HR 3076 RHUC
SEC. 204. RURAL NEWSPAPER SUSTAINABILITY. 
Section 3626(h) of title 39, United States Code, is 
amended by striking ‘‘10 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘50 per-
cent’’. 
SEC. 205. FUNDING OF POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (d) of section 504 of 
title 39, United States Code, is amended to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(d)(1) Not later than September 1 of each fiscal 
year (beginning with fiscal year 2022), the Postal Regu-
latory Commission shall submit to the Postal Service a 
budget of the Commission’s expenses, including expenses 
for facilities, supplies, compensation, and employee bene-
fits, for the following fiscal year. Any such budget shall 
be deemed approved as submitted if the Governors fail to 
adjust the budget in accordance with paragraph (2). 
‘‘(2)(A) Not later than 30 days after receiving a 
budget under paragraph (1), the Governors holding office, 
by unanimous written decision, may adjust the total 
amount of funding requested in such budget. Nothing in 
this subparagraph may be construed to authorize the Gov-
ernors to adjust any activity proposed to be funded by the 
budget. 
‘‘(B) If the Governors adjust the budget under sub-
paragraph (A), the Postal Regulatory Commission shall 
adjust the suballocations within such budget to reflect the 
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total adjustment made by the Governors. The budget shall 
be deemed approved on the date the Commission makes 
any such adjustments. The Commission may make further 
adjustments to the suballocations within such budget as 
necessary. 
‘‘(3) Expenses incurred under any budget approved 
under this subsection shall be paid out of the Postal Serv-
ice Fund established under section 2003.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Title 39, United 
States Code, is amended— 
(1) in section 2003(e), by striking ‘‘(B) all ex-
penses of the Postal Regulatory Commission, subject 
to the availability of amounts appropriated under 
section 504(d);’’ and inserting ‘‘(B) all expenses of 
the Postal Regulatory Commission, pursuant to sec-
tion 504(d);’’; and 
(2) in section 2009— 
(A) by striking ‘‘, (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘, 
and (2)’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘, and (3) the Postal Regu-
latory Commission requests to be appropriated, 
out of the Postal Service Fund, under section 
504(d) of this title’’. 
SEC. 206. FLATS OPERATIONS STUDY AND REFORM. 
(a) FLATS OPERATIONS STUDY.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—The Postal Regulatory Com-
mission, in consultation with the Inspector General 
of the United States Postal Service, shall conduct a 
study to— 
(A) comprehensively identify the causes of 
inefficiencies in the collection, sorting, transpor-
tation, and delivery of Flats; and 
(B) quantify the effects of the volume 
trends, investments decisions, excess capacity, 
and operational inefficiencies of the Postal 
Service on the direct and indirect costs of the 
Postal Service that are attributable to Flats. 
(2) POSTAL
SERVICE
ASSISTANCE.—For the 
purposes of carrying out the study under paragraph 
(1), the Postal Service shall, upon request by the 
Postal Regulatory Commission, consult with the 
Postal Regulatory Commission and provide— 
(A) access to Postal Service facilities to 
personnel of the Postal Regulatory Commission; 
and 
(B) information and records necessary to 
conduct such study. 
(3) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Postal Regu-
latory Commission shall submit to Congress and the 
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Postmaster General a report on the findings of the 
study conducted under paragraph (1). 
(4) FLATS DEFINED.—In this subsection, the 
term ‘‘Flats’’ means products that meet the physical 
standards described in the Domestic Mail Manual 
(as in effect on the date of the enactment of this 
Act) for Flats mail for any class of mail. 
(b) FLATS OPERATIONS REFORM.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than six months 
after the date on which the Postal Regulatory Com-
mission submits the report described in subsection 
(a)(3), the Postal Service shall— 
(A) develop and implement a plan to rem-
edy each inefficiency identified in the study con-
ducted under subsection (a)(1) to the extent 
practicable; and 
(B) if the Postal Service determines that 
remedying any such inefficiency is not prac-
ticable, provide to Congress and the Postal Reg-
ulatory Commission an explanation why rem-
edying such inefficiency is not practicable, in-
cluding whether it may become practicable to 
remedy such inefficiency at a later time. 
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(2) IMPLEMENTATION
REQUIREMENTS.—Prior 
to implementing the plan described in paragraph 
(1)— 
(A) the Postal Regulatory Commission 
must approve the plan; and 
(B) the Postal Service shall provide an 
adequate opportunity for public comment on the 
plan. 
(3) COMPLETION
NOTICE.—On the date on 
which the plan described in paragraph (1) is fully 
implemented, as determined by the Postmaster Gen-
eral, the Postmaster General shall submit to Con-
gress and the Postal Regulatory Commission a writ-
ten notice of such implementation. 
