330 
‘‘(2) The head of each covered postal 
entity shall designate for the covered 
postal entity 1 or more officers or em-
ployees (other than the senior procure-
ment executive) to serve as the advocate 
for competition. 
‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The advocate for 
competition of a covered postal entity shall— 
‘‘(1) be responsible for promoting— 
‘‘(A) the contracting out of func-
tions of the covered postal entity that 
the private sector can perform equal-
ly well or better, and at lower cost; 
and 
‘‘(B) competition to the maximum 
extent practicable consistent with ob-
taining best value by promoting the 
acquisition of commercial items and 
challenging barriers to competition; 
‘‘(2) review the procurement activities 
of the covered postal entity; and 
‘‘(3) prepare and transmit the annual 
report required under subsection (c). 
‘‘(c) ANNUAL REPORT.— 
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‘‘(1) PREPARATION.—The advocate for 
competition of a covered postal entity 
shall prepare an annual report describ-
ing the following: 
‘‘(A) The activities of the advocate 
under this section. 
‘‘(B) Initiatives required to pro-
mote contracting out and competi-
tion. 
‘‘(C) Barriers to contracting out 
and competition. 
‘‘(D) In the case of the report pre-
pared by the competition advocate of 
the Postal Service, the number of 
waivers made by the Postal Service 
under section 704(c). 
‘‘(2) TRANSMISSION.—The report under 
this subsection shall be transmitted— 
‘‘(A) to Congress; 
‘‘(B) to the head of the postal enti-
ty; 
‘‘(C) to the senior procurement ex-
ecutive of the entity; 
‘‘(D) in the case of the competition 
advocate of the Postal Service, to 
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each member of the Postal Service 
Board of Governors; and 
‘‘(E) in the case of the competition 
advocate of the Postal Regulatory 
Commission, to each of the Commis-
sioners of the Commission. 
‘‘§ 703. Delegation of contracting authority 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 
‘‘(1) POLICY.—Not later than 60 days 
after the date of enactment of this chap-
ter, the head of each covered postal enti-
ty shall issue a policy on contracting offi-
cer delegations of authority for postal 
contracts for the covered postal entity. 
‘‘(2) 
CONTENTS.—The 
policy 
issued 
under paragraph (1) shall require that— 
‘‘(A) notwithstanding any delega-
tion of authority with respect to post-
al contracts, the ultimate responsi-
bility 
and 
accountability 
for 
the 
award and administration of postal 
contracts resides with the senior pro-
curement executive; and 
‘‘(B) a contracting officer shall 
maintain an awareness of and en-
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gagement in the activities being per-
formed on postal contracts of which 
that officer has cognizance, notwith-
standing any delegation of authority 
that may have been executed. 
‘‘(b) POSTING OF DELEGATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The head of each 
covered postal entity shall make any del-
egation of authority for postal contracts 
outside the functional contracting unit 
readily available and accessible on the 
website of the covered postal entity. 
‘‘(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This paragraph 
shall apply to any delegation of authority 
made on or after 30 days after the date of 
enactment of this chapter. 
‘‘§ 704. Posting of noncompetitive purchase requests 
for noncompetitive contracts 
‘‘(a) POSTING REQUIRED.— 
‘‘(1) 
POSTAL
REGULATORY
COMMIS-
SION.—The Postal Regulatory Commission 
shall make the noncompetitive purchase 
request for any noncompetitive award for 
any contract (including any agreement or 
memorandum of understanding) entered 
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into by the Postal Regulatory Commis-
sion for the procurement of goods and 
services, in an amount of $20,000 or more, 
including the rationale supporting the 
noncompetitive award, publicly available 
on the website of the Postal Regulatory 
Commission— 
‘‘(A) not later than 14 days after 
the date of the award of the non-
competitive contract; or 
‘‘(B) not later than 30 days after 
the date of the award of the non-
competitive contract, if the basis for 
the award was a compelling business 
interest. 
‘‘(2) 
POSTAL
SERVICE.—The 
Postal 
Service shall make the noncompetitive 
purchase request for any noncompetitive 
award of a postal contract in an amount 
of $250,000 or more, including the ration-
ale supporting the noncompetitive award, 
publicly available on the website of the 
Postal Service— 
‘‘(A) not later than 14 days after 
the date of the award; or 
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‘‘(B) not later than 30 days after 
the date of the award, if the basis for 
the award was a compelling business 
interest. 
