I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2967 

To enhance the long-term profitability of the United States Postal Service 

through enhanced innovation, operational flexibility, workforce realignment, and regulatory relief. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 20, 2011 

Mr. CUMMINGS (for himself and Mr. LYNCH) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 

A BILL 

To enhance the long-term profitability of the United States 

Postal Service through enhanced innovation, operational 

flexibility, workforce realignment, and regulatory relief. 

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 ‘‘Innovate to Deliver Act of 2011’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 

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


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TITLE I—POSTAL SERVICE PROFITABILITY AND REVENUEGENERATING ENHANCEMENTS 

Sec. 101. Authority to offer nonpostal services. 

Sec. 102. USPS balanced budget minimum requirement. 

Sec. 103. Enhanced pricing flexibility. 

Sec. 104. Investment of competitive product moneys. 

Sec. 105. Requirement that market-dominant products cover attributable costs. 

Sec. 106. PRC to revisit CPI cap instituted under PAEA. 

Sec. 107. Enhanced product innovation. 

Sec. 108. Repeal of uniform rate for books, films, and other materials. 

Sec. 109. USPS innovation officer and accountability. 

TITLE II—POSTAL SERVICE WORKFORCE REALIGNMENT AND 

RIGHT-SIZING 

Sec. 201. Treatment of surplus contributions to Federal Employees’ Retirement 

System. 

Sec. 202. Contributions to Thrift Savings Fund of voluntary separation incentive payments. 

Sec. 203. Modification of prepayment schedule relating to Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund. 

Sec. 204. Study on USPS workforce realignment and right-sizing options. 

Sec. 205. Applicability of provisions relating to reductions in force. 

Sec. 206. Enhanced reporting on facility network initiatives. 

TITLE III—POSTAL SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS AND REGULATORY 

RELIEF 

Sec. 301. Permit appeal rights for closing of postal stations and branches. 

Sec. 302. Intra-agency cooperative agreements. 

Sec. 303. Grouping of negotiated service agreements. 

Sec. 304. Simplification of process for classification of competitive products. 

Sec. 305. Development of new market-dominant classes of mail. 

Sec. 306. Expedited consideration of service changes by PRC. 

1 (c) REFERENCES.—Except as otherwise expressly 

2 provided, whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal 

3 is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, 

4 a section or other provision, the reference shall be consid5 ered to be made to a section or other provision of title 

6 39, United States Code. 


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1 TITLE I—POSTAL SERVICE 

2 PROFITABILITY AND REV3 ENUE-GENERATING EN4 HANCEMENTS 

5 SEC. 101. AUTHORITY TO OFFER NONPOSTAL SERVICES. 

6 (a) SPECIFIC POWER.—Section 404(a) is amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

8 end; 

9 (2) in paragraph (8), by striking the period and 

10 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

12 ‘‘(9) to provide nonpostal services in accordance 

13 with subsection (e).’’. 

14 (b) NONPOSTAL SERVICES.—Section 404(e) is 

15 amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(e)(1) The Postal Service may provide nonpostal 

17 services that use the processing, transportation, delivery, 

18 retail network, technology or other resources of the Postal 

19 Service in a manner consistent with the public interest. 

20 ‘‘(2) At least 90 days before offering new nonpostal 

21 services, the Postal Service shall request an advisory opin22 ion from the Postal Regulatory Commission that evaluates 

23 the extent to which the provision of such nonpostal serv24 ices— 


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1 ‘‘(A) would use the processing, transportation, 

2 delivery, retail network, technology, or other re3 sources of the Postal Service; and 

4 ‘‘(B) would be consistent with the public inter5 est. 

6 ‘‘(3) Within 45 days after receiving the request under 

7 paragraph (2), the Postal Regulatory Commission— 

8 ‘‘(A) shall issue its advisory opinion to the 

9 Postal Service; and 

10 ‘‘(B) shall transmit a copy of such opinion, to11 gether with the original request, to— 

12 ‘‘(i) the Committee on Oversight and Gov13 ernment Reform of the House of Representa14 tives; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) the Committee on Homeland Security 

16 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate. 

