 

21 at a time designated by the Speaker in 

22 the legislative schedule within 3 legisla23 tive days after the day on which the pro24 ponent announces to the House an inten25 tion to offer the motion. Notice may not 

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1 be given on an anticipatory basis. Such a 

2 motion shall not be in order after the 

3 House has disposed of a motion to dis4 charge such joint resolution. The pre5 vious question shall be considered as or6 dered on the motion to its adoption with7 out intervening motion, except 20 min8 utes of debate equally divided and con9 trolled by the proponent and an oppo10 nent. If such a motion is adopted, the 

11 House shall proceed immediately to con12 sider the joint resolution in accordance 

13 with paragraph (3). A motion to recon14 sider the vote by which the motion is dis15 posed of shall not be in order. 

16 (2) PROCEEDING TO CONSIDERATION.— 

17 After the last committee authorized to 

18 consider the joint resolution reports it to 

19 the House or has been discharged (other 

20 than by motion pursuant to paragraph 

21 (1)) from its consideration, it shall be in 

22 order to move to proceed to consider that 

23 joint resolution in the House. Such a mo24 tion shall be in order only at a time des25 ignated by the Speaker in the legislative 

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1 schedule within 3 legislative days after 

2 the day on which the proponent an3 nounces to the House an intention to 

4 offer the motion. Notice may not be given 

5 on an anticipatory basis. Such a motion 

6 shall not be in order after the House has 

7 disposed of a motion to proceed with re8 spect to that transmittal of recommenda9 tions. The previous question shall be con10 sidered as ordered on the motion to its 

11 adoption without intervening motion. A 

12 motion to reconsider the vote by which 

13 the motion is disposed of shall not be in 

14 order. 

15 (3) CONSIDERATION.—The joint resolu16 tion shall be considered as read. All 

17 points of order against a joint resolution 

18 and against its consideration are waived. 

19 The previous question shall be consid20 ered as ordered on a joint resolution to 

21 its passage without intervening motion, 

22 except 5 hours of debate equally divided 

23 and controlled by the proponent and an 

24 opponent and 1 motion to limit debate on 

25 the joint resolution. A motion to reconmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 sider the vote on passage of the joint res2 olution shall not be in order. 

3 (4) POST SINE DIE.—If the House has 

4 adopted a concurrent resolution pro5 viding for adjournment sine die at the 

6 end of a Congress, a motion to discharge 

7 under paragraph (1) or a motion to pro8 ceed under paragraph (2) shall be in 

9 order, as applicable. 

10 (d) CONSIDERATION IN THE SENATE.— 

11 (1) DISCHARGE.—If the committee of 

12 the Senate to which a joint resolution de13 scribed in subsection (a) is referred has 

14 not reported such joint resolution within 

15 10 session days, such committee shall be 

16 discharged from further consideration of 

17 such joint resolution, and such joint reso18 lution shall be placed on the appropriate 

19 calendar. 

20 (2) PROCEEDING TO CONSIDERATION.— 

21 On or after the 3rd session day after the 

22 date on which the committee to which 

23 such a joint resolution is referred has re24 ported, or has been discharged from fur25 ther consideration of, such joint resolumstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 tion, it is in order (even though a pre2 vious motion to the same effect has been 

3 disagreed to) for any Member of the Sen4 ate to move to proceed to the consider5 ation of the joint resolution. A Member 

6 may make the motion only on the day 

7 after the calendar day on which the Mem8 ber announces the Member’s intention to 

9 make the motion. All points of order 

10 against the joint resolution (and against 

11 consideration of the joint resolution) are 

12 waived. The motion is privileged and is 

13 not debatable. The motion is not subject 

14 to amendment, or to a motion to post15 pone, or to a motion to proceed to the 

16 consideration of other business. A motion 

17 to reconsider the vote by which the mo18 tion is agreed to or disagreed to shall not 

19 be in order. If a motion to proceed to the 

20 consideration of the joint resolution is 

21 agreed to, the Senate shall immediately 

22 proceed to consideration of the joint res23 olution without intervening motion, 

24 order, or other business, and the joint 

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1 resolution shall remain the unfinished 

2 business of the Senate until disposed of. 

3 (3) DEBATE.—Debate on the joint reso4 lution and on all debatable motions and 

5 appeals in connection therewith shall be 

6 limited to not more than 8 hours, which 

7 shall be divided equally between those fa8 voring and those opposing the joint reso9 lution. An amendment to the joint resolu10 tion is not in order. A motion further to 

11 limit debate is in order and not debat12 able. A motion to postpone, or a motion 

13 to proceed to the consideration of other 

14 business, or a motion to recommit the 

15 joint resolution is not in order. A motion 

16 to reconsider the vote by which the joint 

17 resolution is agreed to or disagreed to is 

18 not in order. 

19 (4) VOTE ON FINAL PASSAGE.—Imme20 diately following the conclusion of debate 

21 on a joint resolution described in sub22 section (a) and a single quorum call at 

23 the conclusion of the debate, if requested, 

24 the vote on final passage of the joint reso25 lution shall occur. 

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1 (5) APPEALS.—Appeals from the deci2 sions of the Chair relating to the applica3 tion of the rules of the Senate to the pro4 cedure relating to a joint resolution de5 scribed in subsection (a) shall be decided 

6 without debate. 

7 (e) AMENDMENTS PROHIBITED.—No amend8 ment to, or motion to strike a provision from, 

9 a joint resolution considered under this sec10 tion shall be in order in either the Senate or 

11 the House of Representatives. 

12 (f) CONSIDERATION BY OTHER HOUSE.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—If, before the passage 

14 by 1 House of a joint resolution of that 

15 House described in subsection (a), that 

16 House receives from the other House 

17 such a joint resolution with respect to 

18 the same recommendations, the following 

19 procedures shall apply: 

20 (A) NO COMMITTEE REFERRAL.—The 

21 joint resolution of the other House 

22 shall not be referred to a committee. 

23 (B) JOINT RESOLUTION PROCE24 DURE.—With respect to a joint resolu25 tion described in subsection (a) of the 

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1 House receiving the joint resolution, 

2 the procedure in that House shall be 

3 the same as if no joint resolution had 

4 been received from the other House, 

5 but the vote on final passage shall be 

6 on the joint resolution of the other 

7 House. 

8 (2) NO CONSIDERATION.—Upon disposi9 tion of the joint resolution received from 

10 the other House, it shall no longer be in 

11 order to consider the joint resolution that 

12 originated in the receiving House under 

13 these procedures. 

14 (3) EXCEPTION.—This subsection shall 

15 not apply to the House of Representatives 

16 if the joint resolution received from the 

17 Senate is a revenue measure. 

18 (g) RULES OF THE SENATE AND HOUSE.—This 

19 section is enacted by Congress— 

20 (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking 

21 power of the Senate and House of Rep22 resentatives, respectively, and as such it 

23 is deemed a part of the rules of each 

24 House, respectively, but applicable only 

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1 lowed in that House in the case of a joint 

2 resolution described in this section, and 

3 it supersedes other rules only to the ex4 tent that it is inconsistent with such 

5 rules; and 

6 (2) with full recognition of the con7 stitutional right of either House to 

8 change the rules (so far as relating to the 

9 procedure of that House) at any time, in 

10 the same manner, and to the same extent 

11 as in the case of any other rule of that 

12 House. 

13 SEC. 107. NONAPPEALABILITY OF DECISIONS. 

14 (a) TO PRC.—The closing or consolidation 

15 of any facility or office under this subtitle 

16 may not be appealed to the Postal Regulatory 

17 Commission under section 404(d) or any other 

18 provision of title 39, United States Code, or be 

19 the subject of an advisory opinion issued by 

20 the Postal Regulatory Commission under sec21 tion 3661 of such title. 

22 (b) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—No process, report, 

23 recommendation, or other action of the Com24 mission on Postal Reorganization shall be 

25 subject to judicial review. 

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1 SEC. 108. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 

2 (a) CONTINUED AVAILABILITY OF AUTHORITY

3 TO CLOSE OR CONSOLIDATE POSTAL FACILI4 TIES.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this sub6 title shall be considered to prevent the 

7 Postal Service from closing or consoli8 dating any postal facilities, in accordance 

9 with otherwise applicable provisions of 

10 law, either before or after the implemen11 tation of any closures or consolidations 

12 under this subtitle. 

13 (2) COORDINATION RULE.—No appeal or 

14 determination under section 404(d) of 

15 title 39, United States Code, or any other 

16 provision of law shall delay, prevent, or 

17 otherwise affect any closure or consolida18 tion under this subtitle. 

19 (b) INAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVI20 SIONS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The provisions of 

22 law identified in paragraph (2)— 

23 (A) shall not apply to any closure 

24 or consolidation carried out under 

25 this subtitle; and 

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1 (B) shall not be taken into ac2 count for purposes of carrying out 

3 section 103 or 104. 

4 (2) PROVISIONS IDENTIFIED.—The provi5 sions of law under this paragraph are— 

6 (A) section 101(b) of title 39, 

7 United States Code; and 

8 (B) section 404(d) of title 39, 

9 United States Code. 

10 SEC. 109. GAO STUDY AND REPORT. 

11 (a) STUDY.—Not later than 1 year after the 

12 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

13 General of the United States shall conduct a 

14 study on the effects, with respect to the unem15 ployment rate of minority communities, of the 

16 proposed closures and consolidations of post17 al retail facilities, mail processing facilities, 

18 and area or district offices under this subtitle. 

19 (b) REPORT.—Upon completion of the 

20 study required under subsection (a), the 

21 Comptroller General of the United States 

22 shall submit a report to Congress regarding 

23 the findings of such study. 

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1 Subtitle B—Other Provisions 

2 SEC. 111. IMPLEMENTATION OF DISCRETIONARY NON-MAIL 

3 DELIVERY DAYS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 404 is amended 

5 by inserting after subsection (e) the following: 

6 ‘‘(f)(1) The Postmaster General may, with 

7 respect to any year for which 6-day delivery 

8 is otherwise required, declare up to 12 non9 mail delivery days. Not later than 1 month be10 fore the beginning of the year, the Postmaster 

11 General shall submit to the Board of Gov12 ernors a report listing the non-mail delivery 

13 days in such year. 

14 ‘‘(2) A non-mail delivery day under this 

15 subsection shall be a day other than— 

16 ‘‘(A) a Sunday; 

17 ‘‘(B) a legal public holiday listed in 

18 section 6103(a) of title 5 or any other day 

19 declared to be a holiday by Federal stat20 ute or Executive order; or 

21 ‘‘(C) during the 30-day period that 

22 ends on the date of a regularly scheduled 

23 general election for Federal office. 

24 ‘‘(3) Any day which is declared under this 

25 subsection to be a non-mail delivery day— 

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1 ‘‘(A) shall, for purposes of mail deliv2 ery and such other postal operations as 

3 the Postal Service may by regulation pre4 scribe, be treated as if it were a Sunday; 

5 except that 

6 ‘‘(B) an employee of the Postal Serv7 ice (other than one who is prevented 

8 from working on such day by reason of 

9 this subsection) shall be entitled to the 

10 same pay and benefits for that day as if 

11 this subsection had not been enacted. 

12 ‘‘(4)(A) The 6-day mail delivery require13 ment shall not apply with respect to a week 

14 in which a non-mail delivery day under this 

15 subsection occurs. 

16 ‘‘(B) The authority to declare a non-mail 

17 delivery day under this subsection shall be 

18 considered to be within the right of the Postal 

19 Service to determine the methods, means, and 

20 personnel by which postal operations are to 

21 be conducted. 

22 ‘‘(5) Not less than 6 months after the date 

23 of enactment of this subsection, the Postal 

24 Service may submit a proposal under section 

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1 duce mail delivery from 6 days to 5 days each 

2 week. Notwithstanding any other provision of 

3 law, the Postal Service shall maintain 6-day 

4 delivery service as the standard mail delivery 

5 schedule until 90 days following the ren6 dering of an advisory opinion on 5-day deliv7 ery by the Postal Regulatory Commission.’’. 

8 SEC. 112. EFFICIENT AND FLEXIBLE UNIVERSAL POSTAL 

9 SERVICE. 

10 (a) POSTAL POLICY.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 101(b) is 

12 amended to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(b) The Postal Service shall provide effec14 tive and regular postal services to rural areas, 

15 communities, and small towns where post of16 fices are not self-sustaining.’’. 

17 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Clause 

18 (iii) of section 404(d)(2)(A) is amended to 

19 read as follows: 

20 ‘‘(iii) whether such closing or con21 solidation is consistent with the pol22 icy of the Government, as stated in 

23 section 101(b), that the Postal Service 

24 shall provide effective and regular 

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1 nities, and small towns where post of2 fices are not self-sustaining;’’. 

3 (b) GENERAL DUTY.—Paragraph (3) of sec4 tion 403(b) is amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(3) to ensure that postal patrons 

6 throughout the Nation will, consistent 

7 with reasonable economies of postal op8 erations, have ready access to essential 

9 postal services.’’. 

10 (c) PRC REVIEW OF DETERMINATIONS TO

11 CLOSE OR CONSOLIDATE A POST OFFICE.— 

12 (1) DEADLINE FOR REVIEW.—Section 

13 404(d)(5) is amended by striking ‘‘120 

14 days’’ and inserting ‘‘60 days’’. 

15 (2) EXCLUSION FROM REVIEW.—Section 

16 404(d) is amended by adding at the end 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘(7)(A) The appeals process set forth in 

19 paragraph (5) shall not apply to a determina20 tion of the Postal Service to close a post office 

21 if there is located, within 2 miles of such post 

22 office, a qualified contract postal unit. 

23 ‘‘(B) For purposes of this paragraph— 

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1 ‘‘(i) the term ‘contract postal unit’ 

2 means a store or other place of business 

3 which— 

4 ‘‘(I) is not owned or operated by 

5 the Postal Service; and 

6 ‘‘(II) in addition to its usual oper7 ations, provides postal services to the 

8 general public under contract with 

9 the Postal Service; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘qualified contract post11 al unit’, as used in connection with a post 

12 office, means a contract postal unit 

13 which— 

14 ‘‘(I) begins to provide postal serv15 ices to the general public during the 

16 period— 

17 ‘‘(aa) beginning 1 year before 

18 the date on which the closure or 

19 consolidation of such post office 

20 is scheduled to take effect; and 

21 ‘‘(bb) ending on the 15th day 

22 after the date on which the clo23 sure or consolidation of such post 

24 office is scheduled to take effect; 

25 and 

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1 ‘‘(II) has not, pursuant to subpara2 graph (A), served as the basis for ex3 empting any other post office from 

4 the appeals process set forth in para5 graph (5). 

6 ‘‘(C)(i) If the contract postal unit (which is 

7 providing postal services that had been pre8 viously provided by the post office that was 

9 closed) does not continue to provide postal 

10 services, as required by subparagraph 

11 (B)(i)(II), for at least the 2-year period begin12 ning on the date on which such post office 

13 was closed, the contract postal unit shall be 

14 subject to a closure determination by the 

15 Postal Service to decide whether a post office 

16 must be reopened within the area (delimited 

17 by the 2-mile radius referred to in subpara18 graph (A)). 

19 ‘‘(ii) A decision under clause (i) not to re20 open a post office may be appealed to the 

21 Postal Regulatory Commission under proce22 dures which the Commission shall by regula23 tion prescribe. Such procedures shall be 

24 based on paragraph (5), except that, for pur25 poses of this clause, paragraph (5)(C) shall be 

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1 applied by substituting ‘in violation of section 

2 101(b), leaving postal patrons without effec3 tive and regular access to postal services’ for 

4 ‘unsupported by substantial evidence on the 

5 record’.’’. 

6 (3) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments 

7 made by this subsection shall not apply 

8 with respect to any appeal, notice of 

9 which is received by the Postal Regu10 latory Commission before the date of the 

11 enactment of this Act (determined apply12 ing the rules set forth in section 404(d)(6) 

13 of title 39, United States Code). 

14 (d) EXPEDITED PROCEDURES.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3661 is 

16 amended by adding at the end the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(d)(1) The Commission shall issue its 

19 opinion within 90 days after the receipt of any 

20 proposal (as referred to in subsection (b)) con21 cerning— 

22 ‘‘(A) the closing or consolidation of 

23 postal retail facilities (as that term is de24 fined in section 102(2) of the Postal Re25 form Act of 2012) to a degree that will 

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1 generally affect service on a nationwide 

2 or substantially nationwide basis; or 

3 ‘‘(B) an identical or substantially 

4 identical proposal on which the Commis5 sion issued an opinion within the pre6 ceding 5 years. 

7 ‘‘(2) If necessary in order to comply with 

8 the 90-day requirement under paragraph (1), 

9 the Commission may apply expedited proce10 dures which the Commission shall by regula11 tion prescribe.’’. 

12 (2) REGULATIONS.—The Postal Regu13 latory Commission shall prescribe any 

14 regulations necessary to carry out the 

15 amendment made by paragraph (1) with16 in 90 days after the date of the enactment 

17 of this Act. 

18 (3) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment 

19 made by this subsection shall apply with 

20 respect to any proposal received by the 

21 Postal Regulatory Commission on or 

22 after the earlier of— 

23 (A) the 90th day after the date of 

24 the enactment of this Act; or 

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1 (B) the effective date of the regu2 lations under paragraph (2). 

3 SEC. 113. ENHANCED REPORTING ON POSTAL SERVICE EF4 FICIENCY. 

5 Section 3652(a) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

7 after the semicolon; 

8 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the 

9 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

10 and 

11 (3) by adding after paragraph (2) the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(3) which shall provide the overall 

14 change in Postal Service productivity 

15 and the resulting effect of such change 

16 on overall Postal Service costs during 

17 such year, using such methodologies as 

18 the Commission shall by regulation pre19 scribe.’’. 