(c) SUBSEQUENT RATE ADJUSTMENTS.—During the 
five-year period beginning on the date on which the Postal 
Regulatory Commission submits a report under subsection 
(a)(3), the Postal Service, when making any adjustment 
to the rate of a market-dominant product (as defined in 
section 102 of title 39, United States Code), shall consider 
the findings of such report and, after the plan described 
in subsection (b)(1) is implemented, the plan’s efficacy in 
remedying the inefficiencies identified in the study con-
ducted under subsection (a)(1). 
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SEC. 207. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 240 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, and every six months 
thereafter, the Postmaster General shall submit to the 
President, the Postal Regulatory Commission, the Com-
mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 
of the Senate, and the Committee on Oversight and Re-
form of the House of Representatives a report on the oper-
ations and financial condition of the Postal Service during 
the six-month period ending 60 days before the date on 
which the Postmaster General submits such report. 
(b) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under this 
section shall include updates, details of changes from pre-
vious standards and requirements, and assessments of 
progress being made on the operations and financial con-
dition of the Postal Service, including— 
(1) the actual mail and package volume growth 
relative to any mail or package volume growth pro-
jections previously made or relied upon by the Postal 
Service, including a discussion of the reasons for the 
differences in projections and the associated adjust-
ments being made; 
(2) the effect of pricing changes on product vol-
ume for market-dominant and competitive products, 
and associated revenue effects on financial projec-
tions, including a discussion of the reasons behind 
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the differences in projections and associated adjust-
ments being made; 
(3) customer use of network distribution cen-
ters and processing and distribution centers; 
(4) the status of the USPS Connect program 
and revenue effects of the program on the financial 
projections; 
(5) the use of Priority Mail, Priority Mail Ex-
press, First-Class Package Service, and Parcel Se-
lect services (as such terms are defined in the Mail 
Classification Schedule as in effect on the date of 
the enactment of this Act) among customers and as-
sociated revenue effects; 
(6) the use of USPS Connect Returns service 
among customers, and associated costs and revenue 
effects; 
(7) the use of USPS E-Commerce Marketplace 
among customers, and associated costs and revenue 
effects; 
(8) updates on the reliability, efficiency, and 
cost-effectiveness of the transportation network, in-
cluding the manner in which ground transportation 
is utilized over air transportation for types of mar-
ket-dominant products and competitive products; 
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(9) a review of efforts to enhance employee 
training, safety, and wellbeing, including associated 
effects on employee recruitment, satisfaction, and re-
tention; 
(10) a review of efforts being made to improve 
employee allocation, including changes of non-career 
employees to career status, and any associated im-
pacts to operational expenses and processing, trans-
portation, and delivery efficiency; 
(11) the rate of planned investment into Postal 
Service processing, transportation, and delivery 
equipment and infrastructure for market-dominant 
and competitive products, and a review of any asso-
ciated effects on operational expenses and efficiency; 
(12) changes to network distribution centers 
and the expansion of regional distribution centers, 
including costs associated with the changes and any 
realized reduction in operational expenses or im-
proved resource efficiencies; 
(13) a review of the ability of the Postal Service 
to meet performance targets established under sec-
tion 3692(a)(1) of title 39, United States Code; 
(14) a discussion of the progress of the Postal 
Service in achieving any new, self-funded invest-
ments, including the amounts realized and expended 
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to date, and a discussion of the reasons behind any 
disparities in the assumptions regarding the ex-
pected progress of the Postal Service getting new, 
self-funded investments to accommodate changes; 
and 
(15) any other information the Postal Service 
determines relevant, such as barriers or unantici-
pated events, in order to help the Postal Regulatory 
Commission, Congress, the President, and the Amer-
ican public evaluate the success or difficulties faced 
by the Postal Service in implementing the reform 
plan. 
(c) CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The report required under 
this subsection shall be submitted in a form that ex-
cludes any proprietary or confidential information 
and trade secrets. 
(2) NOTIFICATION.—If the Postal Service de-
termines that any information must be excluded 
under paragraph (1), the Postal Service shall, at the 
time of submitting the report, notify the President, 
the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee on Home-
land Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen-
ate, and the Postal Regulatory Commission in writ-
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ing of its determination and describe in detail the in-
formation for which confidentiality is sought and the 
reasons therefor. 
(3) ANNEXES.—The Postal Service shall submit 
to the persons and entities notified under paragraph 
(2) any information excluded under paragraph (1) in 
an annex that shall be treated as confidential in ac-
cordance with paragraph (4). 
(4) TREATMENT.—No person may, with respect 
to any information which such person receives under 
paragraph (4)— 
(A) use such information for purposes 
other than the purposes for which it is supplied; 
or 
(B) permit any person or entity other than 
a person or entity notified under paragraph (2), 
or the staff thereof, to have access to any such 
information. 