17 ‘‘(4) For purposes of this title, the term ‘nonpostal 

18 services’ means services and products other than postal 

19 services as defined in section 102(5), including— 

20 ‘‘(A) check-cashing services; 

21 ‘‘(B) new technology and media services; 

22 ‘‘(C) warehousing and logistics; 

23 ‘‘(D) facility leasing; and 

24 ‘‘(E) public internet access services.’’. 


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1 SEC. 102. USPS BALANCED BUDGET MINIMUM REQUIRE2 MENT. 

3 Subsection (b) of section 404 is amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘(b)’’ and inserting ‘‘(b)(1)’’; 

5 and 

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

7 ‘‘(2) Except as otherwise explicitly prohibited by this 

8 title, within 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

9 paragraph, the Governors shall ensure that the rates and 

10 fees charged, and the level and quality of services pro11 vided, shall be adjusted so that the total revenues received 

12 by the Postal Service from all sources are at least equal 

13 to the total costs incurred in the provision of postal serv14 ices, except that the Governors shall continue to provide 

15 all public services for which appropriations are made to 

16 the Postal Service under section 2401.’’. 

17 SEC. 103. ENHANCED PRICING FLEXIBILITY. 

18 The second sentence of section 404(c) is repealed. 

19 SEC. 104. INVESTMENT OF COMPETITIVE PRODUCT MON20 EYS. 

21 Section 2003 is amended— 

22 (1) by redesignating subsections (d) through (h) 

23 as subsections (e) through (i), respectively; and 

24 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this sec2 tion, if the Postal Service determines that the moneys of 

3 the Competitive Products Fund are in excess of current 

4 needs, it may invest such amounts as it considers appro5 priate in accordance with regulations which the Secretary 

6 of the Treasury shall prescribe within 180 days after the 

7 date of enactment of this Act.’’. 

8 SEC. 105. REQUIREMENT THAT MARKET-DOMINANT PROD9 UCTS COVER ATTRIBUTABLE COSTS. 

10 (a) REPEAL.—Paragraph (2) of section 3622(c) is re11 pealed. 

12 (b) EACH CLASS TO BEAR ATTRIBUTABLE COSTS.— 

13 Section 3622(d)(1) is amended— 

14 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through 

15 (E) as subparagraphs (B) through (F); 

16 (2) by inserting before subparagraph (B) (as so 

17 redesignated by paragraph (1)) the following: 

18 ‘‘(A) require that each class or type of mail 

19 service shall bear the direct and indirect postal 

20 costs attributable to such class or type through 

21 reliably identified causal relationships plus that 

22 portion of all other costs of the Postal Service 

23 reasonably assignable to such class or type;’’; 

24 and 


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1 (3) in subparagraph (B) (as so redesignated by 

2 paragraph (1)) by inserting ‘‘, excluding changes re3 quired to satisfy subparagraph (A),’’ before ‘‘to be 

4 set’’. 

5 SEC. 106. PRC TO REVISIT CPI CAP INSTITUTED UNDER 

6 PAEA. 

7 Section 3622 is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (c)— 

9 (A) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

10 at the end; 

11 (B) by redesignating paragraph (14) as 

12 paragraph (15); and 

13 (C) by inserting after paragraph (13) the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(14) the value to the Postal Service of having 

16 pricing flexibility that would apply a price cap across 

17 all classes of market dominant products in compari18 son to a class-based price cap.’’; and 

19 (2) in subsection (d)(3), by striking ‘‘Ten’’ and 

20 inserting ‘‘Five’’. 

21 SEC. 107. ENHANCED PRODUCT INNOVATION. 

22 (a) DOLLAR-AMOUNT LIMITATION RELATING TO

23 MARKET TESTS OF EXPERIMENTAL PRODUCTS.—Section 

24 3641(e)(1) is amended by striking ‘‘$10,000,000’’ and in25 serting ‘‘$50,000,000’’. 


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1 (b) DOLLAR-AMOUNT LIMITATION RELATING TO EX2 EMPTION AUTHORITY.—Section 3641(e)(2) is amended by 

3 striking ‘‘$50,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$100,000,000’’. 

4 SEC. 108. REPEAL OF UNIFORM RATE FOR BOOKS, FILMS, 

5 AND OTHER MATERIALS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3683 is repealed. 

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

8 at the beginning of chapter 36 is amended by repealing 

9 the item relating to section 3683. 

10 SEC. 109. USPS INNOVATION OFFICER AND ACCOUNT11 ABILITY. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 2 is amended by adding 

13 at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 209. USPS INNOVATION OFFICER AND ACCOUNT15 ABILITY. 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There shall be in the Postal 

17 Service a Chief Innovation Officer selected by the Post18 master General who shall have proven expertise and a 

19 record of success in 1 or more of the postal and shipping 

20 industry, innovation product research and development, 

21 marketing brand strategy, emerging communications tech22 nology, or business process management. The Chief Inno23 vation Officer shall manage the Postal Service’s develop24 ment and implementation of innovative postal and non25 postal products and services. 


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1 ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The Chief Innovation Officer shall 

2 have as primary duties— 

3 ‘‘(1) leading the development of innovative non4 postal products and services that will maximize rev5 enue to the Postal Service; 

6 ‘‘(2) developing innovative postal products and 

7 services, particularly those that utilize emerging in8 formation technologies, to maximize revenue to the 

9 Postal Service; 

10 ‘‘(3) monitoring the performance of these prod11 ucts and services and revising them as needed to 

12 meet changing market trends; and 

13 ‘‘(4) taking into consideration comments or ad14 visory opinions, if applicable, issued by the Postal 

15 Regulatory Committee prior to the initial sale of in16 novative postal or nonpostal products and services. 

17 ‘‘(c) DESIGNATION.— 

18 ‘‘(1) DEADLINE.—As soon as practicable after 

19 the date of enactment of this section, but no later 

20 than October 1, 2012, the Postmaster General shall 

21 designate a Chief Innovation Officer. 

22 ‘‘(2) CONDITION.—Nothing in this section shall 

23 be construed to prohibit an individual who holds an24 other office or position in the Postal Service from 

25 serving as the Chief Innovation Officer under this 


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1 chapter. However, the Chief Innovation Officer may 

2 not, while serving in such office, concurrently hold 

3 any other office or position in the Postal Service. 

4 ‘‘(d) INNOVATION STRATEGY.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 24 months 

6 after the date of enactment of this section, the Post7 master General shall submit to the Committee on 

8 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 

9 Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Govern10 ment Reform of the House of Representatives a 

11 comprehensive strategy for maximizing revenues 

12 through innovative postal and nonpostal products 

13 and services. 

14 ‘‘(2) MATTERS TO BE ADDRESSED.—At a min15 imum, the strategy required by this section shall ad16 dress— 

17 ‘‘(A) the specific innovative postal and 

18 nonpostal products and services to be developed 

19 and offered by the Postal Service, including the 

20 nature of the market to be filled by each prod21 uct and service and the likely date by which 

22 each product and service will be introduced; 

23 ‘‘(B) the cost of developing and offering 

24 each product or service; 


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1 ‘‘(C) the anticipated sales volume of each 

2 product and service; 

3 ‘‘(D) the anticipated revenues and profits 

4 expected to be generated by each product and 

5 service; 

6 ‘‘(E) the likelihood of success of each inno7 vative product and service as well as the risks 

8 associated with the development and sale of 

9 each innovative product and service; 

10 ‘‘(F) the trends anticipated in market con11 ditions that may affect the success of each 

12 product and service over the next 5 years; and 

13 ‘‘(G) the metrics that will be utilized to as14 sess the effectiveness of the innovation strategy. 

15 ‘‘(3) STRATEGY UPDATES.—The strategy re16 quired by this section shall be updated every 3 years 

17 and submitted to the Committee on Homeland Secu18 rity and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the 

19 Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of 

20 the House of Representatives, and the Postal Regu21 latory Commission with the President’s annual 

22 budget request. 

23 ‘‘(e) REPORT ON PERFORMANCE.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Postmaster General 

25 shall submit to the Committee on Homeland SecuVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:29 Sep 21, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2967.IH H2967

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1 rity and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the 

2 Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of 

3 the House of Representatives, and the Postal Regu4 latory Commission with the President’s annual 

5 budget request a report that details the Postal Serv6 ice’s progress in implementing the Innovation Strat7 egy. 

8 ‘‘(2) MATTERS TO BE ADDRESSED.—At a min9 imum, the report required by this section shall ad10 dress— 

11 ‘‘(A) the revenue generated by each prod12 uct and service developed through the Innova13 tion Strategy and the costs of developing and 

14 offering each such product and service for the 

15 preceding year; 

16 ‘‘(B) the total sales volume and revenue 

17 generated by each product and service on a 

18 monthly basis for the preceding year; 

19 ‘‘(C) trends in the markets filled by each 

20 product and service; 

21 ‘‘(D) products and services identified in 

22 the Innovation Strategy that are to be discon23 tinued, the date on which the discontinuance 

24 will occur, and the reasons for the discontinu25 ance; 


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1 ‘‘(E) alterations in products and services 

2 identified in the Innovation Strategy that will 

3 be made to meet changing market conditions, 

4 and an explanation of how these alterations will 

5 ensure the success of the products and services; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(F) the performance of the Innovation 

8 Strategy according to the metrics identified in 

9 subsection (d)(2)(G). 

10 ‘‘(f) COMPTROLLER GENERAL.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General 

12 shall conduct a study on the implementation of the 

13 innovation strategy not later than 4 years after the 

14 date of enactment of this section. 

15 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—At a minimum, the Comp16 troller General shall assess the effectiveness of the 

17 Postal Service in identifying, developing, and selling 

18 innovative postal and nonpostal products and serv19 ices. The study shall also include— 

20 ‘‘(A) an audit of the costs of developing 

21 each innovative postal and nonpostal product 

22 and service developed or offered by the Postal 

23 Service; 

24 ‘‘(B) the sales volume of each such product 

25 and service; 


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1 ‘‘(C) the revenues and profits generated by 

2 each such product and service; and 

3 ‘‘(D) the likelihood of continued success of 

4 each such product and service. 

5 ‘‘(3) SUBMISSION.—The results of the study re6 quired under this subsection shall be submitted to 

7 the Committee on Homeland Security and Govern8 mental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 

9 Oversight and Government Reform of the House of 

10 Representatives.’’. 

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

12 at the beginning of chapter 2 is amended by adding at 

13 the end the following: 

‘‘209. USPS innovation officer and accountability.’’. 

14 TITLE II—POSTAL SERVICE 

15 WORKFORCE REALIGNMENT 

16 AND RIGHT-SIZING 

17 SEC. 201. TREATMENT OF SURPLUS CONTRIBUTIONS TO 

18 FEDERAL EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM. 

19 Section 8423(b) of title 5, United States Code, is 

20 amended— 

21 (1) by redesignating paragraph (5) as para22 graph (6); and 

23 (2) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(5) If, for any of fiscal years 2011 through 

2 2016, the amount computed under paragraph (1)(B) 

3 is less than zero (in this paragraph referred to as 

4 ‘surplus postal contributions’), the amount of those 

5 surplus postal contributions shall be used by the 

6 United States Postal Service only for the purposes 

7 of— 

8 ‘‘(A) providing voluntary separation incen9 tive payments (as established under section 

10 3523) for eligible employees; and 

11 ‘‘(B) providing voluntary separation incen12 tive payments (as established under section 

13 3523) in conjunction with voluntary early re14 tirement authority for eligible employees under 

15 sections 8336(d)(2) or 8414(b)(1)(B).’’. 

16 SEC. 202. CONTRIBUTIONS TO THRIFT SAVINGS FUND OF 

17 VOLUNTARY SEPARATION INCENTIVE PAY18 MENTS. 

19 (a) Section 8351(b)(2) of title 5, United States Code, 

20 is amended— 

21 (1) by striking the matter before subparagraph 

22 (C) and inserting the following: 

23 ‘‘(2)(A) An employee or Member may con24 tribute to the Thrift Savings Fund in any pay period 


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1 any amount of such employee’s or Member’s basic 

2 pay for such pay period. 

3 ‘‘(B) An employee may contribute (by direct 

4 transfer to the Fund) any part of any voluntary sep5 aration incentive payment that the employee receives 

6 under section 3523.’’; and 

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

8 ‘‘(D) Notwithstanding section 2105(e), in this 

9 paragraph, the term ‘employee’ includes an employee 

10 of the United States Postal Service or the Postal 

11 Regulatory Commission.’’. 

12 (b) Section 8432(a) of title 5, United States Code, 

13 is amended— 

14 (1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as (4); 

15 (2) by striking the matter before paragraph (4) 

16 (as so redesignated by paragraph (1)) and inserting 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘(a)(1) An employee or Member may contribute to 

19 the Thrift Savings Fund in any pay period, pursuant to 

20 an election under subsection (b), any amount of such em21 ployee’s or Member’s basic pay for such pay period. 

22 ‘‘(2) An employee may contribute (by direct transfer 

23 to the Fund) any part of any voluntary separation incen24 tive payment that the employee receives under section 

25 3523. 


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1 ‘‘(3) Contributions made under paragraph (1) pursu2 ant to an election under subsection (b) shall, with respect 

3 to each pay period for which such election remains in ef4 fect, be made in accordance with a program of regular 

5 contributions provided in regulations prescribed by the 

6 Executive Director.’’; 

7 (3) adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(5) Notwithstanding section 2105(e), in this sub9 section the term ‘employee’ includes an employee of the 

10 United States Postal Service or of the Postal Regulatory 

11 Commission.’’. 

12 (c) REGULATIONS.—The Executive Director of the 

13 Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board shall pro14 mulgate regulations to carry out the amendments made 

15 by this section. 

16 SEC. 203. MODIFICATION OF PREPAYMENT SCHEDULE RE17 LATING TO POSTAL SERVICE RETIREE 

18 HEALTH BENEFITS FUND. 

19 (a) Section 8909a(d)(2)(B) of title 5, United States 

20 Code, is amended— 

21 (1) by striking ‘‘2017’’ and inserting ‘‘2012’’; 

22 (2) by striking ‘‘2056’’ and inserting ‘‘2051’’. 

23 (b) Section 8909a(d)(3)(A) is amended— 

24 (1) in clause (iii), by inserting ‘‘and’’ at the 

25 end; 


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1 (2) in clause (iv), by striking the semicolon and 

2 inserting a period; and 

3 (3) by striking clauses (v) through (x). 

4 (c) Section 8909a(d)(3)(B) is amended by striking 

5 ‘‘2017’’ and inserting ‘‘2012’’. 

6 SEC. 204. STUDY ON USPS WORKFORCE REALIGNMENT AND 

7 RIGHT-SIZING OPTIONS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

9 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

10 shall submit to the Committee on Oversight and Govern11 ment Reform of the House of Representatives and the 

12 Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af13 fairs of the Senate a report on workforce reduction or re14 alignment methods which could be used by the United 

15 States Postal Service to align its workforce with its needs. 

16 (b) CONTENTS OF THE REPORT.—The report re17 quired under subsection (a) shall include the following: 

18 (1) The projected workforce needs of the Postal 

19 Service, given the current mail volumes and the de20 mand for Postal services. 

21 (2) Possible options for allowing Postal Service 

22 employees who are eligible for voluntary early retire23 ment to deposit voluntary separation incentive pay24 ments to obtain service credit or to otherwise allow 


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1 such payments to be credited in the computation of 

2 retirement annuity benefits. 

3 (3) The workforce authorities available to the 

4 Postal Service under existing law, including for re5 ductions in force and voluntary separation incentive 

6 payments. 

7 (4) Any training, retraining, or hiring that may 

8 be required by the authority the Postal Service is 

9 granted under this Act to develop and offer for sale 

10 nonpostal products and services. 

11 SEC. 205. APPLICABILITY OF PROVISIONS RELATING TO RE12 DUCTIONS IN FORCE. 

13 Section 1005 is amended by adding at the end the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(g)(1) Except as otherwise provided by any collective 

16 bargaining agreement entered into under chapter 12, the 

17 provisions of subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 5 and the 

18 regulations implementing such subchapter, shall apply to 

19 employees of the Postal Service who hold positions that 

20 are within bargaining units under section 1202. 

21 ‘‘(2) Before using the authority provided in para22 graph (1), the Postal Service shall demonstrate to the Of23 fice of Personnel Management how it will comply with sec24 tion 3502(a)(4) of title 5.’’. 


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1 SEC. 206. ENHANCED REPORTING ON FACILITY NETWORK 

2 INITIATIVES. 

3 Section 404(d) is amended by adding at the end the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(7)(A) The Postmaster General shall submit to the 

6 Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af7 fairs of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and 

8 Government Reform of the House of Representatives and 

9 the Postal Regulatory Commission a report that details 

10 plans to close or suspend a Postal Service retail or proc11 essing facility during the period to which such report per12 tains. The first such report shall be submitted not later 

13 than 120 days after the date of enactment of this para14 graph. Reports shall be submitted semiannually there15 after. 