20 SEC. 114. APPLICABILITY OF PROCEDURES RELATING TO 

21 CLOSURES AND CONSOLIDATIONS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 404(d) is amend23 ed by adding after paragraph (7) (as added by 

24 section 112(c)(2)) the following: 

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1 ‘‘(8) For purposes of this subsection, the 

2 term ‘post office’ means a post office and any 

3 other facility described in section 102(2) of 

4 the Postal Reform Act of 2012.’’. 

5 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment 

6 made by subsection (a) shall be effective with 

7 respect to any closure or consolidation, the 

8 proposed effective date of which occurs on or 

9 after the 60th day following the date of enact10 ment of this Act. 

11 TITLE II—POSTAL SERVICE FI12 NANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY 

13 AND MANAGEMENT ASSIST14 ANCE AUTHORITY 

15 Subtitle A—Establishment and 

16 Organization 

17 SEC. 201. PURPOSES. 

18 (a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this title 

19 are as follows: 

20 (1) To eliminate budget deficits and 

21 cash shortages of the Postal Service 

22 through strategic financial planning, 

23 sound budgeting, accurate revenue fore24 casts, and careful spending. 

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1 (2) To ensure the universal service 

2 mandate detailed in section 101 of title 

3 39, United States Code, is maintained 

4 during a period of fiscal emergency. 

5 (3) To conduct necessary investiga6 tions and studies to determine the fiscal 

7 status and operational efficiency of the 

8 Postal Service. 

9 (4) To assist the Postal Service in— 

10 (A) restructuring its organization 

11 and workforce to bring expenses in 

12 line with diminishing revenue and 

13 generate sufficient profits for capital 

14 investment and repayment of debt; 

15 (B) meeting all fiscal obligations 

16 to the Treasury of the United States; 

17 and 

18 (C) ensuring the appropriate and 

19 efficient delivery of postal services. 

20 (5) To provide the Postal Service with 

21 a temporary increase in its borrowing au22 thority to enable the Postal Service to 

23 complete necessary restructuring. 

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1 (6) To ensure the long-term financial, 

2 fiscal, and economic vitality and oper3 ational efficiency of the Postal Service. 

4 (b) RESERVATION OF POWERS.—Nothing in 

5 this title may be construed— 

6 (1) to relieve any obligations existing 

7 as of the date of the enactment of this Act 

8 of the Postal Service to the Treasury of 

9 the United States; or 

10 (2) to limit the authority of Congress 

11 to exercise ultimate legislative authority 

12 over the Postal Service. 

13 SEC. 202. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE AUTHORITY. 

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There shall be estab15 lished, upon the commencement of any con16 trol period, an entity to be known as the 

17 ‘‘Postal Service Financial Responsibility and 

18 Management Assistance Authority’’ (herein19 after in this title referred to as the ‘‘Author20 ity’’). 

21 (b) CONTROL PERIOD.— 

22 (1) COMMENCEMENT OF A CONTROL PE23 RIOD.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes 

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1 mences whenever the Postal Service 

2 has been in default to the Treasury of 

3 the United States, with respect to any 

4 debts, obligations, loans, bonds, notes, 

5 or other form of borrowing, or any 

6 scheduled payments to any fund in 

7 the Treasury of the United States, for 

8 a period of at least 30 days. 

9 (B) ADVISORY PERIOD.—For pur10 poses of the first control period, the 

11 Authority shall operate exclusively in 

12 an advisory period for two full fiscal 

13 years after the commencement of the 

14 control period. At the completion of 

15 the second full fiscal year or any year 

16 thereafter during the length of the 

17 control period, if the Postal Service’s 

18 annual deficit is greater than 

19 $2,000,000,000, the Authority shall be 

20 fully in force according to the provi21 sions of this title. During an advisory 

22 period— 

23 (i) the Authority is not au24 thorized to employ any staff and 

25 the Postal Service shall designate 

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1 a Level-Two Postal Service Execu2 tive as a liaison with the members 

3 of the Authority; 

4 (ii) any provision of this title 

5 that requires the Authority or the 

6 Postal Service to take any action 

7 shall be considered only to take 

8 effect in the event the Authority 

9 comes into full force and that ef10 fective date shall be considered to 

11 be the date of the commencement 

12 of the control period for the pur13 poses any provision not mention 

14 in this subparagraph; and 

15 (iii) the Postal Service shall 

16 have access to the funds available 

17 under section 222 according to 

18 applicable provisions of this Act, 

19 subject to the approval of the 

20 Postal Service Board of Gov21 ernors without the approval of 

22 the Authority. 

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1 ERNORS, ETC. DURING A CONTROL PERIOD.— 

2 During a control period— 

3 (A) all authorities and respon4 sibilities of the Board of Governors, 

5 and the individual Governors, of the 

6 Postal Service under title 39, United 

7 States Code, and any other provision 

8 of law shall be assumed by the Au9 thority; and 

10 (B) the Board of Governors, and 

11 the individual Governors, may act in 

12 an advisory capacity only. 

13 (3) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN POSTAL

14 SERVICE EXECUTIVES DURING A CONTROL PE15 RIOD.— 

16 (A) DEFINITION.—For the purposes 

17 of this section, the term ‘‘Level-Two 

18 Postal Service Executive’’ includes 

19 the Postmaster General, the Deputy 

20 Postmaster General, and all other of21 ficers or employees of the Postal 

22 Service in level two of the Postal Ca23 reer Executive Service (or the equiva24 lent). 

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1 (B) TREATMENT.—Notwithstanding 

2 any other provision of law or employ3 ment contract, during a control pe4 riod— 

5 (i) all Level-Two Postal Serv6 ice Executives shall serve at the 

7 pleasure of the Authority; 

8 (ii) the duties and responsibil9 ities of all Level-Two Postal Serv10 ice Executives, as well as the 

11 terms and conditions of their em12 ployment (including their com13 pensation), shall be subject to de14 termination or redetermination 

15 by the Authority; 

16 (iii) total compensation of a 

17 Level-Two Postal Service Execu18 tive may not, for any year in such 

19 control period, exceed the annual 

20 rate of basic pay payable for level 

21 I of the Executive Schedule under 

22 section 5312 of title 5, United 

23 States Code, for such year; for 

24 purposes of this clause, the term 

25 ‘‘total compensation’’ means basic 

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1 pay, bonuses, awards, and all 

2 other monetary compensation; 

3 (iv) the percentage by which 

4 the rate of basic pay of a Level5 Two Postal Service Executive is 

6 increased during any year in such 

7 control period may not exceed the 

8 percentage change in the Con9 sumer Price Index for All Urban 

10 Consumers, unadjusted for sea11 sonal variation, for the most re12 cent 12-month period available, 

13 except that, in the case of a Level14 Two Postal Service Executive 

15 who has had a significant change 

16 in job responsibilities, a greater 

17 change shall be allowable if ap18 proved by the Authority; 

19 (v) apart from basic pay, a 

20 Level-Two Postal Service Execu21 tive may not be afforded any 

22 bonus, award, or other monetary 

23 compensation for any fiscal year 

24 in the control period if expendi25 tures of the Postal Service for 

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1 such fiscal year exceeded reve2 nues of the Postal Service for 

3 such fiscal year (determined in 

4 accordance with generally accept5 ed accounting principles); and 

6 (vi) no deferred compensation 

7 may be paid, accumulated, or rec8 ognized in the case of any Level9 Two Postal Service Executive, 

10 with respect to any year in a con11 trol period, which is not generally 

12 paid, accumulated, or recognized 

13 in the case of employees of the 

14 United States (outside of the Post15 al Service) in level I of the Execu16 tive Schedule under section 5312 

17 of title 5, United States Code, 

18 with respect to such year. 

19 (C) BONUS AUTHORITY.—Section 

20 3686 of title 39, United States Code, 

21 shall, during the period beginning on 

22 the commencement date of the con23 trol period and ending on the termi24 nation date of the control period— 

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1 (i) be suspended with respect 

2 to all Level-Two Postal Service 

3 Executives; but 

4 (ii) remain in effect for all 

5 other officers and employees of 

6 the Postal Service otherwise cov7 ered by this section. 

8 (4) TERMINATION OF A CONTROL PE9 RIOD.—A control period terminates upon 

10 certification by the Authority, with the 

11 concurrence of the Secretary of the 

12 Treasury and the Director of the Office of 

13 Personnel Management, that— 

14 (A) for 2 consecutive fiscal years 

15 (occurring after the date of the enact16 ment of this Act), expenditures of the 

17 Postal Service did not exceed reve18 nues of the Postal Service (as deter19 mined in accordance with generally 

20 accepted accounting principles); 

21 (B) the Authority has approved a 

22 Postal Service financial plan and 

23 budget that shows expenditures of 

24 the Postal Service not exceeding rev25 enues of the Postal Service (as so demstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 termined) for the fiscal year to which 

2 such budget pertains and each of the 

3 next 3 fiscal years; and 

4 (C) the Postal Service financial 

5 plan and budget (as referred to in 

6 subparagraph (B)) includes plans— 

7 (i) for the repayment of any 

8 supplementary debt under section 

9 222, in equal annual installments 

10 over a period of not more than 5 

11 years; and 

12 (ii) to properly fund Postal 

13 Service pensions and retiree 

14 health benefits in accordance 

15 with law. 

16 SEC. 203. MEMBERSHIP AND QUALIFICATION REQUIRE17 MENTS. 

18 (a) MEMBERSHIP.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Authority shall 

20 consist of 5 members appointed by the 

21 President who meet the qualifications de22 scribed in subsection (b), except that the 

23 Authority may take any action under this 

24 title at any time after the President has 

25 appointed 4 of its members. 

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1 (2) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Of the 5 mem2 bers so appointed— 

3 (A) 1 shall be appointed from 

4 among individuals recommended by 

5 the Speaker of the House of Rep6 resentatives; 

7 (B) 1 shall be appointed from 

8 among individuals recommended by 

9 the majority leader of the Senate; 

10 (C) 1 shall be appointed from 

11 among individuals recommended by 

12 the minority leader of the House of 

13 Representatives; 

14 (D) 1 shall be appointed from 

15 among individuals recommended by 

16 the minority leader of the Senate; and 

17 (E) 1 shall be appointed from 

18 among individuals recommended by 

19 the Comptroller General. 

20 (3) POLITICAL AFFILIATION.—No more 

21 than 3 members of the Authority may be 

22 of the same political party. 

23 (4) CHAIR.—The President shall des24 ignate 1 of the members of the Authority 

25 as the Chair of the Authority. 

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1 (5) SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING

2 DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENT.—It is the 

3 sense of Congress that the President 

4 should appoint the members of the Au5 thority as soon as practicable after the 

6 date on which a control period com7 mences, but no later than 30 days after 

8 such date. 

9 (6) TERM OF SERVICE.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro11 vided in subparagraph (B), each 

12 member of the Authority shall be ap13 pointed for a term of 3 years. 

14 (B) APPOINTMENT FOR TERM FOL15 LOWING INITIAL TERM.—As designated 

16 by the President at the time of ap17 pointment for the term immediately 

18 following the initial term, of the mem19 bers appointed for the term imme20 diately following the initial term— 

21 (i) 1 member shall be ap22 pointed for a term of 1 year; 

23 (ii) 2 members shall be ap24 pointed for a term of 2 years; and 

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1 (iii) 2 members shall be ap2 pointed for a term of 3 years. 

3 (C) REMOVAL.—The President may 

4 remove any member of the Authority 

5 only for cause. 

6 (D) NO COMPENSATION FOR SERV7 ICE.—Members of the Authority shall 

8 serve without pay, but may receive 

9 reimbursement for any reasonable 

10 and necessary expenses incurred by 

11 reason of service on the Authority. 

12 (b) QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—An individual meets 

14 the qualifications for membership on the 

15 Authority if the individual— 

16 (A) has significant knowledge and 

17 expertise in finance, management, 

18 and the organization or operation of 

19 businesses having more than 500 em20 ployees; and 

21 (B) represents the public interest 

22 generally, is not a representative of 

23 specific interests using or belonging 

24 to the Postal Service, and does not 

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1 est in any enterprise in the private 

2 sector of the economy engaged in the 

3 delivery of mail matter. 

4 (2) SPECIFIC CONDITIONS.—An indi5 vidual shall not be considered to satisfy 

6 paragraph (1)(B) if, at any time during 

7 the 5-year period ending on the date of 

8 appointment, such individual— 

9 (A) has been an officer, employee, 

10 or private contractor with the Postal 

11 Service or the Postal Regulatory 

12 Commission; or 

13 (B) has served as an employee or 

14 contractor of a labor organization 

15 representing employees of the Postal 

16 Service or the Postal Regulatory 

17 Commission. 

18 SEC. 204. ORGANIZATION. 

19 (a) ADOPTION OF BY-LAWS FOR CONDUCTING

20 BUSINESS.—As soon as practicable after the 

21 appointment of its members, the Authority 

22 shall adopt by-laws, rules, and procedures 

23 governing its activities under this title, in24 cluding procedures for hiring experts and 

25 consultants. Upon adoption, such by-laws, 

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1 rules, and procedures shall be submitted by 

2 the Authority to the Postmaster General, the 

3 President, and Congress. 

4 (b) CERTAIN ACTIVITIES REQUIRING AP5 PROVAL OF MAJORITY OF MEMBERS.—Under its 

6 by-laws, the Authority may conduct its oper7 ations under such procedures as it considers 

8 appropriate, except that an affirmative vote 

9 of a majority of the members of the Authority 

10 shall be required in order for the Authority 

11 to— 

12 (1) approve or disapprove a financial 

13 plan and budget as described by subtitle 

14 C; 

15 (2) implement recommendations on fi16 nancial stability and management re17 sponsibility under section 226; 

18 (3) take any action under authority of 

19 section 202(b)(3)(B)(i); or 

20 (4) initiate the establishment of a new 

21 workers’ compensation system for the 

22 Postal Service in accordance with section 

23 311. 

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1 SEC. 205. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND STAFF. 

2 (a) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The Authority 

3 shall have an Executive Director who shall be 

4 appointed by the Chair with the consent of 

5 the Authority. The Executive Director shall be 

6 paid at a rate determined by the Authority, 

7 except that such rate may not exceed the rate 

8 of basic pay payable for level IV of the Execu9 tive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, 

10 United States Code. 

11 (b) STAFF.—With the approval of the Au12 thority, the Executive Director may appoint 

13 and fix the pay of such additional personnel 

14 as the Executive Director considers appro15 priate, except that no individual appointed by 

16 the Executive Director may be paid at a rate 

17 greater than the rate of pay for the Executive 

18 Director. Personnel appointed under this sub19 section shall serve at the pleasure of the Exec20 utive Director. 

21 (c) INAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL SERV22 ICE LAWS.—The Executive Director and staff of 

23 the Authority may be appointed without re24 gard to the provisions of title 5, United States 

25 Code, governing appointments in the competi26 tive service, and paid without regard to the 

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1 provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of 

2 chapter 53 of such title relating to classifica3 tion and General Schedule pay rates. 

4 (d) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon re5 quest of the Chair, the head of any Federal de6 partment or agency may detail, on a reim7 bursable or nonreimbursable basis, any of the 

8 personnel of such department or agency to 

9 the Authority to assist it in carrying out its 

10 duties under this title. 

11 SEC. 206. FUNDING. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to 

13 be appropriated, out of the Postal Service 

14 Fund, such sums as may be necessary for the 

15 Authority. In requesting an appropriation 

16 under this section for a fiscal year, the Au17 thority shall prepare and submit to the Con18 gress under section 2009 of title 39, United 

19 States Code, a budget of the Authority’s ex20 penses, including expenses for facilities, sup21 plies, compensation, and employee benefits 

22 not to exceed $10,000,000. In years in which a 

23 control period commences, the Authority 

24 shall submit a budget within 30 days of the 

25 appointment of the members of the Authority. 

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1 (b) AMENDMENT TO SECTION 2009.—Section 

2 2009 is amended in the next to last sentence— 

3 (1) by striking ‘‘, and (3)’’ and insert4 ing ‘‘, (3)’’; and 

5 (2) by striking the period and insert6 ing ‘‘, and (4) the Postal Service Financial 

7 Responsibility and Management Assist8 ance Authority requests to be appro9 priated, out of the Postal Service Fund, 

10 under section 206 of the Postal Reform 

11 Act of 2012.’’. 

12 Subtitle B—Powers of the 

13 Authority 

14 SEC. 211. POWERS. 

15 (a) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any 

16 member or agent of the Authority may, if au17 thorized by the Authority, take any action 

18 which the Authority is authorized by this sec19 tion to take. 

20 (b) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA FROM THE

21 POSTAL SERVICE.—Notwithstanding any other 

22 provision of law, the Authority may secure 

23 copies of such records, documents, informa24 tion, or data from any entity of the Postal 

25 Service necessary to enable the Authority to 

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1 carry out its responsibilities under this title. 

2 At the request of the Authority, the Authority 

3 shall be granted direct access to such infor4 mation systems, records, documents, informa5 tion, or data as will enable the Authority to 

6 carry out its responsibilities under this title. 

7 The head of the relevant entity of the Postal 

8 Service shall provide the Authority with such 

9 information and assistance (including grant10 ing the Authority direct access to automated 

11 or other information systems) as the Author12 ity requires under this subsection. 

13 (c) GIFTS, BEQUESTS, AND DEVISES.—The 

14 Authority may accept, use, and dispose of 

15 gifts, bequests, or devises of services or prop16 erty, both real and personal, for the purpose 

17 of aiding or facilitating the work of the Au18 thority. Gifts, bequests, or devises of money 

19 and proceeds from sales of other property re20 ceived as gifts, bequests, or devises shall be 

21 deposited in such account as the Authority 

22 may establish and shall be available for dis23 bursement upon order of the Chair. 

24 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.— 

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1 istrator of General Services may provide to 

2 the Authority, on a reimbursable basis, the 

3 administrative support services necessary for 

4 the Authority to carry out its responsibilities 

5 under this title. 