(d) TERMINATION.—This section shall terminate on 
the date that is five years after the date on which the first 
report required by this section is submitted. 
SEC. 208. POSTAL SERVICE TRANSPORTATION SELECTION 
POLICY REVISIONS. 
Section 101(f) of title 39, United States Code, is 
amended— 
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(1) by striking ‘‘prompt and economical’’ and 
inserting ‘‘prompt, economical, consistent, and reli-
able’’; 
(2) by inserting after ‘‘all mail’’ the following: 
‘‘in a manner that increases operational efficiency 
and reduces complexity’’; 
(3) by inserting ‘‘cost-effective’’ after ‘‘to 
achieve’’; and 
(4) by inserting ‘‘also’’ after ‘‘Nation shall’’. 
SEC. 209. USPS INSPECTOR GENERAL OVERSIGHT OF POST-
AL REGULATORY COMMISSION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 8G of the Inspector Gen-
eral Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘the Postal 
Regulatory Commission,’’; and 
(2) in subsection (f)— 
(A) in paragraph (2)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘(2) In carrying’’ and 
inserting ‘‘(2)(A) In carrying’’; and 
(ii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(B) In carrying out the duties and responsibil-
ities specified in this Act, the Inspector General of 
the United States Postal Service shall function as 
the Inspector General for the Postal Regulatory 
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‘‘(4) For activities pertaining to the Postal Reg-
ulatory Commission, sections 4, 5, 6 (other than 
subsection (g) thereof), and 7 of this Act shall be 
applied by substituting the term ‘head of the Postal 
Regulatory Commission’ for ‘head of the establish-
ment’.’’. 
(b) APPOINTMENT AND REMOVAL.—Section 202 of 
title 39, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in subsection (e)(1), by striking ‘‘The Gov-
ernors shall appoint’’ and inserting ‘‘The Governors 
and the members of the Postal Regulatory Commis-
sion shall appoint, by a favorable vote of a majority 
of the Governors in office and of a majority of the 
members of the Commission in office,’’; and 
(2) in subsection (e)(3), by inserting ‘‘and 3 
members of the Postal Regulatory Commission’’ 
after ‘‘at least 7 Governors’’. 
(c) SAVINGS PROVISION.— 
(1) PERSONNEL, 
DOCUMENTS, 
ASSETS.—All 
personnel, documents, assets, unexpended balances 
of appropriations, and obligations of the Inspector 
General for the Postal Regulatory Commission shall 
transfer to the Inspector General of the Postal Serv-
ice on the effective date of this section. 
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(2) LEGAL
DOCUMENTS.—Any order, deter-
mination, rule, regulation, permit, grant, loan, con-
tract, agreement, certificate, license, or privilege that 
has been issued, made, granted, or allowed to be-
come effective by the Inspector General of the Postal 
Regulatory Commission that is in effect on the effec-
tive date of this section shall continue in effect ac-
cording to their terms until modified, terminated, 
superseded, set aside, or revoked in accordance with 
law. 
(3) PROCEEDINGS.—This section and the 
amendments made by this section shall not affect 
any proceeding pending on the effective date of this 
section before the Inspector General of the Postal 
Regulatory Commission, but such proceeding shall 
be continued by the Inspector General of the Postal 
Service, at the discretion of that Inspector General. 
Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to pro-
hibit the discontinuance or modification of any such 
proceeding under the same terms and conditions and 
to the same extent that the proceeding could have 
been discontinued or modified if this section and 
those amendments had not been enacted. 
(4) SUITS.—This section and the amendments 
made by this section shall not affect any suit com-
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menced before the effective date of this section, and 
in any such suit, proceeding shall be had, appeals 
taken, and judgments rendered in the same manner 
and with the same effect as if this section or such 
amendments had not been enacted. 
(5) REFERENCES.—Any reference in any other 
Federal law, Executive order, rule, regulation, or 
delegation of authority, or any document relating to 
the Inspector General of the Postal Regulatory Com-
mission shall be deemed to refer to the Inspector 
General of the United States Postal Service. 
(d) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 
Section 504 of title 39, United States Code, is amended 
by striking subsection (h). 
(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section and the amend-
ments made by this section shall take effect on the date 
that is 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 
TITLE III—SEVERABILITY 
SEC. 301. SEVERABILITY. 
If any provision of this Act or any amendment made 
by this Act, or the application of a provision of this Act 
or an amendment made by this Act to any person or cir-
cumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder 
of this Act, and the application of the provisions to any 
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person or circumstance, shall not be affected by the hold-
ing. 
Passed the House of Representatives February 8, 
2022. 
Attest: 
CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 
Clerk. 
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