I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 431 
To require the United States Postal Service to reimburse fees charged for 
the late payment of bills that were delayed in the mail, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 15, 2025 
Mr. GRAVES (for himself, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. ALFORD, Mr. BOST, Mr. COL-
LINS, Mr. STAUBER, and Mr. MANN) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 
A BILL 
To require the United States Postal Service to reimburse 
fees charged for the late payment of bills that were 
delayed in the mail, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pony Up Act’’. 
SEC. 2. PAYMENT OF FEES RESULTING FROM DELAYED DE-
LIVERY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in 
this section, the United States Postal Service shall pay 
to a citizen assessed any fee or penalty for the late pay-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:49 Feb 06, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H431.IH
H431
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
ment of a bill an amount determined under subsection (b) 
if such bill, notice of such bill, or payment is delivered 
late. 
(b) PAYMENT CALCULATION.—The amount to which 
a citizen is entitled under subsection (a) is the amount 
that is equal to the total amount of the fees and penalties 
described in such subsection that such citizen is obligated 
to pay. 
(c) APPLICATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—A citizen seeking a payment 
under this section shall submit to the United States 
Postal Service an application at such time, in such 
manner, and containing such information as the 
United States Postal Service determines appropriate. 
(2) APPLICATION
SUBMISSION.—The United 
States Postal Service shall allow citizens to submit 
the application required by paragraph (1) on a pub-
licly available website of the United States Postal 
Service, by mail, and at any post office. 
(d) UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES EXCEPTION.— 
For the purposes of this section, a bill, notice of bill, or 
payment is not delivered late if a cause not reasonably 
within the control of the United States Postal Service de-
layed the delivery of such bill or notice, including a major 
disaster or emergency declared by the President. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:49 Feb 06, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H431.IH
H431
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
(e) APPEALS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—A citizen may appeal a de-
termination made by the United States Postal Serv-
ice under this section to the Judicial Officer by sub-
mitting such appeal in writing within 30 days after 
receiving notice of such determination. 
(2) PROCEDURE.—The Judicial Officer shall 
issue a decision with respect to an appeal under 
paragraph (1) as soon as practicable, and such deci-
sion shall be final. 
(f) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 60 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the United States Postal 
Service shall issue rules implementing this section. 
(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) DELIVERED
LATE.—The term ‘‘delivered 
late’’, with respect to a bill, notice of bill, or pay-
ment, means that— 
(A) such bill, notice, or payment was 
mailed; 
(B) in the case of a bill or notice of bill, 
the United States Postal Service received the 
mail containing such bill or notice not less than 
12 days prior to the date on which the payment 
for the bill was due and the United States Post-
al Service delivered such mail less than 6 days 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:49 Feb 06, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H431.IH
H431
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
prior to the date on which payment for the bill 
was due; and 
(C) in the case of a payment, the United 
States Postal Service received the mail con-
taining such payment not less than 5 days prior 
to the date on which the payment was due and 
the United States Postal Service delivered such 
mail after the date on which payment was due. 
(2) JUDICIAL
OFFICER.—The term ‘‘Judicial 
Officer’’ means the Judicial Officer appointed under 
section 204 of title 39, United States Code. 
SEC. 3. REPORT ON MAIL DELIVERY DELAYS. 
(a) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than one year after 
the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 
the United States Postal Service shall submit to the Com-
mittee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House 
of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Secu-
rity and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report on 
delays in delivering mail, including, for each class of 
mail— 
(1) the average delivery time and average delay 
time for— 
(A) mail delivered under an agreement be-
tween the sender, other than a sender primarily 
engaged in the transportation or delivery of 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:49 Feb 06, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H431.IH
H431
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
parcels or letters carried out of the mails, and 
the United States Postal Service; and 
(B) all other mail delivered by the United 
States Postal Service; 
(2) the volume of mail described in paragraph 
(1)(A) that is presorted and an explanation of the 
effect of presorting such mail on the average delivery 
time and average delay time for such mail; and 
(3) the volume of mail described in paragraph 
(1)(B) that is presorted and an explanation of the 
effect of presorting such mail on the average delivery 
time and average delay time for such mail. 
(b) PRIORITIZATION AUDIT.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Inspector General of 
the United States Postal Service shall conduct an 
assessment of the policies and practices of the 
United States Postal Service to determine if the 
United States Postal Service prioritizes the delivery 
of mail described in subsection (a)(1)(A) over mail 
that is the same class of mail and is not described 
in such subsection. 
(2) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Inspector General 
of the United States Postal Service shall submit to 
the Committee on Oversight and Government Re-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:49 Feb 06, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H431.IH
H431
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB