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‘‘(5) To allow the Postal Service pricing flexi-
bility, including the ability to use pricing to promote
intelligent mail and encourage increased mail volume
during nonpeak periods.
‘‘(6) To assure adequate revenues, including re-
tained earnings, to maintain financial stability and
meet the service standards established under section
3691.
‘‘(7) To allocate the total institutional costs of
the Postal Service equitably between market-dominant
and competitive products.
‘‘(8) To establish and maintain a just and rea-
sonable schedule for rates and classifications, however
the objective under this paragraph shall not be con-
strued to prohibit the Postal Service from making
changes of unequal magnitude within, between, or
among classes of mail.
‘‘(c) FACTORS.—In establishing or revising such sys-
tem, the Postal Regulatory Commission shall take into
account—
‘‘(1) the value of the mail service actually pro-
vided each class or type of mail service to both the
sender and the recipient, including but not limited to
the collection, mode of transportation, and priority of
delivery;
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HR 22 EAS
‘‘(2) the requirement that each class of mail or
type of mail service bear the direct and indirect post-
al costs attributable to each class or type of mail serv-
ice through reliably identified causal relationships
plus that portion of all other costs of the Postal Serv-
ice reasonably assignable to such class or type;
‘‘(3) the effect of rate increases upon the general
public, business mail users, and enterprises in the
private sector of the economy engaged in the delivery
of mail matter other than letters;
‘‘(4) the available alternative means of sending
and receiving letters and other mail matter at reason-
able costs;
‘‘(5) the degree of preparation of mail for deliv-
ery into the postal system performed by the mailer
and its effect upon reducing costs to the Postal Serv-
ice;
‘‘(6) simplicity of structure for the entire sched-
ule and simple, identifiable relationships between the
rates or fees charged the various classes of mail for
postal services;
‘‘(7) the importance of pricing flexibility to en-
courage increased mail volume and operational effi-
ciency;
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‘‘(8) the relative value to the people of the kinds
of mail matter entered into the postal system and the
desirability and justification for special classifica-
tions and services of mail;
‘‘(9) the importance of providing classifications
with extremely high degrees of reliability and speed of
delivery and of providing those that do not require
high degrees of reliability and speed of delivery;
‘‘(10) the desirability of special classifications
from the point of view of both the user and of the
Postal Service;
‘‘(11) the educational, cultural, scientific, and
informational value to the recipient of mail matter;
‘‘(12) the need for the Postal Service to increase
its efficiency and reduce its costs, including infra-
structure costs, to help maintain high quality, afford-
able, universal postal service; and
‘‘(13) the policies of this title as well as such
other factors as the Commission determines appro-
priate.
‘‘(d) REQUIREMENTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The system for regulating
rates and classes for market-dominant products
shall—
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‘‘(A) include an annual limitation on the
percentage changes in rates to be set by the Post-
al Regulatory Commission that will be equal to
the change in the Consumer Price Index for All
Urban Consumers unadjusted for seasonal vari-
ation over the most recent available 12-month
period preceding the date the Postal Service files
notice of its intention to increase rates;
‘‘(B) establish a schedule whereby rates,
when necessary and appropriate, would change
at regular intervals by predictable amounts;
‘‘(C) not later than 45 days before the im-
plementation of any adjustment in rates under
this section—
‘‘(i) require the Postal Service to pro-
vide public notice of the adjustment;
‘‘(ii) provide an opportunity for review
by the Postal Regulatory Commission;
‘‘(iii) provide for the Postal Regulatory
Commission to notify the Postal Service of
any noncompliance of the adjustment with
the limitation under subparagraph (A); and
‘‘(iv) require the Postal Service to re-
spond to the notice provided under clause
(iii) and describe the actions to be taken to
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comply with the limitation under subpara-
graph (A);
‘‘(D) establish procedures whereby the Post-
al Service may adjust rates not in excess of the
annual limitations under subparagraph (A); and
‘‘(E) notwithstanding any limitation set
under subparagraphs (A) and (C), establish pro-
cedures whereby rates may be adjusted on an ex-
pedited basis due to unexpected and extraor-
dinary circumstances.
‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.—
‘‘(A) CLASSES
OF
MAIL.—Except as pro-
vided under subparagraph (C), the annual limi-
tations under paragraph (1)(A) shall apply to a
class of mail, as defined in the Domestic Mail
Classification Schedule as in effect on the date of
enactment of the Postal Accountability and En-
hancement Act.
‘‘(B) ROUNDING
OF
RATES
AND
FEES.—
Nothing in this subsection shall preclude the
Postal Service from rounding rates and fees to
the nearest whole integer, if the effect of such
rounding does not cause the overall rate increase
for any class to exceed the Consumer Price Index
for All Urban Consumers.
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‘‘(C) USE OF UNUSED RATE AUTHORITY.—
‘‘(i) DEFINITION.—In this subpara-
graph, the term ‘unused rate adjustment au-
thority’ means the difference between—
‘‘(I) the maximum amount of a
rate adjustment that the Postal Service
is authorized to make in any year sub-
ject to the annual limitation under
paragraph (1); and
‘‘(II) the amount of the rate ad-
justment the Postal Service actually
makes in that year.
‘‘(ii) AUTHORITY.—Subject to clause
(iii), the Postal Service may use any un-
used rate adjustment authority for any of
the 5 years following the year such author-
ity occurred.
‘‘(iii) LIMITATIONS.—In exercising the
authority under clause (ii) in any year, the
Postal Service—
‘‘(I) may use unused rate adjust-
ment authority from more than 1 year;
‘‘(II) may use any part of the un-
used rate adjustment authority from
any year;