‘‘(3) ADJUSTMENTS
TO
THE
POSTING 
THRESHOLD FOR THE POSTAL SERVICE.— 
‘‘(A) REVIEW AND DETERMINATION.— 
Not later than January 31 of each 
year, the Postal Service shall— 
‘‘(i) 
review 
the 
$250,000 
threshold established under para-
graph (2); and 
‘‘(ii) based on any change in 
the Consumer Price Index for all- 
urban consumers of the Depart-
ment of Labor, determine wheth-
er an adjustment to the threshold 
shall be made. 
‘‘(B) AMOUNT OF ADJUSTMENTS.—An 
adjustment under subparagraph (A) 
shall be made in increments of $5,000. 
If the Postal Service determines that 
a change in the Consumer Price 
Index for a year would require an ad-
justment in an amount that is less 
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336 
than $5,000, the Postal Service may 
not 
make 
an 
adjustment 
to 
the 
threshold for the year. 
‘‘(4) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection 
shall apply to any noncompetitive con-
tract awarded on or after the date that is 
90 days after the date of enactment of 
this chapter. 
‘‘(b) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to para-
graph (2), the information required to be 
made publicly available by a covered 
postal entity under subsection (a) shall 
be readily accessible on the website of 
the covered postal entity. 
‘‘(2) PROTECTION
OF
PROPRIETARY
IN-
FORMATION.—A 
covered 
postal 
entity 
shall— 
‘‘(A) carefully screen any descrip-
tion of the rationale supporting a 
noncompetitive award required to be 
made publicly available under sub-
section (a) to determine whether the 
description includes proprietary data 
(including any reference or citation 
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337 
to the proprietary data) or security- 
related information; and 
‘‘(B) remove any proprietary data 
or security-related information before 
making publicly available a descrip-
tion of the rationale supporting a 
noncompetitive award. 
‘‘(c) WAIVERS.— 
‘‘(1) WAIVER PERMITTED.—If the Postal 
Service determines that making a non-
competitive purchase request for a postal 
contract of the Postal Service publicly 
available would risk placing the Postal 
Service at a competitive disadvantage 
relative to a private sector competitor, 
the senior procurement executive, in con-
sultation with the advocate for competi-
tion of the Postal Service, may waive the 
requirements under subsection (a). 
‘‘(2) FORM AND CONTENT OF WAIVER.— 
‘‘(A) FORM.—A waiver under para-
graph (1) shall be in the form of a 
written determination placed in the 
file of the contract to which the non-
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competitive purchase agreement re-
lates. 
‘‘(B) CONTENT.—A waiver under 
paragraph (1) shall include— 
‘‘(i) a description of the risk 
associated with making the non-
competitive 
purchase 
request 
publicly available; and 
‘‘(ii) a statement that redac-
tion of sensitive information in 
the noncompetitive purchase re-
quest would not be sufficient to 
protect the Postal Service from 
being placed at a competitive dis-
advantage relative to a private 
sector competitor. 
‘‘(3) DELEGATION
OF
WAIVER
AUTHOR-
ITY.—The Postal Service may not delegate 
the authority to approve a waiver under 
paragraph (1) to any employee having 
less authority than the senior procure-
ment executive. 
‘‘§ 705. Review of ethical issues 
‘‘If a contracting officer identifies any eth-
ical issues relating to a proposed contract and 
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submits those issues and that proposed con-
tract to the designated ethics official for the 
covered postal entity before the awarding of 
that contract, that ethics official shall— 
‘‘(1) review the proposed contract; 
and 
‘‘(2) advise the contracting officer on 
the appropriate resolution of ethical 
issues. 
‘‘§ 706. Ethical restrictions on participation in certain 
contracting activity 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
‘‘(1) 
the 
term 
‘covered 
employee’ 
means— 
‘‘(A) a contracting officer; or 
‘‘(B) any employee of a covered 
postal entity whose decision making 
affects a postal contract as deter-
mined by regulations prescribed by 
the head of a covered postal entity; 
‘‘(2) the term ‘final conviction’ means 
a conviction, whether entered on a ver-
dict or plea, including a plea of nolo 
contendere, for which a sentence has 
been imposed; and 
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‘‘(3) the term ‘covered relationship’ 
means a covered relationship described 
in section 2635.502(b)(1) of title 5, Code of 
Federal Regulations, or any successor 
thereto. 