16 ‘‘(B) Each report submitted by the Postal Service 

17 under subparagraph (A) shall address, at a minimum— 

18 ‘‘(i) the specific retail and processing facilities 

19 the Postal Service plans to suspend or close; 

20 ‘‘(ii) the anticipated date of suspension or clo21 sure of each such facility; 

22 ‘‘(iii) the cost of continued operations at the fa23 cilities for which closure is planned; 

24 ‘‘(iv) the purpose of each such suspension or 

25 closure, as determined by paragraph (2)(A); 


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1 ‘‘(v) plans for the establishment of alternative 

2 access points for retail facilities listed in clause (i), 

3 including the date on which each such alternative ac4 cess point shall open for business and the planned 

5 location of each such alternative access point; 

6 ‘‘(vi) how each facility closure conforms with 

7 previously filed actions for suspension or closure; 

8 ‘‘(vii) the timeline for closure or suspension ac9 tivities described in paragraphs (1) and (3), and all 

10 other formal closure or suspension activities planned 

11 in connection with the retail facility closure; 

12 ‘‘(viii) how work performed at mail processing 

13 facilities recommended for closure or consolidation 

14 will be transferred or absorbed by other facilities 

15 within the network; 

16 ‘‘(ix) cost savings expected or achieved from 

17 consolidation of both retail and mail processing fa18 cilities; 

19 ‘‘(x) the impact of each planned closure on 

20 postal employees, including relocation or reassign21 ment plans; and 

22 ‘‘(xi) the status of ongoing suspensions or clo23 sures identified in previous reports.’’. 


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1 TITLE III—POSTAL SERVICE IM2 PROVEMENTS AND REGU3 LATORY RELIEF 

4 SEC. 301. PERMIT APPEAL RIGHTS FOR CLOSING OF POST5 AL STATIONS AND BRANCHES. 

6 Section 404(d) is amended by adding after paragraph 

7 (7) (as added by section 206) the following: 

8 ‘‘(8) The provisions of paragraphs (1) through (6) 

9 shall apply to postal stations and branches in the same 

10 manner as the provisions apply to post offices.’’. 

11 SEC. 302. INTRA-AGENCY COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 411 is amended— 

13 (1) in the section heading, by inserting ‘‘; AU14 THORITY FOR INTRA-SERVICE AGREEMENT’’ 

15 after ‘‘AGENCIES’’; and 

16 (2) adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(b) The Office of the Inspector General of the 

18 United States Postal Service and other components of the 

19 Postal Service may enter into intra-service agreements to 

20 furnish to each other property, both real and personal, and 

21 personal and nonpersonal services. The furnishing of prop22 erty and services under this section shall be under such 

23 terms and conditions, including reimbursability, as the 

24 head of the component concerned and the Inspector Gen25 eral shall deem necessary.’’. 


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

2 at the beginning of chapter 4 is amended by striking the 

3 item relating to section 411 and inserting the following: 

‘‘411. Cooperation with other Government agencies; authority for intra-service 

agreement.’’. 

4 SEC. 303. GROUPING OF NEGOTIATED SERVICE AGREE5 MENTS. 

6 Section 3622(d)(1), as amended by section 105(b), 

7 is further amended— 

8 (1) in subparagraph (E) (as so redesignated by 

9 section 105(b)), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

10 (2) in subparagraph (F) (as so redesignated by 

11 section 105(b)), by striking the period and inserting 

12 ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

14 ‘‘(G) treat similar or related agreements 

15 between the Postal Service and postal users col16 lectively as a single product for purposes of this 

17 section to the extent the Commission deems 

18 such treatment to be consistent with policies of 

19 this title.’’. 

20 SEC. 304. SIMPLIFICATION OF PROCESS FOR CLASSIFICA21 TION OF COMPETITIVE PRODUCTS. 

22 Section 3642(b) is amended (in the matter before 

23 paragraph (1)) by striking ‘‘in accordance with’’ and in24 serting the following: ‘‘as expeditiously as practicable. The 


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1 Commission shall promptly admit a product into the com2 petitive category if it meets’’. 