6 (e) AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO CON7 TRACTS.—The Executive Director may enter 

8 into such contracts as the Executive Director 

9 considers appropriate (subject to the ap10 proval of the Chair) to carry out the 

11 Authority’s responsibilities under this title. 

12 (f) CIVIL ACTIONS TO ENFORCE POWERS.— 

13 The Authority may seek judicial enforcement 

14 of its authority to carry out its responsibil15 ities under this title. 

16 (g) PENALTIES.— 

17 (1) ADMINISTRATIVE DISCIPLINE.—Any 

18 officer or employee of the Postal Service 

19 who, by action or inaction, fails to com20 ply with any directive or other order of 

21 the Authority under section 226(c) shall 

22 be subject to appropriate administrative 

23 discipline, including suspension from 

24 duty without pay or removal from office, 

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1 by order of either the Postmaster General 

2 or the Authority. 

3 (2) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—When4 ever an officer or employee of the Postal 

5 Service takes or fails to take any action 

6 which is noncompliant with any directive 

7 or other order of the Authority under 

8 section 226(c), the Postmaster General 

9 shall immediately report to the Authority 

10 all pertinent facts, together with a state11 ment of any actions taken by the Post12 master General or proposed by the Post13 master General to be taken under para14 graph (1). 

15 (h) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

16 Congress that, in making determinations that 

17 affect prior collective bargaining agreements 

18 and prior agreements on workforce reduc19 tion, any rightsizing effort within the Postal 

20 Service that results in a decrease in the num21 ber of postal employees should ensure that 

22 such employees can receive their full pen23 sions, are fully compensated, and that the col24 lective bargaining agreements and prior 

25 agreements on workforce reduction that they 

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1 entered into with Postal Service management 

2 are fully honored. 

3 SEC. 212. EXEMPTION FROM LIABILITY FOR CLAIMS. 

4 The Authority and its members may not 

5 be liable for any obligation of or claim against 

6 the Postal Service resulting from actions 

7 taken to carry out this title. 

8 SEC. 213. TREATMENT OF ACTIONS ARISING UNDER THIS 

9 TITLE. 

10 (a) JURISDICTION ESTABLISHED IN UNITED

11 STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE DISTRICT OF

12 COLUMBIA CIRCUIT.—A person (including the 

13 Postal Service) adversely affected or ag14 grieved by an order or decision of the Author15 ity may, within 30 days after such order or de16 cision becomes final, institute proceedings for 

17 review thereof by filing a petition in the 

18 United States Court of Appeals for the Dis19 trict of Columbia Circuit. The court shall re20 view the order or decision in accordance with 

21 section 706 of title 5, United States Code, and 

22 chapter 158 and section 2112 of title 28, 

23 United States Code. Judicial review shall be 

24 limited to the question of whether the Author25 ity acted in excess of its statutory authority, 

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1 and determinations of the Authority with re2 spect to the scope of its statutory authority 

3 shall be upheld if based on a permissible con4 struction of the statutory authority. 

5 (b) PROMPT APPEAL TO THE SUPREME

6 COURT.—Notwithstanding any other provision 

7 of law, review by the Supreme Court of the 

8 United States of a decision of the Court of Ap9 peals which is issued pursuant to subsection 

10 (a) may be had only if the petition for such re11 view is filed within 10 days after the entry of 

12 such decision. 

13 (c) TIMING OF RELIEF.—No order of any 

14 court granting declaratory or injunctive relief 

15 against the Authority, including relief permit16 ting or requiring the obligation, borrowing, or 

17 expenditure of funds, shall take effect during 

18 the pendency of the action before such court, 

19 during the time appeal may be taken, or (if 

20 appeal is taken) during the period before the 

21 court has entered its final order disposing of 

22 such action. 

23 (d) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION.—It shall be 

24 the duty of the United States Court of Appeals 

25 for the District of Columbia and the Supreme 

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1 Court of the United States to advance on the 

2 docket and to expedite to the greatest pos3 sible extent the disposition of any matter 

4 brought under subsection (a). 

5 SEC. 214. DELIVERY POINT MODERNIZATION. 

6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sec7 tion— 

8 (1) the term ‘‘delivery point’’ means a 

9 mailbox or other receptacle to which 

10 mail is delivered; 

11 (2) the term ‘‘primary mode of deliv12 ery’’ means the typical method by which 

13 the Postal Service delivers letter mail to 

14 the delivery point of a postal patron; 

15 (3) the term ‘‘door delivery’’ means a 

16 primary mode of mail delivery whereby 

17 mail is placed into a slot or receptacle at 

18 or near the postal patron’s door or is 

19 hand delivered to a postal patron, but 

20 does not include curbside or centralized 

21 delivery; 

22 (4) the term ‘‘centralized delivery’’ 

23 means a primary mode of mail delivery 

24 whereby mail receptacles are grouped or 

25 clustered at a single location; and 

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1 (5) the term ‘‘curbside delivery’’ 

2 means a primary mode of mail delivery 

3 whereby a mail receptacle is situated at 

4 the edge of a roadway or curb. 

5 (b) REDUCTION IN TOTAL NUMBER OF DELIV6 ERY POINTS.—The Authority shall, during the 

7 first control period commencing under this 

8 title, take such measures as may be necessary 

9 and appropriate so that— 

10 (1) in each fiscal year beginning at 

11 least 2 years after the commencement 

12 date of such first control period— 

13 (A) the total number of delivery 

14 points for which door delivery is the 

15 primary mode of mail delivery does 

16 not exceed 25 percent of the cor17 responding number for the fiscal year 

18 last ending before such commence19 ment date; and 

20 (B) the total annual costs attrib21 utable to door delivery, centralized 

22 delivery, and curbside delivery com23 bined will be at least $3,500,000,000 

24 less than the corresponding total an25 nual costs for the fiscal year last endmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 ing before such commencement date; 

2 and 

3 (2) in each fiscal year beginning at 

4 least 4 years after the commencement 

5 date of such first control period, the total 

6 number of delivery points for which door 

7 delivery is the primary mode of mail de8 livery does not exceed 10 percent of the 

9 corresponding number for the fiscal year 

10 last ending before such commencement 

11 date. 

12 In making any decision under this subsection 

13 involving the continuation or termination of 

14 door delivery with respect to any locality or 

15 addresses within a locality, the Authority 

16 shall consider rates of poverty, population 

17 density, historical value, whether such local18 ity is in a registered historic district (as that 

19 term is defined in section 47(c)(3)(B) of the In20 ternal Revenue Code of 1986), whether such 

21 address is another place on the National Reg22 ister of Historic Places, and other appropriate 

23 factors. 

24 (c) ORDER OF PRECEDENCE.—In order to 

25 carry out subsection (b)— 

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1 (1) in making conversions from door 

2 delivery to other primary modes of deliv3 ery— 

4 (A) conversion shall be to central5 ized delivery; except 

6 (B) if subparagraph (A) is imprac7 tical, conversion shall be to curbside 

8 delivery; and 

9 (2) in the case of delivery points es10 tablished after the commencement date 

11 of the first control period under this 

12 title— 

13 (A) centralized delivery shall be 

14 the primary mode of delivery; except 

15 (B) if subparagraph (A) is imprac16 tical, curbside delivery shall be the 

17 primary mode of delivery. 

18 (d) WAIVER FOR PHYSICAL HARDSHIP.—The 

19 Postal Service shall establish and maintain a 

20 waiver program under which, upon applica21 tion, door delivery may be continued or pro22 vided in any case in which— 

23 (1) centralized or curbside delivery 

24 would, but for this subsection, otherwise 

25 be the primary mode of delivery; and 

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1 (2) door delivery is necessary in order 

2 to avoid causing significant physical 

3 hardship to a postal patron. 

4 (e) CENTRALIZED DELIVERY PLACEMENT.—It 

5 is the sense of the Congress that the Postal 

6 Service should negotiate with State and local 

7 governments, businesses, local associations, 

8 and property owners to place centralized de9 livery units in locations that maximize deliv10 ery efficiency, ease of use for postal patrons, 

11 and respect for private property rights. 

12 (f) VOUCHER PROGRAM.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Postal Service 

14 may, in accordance with such standards 

15 and procedures as the Postal Service 

16 shall by regulation prescribe, provide for 

17 a voucher program under which— 

18 (A) upon application, the Postal 

19 Service may defray all or any portion 

20 of the costs associated with conver21 sion from door delivery under this 

22 section which would otherwise be 

23 borne by postal patrons; and 

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1 (B) the Postal Service Competi2 tive Products Fund is made available 

3 for that purpose. 

4 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

5 2011(a)(2) is amended— 

6 (A) in subparagraph (A), by strik7 ing ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

8 (B) in subparagraph (B), by strik9 ing the period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

10 and 

11 (C) by adding at the end the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(C) vouchers under the program de14 scribed in section 214(f)(1) of the Postal 

15 Reform Act of 2012.’’. 

16 (g) AUDITS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector Gen18 eral of the United States Postal Service— 

19 (A) shall conduct an annual audit 

20 to determine whether the Postal 

21 Service is in compliance with the re22 quirements of subsection (b); and 

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1 siders appropriate to improve the ad2 ministration of such subsection. 

3 (2) SUBMISSION.—The audit and rec4 ommendations under paragraph (1) shall 

5 be submitted by the Inspector General 

6 to— 

7 (A) the Committee on Oversight 

8 and Government Reform of the House 

9 of Representatives; and 

10 (B) the Committee on Homeland 

11 Security and Governmental Affairs of 

12 the Senate. 

13 (3) INFORMATION.—Upon request, the 

14 Postal Service shall furnish such infor15 mation as the Inspector General may re16 quire in order to carry out this sub17 section. 

18 (h) SAVINGS REPORT.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—In the event that a 

20 reduction in door delivery points is re21 quired under this section, the Authority 

22 shall submit a report to Congress, not 

23 later than 1 year after the date on which 

24 such reductions commence, describing 

25 the cost savings realized to the date of 

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1 such submission and the estimated addi2 tional cost savings anticipated as a result 

3 of such reductions occurring after such 

4 submission. The report shall include— 

5 (A) the measures taken to achieve 

6 the realized savings and the assump7 tions and methodologies used to com8 pute the estimated cost savings; and 

9 (B) information with respect to 

10 what additional measures might be 

11 necessary to achieve the cost savings 

12 required under this section. 

13 (2) REDUCTION LIMITATION.—Notwith14 standing any other provision of this Act, 

15 if the Authority determines that the 

16 measures described pursuant to subpara17 graphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) are 

18 not feasible, not cost effective, or other19 wise detrimental to the mail delivery pol20 icy of the Postal Service, the Authority 

21 shall submit a report to Congress stating 

22 any legislative changes recommended for 

23 door delivery modernization procedures 

24 under this section, including increasing 

25 flexibility of this section’s requirements 

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1 or the postponement of further conver2 sion. 

3 Subtitle C—Establishment and En4 forcement of Financial Plan and 

5 Budget for the Postal Service 

6 SEC. 221. DEVELOPMENT OF FINANCIAL PLAN AND BUDG7 ET FOR THE POSTAL SERVICE. 

8 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF FINANCIAL PLAN AND

9 BUDGET.—For each fiscal year for which the 

10 Postal Service is in a control period, the Post11 master General shall develop and submit to 

12 the Authority a financial plan and budget for 

13 the Postal Service in accordance with this 

14 section. 

15 (b) CONTENTS OF FINANCIAL PLAN AND

16 BUDGET.—A financial plan and budget for the 

17 Postal Service for a fiscal year shall specify 

18 the budget for the Postal Service as required 

19 by section 2009 of title 39, United States Code, 

20 for the applicable fiscal year and the next 3 

21 fiscal years, in accordance with the following 

22 requirements: 

23 (1) The financial plan and budget 

24 shall meet the requirements described in 

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1 subsection (c) to promote the financial 

2 stability of the Postal Service. 

3 (2) The financial plan and budget 

4 shall— 

5 (A) include the Postal Service’s 

6 annual budget program (under sec7 tion 2009 of title 39, United States 

8 Code) and the Postal Service’s plan 

9 commonly referred to as its ‘‘Inte10 grated Financial Plan’’; 

11 (B) describe lump-sum expendi12 tures by all categories traditionally 

13 used by the Postal Service; 

14 (C) describe capital expenditures 

15 (together with a schedule of projected 

16 capital commitments and cash out17 lays of the Postal Service and pro18 posed sources of funding); 

19 (D) contain estimates of overall 

20 debt (both outstanding and antici21 pated to be issued); and 

22 (E) contain cash flow and liquid23 ity forecasts for the Postal Service at 

24 such intervals as the Authority may 

25 require. 

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1 (3) The financial plan and budget 

2 shall include a statement describing 

3 methods of estimations and significant 

4 assumptions. 

5 (4) The financial plan and budget 

6 shall include any other provisions and 

7 shall meet such other criteria as the Au8 thority considers appropriate to meet the 

9 purposes of this title, including provi10 sions for— 

11 (A) changes in personnel policies 

12 and levels for each component of the 

13 Postal Service; and 

14 (B) management initiatives to 

15 promote productivity, improvement 

16 in the delivery of services, or cost 

17 savings. 

18 (c) REQUIREMENTS TO PROMOTE FINANCIAL

19 STABILITY.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The requirements to 

21 promote the financial stability of the 

22 Postal Service applicable to the financial 

23 plan and budget for a fiscal year are as 

24 follows: 

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1 (A) In each fiscal year (following 

2 the first full fiscal year) in a control 

3 period, budgeted expenditures of the 

4 Postal Service for the fiscal year in5 volved may not exceed budgeted reve6 nues of the Postal Service for the fis7 cal year involved. 

8 (B) In each fiscal year in a control 

9 period, the Postal Service shall make 

10 continuous, substantial progress to11 wards long-term fiscal solvency and 

12 shall have substantially greater net 

13 income than in the previous fiscal 

14 year. 

15 (C) The Postal Service shall pro16 vide for the orderly liquidation of any 

17 supplementary debt under section 

18 222. 

19 (D) The financial plan and budget 

20 shall assure the continuing long-term 

21 financial stability of the Postal Serv22 ice, as indicated by factors such as 

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1 tive provision of services by the Post2 al Service. 

3 (2) APPLICATION OF SOUND BUDGETARY

4 PRACTICES.—In meeting the requirement 

5 described in paragraph (1) with respect 

6 to a financial plan and budget for a fiscal 

7 year, the Postal Service shall apply sound 

8 budgetary practices, including reducing 

9 costs and other expenditures, improving 

10 productivity, increasing revenues, or a 

11 combination of such practices. 

12 (3) ASSUMPTIONS BASED ON CURRENT

13 LAW.—In meeting the requirements de14 scribed in paragraph (1) with respect to a 

15 financial plan and budget for a fiscal 

16 year, the Postal Service shall base esti17 mates of revenues and expenditures on 

18 Federal law as in effect at the time of the 

19 preparation of such financial plan and 

20 budget. 

21 SEC. 222. SUPPLEMENTARY BORROWING AUTHORITY DUR22 ING A CONTROL PERIOD. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the commence24 ment of a control period, subject to the ap25 proval of the Authority, the Postal Service is 

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1 authorized to borrow money and issue and 

2 sell such obligations as may be necessary to 

3 carry out the purposes of this title, to the 

4 same extent, in the same manner, and subject 

5 to the same terms and conditions as if the 

6 maximum amount allowable under the provi7 sions of section 2005(a)(2) of title 39, United 

8 States Code, for the fiscal year involved were 

9 equal to the maximum amount which (but for 

10 this section) would otherwise be allowable 

11 under such provisions, increased by 

12 $10,000,000,000. The authorization to issue ob13 ligations under this section shall extend for a 

14 period of not more than 10 years beginning on 

15 the date of commencement of a control pe16 riod, as described in section 202(b). At the end 

17 of such a 10-year period, the Postal Service 

18 shall dispose of real property of the Postal 

19 Service generating sufficient proceeds to 

20 repay any outstanding obligation incurred 

21 under this subsection in its entirety. 

22 (b) EXCLUSION.—The last sentence of sec23 tion 2005(a)(1) of title 39, United States Code, 

24 shall not apply with respect to any amounts 

25 borrowed or obligations issued or sold under 

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1 authority of this section (which, but for sub2 section (a), would not otherwise have been al3 lowable). 

4 (c) DEPOSIT.—Any amounts received under 

5 this section shall be deposited in the Postal 

6 Service Fund. 

7 (d) COLLATERAL.—For the purposes of 

8 funds acquired under subsection (a), the Post9 al Service shall provide an appropriate level 

10 of collateral in the form of pledged Postal 

11 Service property assets. For each fiscal year 

12 in which there remain funds made available 

13 to the Postal Service under subsection (a), the 

14 Postal Service shall dispose of real property 

15 equal to an amount that is at least 10 percent 

16 of the total funds obligated by the Postal 

17 Service under subsection (a), and the pro18 ceeds of such disposal shall be used to repay 

19 any outstanding obligation made by the Post20 al Service under subsection (a) in its entirety. 

21 SEC. 223. PROCESS FOR SUBMISSION AND APPROVAL OF FI22 NANCIAL PLAN AND BUDGET. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year for 

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1 riod, the Postmaster General shall submit to 

2 the Authority— 

3 (1) by February 1 before the start of 

4 such fiscal year, a preliminary financial 

5 plan and budget under section 221 for 

6 such fiscal year; and 

7 (2) by August 1 before the start of 

8 such fiscal year, a final financial plan 

9 and budget under section 221 for such fis10 cal year. 

11 (b) REVIEW BY AUTHORITY.—Upon receipt 

12 of a financial plan and budget under sub13 section (a) (whether preliminary or final), the 

14 Authority shall promptly review such finan15 cial plan and budget. In conducting the re16 view, the Authority may request any addi17 tional information it considers necessary and 

18 appropriate to carry out its duties under this 

19 subtitle. 

20 (c) APPROVAL OF POSTMASTER GENERAL’S

21 FINANCIAL PLAN AND BUDGET.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Authority de23 termines that the final financial plan and 

24 budget for the fiscal year submitted by 

25 the Postmaster General under subsection 

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1 (a) meets the requirements of section 

2 221— 

3 (A) the Authority shall approve 

4 the financial plan and budget and 

5 shall provide the Postmaster General, 

6 the President, and Congress with a 

7 notice certifying its approval; and 

8 (B) the Postmaster General shall 

9 promptly submit the annual budget 

10 program to the Office of Management 

11 and Budget pursuant to section 2009 

12 of title 39, United States Code. 

13 (2) DEEMED APPROVAL AFTER 30 DAYS.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the Authority 

15 has not provided the Postmaster Gen16 eral, the President, and Congress 

17 with a notice certifying approval 

18 under paragraph (1)(A) or a state19 ment of disapproval under subsection 

20 (d) before the expiration of the 30-day 

21 period which begins on the date the 

22 Authority receives the financial plan 

23 and budget from the Postmaster Gen24 eral under subsection (a), the Author25 ity shall be deemed to have approved 

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1 the financial plan and budget and to 

2 have provided the Postmaster Gen3 eral, the President, and Congress 

4 with the notice certifying approval 

5 under paragraph (1)(A). 

6 (B) EXPLANATION OF FAILURE TO RE7 SPOND.—If subparagraph (A) applies 

8 with respect to a financial plan and 

9 budget, the Authority shall provide 

10 the Postmaster General, the Presi11 dent and Congress with an expla12 nation for its failure to provide the 

13 notice certifying approval or the 

14 statement of disapproval during the 

15 30-day period described in such sub16 paragraph. 

17 (d) DISAPPROVAL OF POSTMASTER GEN18 ERAL’S BUDGET.—If the Authority determines 

19 that the final financial plan and budget for 

20 the fiscal year submitted by the Postmaster 

21 General under subsection (a) does not meet 

22 the requirements applicable under section 

23 221, the Authority shall disapprove the finan24 cial plan and budget, and shall provide the 

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1 Postmaster General, the President, and Con2 gress with a statement containing— 

3 (1) the reasons for such disapproval; 

4 (2) the amount of any shortfall in the 

5 budget or financial plan; and 

6 (3) any recommendations for revi7 sions to the budget the Authority con8 siders appropriate to ensure that the 

9 budget is consistent with the financial 

10 plan and budget. 

11 (e) AUTHORITY REVIEW OF POSTMASTER

12 GENERAL’S REVISED FINAL FINANCIAL PLAN AND

13 BUDGET.— 

14 (1) SUBMISSION OF POSTMASTER GEN15 ERAL’S REVISED FINAL FINANCIAL PLAN AND

16 BUDGET.—Not later than 15 days after re17 ceiving the statement from the Authority 

18 under subsection (d), the Postmaster 

19 General shall promptly adopt a revised 

20 final financial plan and budget for the 

21 fiscal year which addresses the reasons 

22 for the Authority’s disapproval cited in 

23 the statement, and shall submit such fi24 nancial plan and budget to the Authority. 

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1 (2) APPROVAL OF POSTMASTER GEN2 ERAL’S REVISED FINAL FINANCIAL PLAN AND

3 BUDGET.—If, after reviewing the revised 

4 final financial plan and budget for a fis5 cal year submitted by the Postmaster 

6 General under paragraph (1) in accord7 ance with the procedures described in 

8 this section, the Authority determines 

9 that the revised final financial plan and 

10 budget meets the requirements applica11 ble under section 221— 

12 (A) the Authority shall approve 

13 the financial plan and budget and 

14 shall provide the Postmaster General, 

15 the President, and Congress with a 

16 notice certifying its approval; and 

17 (B) the Postmaster General shall 

18 promptly submit the annual budget 

19 program to the Office of Management 

20 and Budget pursuant to section 2009 

21 of title 39, United States Code. 

22 (3) DISAPPROVAL OF POSTMASTER GEN23 ERAL’S REVISED FINAL FINANCIAL PLAN AND

24 BUDGET.— 

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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—If, after review2 ing the revised final financial plan 

3 and budget for a fiscal year sub4 mitted by the Postmaster General 

5 under paragraph (1) in accordance 

6 with the procedures described in this 

7 subsection, the Authority determines 

8 that the revised final financial plan 

9 and budget does not meet the appli10 cable requirements under section 221, 

11 the Authority shall— 

12 (i) disapprove the financial 

13 plan and budget; 

14 (ii) provide the Postmaster 

15 General, the President, and Con16 gress with a statement containing 

17 the reasons for such disapproval 

18 and describing the amount of any 

19 shortfall in the financial plan and 

20 budget; and 

21 (iii) approve and recommend 

22 a financial plan and budget for 

23 the Postal Service which meets 

24 the applicable requirements 

25 under section 221, and submit 

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1 such financial plan and budget to 

2 the Postmaster General, the 

3 President, and Congress. 

4 (B) SUBMISSION TO OMB.—Upon re5 ceipt of the recommended financial 

6 plan and budget under subparagraph 

7 (A)(iii), the Postmaster General shall 

8 promptly submit the recommended 

9 annual budget program to the Office 

10 of Management and Budget pursuant 

11 to section 2009 of title 39, United 

12 States Code. 

13 (4) DEEMED APPROVAL AFTER 15 DAYS.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the Authority 

15 has not provided the Postmaster Gen16 eral, the President, and Congress 

17 with a notice certifying approval 

18 under paragraph (2)(A) or a state19 ment of disapproval under paragraph 

20 (3) before the expiration of the 15-day 

21 period which begins on the date the 

22 Authority receives the revised final 

23 financial plan and budget submitted 

24 by the Postmaster General under 

25 paragraph (1), the Authority shall be 

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1 deemed to have approved the revised 

2 final financial plan and budget and to 

3 have provided the Postmaster Gen4 eral, the President, and Congress 

5 with the notice certifying approval 

6 described in paragraph (2)(A). 

7 (B) EXPLANATION OF FAILURE TO RE8 SPOND.—If subparagraph (A) applies 

9 with respect to a financial plan and 

10 budget, the Authority shall provide 

11 the Postmaster General, the Presi12 dent and Congress with an expla13 nation for its failure to provide the 

14 notice certifying approval or the 

15 statement of disapproval during the 

16 15-day period described in such sub17 paragraph. 

18 (f) DEADLINE FOR TRANSMISSION OF FINAN19 CIAL PLAN AND BUDGET BY AUTHORITY.—Not20 withstanding any other provision of this sec21 tion, not later than September 30th before 

22 each fiscal year which is in a control period, 

23 the Authority shall— 

24 (1) provide Congress with a notice 

25 certifying its approval of the Postmaster 

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1 General’s initial financial plan and budg2 et for the fiscal year under subsection (c); 

3 (2) provide Congress with a notice 

4 certifying its approval of the Postmaster 

5 General’s revised final financial plan and 

6 budget for the fiscal year under sub7 section (e)(2); or 

8 (3) submit to Congress an approved 

9 and recommended financial plan and 

10 budget of the Authority for the Postal 

11 Service for the fiscal year under sub12 section (e)(3)(A)(iii). 

13 (g) REVISIONS TO FINANCIAL PLAN AND

14 BUDGET.— 

15 (1) PERMITTING POSTMASTER GENERAL

16 TO SUBMIT REVISIONS.—The Postmaster 

17 General may submit proposed revisions 

18 to the financial plan and budget for a 

19 control period to the Authority at any 

20 time during the year. 

21 (2) PROCESS FOR REVIEW, APPROVAL, 

22 DISAPPROVAL, AND POSTMASTER GENERAL

23 ACTION.—Except as provided in para24 graph (3), the procedures described in 

25 subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) shall 

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1 apply with respect to a proposed revision 

2 to a financial plan and budget in the 

3 same manner as such procedures apply 

4 with respect to the original financial plan 

5 and budget. 

6 (3) EXCEPTION FOR REVISIONS NOT AF7 FECTING SPENDING.—To the extent that a 

8 proposed revision to a financial plan and 

9 budget adopted by the Postmaster Gen10 eral pursuant to this subsection does not 

11 increase the amount of spending with re12 spect to any account of the Postal Serv13 ice, the revision shall become effective 

14 upon the Authority’s approval of such re15 vision. 

16 SEC. 224. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE AUTHORITY. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Authority shall di18 rect the exercise of the powers of the Postal 

19 Service, including— 

20 (1) determining its overall strategies 

21 (both long-term and short-term); 

22 (2) determining its organizational 

23 structure, particularly for senior manage24 ment at the level of vice president and 

25 higher; 

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1 (3) hiring, monitoring, compensating, 

2 and, when necessary, replacing senior 

3 management at the level of vice president 

4 and higher, as well as ensuring adequate 

5 succession planning for these positions; 

6 (4) approving major policies, particu7 larly those that have an important effect 

8 on the Postal Service’s financial position 

9 and the provision of universal postal 

10 service; 

11 (5) approving corporate budgets, fi12 nancial and capital plans, operational 

13 and service performance standards and 

14 targets, human resources strategies, col15 lective bargaining strategies, negotiation 

16 parameters, and collective bargaining 

17 agreements, and the compensation struc18 ture for nonbargaining employees; 

19 (6) approving substantial capital 

20 projects and any substantial disposition 

21 of capital assets, such as surplus prop22 erty; 

23 (7) approving changes in rates and 

24 classifications, new products and serv25 ices, policy regarding other substantial 

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1 matters before the Postal Regulatory 

2 Commission, and any appeals of its deci3 sions or orders to the Federal courts; 

4 (8) approving the Postal Service An5 nual Report, Annual Comprehensive 

6 Statement, and strategic plans, perform7 ance plans, and performance program re8 ports under chapter 28 of title 39, United 

9 States Code; 

10 (9) formulating and communicating 

11 organizational policy and positions on 

12 legislative and other public policy mat13 ters to Congress and the public; 

14 (10) ensuring organizational respon15 siveness to oversight by Congress, the 

16 Postal Regulatory Commission, the Treas17 ury of the United States, and other audit 

18 entities; 

19 (11) ensuring adequate internal con20 trols and selecting, monitoring, and com21 pensating an independent public ac22 counting firm to conduct an annual audit 

23 of the Postal Service; and 

24 (12) carrying out any responsibility, 

25 not otherwise listed in this subsection, 

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1 that was the responsibility of the Board 

2 of Governors at any time during the 5- 

3 year period ending on the date of the en4 actment of this Act. 

5 (b) REVIEW OF POSTAL SERVICE PRO6 POSALS.— 

7 (1) SUBMISSION OF POSTAL SERVICE PRO8 POSALS TO THE AUTHORITY.—During a con9 trol period, the Postmaster General shall 

10 submit to the Authority any proposal that 

11 has a substantial effect on any item listed 

12 in subsection (a). 

13 (2) PROMPT REVIEW BY AUTHORITY.— 

14 Upon receipt of a proposal from the Post15 master General under paragraph (1), the 

16 Authority shall promptly review the pro17 posal to determine whether it is con18 sistent with the applicable financial plan 

19 and budget approved under this title. 

20 (3) ACTIONS BY AUTHORITY.— 

21 (A) APPROVAL.—If the Authority 

22 determines that a proposal is con23 sistent with the applicable financial 

24 plan and budget, the Authority shall 

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1 notify the Postmaster General that it 

2 approves the proposal. 

3 (B) FINDING OF INCONSISTENCY.—If 

4 the Authority determines that a pro5 posal is significantly inconsistent 

6 with the applicable financial plan 

7 and budget, the Authority shall— 

8 (i) notify the Postmaster Gen9 eral of its finding; 

10 (ii) provide the Postmaster 

11 General with an explanation of 

12 the reasons for its finding; and 

13 (iii) to the extent the Author14 ity considers appropriate, provide 

15 the Postmaster General with rec16 ommendations for modifications 

17 to the proposal. 

18 (4) DEEMED APPROVAL.—If the Author19 ity does not notify the Postmaster Gen20 eral that it approves or disapproves a 

21 proposal submitted under this subsection 

22 during the 7-day period which begins on 

23 the date the Postmaster General submits 

24 the proposal to the Authority, the Author25 ity shall be deemed to have approved the 

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1 proposal in accordance with paragraph 

2 (3)(A). At the option of the Authority, the 

3 previous sentence shall be applied as if 

4 the reference in such sentence to ‘‘7-day 

5 period’’ were a reference to ‘‘14-day pe6 riod’’ if, during the 7-day period referred 

7 to in the preceding sentence, the Author8 ity so notifies the Postmaster General. 

9 (c) EFFECT OF APPROVED FINANCIAL PLAN

10 AND BUDGET ON CONTRACTS AND LEASES.— 

11 (1) MANDATORY PRIOR APPROVAL FOR

12 CERTAIN CONTRACTS AND LEASES.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a 

14 contract or lease described in sub15 paragraph (B) which is proposed to 

16 be entered into, renewed, modified, 

17 or extended by the Postal Service 

18 during a control period, the Post19 master General (or the appropriate 

20 officer or agent of the Postal Service) 

21 shall submit the proposed contract or 

22 lease to the Authority. The Authority 

23 shall review each contract or lease 

24 submitted under this subparagraph, 

25 and the Postmaster General (or the 

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1 appropriate officer or agent of the 

2 Postal Service) may not enter into the 

3 contract or lease unless the Authority 

4 determines that the proposed con5 tract or lease is consistent with the fi6 nancial plan and budget for the fiscal 

7 year. 

8 (B) CONTRACTS AND LEASES DE9 SCRIBED.—A contract or lease de10 scribed in this subparagraph is— 

11 (i) a labor contract entered 

12 into through collective bar13 gaining; or 

14 (ii) such other type of con15 tract or lease as the Authority 

16 may specify for purposes of this 

17 subparagraph. 

18 (2) AUTHORITY TO REVIEW OTHER CON19 TRACTS AFTER EXECUTION.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to 

21 the prior approval of certain con22 tracts and leases, the Postal Service 

23 shall submit to the Authority— 

24 (i) any Level-Two Post Career 

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1 tract that is in effect during a 

2 control period; and 

3 (ii) any collective bargaining 

4 agreement entered into by the 

5 Postal Service that is in effect 

6 during a control period. 

7 Any such contract or agreement shall 

8 be submitted to the Authority upon 

9 the commencement of a control pe10 riod and at such other times as the 

11 Authority may require. 

12 (B) REVIEW BY AUTHORITY.—The 

13 Authority shall review each contract 

14 submitted under subparagraph (A) to 

15 determine if the contract is con16 sistent with the financial plan and 

17 budget for the fiscal year. If the Au18 thority determines that the contract 

19 is not consistent with the financial 

20 plan and budget, the Authority shall 

21 take such actions as are within the 

22 Authority’s powers to revise the con23 tract. 

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1 SEC. 225. EFFECT OF FINDING NONCOMPLIANCE WITH FI2 NANCIAL PLAN AND BUDGET. 

3 (a) SUBMISSION OF REPORTS.—Not later 

4 than 30 days after the expiration of each 

5 quarter of each fiscal year beginning in a con6 trol period, the Postmaster General shall sub7 mit reports to the Authority describing the ac8 tual revenues obtained and expenditures 

9 made by the Postal Service during the quar10 ter with its cash flows during the quarter, and 

11 comparing such actual revenues, expendi12 tures, and cash flows with the most recent 

13 projections for these items. 

14 (b) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—If the Au15 thority determines, based on reports sub16 mitted by the Postmaster General under sub17 section (a), independent audits, or such other 

18 information as the Authority may obtain, that 

19 the revenues or expenditures of the Postal 

20 Service during a control period are not con21 sistent with the financial plan and budget for 

22 the year, the Authority shall require the Post23 master General to provide such additional in24 formation as the Authority determines to be 

25 necessary to explain the inconsistency. 

26 (c) CERTIFICATION OF VARIANCE.— 

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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—After requiring the 

2 Postmaster General to provide additional 

3 information under subsection (b), the Au4 thority shall certify to the Postmaster 

5 General, the President, the Secretary of 

6 the Treasury, and Congress that the Post7 al Service is at variance with the finan8 cial plan and budget unless— 

9 (A) the additional information 

10 provides an explanation for the in11 consistency which the Authority finds 

12 reasonable and appropriate; or 

13 (B)(i) the Postal Service adopts or 

14 implements remedial action (includ15 ing revising the financial plan and 

16 budget pursuant to section 223(g)) to 

17 correct the inconsistency which the 

18 Authority finds reasonable and ap19 propriate, taking into account the 

20 terms of the financial plan and budg21 et; and 

22 (ii) the Postmaster General agrees 

23 to submit the reports described in 

24 subsection (a) on a monthly basis for 

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1 such period as the Authority may re2 quire. 

3 (2) SPECIAL RULE FOR INCONSISTENCIES

4 ATTRIBUTABLE TO ACTS OF CONGRESS.— 

5 (A) DETERMINATION BY AUTHOR6 ITY.—If the Authority determines that 

7 the revenues or expenditures of the 

8 Postal Service during a control pe9 riod are not consistent with the fi10 nancial plan and budget for the year 

11 as approved by the Authority under 

12 section 223 as a result of the terms 

13 and conditions of any law enacted by 

14 Congress which affects the Postal 

15 Service, the Authority shall so notify 

16 the Postmaster General. 

17 (B) CERTIFICATION.—In the case of 

18 an inconsistency described in sub19 paragraph (A), the Authority shall 

20 certify to the Postmaster General, the 

21 President, the Secretary of the Treas22 ury, and Congress that the Postal 

23 Service is at variance with the finan24 cial plan and budget unless the Postal 

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1 dial action (including revising the fi2 nancial plan and budget pursuant to 

3 section 202(e)) to correct the incon4 sistency which the Authority finds 

5 reasonable and appropriate, taking 

6 into account the terms of the finan7 cial plan and budget. 

8 (d) EFFECT OF CERTIFICATION.—If the Au9 thority certifies to the Secretary of the Treas10 ury that a variance exists, the Authority or 

11 the Secretary may withhold access by the 

12 Postal Service to additional supplementary 

13 debt authorized by this title. 

14 SEC. 226. RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING FINANCIAL 

15 STABILITY, ETC. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Authority may at 

17 any time submit recommendations to the 

18 Postmaster General, the President, and Con19 gress on actions the Postal Service or any 

20 other entity of the Federal Government 

21 should take to ensure compliance by the Post22 al Service with a financial plan and budget or 

23 to otherwise promote the financial stability, 

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1 ery efficiency of the Postal Service, including 

2 recommendations relating to— 

3 (1) the management of the Postal 

4 Service’s financial affairs, including cash 

5 forecasting, information technology, plac6 ing controls on expenditures for per7 sonnel, reducing benefit costs, reforming 

8 procurement practices, and placing other 

9 controls on expenditures; 

10 (2) the relationship between the Post11 al Service and other entities of the Fed12 eral Government; 

13 (3) the structural relationship of sub14 divisions within the Postal Service; 

15 (4) the modification of existing rev16 enue structures, or the establishment of 

17 additional revenue structures; 

18 (5) the establishment of alternatives 

19 for meeting obligations to pay for the 

20 pensions and retirement benefits of cur21 rent and future Postal Service retirees; 

22 (6) modifications of services which 

23 are the responsibility of and are deliv24 ered by the Postal Service; 

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1 (7) modifications of the types of serv2 ices which are delivered by entities other 

3 than the Postal Service under alternative 

4 service delivery mechanisms; 

5 (8) the effects of Federal Government 

6 laws and court orders on the operations 

7 of the Postal Service; 

8 (9) the increased use of a personnel 

9 system for employees of the Postal Serv10 ice which is based upon employee per11 formance standards; and 

12 (10) the improvement of personnel 

13 training and proficiency, the adjustment 

14 of staffing levels, and the improvement of 

15 training and performance of management 

16 and supervisory personnel. 

17 (b) RESPONSE TO RECOMMENDATIONS FOR

18 ACTIONS WITHIN AUTHORITY OF POSTAL SERV19 ICE.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any 

21 recommendations submitted under sub22 section (a) during a control period which 

23 are within the authority of the Postal 

24 Service to adopt, not later than 90 days 

25 after receiving the recommendations, the 

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1 Postmaster General shall submit a state2 ment to the Authority, the President, and 

3 Congress which provides notice as to 

4 whether the Postal Service will adopt the 

5 recommendations. 

6 (2) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN REQUIRED

7 FOR ADOPTED RECOMMENDATIONS.—If the 

8 Postmaster General notifies the Author9 ity and Congress under paragraph (1) 

10 that the Postal Service will adopt any of 

11 the recommendations submitted under 

12 subsection (a), the Postmaster General 

13 shall include in the statement a written 

14 plan to implement the recommendation 

15 which includes— 

16 (A) specific performance meas17 ures to determine the extent to which 

18 the Postal Service has adopted the 

19 recommendation; and 

20 (B) a schedule for auditing the 

21 Postal Service’s compliance with the 

22 plan. 

23 (3) EXPLANATIONS REQUIRED FOR REC24 OMMENDATIONS NOT ADOPTED.—If the Post25 master General notifies the Authority, 

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1 the President, and Congress under para2 graph (1) that the Postal Service will not 

3 adopt any recommendation submitted 

4 under subsection (a) which the Postal 

5 Service has authority to adopt, the Post6 master General shall include in the state7 ment explanations for the rejection of the 

8 recommendations. 

9 (c) IMPLEMENTATION OF REJECTED REC10 OMMENDATIONS BY AUTHORITY.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Postmaster 

12 General notifies the Authority, the Presi13 dent, and Congress under subsection 

14 (b)(1) that the Postal Service will not 

15 adopt any recommendation submitted 

16 under subsection (a) which the Postal 

17 Service has authority to adopt, the Au18 thority may by a majority vote of its 

19 members take such action concerning the 

20 recommendation as it deems appropriate, 

21 after consulting with the Committee on 

22 Oversight and Government Reform of the 

23 House of Representatives and the Com24 mittee on Homeland Security and Gov25 ernmental Affairs of the Senate. 

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1 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection 

2 shall apply with respect to recommenda3 tions of the Authority made after the ex4 piration of the 6-month period which be5 gins on the date of the commencement of 

6 a control period. 

7 SEC. 227. SPECIAL RULES FOR FISCAL YEAR IN WHICH 

8 CONTROL PERIOD COMMENCES. 

9 (a) ADOPTION OF TRANSITION BUDGET.—Not10 withstanding any provision of section 223 to 

11 the contrary, in the case of a fiscal year in 

12 which a control period commences, the fol13 lowing rules shall apply: 

14 (1) Not later than 45 days after the 

15 appointment of its members, the Author16 ity shall review the proposed Integrated 

17 Financial Plan for the Postal Service for 

18 such fiscal year and shall submit any rec19 ommendations for modifications to such 

20 plan to promote the financial stability of 

21 the Postal Service to the Postmaster Gen22 eral, the President, and Congress. 

23 (2) Not later than 15 days after re24 ceiving the recommendations of the Au25 thority submitted under paragraph (1), 

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1 the Postmaster General shall promptly 

2 adopt a revised budget for the fiscal year 

3 (in this section referred to as the ‘‘transi4 tion budget’’), and shall submit the tran5 sition budget to the Authority, the Presi6 dent, and Congress. 

7 (3) Not later than 15 days after re8 ceiving the transition budget from the 

9 Postmaster General under paragraph (2), 

10 the Authority shall submit a report to the 

11 Postmaster General, the President, and 

12 Congress analyzing the budget (taking 

13 into account any items or provisions dis14 approved by the Postmaster General) and 

15 shall include in the report such rec16 ommendations for revisions to the transi17 tion budget as the Authority considers 

18 appropriate to promote the financial sta19 bility of the Postal Service during the fis20 cal year. 

21 (b) FINANCIAL PLAN AND BUDGET.— 

22 (1) DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION.—For 

23 purposes of section 223, the Postmaster 

24 General shall submit the financial plan 

25 and budget for the applicable fiscal year 

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1 as soon as practicable after the com2 mencement of a control period (in ac3 cordance with guidelines established by 

4 the Authority). 

5 (2) ADOPTION BY POSTMASTER GEN6 ERAL.—In accordance with the proce7 dures applicable under section 223 (in8 cluding procedures providing for review 

9 by the Authority) the Postmaster General 

10 shall adopt the financial plan and budget 

11 for the applicable fiscal year (including 

12 the transition budget incorporated in the 

13 financial plan and budget). 

14 (3) TRANSITION BUDGET AS TEMPORARY

15 FINANCIAL PLAN AND BUDGET.—Until the 

16 approval of the financial plan and budget 

17 for the applicable fiscal year by the Au18 thority under this subsection, the transi19 tion budget established under subsection 

20 (a) shall serve as the financial plan and 

21 budget adopted under this subtitle for 

22 purposes of this Act (and any provision of 

23 law amended by this Act) for the applica24 ble fiscal year. 

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1 SEC. 228. ASSISTANCE IN ACHIEVING FINANCIAL STA2 BILITY, ETC. 

3 In addition to any other actions described 

4 in this title, the Authority may undertake co5 operative efforts to assist the Postal Service 

6 in achieving financial stability and manage7 ment efficiency, including— 

8 (1) assisting the Postal Service in 

9 avoiding defaults, eliminating and liqui10 dating deficits, maintaining sound budg11 etary practices, and avoiding interrup12 tions in the delivery of services; 

13 (2) assisting the Postal Service in im14 proving the delivery of services, the 

15 training and effectiveness of personnel of 

16 the Postal Service, and the efficiency of 

17 management and supervision; and 

18 (3) making recommendations to the 

19 President for transmission to Congress 

20 on changes to this Act or other Federal 

21 laws, or other actions of the Federal Gov22 ernment, which would assist the Postal 

23 Service in complying with an approved 

24 financial plan and budget under subtitle 

25 B. 

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1 SEC. 229. OBTAINING REPORTS. 

2 The Authority may require the Post3 master General, the Chief Financial Officer of 

4 the Postal Service, and the Inspector General 

5 of the Postal Service, to prepare and submit 

6 such reports as the Authority considers ap7 propriate to assist it in carrying out its re8 sponsibilities under this title, including sub9 mitting copies of any reports regarding reve10 nues, expenditures, budgets, costs, plans, op11 erations, estimates, and other financial or 

12 budgetary matters of the Postal Service. 

13 SEC. 230. REPORTS AND COMMENTS. 

14 (a) ANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not 

15 later than 30 days after the last day of each 

16 fiscal year which is a control year, the Au17 thority shall submit a report to Congress de18 scribing— 

19 (1) the progress made by the Postal 

20 Service in meeting the objectives of this 

21 title during the fiscal year; 

22 (2) the assistance provided by the Au23 thority to the Postal Service in meeting 

24 the purposes of this title for the fiscal 

25 year; and 

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1 (3) any other activities of the Author2 ity during the fiscal year. 

3 (b) REVIEW AND ANALYSIS OF PERFORMANCE

4 AND FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY REPORTS.—The 

5 Authority shall review each yearly report pre6 pared and submitted by the Postmaster Gen7 eral to the Postal Regulatory Commission and 

8 Congress and shall submit a report to Con9 gress analyzing the completeness and accu10 racy of such reports. 

11 (c) COMMENTS REGARDING ACTIVITIES OF

12 POSTAL SERVICE.—At any time during a con13 trol period, the Authority may submit a report 

14 to Congress describing any action taken by 

15 the Postal Service (or any failure to act by the 

16 Postal Service) which the Authority deter17 mines will adversely affect the Postal Serv18 ice’s ability to comply with an approved fi19 nancial plan and budget under subtitle B or 

20 will otherwise have a significant adverse im21 pact on the best interests of the Postal Serv22 ice. 

23 (d) REPORTS ON EFFECT OF FEDERAL LAWS

24 ON THE POSTAL SERVICE.—At any time during 

25 any year, the Authority may submit a report 

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1 to the Postmaster General, the President, and 

2 Congress on the effect of laws enacted by Con3 gress on the financial plan and budget for the 

4 year and on the financial stability and man5 agement efficiency of the Postal Service in 

6 general. 

7 (e) MAKING REPORTS PUBLICLY AVAIL8 ABLE.—The Authority shall make any report 

9 submitted under this section available to the 

10 public, except to the extent that the Authority 

11 determines that the report contains confiden12 tial material. 

13 TITLE III—POSTAL SERVICE 

14 WORKFORCE 

15 Subtitle A—General Provisions 

16 SEC. 301. MODIFICATIONS RELATING TO DETERMINATION 

17 OF PAY COMPARABILITY. 

18 (a) POSTAL POLICY.—The first sentence of 

19 section 101(c) is amended— 

20 (1) by inserting ‘‘total’’ before ‘‘rates 

21 and types of compensation’’; and 

22 (2) by inserting ‘‘entire’’ before ‘‘pri23 vate sector’’. 

24 (b) EMPLOYMENT POLICY.—The second sen25 tence of section 1003(a) is amended— 

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1 (1) by inserting ‘‘total’’ before ‘‘com2 pensation and benefits’’ each place it ap3 pears; and 

4 (2) by inserting ‘‘entire’’ before ‘‘pri5 vate sector’’. 

6 (c) CONSIDERATIONS.—For purposes of the 

7 amendments made by this section, any deter8 mination of ‘‘total rates and types of com9 pensation’’ or ‘‘total compensation and bene10 fits’’ shall, at a minimum, take into account 

11 pay, health benefits, retirement benefits, life 

12 insurance benefits, leave, holidays, and con13 tinuity and stability of employment. 

14 SEC. 302. LIMITATION ON POSTAL CONTRIBUTIONS UNDER 

15 FEGLI AND FEHBP. 

16 Section 1003 is amended by adding at the 

17 end the following: 

18 ‘‘(e)(1) At least 1 month before the start of 

19 each fiscal year as described in paragraph (2), 

20 the Postmaster General shall transmit to the 

21 Postal Regulatory Commission certification 

22 (together with such supporting documenta23 tion as the Postal Regulatory Commission 

24 may require) that contributions of the Postal 

25 Service for such fiscal year will not exceed— 

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1 ‘‘(A) in the case of life insurance 

2 under chapter 87 of title 5, the Govern3 ment contributions determined under 

4 section 8708 of such title; and 

5 ‘‘(B) in the case of health insurance 

6 under chapter 89 of title 5, the Govern7 ment contributions determined under 

8 8906 of such title. 

9 ‘‘(2) This subsection applies with respect 

10 to— 

11 ‘‘(A) except as provided in subpara12 graph (B), each fiscal year beginning 

13 after September 30, 2013; and 

14 ‘‘(B) in the case of officers and em15 ployees of the Postal Service covered by 

16 a collective bargaining agreement which 

17 is in effect on the date of the enactment 

18 of this subsection— 

19 ‘‘(i) each fiscal year beginning 

20 after the expiration date of such 

21 agreement, including 

22 ‘‘(ii) for the fiscal year in which 

23 such expiration date occurs, any por24 tion of such fiscal year remaining 

25 after such expiration date. 

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1 ‘‘(3)(A) If, after reasonable notice and op2 portunity for hearing is afforded to the Postal 

3 Service, the Postal Regulatory Commission 

4 finds that the contributions of the Postal 

5 Service for a fiscal year will exceed or are ex6 ceeding the limitation specified in subpara7 graph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1), the Commis8 sion shall order that the Postal Service take 

9 such action as the Commission considers nec10 essary to achieve full and immediate compli11 ance with the applicable limitation or limita12 tions. 

13 ‘‘(B) Sections 3663 and 3664 shall apply 

14 with respect to any order issued by the Postal 

15 Regulatory Commission under subparagraph 

16 (A). 

17 ‘‘(C) Nothing in this paragraph shall be 

18 considered to permit the issuance of an order 

19 requiring reduction of contributions below 

20 the level specified by the provision of law 

21 cited in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph 

22 (1), as applicable.’’. 

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1 SEC. 303. REPEAL OF PROVISION RELATING TO OVERALL 

2 VALUE OF FRINGE BENEFITS. 

3 The last sentence of section 1005(f) is re4 pealed. 

5 SEC. 304. APPLICABILITY OF REDUCTION-IN-FORCE PROCE6 DURES. 

7 Section 1206 is amended by adding at the 

8 end the following: 

9 ‘‘(d) Collective-bargaining agreements be10 tween the Postal Service and bargaining rep11 resentatives recognized under section 1203, 

12 ratified after the date of enactment of this 

13 subsection, shall contain no provision re14 stricting the applicability of reduction-in15 force procedures under title 5 with respect to 

16 members of the applicable bargaining unit. 

17 ‘‘(e) Any collective-bargaining agreement 

18 between the Postal Service and the bar19 gaining representatives recognized under sec20 tion 1203 ratified before the date of enact21 ment of this Act that contain any provision 

22 violating subsection (d) shall be renegotiated 

23 with a new collective-bargaining agreement 

24 to be ratified or imposed through an arbitra25 tion decision under section 1207 within 9 

26 months after such date of enactment. 

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1 ‘‘(f)(1) If a collective-bargaining agree2 ment between the Postal Service and bar3 gaining representatives recognized under sec4 tion 1203, ratified after the date of enactment 

5 of this subsection, includes reduction-in-force 

6 procedures which can be applied in lieu of re7 duction-in-force procedures under title 5, the 

8 Postal Service may, in its discretion, apply 

9 with respect to members of the applicable 

10 bargaining unit— 

11 ‘‘(A) the alternative procedures (or, if 

12 2 or more are agreed to, 1 of the alter13 native procedures); or 

14 ‘‘(B) the reduction-in-force proce15 dures under title 5. 

16 ‘‘(2) In no event may, if procedures for the 

17 resolution of a dispute or impasse arising in 

18 the negotiation of a collective-bargaining 

19 agreement (whether through binding arbitra20 tion or otherwise) are invoked under this 

21 chapter, the award or other resolution 

22 reached under such procedures provide for 

23 the elimination of, or the substitution of any 

24 alternative procedures in lieu of, reduction25 in-force procedures under title 5.’’. 

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1 SEC. 305. MODIFICATIONS RELATING TO COLLECTIVE BAR2 GAINING. 

3 Section 1207 is amended by striking sub4 sections (c) and (d) and inserting the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(c)(1) If no agreement is reached within 

7 30 days after the appointment of a mediator 

8 under subsection (b), or if the parties decide 

9 upon arbitration before the expiration of the 

10 30-day period, an arbitration board shall be 

11 established consisting of 1 member selected 

12 by the Postal Service (from the list under 

13 paragraph (2)), 1 member selected by the bar14 gaining representative of the employees (from 

15 the list under paragraph (2)), and the medi16 ator appointed under subsection (b). 

17 ‘‘(2) Upon receiving a request from either 

18 of the parties referred to in paragraph (1), the 

19 Director of the Federal Mediation and Concil20 iation Service shall provide a list of not less 

21 than 9 individuals who are well qualified to 

22 serve as neutral arbitrators. Each person list23 ed shall be an arbitrator of nationwide rep24 utation and professional nature, a member of 

25 the National Academy of Arbitrators, and an 

26 individual whom the Director has determined 

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1 to be willing and available to serve. If, within 

2 7 days after the list is provided, either of the 

3 parties has not selected an individual from 

4 the list, the Director shall make the selection 

5 within 3 days. 

6 ‘‘(3) The arbitration board shall give the 

7 parties a full and fair hearing, including an 

8 opportunity to present evidence in support of 

9 their claims, and an opportunity to present 

10 their case in person, by counsel, or by other 

11 representative as they may elect. The hearing 

12 shall be concluded no more than 40 days after 

13 the arbitration board is established. 

14 ‘‘(4) No more than 7 days after the hearing 

15 is concluded, each party shall submit to the 

16 arbitration board 2 offer packages, each of 

17 which packages shall specify the terms of a 

18 proposed final agreement. 

19 ‘‘(5) If no agreement is reached within 7 

20 days after the last day date for the submission 

21 of an offer package under paragraph (4), each 

22 party shall submit to the arbitration board a 

23 single final offer package specifying the terms 

24 of a proposed final agreement. 