‘‘(b) IN GENERAL.— 
‘‘(1) REGULATIONS.—The head of each 
covered postal entity shall prescribe reg-
ulations that— 
‘‘(A) require a covered employee 
to include in the file of any non-
competitive purchase request for a 
noncompetitive 
postal 
contract 
a 
written certification that— 
‘‘(i) discloses any covered rela-
tionship of the covered employee; 
and 
‘‘(ii) states that the covered 
employee will not take any action 
with respect to the noncompeti-
tive purchase request that affects 
the financial interests of a friend, 
relative, or person with whom the 
covered employee is affiliated in a 
nongovernmental 
capacity, 
or 
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otherwise gives rise to an appear-
ance of the use of public office for 
private gain, as described in sec-
tion 2635.702 of title 5, Code of 
Federal Regulations, or any suc-
cessor thereto; 
‘‘(B) require a contracting officer 
to consult with the ethics counsel for 
the covered postal entity regarding 
any disclosure made by a covered em-
ployee under subparagraph (A)(i), to 
determine whether participation by 
the covered employee in the non-
competitive purchase request would 
give rise to a violation of part 2635 of 
title 5, Code of Federal Regulations 
(commonly referred to as the Stand-
ards of Ethical Conduct for Employ-
ees of the Executive Branch), or any 
successor thereto; 
‘‘(C) require the ethics counsel for 
a covered postal entity to review any 
disclosure made by a contracting offi-
cer under subparagraph (A)(i) to de-
termine whether participation by the 
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contracting 
officer 
in 
the 
non-
competitive purchase request would 
give rise to a violation of part 2635 of 
title 5, Code of Federal Regulations 
(commonly referred to as the Stand-
ards of Ethical Conduct for Employ-
ees of the Executive Branch), or any 
successor thereto; 
‘‘(D) under subsections (d) and (e) 
of section 2635.502 of title 5, Code of 
Federal Regulations, or any successor 
thereto, require the ethics counsel for 
a covered postal entity to— 
‘‘(i) authorize a covered em-
ployee that makes a disclosure 
under subparagraph (A)(i) to par-
ticipate in the noncompetitive 
postal contract; or 
‘‘(ii) disqualify a covered em-
ployee that makes a disclosure 
under subparagraph (A)(i) from 
participating in the noncompeti-
tive postal contract; 
‘‘(E) require a contractor to time-
ly disclose to the contracting officer 
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in a bid, solicitation, award, or per-
formance of a postal contract any 
conflict of interest with a covered em-
ployee; and 
‘‘(F) include authority for the 
head of the covered postal entity to 
grant a waiver or otherwise mitigate 
any organizational or personal con-
flict of interest, if the head of the cov-
ered postal entity determines that the 
waiver or mitigation is in the best in-
terests of the covered postal entity. 
‘‘(2) POSTING
OF
WAIVERS.—Not later 
than 30 days after the head of a covered 
postal entity grants a waiver described in 
paragraph (1)(F), the head of the covered 
postal entity shall make the waiver pub-
licly available on the website of the cov-
ered postal entity. 
‘‘(c) CONTRACT VOIDANCE AND RECOVERY.— 
‘‘(1) UNLAWFUL CONDUCT.—In any case 
in which there is a final conviction for a 
violation of any provision of chapter 11 of 
title 18 relating to a postal contract, the 
head of a covered postal entity may— 
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‘‘(A) void that contract; and 
‘‘(B) recover the amounts ex-
pended and property transferred by 
the covered postal entity under that 
contract. 
‘‘(2) OBTAINING
OR
DISCLOSING
PRO-
CUREMENT INFORMATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In any case in 
which a contractor under a postal 
contract fails to timely disclose a con-
flict of interest to the appropriate 
contracting officer as required under 
the regulations promulgated under 
subsection (b)(1)(E), the head of a 
covered postal entity may— 
‘‘(i) void that contract; and 
‘‘(ii) recover the amounts ex-
pended and property transferred 
by 
the 
covered 
postal 
entity 
under that contract. 
‘‘(B) CONVICTION
OR
ADMINISTRA-
TIVE
DETERMINATION.—A 
case 
de-
scribed under subparagraph (A) is 
any case in which— 
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‘‘(i) there is a final conviction 
for an offense punishable under 
section 2105 of title 41; or 
‘‘(ii) the head of a covered 
postal entity determines, based 
upon a preponderance of the evi-
dence, that the contractor or 
someone acting for the contractor 
has engaged in conduct consti-
tuting 
an 
offense 
punishable 
under section 2105 of such title.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of 
chapters at the beginning of part I is amended 
by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘7. Contracting Provisions .............................................................
701’’. 
SEC. 502. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT TO DEFINITION. 
Section 7101(8) of title 41, United States 
Code, is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of 
subparagraph (C); 
(2) by striking the period at the end 
of subparagraph (D) and inserting ‘‘; 
and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
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‘‘(E) the United States Postal 
Service and the Postal Regulatory 
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 
States Postal Service and to ensure the efficient 
and affordable nationwide delivery of mail. 
MARCH 29, 2012 
Reported from the Committee on Rules with an amend-
ment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House 
on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
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