3 SEC. 305. DEVELOPMENT OF NEW MARKET-DOMINANT 

4 CLASSES OF MAIL. 

5 (a) Section 102 is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

7 end; 

8 (2) in paragraph (10), by striking the period 

9 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

11 ‘‘(11) ‘class of mail’ means a grouping of simi12 lar products, subject to section 3622(d)(2)(A), as 

13 further defined by the Postal Regulatory Commis14 sion.’’. 

15 (b) Section 3622(d)(2)(A) is amended by inserting 

16 ‘‘or under section 3643’’ after ‘‘Act’’. 

17 (c)(1) Subchapter III of chapter 36 is amended by 

18 adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘§ 3643. New classes of mail 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Upon request of the Postal Serv21 ice or users of the mails, or upon its own initiative, the 

22 Postal Regulatory Commission may change the classes of 

23 mail to which the annual limitation under section 

24 3622(d)(1) applies by adding new classes of mail. The 

25 Postal Regulatory Commission shall, within 18 months 


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1 after the date of enactment of this section, promulgate 

2 (and may from time to time thereafter revise) regulations 

3 to carry out this section. 

4 ‘‘(b) CRITERIA.—All determinations by the Postal 

5 Regulatory Commission under subsection (a) shall be 

6 made in accordance with the following criteria: 

7 ‘‘(1) NEW MARKET.—Dominant classes of mail 

8 shall consist of products in the sale of which the 

9 Postal Service exercises sufficient market power that 

10 it can effectively set the price of such product sub11 stantially above costs, raise prices significantly, de12 crease quality, or decrease output, without risk of 

13 losing a significant level of business to other firms 

14 offering similar products. 

15 ‘‘(2) PRODUCTS COVERED BY POSTAL MONOP16 OLY.—Any new classes of mail containing any prod17 ucts covered by the postal monopoly shall be subject 

18 to the requirements of section 3622(d)(1). For pur19 poses of the preceding sentence, the term ‘product 

20 covered by the postal monopoly’ means any product 

21 the conveyance or transmission of which is reserved 

22 to the United States under section 1696 of title 18, 

23 subject to the same exception as set forth in the last 

24 sentence of section 409(e)(1). 


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1 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS.—In mak2 ing any decision under this section, due regard shall 

3 be given to— 

4 ‘‘(A) the availability and nature of enter5 prises in the private sector engaged in the deliv6 ery of the product involved; 

7 ‘‘(B) the views of those who use the prod8 uct involved on the appropriateness of the pro9 posed action; and 

10 ‘‘(C) the likely impact of the proposed ac11 tion on small business concerns (within the 

12 meaning of section 3641(h)). 

13 ‘‘(c) NOTIFICATION AND PUBLICATION REQUIRE14 MENTS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—The Post16 al Service shall, whenever it requests to add a new 

17 class of mail, file with the Postal Regulatory Com18 mission and publish in the Federal Register a notice 

19 setting out the basis for its determination that the 

20 product satisfies the criteria under subsection (b). 

21 The provisions of section 504(g) shall be available 

22 with respect to any information required to be filed. 

23 ‘‘(2) PUBLICATION REQUIREMENT.—The Postal 

24 Regulatory Commission shall, whenever it changes 

25 the list of market-dominant classes of mail, prescribe 


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1 new lists of classes of mail. The revised lists shall 

2 indicate how and when any previous lists are super3 seded, and shall be published in the Federal Reg4 ister. 

5 ‘‘(d) PROHIBITION.—Except as provided in section 

6 3641, a class of mail that involves the physical delivery 

7 of letters, printed matter, or packages may be offered by 

8 the Postal Service unless it has been assigned as a new 

9 class of mail— 

10 ‘‘(1) under this subchapter; or 

11 ‘‘(2) by or under any other provision of law.’’. 

12 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 

13 36 is amended by inserting after the item relating to sec14 tion 3642 the following: 

‘‘3643. New classes of mail.’’. 

15 SEC. 306. EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION OF SERVICE 

16 CHANGES BY PRC. 

17 Section 3661 is amended— 

18 (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub19 section (d); and 

20 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(c) If the Postal Service seeks expedited processing 

23 for time-sensitive advisory opinions, it shall state such re24 quest in its proposal filed under subsection (b) and the 

25 Commission, to the extent practical and in accordance 


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1 with subsection (d), shall comply with the request for ex2 pedited consideration.’’. 

Æ 


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