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1 ‘‘(6) No later than 3 days after the submis2 sion of the final offer packages under para3 graph (5), the arbitration board shall select 1 

4 of those packages as its tentative award, sub5 ject to paragraph (7). 

6 ‘‘(7)(A) The arbitration board may not se7 lect a final offer package under paragraph (6) 

8 unless it satisfies each of the following: 

9 ‘‘(i) The offer complies with the re10 quirements of sections 101(c) and 1003(a). 

11 ‘‘(ii) The offer takes into account the 

12 current financial condition of the Postal 

13 Service. 

14 ‘‘(iii) The offer takes into account the 

15 long-term financial condition of the Post16 al Service. 

17 ‘‘(B)(i) If the board unanimously deter18 mines, based on clear and convincing evi19 dence presented during the hearing under 

20 paragraph (3), that neither final offer package 

21 satisfies the conditions set forth in subpara22 graph (A), the board shall by majority vote— 

23 ‘‘(I) select the package that best meets 

24 such conditions; and 

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1 ‘‘(II) modify the package so selected 

2 to the minimum extent necessary to sat3 isfy such conditions. 

4 ‘‘(ii) If modification (as described in sub5 paragraph (B)(i)(II)) is necessary, the board 

6 shall have an additional 7 days to render its 

7 tentative award under this subparagraph. 

8 ‘‘(8) The parties may negotiate a sub9 stitute award to replace the tentative award 

10 selected under paragraph (6) or rendered 

11 under paragraph (7) (as the case may be). If 

12 no agreement on a substitute award is 

13 reached within 10 days after the date on 

14 which the tentative award is so selected or 

15 rendered, the tentative award shall become 

16 final. 

17 ‘‘(9) The arbitration board shall review 

18 any substitute award negotiated under para19 graph (8) to determine if it satisfies the condi20 tions set forth in paragraph (7)(A). If the arbi21 tration board, by a unanimous vote taken 

22 within 3 days after the date on which the 

23 agreement on the substitute award is reached 

24 under paragraph (8), determines that the sub25 stitute award does not satisfy such condimstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 tions, the tentative award shall become final. 

2 In the absence of a vote, as described in the 

3 preceding sentence, the substitute agreement 

4 shall become final. 

5 ‘‘(10) If, under paragraph (5), neither 

6 party submits a final offer package by the last 

7 day allowable under such paragraph, the ar8 bitration board shall develop and issue a final 

9 award no later than 20 days after such last 

10 day. 

11 ‘‘(11) A final award or agreement under 

12 this subsection shall be conclusive and bind13 ing upon the parties. 

14 ‘‘(12) Costs of the arbitration board and 

15 mediation shall be shared equally by the Post16 al Service and the bargaining representative. 

17 ‘‘(d) In the case of a bargaining unit whose 

18 recognized collective-bargaining representa19 tive does not have an agreement with the 

20 Postal Service, if the parties fail to reach 

21 agreement within 90 days after the com22 mencement of collective bargaining, a medi23 ator shall be appointed in accordance with 

24 the provisions of subsection (b), unless the 

25 parties have previously agreed to another 

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1 procedure for a binding resolution of their 

2 differences. If the parties fail to reach agree3 ment within 180 days after the commence4 ment of collective bargaining, an arbitration 

5 board shall be established to provide conclu6 sive and binding arbitration in accordance 

7 with the provisions of subsection (c).’’. 

8 SEC. 306. ONE-TIME TRANSFER OF NET SURPLUS POSTAL 

9 RETIREMENT CONTRIBUTIONS. 

10 (a) TRANSFER REQUIREMENT.—Not later 

11 than 2 weeks after the date of enactment of 

12 this Act, there shall be appropriated to the 

13 Postal Service Fund, from the Postal Service 

14 Federal Employee Retirement System ac15 count within the Civil Service Retirement and 

16 Disability Fund, an amount equal to the abso17 lute value of the amount computed as of Sep18 tember 30, 2010, under section 8423(b)(1)(B) of 

19 title 5, United States Code, less the sum of— 

20 (1) the Postal supplemental liability, 

21 calculated as of September 30, 2010, 

22 under section 8348(h) of title 5, United 

23 States Code; and 

24 (2) any contribution required by sec25 tion 8423 of such title that the Postal 

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1 Service has not made during fiscal years 

2 2011 or 2012, as determined by the Office 

3 of Personnel Management no later than 

4 one week after the date of enactment of 

5 this Act 

6 (b) LIMITATIONS ON USE.—The amount 

7 transferred to the Postal Service Fund under 

8 this section— 

9 (1) may be used for such purposes as 

10 the Postal Service considers appropriate; 

11 except that 

12 (2) if any amounts so transferred re13 main in the Postal Service Fund after 

14 September 30, 2015, such amounts shall 

15 be used— 

16 (A) first, to satisfy any supple17 mental liability computed under sec18 tion 8423(b)(1)(B) of title 5, United 

19 States Code; 

20 (B) second, to satisfy any supple21 mental liability computed under sec22 tion 8348(h) of title 5, United States 

23 Code; and 

24 (C) third, to satisfy any obliga25 tions of the Postal Service under secmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 tion 2005 of title 39, United States 

2 Code. 

3 (c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sec4 tion— 

5 (1) the term ‘‘Civil Service Retirement 

6 and Disability Fund’’ refers to the fund 

7 under section 8348 of title 5, United 

8 States Code; and 

9 (2) the term ‘‘Postal Service Fund’’ re10 fers to the fund under section 2003 of 

11 title 39, United States Code. 

12 (d) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

13 Congress that the Postal Service should use 

14 any funds under subsection (b)(1) for separa15 tion incentives for Postal employees. 

16 Subtitle B—Postal Service Workers’ 

17 Compensation Reform 

18 SEC. 311. POSTAL SERVICE WORKERS’ COMPENSATION RE19 FORM. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Effective 12 months after 

21 the triggering date of this section (as defined 

22 in subsection (e)(2)), section 1005 is amended 

23 by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 

24 following: 

25 ‘‘(c)(1) For purposes of this subsection— 

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1 ‘‘(A) the term ‘postal employee’ means 

2 an officer or employee of the Postal Serv3 ice or the former Post Office Department; 

4 ‘‘(B) the term ‘retirement age’ has the 

5 meaning given such term under section 

6 216(l)(1) of the Social Security Act; and 

7 ‘‘(C) the term ‘appropriate committees 

8 of Congress’ means— 

9 ‘‘(i) the Committee on Oversight 

10 and Government Reform of the House 

11 of Representatives; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) the Committee on Homeland 

13 Security and Governmental Affairs of 

14 the Senate. 

15 ‘‘(2) The Postal Service shall design and 

16 administer a program for the payment of ben17 efits for the disability or death of an indi18 vidual resulting from personal injury sus19 tained while in the performance of such indi20 vidual’s duties as a postal employee. 

21 ‘‘(3) The program under this subsection— 

22 ‘‘(A) shall be designed by the Postal 

23 Service in consultation with appropriate 

24 employee representatives; 

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1 ‘‘(B) shall not provide for any amount 

2 payable to a disabled postal employee to 

3 be augmented on the basis of number of 

4 dependents; and 

5 ‘‘(C) shall include provisions for auto6 matic transition, upon attainment of re7 tirement age, to benefits involving, co8 ordinated with, or otherwise determined 

9 by reference to retirement benefits.’’. 

10 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 6 

11 months after the triggering date— 

12 (1) the Office of Personnel Manage13 ment shall submit to the appropriate 

14 committees of Congress recommenda15 tions for any legislation or administrative 

16 actions which the Office considers nec17 essary to carry out the purposes of this 

18 section with respect to any matter within 

19 the jurisdiction of the Office, including 

20 any amendments which may be necessary 

21 with respect to chapter 87 or 89 of title 5, 

22 United States Code; and 

23 (2) the Postal Service shall submit to 

24 the appropriate committees of Congress 

25 recommendations for any legislation 

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1 which the Postal Service considers nec2 essary to carry out the purposes of this 

3 section with respect to any matter within 

4 the jurisdiction of the Postal Service. 

5 (c) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.—Not 

6 later than 9 months after the triggering date, 

7 the Postal Service shall submit to the appro8 priate committees of Congress and shall cause 

9 to be published in the Federal Register a de10 scription of the program proposed by the 

11 Postal Service for implementation under sec12 tion 1005(c) of title 39, United States Code, as 

13 amended by subsection (a). Included in the 

14 notification provided under the preceding 

15 sentence shall be— 

16 (1) a detailed statement of the bene17 fits to be offered and the persons eligible 

18 to receive those benefits; 

19 (2) provisions to ensure an orderly 

20 transition to the system proposed to be 

21 implemented; and 

22 (3) such other information as the 

23 Postal Service considers appropriate. 

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1 (d) COMMENCEMENT DATE.—The program 

2 under section 1005(c) of title 39, United States 

3 Code, as amended by this section— 

4 (1) shall begin to operate on such 

5 date as the Postmaster General shall de6 termine, except that such date shall be a 

7 date occurring— 

8 (A) not earlier than 12 months 

9 after the triggering date; and 

10 (B) not later than 24 months after 

11 the triggering date; and 

12 (2) shall apply with respect to 

13 amounts payable for periods beginning 

14 on or after the date on which the pro15 gram begins to operate, irrespective of 

16 date of the disability or death to which 

17 such amounts relate. 

18 (e) CONDITION PRECEDENT.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The preceding provi20 sions of this section shall not become ef21 fective until the date on which a Postal 

22 Service Financial Responsibility and 

23 Management Assistance Authority (estab24 lished under section 202)— 

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1 (A) makes a written determina2 tion that conditions warrant their im3 plementation; and 

4 (B) submits such written deter5 mination to the Postal Service, the 

6 Office of Personnel Management, and 

7 the appropriate committees of Con8 gress (within the meaning of the 

9 amendment made by subsection (a)). 

10 (2) TRIGGERING DATE.—For purposes of 

11 this section, the term ‘‘triggering date of 

12 this section’’ or ‘‘triggering date’’ means 

13 the date described in paragraph (1). 

14 TITLE IV—POSTAL SERVICE 

15 REVENUE 

16 SEC. 401. ADEQUACY, EFFICIENCY, AND FAIRNESS OF POST17 AL RATES. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3622(d) is 

19 amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

21 (A) by redesignating subpara22 graphs (B) through (E) as subpara23 graph (D) through (G), respectively; 

24 and 

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1 (B) by inserting after subpara2 graph (A) the following: 

3 ‘‘(B) subject to the limitation 

4 under subparagraph (A), establish 

5 postal rates to fulfill the requirement 

6 that each market-dominant class, 

7 product, and type of mail service (ex8 cept for an experimental product or 

9 service) bear the direct and indirect 

10 postal costs attributable to such class, 

11 product, or type through reliably 

12 identified causal relationships plus 

13 that portion of all other costs of the 

14 Postal Service reasonably assignable 

15 to such class, product, or type; 

16 ‘‘(C) establish postal rates for 

17 each group of functionally equivalent 

18 agreements between the Postal Serv19 ice and users of the mail that— 

20 ‘‘(i) cover attributable cost; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(ii) improve the net financial 

23 position of the Postal Service; 

24 for purposes of this subparagraph, a 

25 group of functionally equivalent 

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1 agreements shall consist of all service 

2 agreements that are functionally 

3 equivalent to each other within the 

4 same market-dominant product, but 

5 shall not include agreements within 

6 an experimental product;’’; and 

7 (2) by adding at the end the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(4) PRC STUDY.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Within 90 days 

11 after the end of the first fiscal year 

12 beginning after the date of enactment 

13 of the Postal Reform Act of 2012, the 

14 Postal Regulatory Commission shall 

15 complete a study to determine the 

16 quantitative impact of the Postal 

17 Service’s excess capacity on the di18 rect and indirect postal costs attrib19 utable to any class that bears less 

20 than 100 percent of its costs attrib21 utable (as described in paragraph 

22 (1)(B)), according to the most recent 

23 annual determination of the Postal 

24 Regulatory Commission under sec25 tion 3653. 

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1 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The study 

2 required under subparagraph (A) 

3 shall— 

4 ‘‘(i) be conducted pursuant to 

5 regulations that the Postal Regu6 latory Commission shall prescribe 

7 within 90 days after the date of 

8 enactment of the Postal Reform 

9 Act of 2012, taking into account 

10 existing regulations for pro11 ceedings to improve the quality, 

12 accuracy, or completeness of rate13 making information under section 

14 3652(e)(2) in effect on such date; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(ii) for any year in which any 

17 class of mail bears less than 100 

18 percent of its costs attributable 

19 (as described in paragraph 

20 (1)(B)), be updated annually by 

21 the Postal Service and included 

22 in its annual report to the Com23 mission under section 3652, using 

24 such methodologies as the Commstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 mission shall by regulation pre2 scribe. 

3 ‘‘(5) ADDITIONAL RATES.—Starting not 

4 earlier than 12 months and not later than 

5 18 months after the date on which the 

6 first study described in paragraph (4) is 

7 completed, and at least once in each sub8 sequent 12-month period, the Postal Serv9 ice shall establish postal rates for each 

10 loss-making class of mail to eliminate 

11 such losses (other than those caused by 

12 the Postal Service’s excess capacity) by 

13 exhausting all unused rate authority as 

14 well as maximizing incentives to reduce 

15 costs and increase efficiency, subject to 

16 the following: 

17 ‘‘(A) The term ‘loss-making’, as 

18 used in this paragraph with respect 

19 to a class of mail, means a class of 

20 mail that bears less than 100 percent 

21 of its costs attributable (as described 

22 in paragraph (1)(B)), according to the 

23 most recent annual determination of 

24 the Postal Regulatory Commission 

25 under section 3653, adjusted to acmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 count for the quantitative effect of 

2 excess capacity on the costs attrib3 utable of the class (as described in 

4 paragraph (1)(C)). 

5 ‘‘(B) Unused rate authority shall 

6 be annually increased by 2 percent 

7 for each class of mail that bears less 

8 than 90 percent of its costs attrib9 utable (as described in paragraph 

10 (1)(B)), according to the most recent 

11 annual determination of the Postal 

12 Regulatory Commission under sec13 tion 3653, adjusted to account for the 

14 quantitative effect of excess capacity 

15 on the costs attributable of the class 

16 (as described in paragraph (1)(C)), 

17 with such increase in unused rate au18 thority to take effect 30 days after the 

19 date that the Commission issues such 

20 determination.’’. 

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subpara22 graph (A) of section 3622(c)(10) is amended to 

23 read as follows: 

24 ‘‘(A) improve the net financial po25 sition of the Postal Service through 

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1 reducing Postal Service costs or in2 creasing the overall contribution to 

3 the institutional costs of the Postal 

4 Service; and’’. 

5 (c) EXCEPTION.—Section 3622(d) is amend6 ed by adding after paragraph (5) (as added by 

7 subsection (a)(2)) the following: 

8 ‘‘(6) EXCEPTION.—The requirements of 

9 paragraph (1)(B) shall not apply to a mar10 ket-dominant product for which a sub11 stantial portion of the product’s mail vol12 ume consists of inbound international 

13 mail with terminal dues rates determined 

14 by the Universal Postal Union (and not 

15 by bilateral agreements or other arrange16 ments).’’. 

17 SEC. 402. REPEAL OF RATE PREFERENCES FOR QUALIFIED 

18 POLITICAL COMMITTEES. 

19 Subsection (e) of section 3626 is repealed. 

20 SEC. 403. RATE PREFERENCES FOR NONPROFIT ADVER21 TISING. 

22 (a) PROVISIONS RELATING TO FORMER SEC23 TION 4358(f).—Section 3626(a)(5) is amended 

24 by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Notwith25 standing any other provision of this paramstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 graph, the percentage specified in the pre2 ceding sentence shall be increased by an addi3 tional 2 percentage points as of the first day 

4 of each calendar year beginning at least 3 

5 years after the date of the enactment of the 

6 Postal Reform Act of 2012, until such percent7 age reaches 80 percent.’’. 

8 (b) PROVISIONS RELATING TO FORMER SEC9 TION 4452 (b) AND (c).—Section 3626(a)(6) is 

10 amended by inserting after subparagraph (C) 

11 the following (as a flush left sentence): 

12 ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of this 

13 paragraph, the percentage specified in sub14 paragraph (A) shall be increased by an addi15 tional 2 percentage points as of the first day 

16 of each calendar year beginning at least 3 

17 years after the date of the enactment of the 

18 Postal Reform Act of 2012, until such percent19 age reaches 80 percent.’’. 

20 SEC. 404. STREAMLINED REVIEW OF QUALIFYING SERVICE 

21 AGREEMENTS FOR COMPETITIVE PRODUCTS. 

22 Section 3633 is amended by adding at the 

23 end the following: 

24 ‘‘(c) STREAMLINED REVIEW.—Within 90 days 

25 after the date of the enactment of this submstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 section, after notice and opportunity for pub2 lic comment, the Postal Regulatory Commis3 sion shall promulgate (and may from time to 

4 time thereafter revise) regulations for stream5 lined after-the-fact review of new agreements 

6 between the Postal Service and users of the 

7 mail that provide rates not of general applica8 bility for competitive products, and are func9 tionally equivalent to existing agreements 

10 that have collectively covered attributable 

11 costs and collectively improved the net finan12 cial position of the Postal Service. Stream13 lined review will be concluded within 5 work14 ing days after the agreement is filed with the 

15 Commission and shall be limited to approval 

16 or disapproval of the agreement as a whole 

17 based on the Commission’s determination of 

18 its functional equivalence. Agreements not 

19 approved may be resubmitted without preju20 dice under section 3632(b)(3).’’. 

21 SEC. 405. SUBMISSION OF SERVICE AGREEMENTS FOR 

22 STREAMLINED REVIEW. 

23 Section 3632(b) is amended— 

24 (1) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 

25 paragraph (5); and 

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1 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(4) RATES FOR STREAMLINED REVIEW.— 

4 In the case of rates not of general appli5 cability for competitive products that the 

6 Postmaster General considers eligible for 

7 streamlined review under section 3633(c), 

8 the Postmaster General shall cause each 

9 agreement to be filed with the Postal 

10 Regulatory Commission by such date, on 

11 or before the effective date of any new 

12 rate, as the Postmaster General consid13 ered appropriate.’’. 

14 SEC. 406. TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR 

15 SERVICE AGREEMENTS. 

16 Section 3653 is amended— 

17 (1) by redesignating subsections (c) 

18 through (e) as subsections (d) through (f), 

19 respectively; and 

20 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(c) Each annual written determination of 

23 the Commission under section 3653 shall in24 clude the following written determinations: 

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1 ‘‘(1) Whether each product covered its 

2 costs, and if it did not, the determination 

3 shall state that such product is in non4 compliance under section 3653(c). 

5 ‘‘(2) For each group of functionally 

6 equivalent agreements between the Post7 al Service and users of the mail, whether 

8 it fulfilled requirements to— 

9 ‘‘(A) cover attributable costs; and 

10 ‘‘(B) improve the net financial po11 sition of the Postal Service. 

12 ‘‘(3) Any group of functionally equiva13 lent agreements (as referred to in sub14 paragraph (B)) not meeting subpara15 graphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (2) shall 

16 be determined to be in noncompliance 

17 under this subsection. 

18 ‘‘(4) For purposes of this subsection, a 

19 group of functionally equivalent agree20 ments (as referred to in paragraph (2)) 

21 shall consist of all service agreements 

22 that are functionally equivalent to each 

23 other within the same market-dominant 

24 or competitive product, but shall not inmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 clude agreements within an experimental 

2 product.’’. 

3 SEC. 407. NONPOSTAL SERVICES. 

4 (a) NONPOSTAL SERVICES.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Part IV is amended 

6 by adding after chapter 36 the following: 

7 ‘‘CHAPTER 37—NONPOSTAL SERVICES 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘3701. Purpose. 

‘‘3702. Definitions. 

‘‘3703. Postal Service advertising program. 

‘‘3704. Postal Service program for State governments. 

‘‘3705. Postal Service program for other government agencies. 

‘‘3706. Transparency and accountability for nonpostal services. 

8 ‘‘§ 3701. Purpose 

9 ‘‘This chapter is intended to enable the 

10 Postal Service to increase its net revenues 

11 through specific nonpostal products and serv12 ices that are expressly authorized by this 

13 chapter. Postal Service revenues and ex14 penses under this chapter shall be funded 

15 through the Postal Service Fund. 

16 ‘‘§ 3702. Definitions 

17 ‘‘As used in this chapter— 

18 ‘‘(1) the term ‘nonpostal services’ is 

19 limited to services offered by the Postal 

20 Service that are expressly authorized by 

21 this chapter and are not postal products 

22 or services; 

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1 ‘‘(2) the term ‘Postal Service adver2 tising program’ means a program, man3 aged by the Postal Service, by which the 

4 Postal Service receives revenues from en5 tities which advertise at Postal Service 

6 facilities and on Postal Service vehicles; 

7 ‘‘(3) the term ‘Postal Service program 

8 for State governments’ means a program, 

9 managed by the Postal Service, by which 

10 the Postal Service receives revenue from 

11 State governments (including their agen12 cies) for providing services on their be13 half at Postal Service facilities; 

14 ‘‘(4) the term ‘attributable costs’ has 

15 the same meaning as is given such term 

16 in section 3631; and 

17 ‘‘(5) the term ‘year’ means a fiscal 

18 year. 

19 ‘‘§ 3703. Postal Service advertising program 

20 ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of 

21 this title, the Postal Service may establish and 

22 manage a program that allows entities to ad23 vertise at Postal Service facilities and on 

24 Postal Service vehicles. Such a program shall 

25 be subject to the following requirements: 

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1 ‘‘(1) The Postal Service shall at all 

2 times ensure advertising it permits is 

3 consistent with the integrity of the Postal 

4 Service. 

5 ‘‘(2) Any advertising program is re6 quired to cover a minimum of 200 per7 cent of its attributable costs in each year. 

8 ‘‘(3) All advertising expenditures and 

9 revenues are subject to annual compli10 ance determination (including remedies 

11 for noncompliance) applicable to non12 postal products. 

13 ‘‘(4) Total advertising expenditures 

14 and revenues must be disclosed in Postal 

15 Service annual reports. 

16 ‘‘§ 3704. Postal Service program for State govern17 ments 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

19 other provision of this title, the Postal Service 

20 may establish a program to provide services 

21 for agencies of State governments within the 

22 United States, but only if such services— 

23 ‘‘(1) shall provide enhanced value to 

24 the public, such as by lowering the cost 

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1 or raising the quality of such services or 

2 by making such services more accessible; 

3 ‘‘(2) do not interfere with or detract 

4 from the value of postal services, includ5 ing— 

6 ‘‘(A) the cost and efficiency of 

7 postal services; and 

8 ‘‘(B) access to postal retail serv9 ice, such as customer waiting time 

10 and access to parking; and 

11 ‘‘(3) provide a reasonable contribu12 tion to the institutional costs of the Post13 al Service, defined as reimbursement for 

14 each service and to each agency covering 

15 at least 150 percent of the attributable 

16 costs of such service in each year. 

17 ‘‘(b) PUBLIC NOTICE.—At least 90 days be18 fore offering any services under this section, 

19 the Postal Service shall make each agreement 

20 with State agencies readily available to the 

21 public on its website, including a business 

22 plan that describes the specific services to be 

23 provided, the enhanced value to the public, 

24 terms of reimbursement, the estimated an25 nual reimbursement to the Postal Service, 

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1 and the estimated percentage of attributable 

2 Postal Service costs that will be covered by 

3 reimbursement (with documentation to sup4 port these estimates). The Postal Service shall 

5 solicit public comment for at least 30 days, 

6 with comments posted on its website, fol7 lowed by its written response posted on its 

8 website at least 30 days before offering such 

9 services. 

10 ‘‘(c) APPROVAL REQUIRED.—The Governors 

11 of the Postal Service shall approve the provi12 sion of services under this section by a recorded vote, with at least 2 13 ⁄3 of its membership 

14 voting for approval, with the vote publicly 

15 disclosed on the Postal Service website. 

16 ‘‘(d) CLASSIFICATION OF SERVICES.—All 

17 services for a given agency provided under 

18 this section shall be classified as a separate 

19 activity subject to the requirements of annual 

20 reporting under section 3706. Such reporting 

21 shall also include information on the quality 

22 of service and related information to dem23 onstrate that it satisfied the requirements of 

24 subsection (a). Information provided under 

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1 ments that the Postal Regulatory Commission 

2 shall by regulation prescribe. 

3 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—For the purpose of this 

4 section— 

5 ‘‘(1) the term ‘State’ includes the Dis6 trict of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 

7 Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Is8 lands, Guam, American Samoa, the Com9 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Is10 lands, and any other territory or posses11 sion of the United States; and 

12 ‘‘(2) the term ‘United States’, when 

13 used in a geographical sense, means the 

14 States. 

15 ‘‘§ 3705. Postal Service program for other government 

16 agencies 

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

18 establish a program to provide property and 

19 services for other government agencies with20 in the meaning of section 411, but only if such 

21 program provides a reasonable contribution 

22 to the institutional costs of the Postal Service, 

23 defined as reimbursement by each agency 

24 that covers at least 100 percent of the attrib25 utable costs of all property and service promstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 vided by the Postal Service in a each year to 

2 such agency. 

3 ‘‘(b) CLASSIFICATION OF SERVICES.—For 

4 each agency, all property and services pro5 vided by the Postal Service under this section 

6 shall be classified as a separate activity sub7 ject to the requirements of annual reporting 

8 under section 3706. Information provided 

9 under this section shall be according to re10 quirements that the Postal Regulatory Com11 mission shall by regulation prescribe. 

12 ‘‘§ 3706. Transparency and accountability for non13 postal services 

14 ‘‘(a) ANNUAL REPORTS TO THE COMMIS15 SION.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Postal Service 

17 shall, no later than 90 days after the end 

18 of each year, prepare and submit to the 

19 Postal Regulatory Commission a report 

20 (together with such nonpublic annex to 

21 the report as the Commission may re22 quire under subsection (b)) which shall 

23 analyze costs, revenues, rates, and qual24 ity of service for this chapter, using such 

25 methodologies as the Commission shall 

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1 by regulation prescribe, and in sufficient 

2 detail to demonstrate compliance with all 

3 applicable requirements of this chapter. 

4 ‘‘(2) AUDITS.—The Inspector General 

5 shall regularly audit the data collection 

6 systems and procedures utilized in col7 lecting information and preparing such 

8 report. The results of any such audit 

9 shall be submitted to the Postal Service 

10 and the Postal Regulatory Commission. 

11 ‘‘(b) SUPPORTING MATTER.—The Postal Reg12 ulatory Commission shall have access, in ac13 cordance with such regulations as the Com14 mission shall prescribe, to the working papers 

15 and any other supporting matter of the Postal 

16 Service and the Inspector General in connec17 tion with any information submitted under 

18 this section. 

19 ‘‘(c) CONTENT AND FORM OF REPORTS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Postal Regu21 latory Commission shall, by regulation, 

22 prescribe the content and form of the 

23 public reports (and any nonpublic annex 

24 and supporting matter relating to the re25 port) to be provided by the Postal Service 

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1 under this section. Such reports shall be 

2 included with the annual compliance de3 termination reported under section 3653. 

4 In carrying out this subsection, the Com5 mission shall give due consideration to— 

6 ‘‘(A) providing the public with 

7 timely, adequate information to as8 sess compliance; 

9 ‘‘(B) avoiding unnecessary or un10 warranted administrative effort and 

11 expense on the part of the Postal 

12 Service; and 

13 ‘‘(C) protecting the confidentiality 

14 of information that is commercially 

15 sensitive or is exempt from public 

16 disclosure under section 552(b) of 

17 title 5. 

18 ‘‘(2) REVISED REQUIREMENTS.—The 

19 Commission may, on its own motion or on 

20 request of any interested party, initiate 

21 proceedings (to be conducted in accord22 ance with regulations that the Commis23 sion shall prescribe) to improve the qual24 ity, accuracy, or completeness of Postal 

25 Service data required by the Commission 

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1 under this subsection whenever it shall 

2 appear that— 

3 ‘‘(A) the attribution of costs or 

4 revenues to property or services 

5 under this chapter has become sig6 nificantly inaccurate or can be sig7 nificantly improved; 

8 ‘‘(B) the quality of service data 

9 provided to the Commission for an10 nual reports under this chapter has 

11 become significantly inaccurate or 

12 can be significantly improved; or 

13 ‘‘(C) such revisions are, in the 

14 judgment of the Commission, other15 wise necessitated by the public inter16 est. 

17 ‘‘(d) CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Postal Service 

19 determines that any document or portion 

20 of a document, or other matter, which it 

21 provides to the Postal Regulatory Com22 mission in a nonpublic annex under this 

23 section contains information which is de24 scribed in section 410(c) of this title, or 

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1 tion 552(b) of title 5, the Postal Service 

2 shall, at the time of providing such mat3 ter to the Commission, notify the Com4 mission of its determination, in writing, 

5 and describe with particularity the docu6 ments (or portions of documents) or 

7 other matter for which confidentiality is 

8 sought and the reasons therefor. 

9 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT.—Any information or 

10 other matter described in paragraph (1) 

11 to which the Commission gains access 

12 under this section shall be subject to 

13 paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 504(g) in 

14 the same way as if the Commission had 

15 received notification with respect to such 

16 matter under section 504(g)(1). 

17 ‘‘(e) ANNUAL COMPLIANCE DETERMINA18 TION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COM20 MENT.—After receiving the reports re21 quired under subsection (a) for any year, 

22 the Postal Regulatory Commission shall 

23 promptly provide an opportunity for 

24 comment on such reports by any inter25 ested party, and an officer of the Commstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 mission who shall be required to rep2 resent the interests of the general public. 

3 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF COMPLIANCE OR

4 NONCOMPLIANCE.—Not later than 90 days 

5 after receiving the submissions required 

6 under subsection (a) with respect to a 

7 year, the Postal Regulatory Commission 

8 shall make a written determination as to 

9 whether any nonpostal activities during 

10 such year were or were not in compli11 ance with applicable provisions of this 

12 chapter (or regulations promulgated 

13 under this chapter). The Postal Regu14 latory Commission shall issue a deter15 mination of noncompliance if the require16 ments for coverage of attributable costs 

17 are not met. If, with respect to a year, no 

18 instance of noncompliance is found to 

19 have occurred in such year, the written 

20 determination shall be to that effect. 

21 ‘‘(3) NONCOMPLIANCE.—If, for a year, a 

22 timely written determination of non23 compliance is made under this chapter, 

24 the Postal Regulatory Commission shall 

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1 ments for coverage of attributable costs 

2 specified by this chapter are not met, the 

3 Commission shall, within 60 days after 

4 the determination, prescribe remedial ac5 tion to restore compliance as soon as 

6 practicable, which shall also include the 

7 full restoration of revenue shortfalls dur8 ing the following fiscal year. The Com9 mission may order the Postal Service to 

10 discontinue a nonpostal service under 

11 section 3703 or 3704 that persistently fails 

12 to meet cost coverage requirements. 

13 ‘‘(4) ANY DELIBERATE NONCOMPLI14 ANCE.—In addition, in cases of deliberate 

15 noncompliance by the Postal Service 

16 with the requirements of this chapter, 

17 the Postal Regulatory Commission may 

18 order, based on the nature, cir19 cumstances, extent, and seriousness of 

20 the noncompliance, a fine (in the amount 

21 specified by the Commission in its order) 

22 for each incidence of noncompliance. All 

23 receipts from fines imposed under this 

24 subsection shall be deposited in the genmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 eral fund of the Treasury of the United 

2 States.’’. 

3 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table 

4 of chapters at the beginning of part IV is 

5 amended by adding after the item relat6 ing to chapter 36 the following: 

‘‘37. Nonpostal Services ................................................................... 3701’’. 

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

8 (1) SECTION 404(e).—Section 404(e) is 

9 amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(6) Nothing in this section shall be con12 sidered to prevent the Postal Service from es13 tablishing nonpostal products and services 

14 that are expressly authorized by chapter 37.’’. 

15 (2) SECTION 411.—The last sentence of 

16 section 411 is amended by striking ‘‘in17 cluding reimbursability’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘including reimbursability within the 

19 limitations of chapter 37’’. 

20 (3) TREATMENT OF EXISTING NONPOSTAL

21 SERVICES.—All nonpostal services contin22 ued pursuant to section 404(e) of title 39, 

23 United States Code, shall be considered 

24 to be expressly authorized by chapter 37 

25 of such title (as added by subsection 

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1 (a)(1)) and shall be subject to the require2 ments of such chapter. 

3 SEC. 408. REIMBURSEMENT OF ALASKA BYPASS MAIL 

4 COSTS. 

5 (a) COST ESTIMATES BY POSTAL REGULATORY

6 COMMISSION.—Section 3651(b) is amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

8 paragraph (3); and 

9 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘(2) ALASKA BYPASS MAIL COSTS.—In ad12 dition to the information required under 

13 subsection (a), each report under this 

14 section shall also include, with respect to 

15 the period covered by such report, an es16 timate of the costs incurred by the Postal 

17 Service in providing Alaska bypass mail 

18 service under section 5402.’’. 

19 (b) REIMBURSEMENTS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 54 is amend21 ed by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘§ 5404. Reimbursement of Alaska bypass mail costs 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The State of Alaska, on 

24 an annual basis, shall make a payment to the 

25 Postal Service to reimburse the Postal Service 

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1 for its costs in providing Alaska bypass mail 

2 service under section 5402 of this title. 

3 ‘‘(b) DATE OF FIRST PAYMENT.—The State of 

4 Alaska shall make its first payment under 

5 subsection (a) on or before the last day of the 

6 first fiscal year of the State of Alaska begin7 ning after the date of enactment of this sec8 tion. 

9 ‘‘(c) PAYMENT AMOUNTS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNTS.—The 

11 amount of a payment under subsection 

12 (a) shall be determined based on the most 

13 recent cost estimate prepared by the 

14 Postal Regulatory Commission under sec15 tion 3651(b)(2) of this title (in this sub16 section referred to as the ‘cost estimate’). 

17 ‘‘(2) FIRST PAYMENT.—The first pay18 ment under subsection (a) shall be in an 

19 amount equal to 20 percent of the cost es20 timate. 

21 ‘‘(3) SUBSEQUENT PAYMENTS.—Each 

22 subsequent payment under subsection (a) 

23 shall be in an amount equal to a percent24 age of the cost estimate determined by 

25 adding 20 percent to the percentage due 

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1 in the prior year, except that no payment 

2 shall exceed 100 percent of the cost esti3 mate. 

4 ‘‘(d) NOTICE OF PAYMENT AMOUNTS.—Not 

5 later than 30 days after the date of issuance 

6 of a cost estimate by the Postal Regulatory 

7 Commission under section 3651(b)(2) of this 

8 title, the Postal Service shall furnish the State 

9 of Alaska with written notice of the amount 

10 of the next payment due under subsection (a). 

11 ‘‘(e) DEPOSIT OF PAYMENTS.—Not later than 

12 the last day of the fiscal year of the State of 

13 Alaska in which notice of a payment is pro14 vided under subsection (d)— 

15 ‘‘(1) the State of Alaska shall transmit 

16 the payment to the Postal Service; and 

17 ‘‘(2) the Postal Service shall deposit 

18 the payment in the Postal Service Fund.’’. 

19 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table 

20 of sections at the beginning of chapter 54 

21 is amended by adding at the end the fol22 lowing: 

‘‘5404. Reimbursement of Alaska bypass mail costs.’’. 

23 SEC. 409. APPROPRIATIONS MODERNIZATION. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2401 is amended 

25 by striking subsections (b) through (d). 

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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment 

2 made by subsection (a) shall be effective with 

3 respect to fiscal years beginning after the 

4 date of enactment of this Act. 

5 SEC. 410. RETIREE HEALTH CARE BENEFIT PAYMENT DE6 FERRAL. 

7 Section 8909a of title 5, United States 

8 Code, is amended— 

9 (1) in the section heading, by striking 

10 ‘‘Benefit’’ and inserting ‘‘Benefits’’; 

11 (2) in subsection (d)(3)(A)(v), by strik12 ing ‘‘$5,500,000,000’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘$1,000,000,000’’; 

14 (3) in subsection (d)(3)(A)(ix), by 

15 striking ‘‘$5,700,000,000’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘$7,950,000,000’’; and 

17 (4) in subsection (d)(3)(A)(x), by strik18 ing ‘‘$5,800,000,000’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘$8,050,000,000’’. 

20 TITLE V—POSTAL CONTRACTING 

21 REFORM 

22 SEC. 501. CONTRACTING PROVISIONS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part I is amended by 

24 adding at the end the following: 

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1 ‘‘CHAPTER 7—CONTRACTING PROVISIONS 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘701. Definitions. 

‘‘702. Advocate for competition. 

‘‘703. Delegation of contracting authority. 

‘‘704. Posting of noncompetitive purchase requests for noncompetitive contracts. 

‘‘705. Review of ethical issues. 

‘‘706. Ethical restrictions on participation in certain contracting activity. 

2 ‘‘§ 701. Definitions 

3 ‘‘In this chapter— 

4 ‘‘(1) the term ‘contracting officer’ 

5 means an employee of a covered postal 

6 entity who has authority to enter into a 

7 postal contract; 

8 ‘‘(2) the term ‘covered postal entity’ 

9 means— 

10 ‘‘(A) the Postal Service; or 

11 ‘‘(B) the Postal Regulatory Com12 mission; 

13 ‘‘(3) the term ‘head of a covered postal 

14 entity’ means— 

15 ‘‘(A) in the case of the Postal Serv16 ice, the Postmaster General; or 

17 ‘‘(B) in the case of the Postal Reg18 ulatory Commission, the Chairman of 

19 the Postal Regulatory Commission; 

20 ‘‘(4) the term ‘postal contract’ 

21 means— 

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1 ‘‘(A) in the case of the Postal Serv2 ice, any contract (including any 

3 agreement or memorandum of under4 standing) entered into by the Postal 

5 Service for the procurement of goods 

6 or services; or 

7 ‘‘(B) in the case of the Postal Reg8 ulatory Commission, any contract (in9 cluding any agreement or memo10 randum of understanding) in an 

11 amount exceeding the simplified ac12 quisition threshold (as defined in sec13 tion 134 of title 41 and adjusted under 

14 section 1908 of such title) entered 

15 into by the Postal Regulatory Com16 mission for the procurement of goods 

17 or services; and 

18 ‘‘(5) the term ‘senior procurement ex19 ecutive’ means the senior procurement 

20 executive of a covered postal entity. 

21 ‘‘§ 702. Advocate for competition 

22 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND DESIGNATION.— 

23 ‘‘(1) There is established in each cov24 ered postal entity an advocate for com25 petition. 

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1 ‘‘(2) The head of each covered postal 

2 entity shall designate for the covered 

3 postal entity 1 or more officers or em4 ployees (other than the senior procure5 ment executive) to serve as the advocate 

6 for competition. 

7 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The advocate for 

8 competition of a covered postal entity shall— 

9 ‘‘(1) be responsible for promoting— 

10 ‘‘(A) the contracting out of func11 tions of the covered postal entity that 

12 the private sector can perform equal13 ly well or better, and at lower cost; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(B) competition to the maximum 

16 extent practicable consistent with ob17 taining best value by promoting the 

18 acquisition of commercial items and 

19 challenging barriers to competition; 

20 ‘‘(2) review the procurement activities 

21 of the covered postal entity; and 

22 ‘‘(3) prepare and transmit the annual 

23 report required under subsection (c). 

24 ‘‘(c) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

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1 ‘‘(1) PREPARATION.—The advocate for 

2 competition of a covered postal entity 

3 shall prepare an annual report describ4 ing the following: 

5 ‘‘(A) The activities of the advocate 

6 under this section. 

7 ‘‘(B) Initiatives required to pro8 mote contracting out and competi9 tion. 

10 ‘‘(C) Barriers to contracting out 

11 and competition. 

12 ‘‘(D) In the case of the report pre13 pared by the competition advocate of 

14 the Postal Service, the number of 

15 waivers made by the Postal Service 

16 under section 704(c). 

17 ‘‘(2) TRANSMISSION.—The report under 

18 this subsection shall be transmitted— 

19 ‘‘(A) to Congress; 

20 ‘‘(B) to the head of the postal enti21 ty; 

22 ‘‘(C) to the senior procurement ex23 ecutive of the entity; 

24 ‘‘(D) in the case of the competition 

25 advocate of the Postal Service, to 

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1 each member of the Postal Service 

2 Board of Governors; and 

3 ‘‘(E) in the case of the competition 

4 advocate of the Postal Regulatory 

5 Commission, to each of the Commis6 sioners of the Commission. 

7 ‘‘§ 703. Delegation of contracting authority 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

9 ‘‘(1) POLICY.—Not later than 60 days 

10 after the date of enactment of this chap11 ter, the head of each covered postal enti12 ty shall issue a policy on contracting offi13 cer delegations of authority for postal 

14 contracts for the covered postal entity. 

15 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The policy issued 

16 under paragraph (1) shall require that— 

17 ‘‘(A) notwithstanding any delega18 tion of authority with respect to post19 al contracts, the ultimate responsi20 bility and accountability for the 

21 award and administration of postal 

22 contracts resides with the senior pro23 curement executive; and 

24 ‘‘(B) a contracting officer shall 

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1 gagement in the activities being per2 formed on postal contracts of which 

3 that officer has cognizance, notwith4 standing any delegation of authority 

5 that may have been executed. 

6 ‘‘(b) POSTING OF DELEGATIONS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The head of each 

8 covered postal entity shall make any del9 egation of authority for postal contracts 

10 outside the functional contracting unit 

11 readily available and accessible on the 

12 website of the covered postal entity. 

13 ‘‘(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This paragraph 

14 shall apply to any delegation of authority 

15 made on or after 30 days after the date of 

16 enactment of this chapter. 

17 ‘‘§ 704. Posting of noncompetitive purchase requests 

18 for noncompetitive contracts 

19 ‘‘(a) POSTING REQUIRED.— 

20 ‘‘(1) POSTAL REGULATORY COMMIS21 SION.—The Postal Regulatory Commission 

22 shall make the noncompetitive purchase 

23 request for any noncompetitive award for 

24 any contract (including any agreement or 

25 memorandum of understanding) entered 

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1 into by the Postal Regulatory Commis2 sion for the procurement of goods and 

3 services, in an amount of $20,000 or more, 

4 including the rationale supporting the 

5 noncompetitive award, publicly available 

6 on the website of the Postal Regulatory 

7 Commission— 

8 ‘‘(A) not later than 14 days after 

9 the date of the award of the non10 competitive contract; or 

11 ‘‘(B) not later than 30 days after 

12 the date of the award of the non13 competitive contract, if the basis for 

14 the award was a compelling business 

15 interest. 

16 ‘‘(2) POSTAL SERVICE.—The Postal 

17 Service shall make the noncompetitive 

18 purchase request for any noncompetitive 

19 award of a postal contract in an amount 

20 of $250,000 or more, including the ration21 ale supporting the noncompetitive award, 

22 publicly available on the website of the 

23 Postal Service— 

24 ‘‘(A) not later than 14 days after 

25 the date of the award; or 

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1 ‘‘(B) not later than 30 days after 

2 the date of the award, if the basis for 

3 the award was a compelling business 

4 interest. 

5 ‘‘(3) ADJUSTMENTS TO THE POSTING

6 THRESHOLD FOR THE POSTAL SERVICE.— 

7 ‘‘(A) REVIEW AND DETERMINATION.— 

8 Not later than January 31 of each 

9 year, the Postal Service shall— 

10 ‘‘(i) review the $250,000 

11 threshold established under para12 graph (2); and 

13 ‘‘(ii) based on any change in 

14 the Consumer Price Index for all15 urban consumers of the Depart16 ment of Labor, determine wheth17 er an adjustment to the threshold 

18 shall be made. 

19 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT OF ADJUSTMENTS.—An 

20 adjustment under subparagraph (A) 

21 shall be made in increments of $5,000. 

22 If the Postal Service determines that 

23 a change in the Consumer Price 

24 Index for a year would require an ad25 justment in an amount that is less 

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1 than $5,000, the Postal Service may 

2 not make an adjustment to the 

3 threshold for the year. 

4 ‘‘(4) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection 

5 shall apply to any noncompetitive con6 tract awarded on or after the date that is 

7 90 days after the date of enactment of 

8 this chapter. 

9 ‘‘(b) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to para11 graph (2), the information required to be 

12 made publicly available by a covered 

13 postal entity under subsection (a) shall 

14 be readily accessible on the website of 

15 the covered postal entity. 

16 ‘‘(2) PROTECTION OF PROPRIETARY IN17 FORMATION.—A covered postal entity 

18 shall— 

19 ‘‘(A) carefully screen any descrip20 tion of the rationale supporting a 

21 noncompetitive award required to be 

22 made publicly available under sub23 section (a) to determine whether the 

24 description includes proprietary data 

25 (including any reference or citation 

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1 to the proprietary data) or security2 related information; and 

3 ‘‘(B) remove any proprietary data 

4 or security-related information before 

5 making publicly available a descrip6 tion of the rationale supporting a 

7 noncompetitive award. 

8 ‘‘(c) WAIVERS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) WAIVER PERMITTED.—If the Postal 

10 Service determines that making a non11 competitive purchase request for a postal 

12 contract of the Postal Service publicly 

13 available would risk placing the Postal 

14 Service at a competitive disadvantage 

15 relative to a private sector competitor, 

16 the senior procurement executive, in con17 sultation with the advocate for competi18 tion of the Postal Service, may waive the 

19 requirements under subsection (a). 

20 ‘‘(2) FORM AND CONTENT OF WAIVER.— 

21 ‘‘(A) FORM.—A waiver under para22 graph (1) shall be in the form of a 

23 written determination placed in the 

24 file of the contract to which the nonmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 competitive purchase agreement re2 lates. 

3 ‘‘(B) CONTENT.—A waiver under 

4 paragraph (1) shall include— 

5 ‘‘(i) a description of the risk 

6 associated with making the non7 competitive purchase request 

8 publicly available; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) a statement that redac10 tion of sensitive information in 

11 the noncompetitive purchase re12 quest would not be sufficient to 

13 protect the Postal Service from 

14 being placed at a competitive dis15 advantage relative to a private 

16 sector competitor. 

17 ‘‘(3) DELEGATION OF WAIVER AUTHOR18 ITY.—The Postal Service may not delegate 

19 the authority to approve a waiver under 

20 paragraph (1) to any employee having 

21 less authority than the senior procure22 ment executive. 

23 ‘‘§ 705. Review of ethical issues 

24 ‘‘If a contracting officer identifies any eth25 ical issues relating to a proposed contract and 

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1 submits those issues and that proposed con2 tract to the designated ethics official for the 

3 covered postal entity before the awarding of 

4 that contract, that ethics official shall— 

5 ‘‘(1) review the proposed contract; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(2) advise the contracting officer on 

8 the appropriate resolution of ethical 

9 issues. 

10 ‘‘§ 706. Ethical restrictions on participation in certain 

11 contracting activity 

12 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

13 ‘‘(1) the term ‘covered employee’ 

14 means— 

15 ‘‘(A) a contracting officer; or 

16 ‘‘(B) any employee of a covered 

17 postal entity whose decision making 

18 affects a postal contract as deter19 mined by regulations prescribed by 

20 the head of a covered postal entity; 

21 ‘‘(2) the term ‘final conviction’ means 

22 a conviction, whether entered on a ver23 dict or plea, including a plea of nolo 

24 contendere, for which a sentence has 

25 been imposed; and 

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1 ‘‘(3) the term ‘covered relationship’ 

2 means a covered relationship described 

3 in section 2635.502(b)(1) of title 5, Code of 

4 Federal Regulations, or any successor 

5 thereto. 

6 ‘‘(b) IN GENERAL.— 

7 ‘‘(1) REGULATIONS.—The head of each 

8 covered postal entity shall prescribe reg9 ulations that— 

10 ‘‘(A) require a covered employee 

11 to include in the file of any non12 competitive purchase request for a 

13 noncompetitive postal contract a 

14 written certification that— 

15 ‘‘(i) discloses any covered rela16 tionship of the covered employee; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(ii) states that the covered 

19 employee will not take any action 

20 with respect to the noncompeti21 tive purchase request that affects 

22 the financial interests of a friend, 

23 relative, or person with whom the 

24 covered employee is affiliated in a 

25 nongovernmental capacity, or 

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1 otherwise gives rise to an appear2 ance of the use of public office for 

3 private gain, as described in sec4 tion 2635.702 of title 5, Code of 

5 Federal Regulations, or any suc6 cessor thereto; 

7 ‘‘(B) require a contracting officer 

8 to consult with the ethics counsel for 

9 the covered postal entity regarding 

10 any disclosure made by a covered em11 ployee under subparagraph (A)(i), to 

12 determine whether participation by 

13 the covered employee in the non14 competitive purchase request would 

15 give rise to a violation of part 2635 of 

16 title 5, Code of Federal Regulations 

17 (commonly referred to as the Stand18 ards of Ethical Conduct for Employ19 ees of the Executive Branch), or any 

20 successor thereto; 

21 ‘‘(C) require the ethics counsel for 

22 a covered postal entity to review any 

23 disclosure made by a contracting offi24 cer under subparagraph (A)(i) to de25 termine whether participation by the 

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1 contracting officer in the non2 competitive purchase request would 

3 give rise to a violation of part 2635 of 

4 title 5, Code of Federal Regulations 

5 (commonly referred to as the Stand6 ards of Ethical Conduct for Employ7 ees of the Executive Branch), or any 

8 successor thereto; 

9 ‘‘(D) under subsections (d) and (e) 

10 of section 2635.502 of title 5, Code of 

11 Federal Regulations, or any successor 

12 thereto, require the ethics counsel for 

13 a covered postal entity to— 

14 ‘‘(i) authorize a covered em15 ployee that makes a disclosure 

16 under subparagraph (A)(i) to par17 ticipate in the noncompetitive 

18 postal contract; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) disqualify a covered em20 ployee that makes a disclosure 

21 under subparagraph (A)(i) from 

22 participating in the noncompeti23 tive postal contract; 

24 ‘‘(E) require a contractor to time25 ly disclose to the contracting officer 

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1 in a bid, solicitation, award, or per2 formance of a postal contract any 

3 conflict of interest with a covered em4 ployee; and 

5 ‘‘(F) include authority for the 

6 head of the covered postal entity to 

7 grant a waiver or otherwise mitigate 

8 any organizational or personal con9 flict of interest, if the head of the cov10 ered postal entity determines that the 

11 waiver or mitigation is in the best in12 terests of the covered postal entity. 

13 ‘‘(2) POSTING OF WAIVERS.—Not later 

14 than 30 days after the head of a covered 

15 postal entity grants a waiver described in 

16 paragraph (1)(F), the head of the covered 

17 postal entity shall make the waiver pub18 licly available on the website of the cov19 ered postal entity. 

20 ‘‘(c) CONTRACT VOIDANCE AND RECOVERY.— 

21 ‘‘(1) UNLAWFUL CONDUCT.—In any case 

22 in which there is a final conviction for a 

23 violation of any provision of chapter 11 of 

24 title 18 relating to a postal contract, the 

25 head of a covered postal entity may— 

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1 ‘‘(A) void that contract; and 

2 ‘‘(B) recover the amounts ex3 pended and property transferred by 

4 the covered postal entity under that 

5 contract. 

6 ‘‘(2) OBTAINING OR DISCLOSING PRO7 CUREMENT INFORMATION.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In any case in 

9 which a contractor under a postal 

10 contract fails to timely disclose a con11 flict of interest to the appropriate 

12 contracting officer as required under 

13 the regulations promulgated under 

14 subsection (b)(1)(E), the head of a 

15 covered postal entity may— 

16 ‘‘(i) void that contract; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) recover the amounts ex18 pended and property transferred 

19 by the covered postal entity 

20 under that contract. 

21 ‘‘(B) CONVICTION OR ADMINISTRA22 TIVE DETERMINATION.—A case de23 scribed under subparagraph (A) is 

24 any case in which— 

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1 ‘‘(i) there is a final conviction 

2 for an offense punishable under 

3 section 2105 of title 41; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) the head of a covered 

5 postal entity determines, based 

6 upon a preponderance of the evi7 dence, that the contractor or 

8 someone acting for the contractor 

9 has engaged in conduct consti10 tuting an offense punishable 

11 under section 2105 of such title.’’. 

12 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of 

13 chapters at the beginning of part I is amended 

14 by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘7. Contracting Provisions ............................................................. 701’’. 

15 SEC. 502. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT TO DEFINITION. 

16 Section 7101(8) of title 41, United States 

17 Code, is amended— 

18 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of 

19 subparagraph (C); 

20 (2) by striking the period at the end 

21 of subparagraph (D) and inserting ‘‘; 

22 and’’; and 

23 (3) by adding at the end the fol24 lowing: 

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1 ‘‘(E) the United States Postal 

2 Service and the Postal Regulatory 

3 Commission.’’. 

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Union Calendar No. 291 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2309 

[Report No. 112–363, Parts I and II] 

A BILL 

To restore the financial solvency of the United 

and affordable nationwide delivery of mail. States Postal Service and to ensure the efficient 

MARCH 29, 2012 

Reported from the Committee on Rules with an amendon the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed ment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House 

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