Title: Post Office Discontinuance Accountability Act of 2018
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Post Office Discontinuance Accountability Act of 2017
This bill establishes procedures under which the United States Postal Service (USPS) may carry out emergency suspensions of post offices because of a natural disaster, damage to or destruction of a post office, or a lack of qualified personnel to operate it or adequate measures to safeguard it.
A District Manager implementing an emergency suspension must: (1) provide immediate notice to the Headquarters Review Coordinator or the Field Performance office, local officials of the USPS, and customers; (2) establish alternate service as quickly as possible; (3) temporarily reassign each employee of the post office; and (4) form a suspension review team, which shall review the suspension and recommend that the suspension continue or that the post office reopen.
If the team recommends that the suspension continue, the District Manager shall either initiate discontinuance procedures for the post office or publish a plan to restore service within 180 days. If restoration is delayed, the District Manager must publish notice and either host a public forum in the affected community or initiate discontinuance procedures.
The District Manager shall immediately notify the affected community when a post office is reopened or service is restored.
The bill authorizes the USPS to establish an alternative process to suspend postal services to a community based on the expiration of a lease or rental agreement for a post office. The District Manager shall take specified steps to: (1) negotiate an extension of an expiring agreement, the sale of the post office to the USPS, or a new agreement for postal service; (2) provide for the disruption of service if the negotiations fail and for the restoration of service; or (3) initiate discontinuance procedures.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1204 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1204

 To authorize the United States Postal Service to carry out emergency 
suspensions of post offices in accordance with certain procedures, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 23, 2017

  Mrs. McCaskill (for herself and Mr. Moran) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland 
                   Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To authorize the United States Postal Service to carry out emergency 
suspensions of post offices in accordance with certain procedures, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Post Office Discontinuance 
Accountability Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. EMERGENCY SUSPENSIONS OF POST OFFICES.

    Section 404 of title 39, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(f) Emergency Suspensions.--
            ``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection--
                    ``(A) the terms `alternate service' and `temporary 
                location' include a location at which customers 
                affected by an emergency suspension may send and 
                receive mail, which may include the provision and 
                regular servicing of a Cluster Box Unit (commonly known 
                as a `CBU') by the Postal Service;
                    ``(B) the term `discontinuance' means a closing or 
                consolidation;
                    ``(C) the term `discontinuance procedures' means 
                the procedures required for the discontinuance of a 
                post office under subsection (d) and any regulations 
                promulgated under that subsection;
                    ``(D) the term `discontinue' means close or 
                consolidate;
                    ``(E) the term `emergency suspension' means the 
                temporary discontinuance of a post office, without 
                following discontinuance procedures for the post 
                office, because of--
                            ``(i) a natural disaster;
                            ``(ii) the early, sudden, or unexpected 
                        termination of a lease or rental agreement by 
                        the lessor when suitable alternate quarters are 
                        not immediately available in the same 
                        community;
                            ``(iii) lack of qualified personnel to 
                        operate the post office;
                            ``(iv) severe or irreparable damage to, or 
                        destruction of, the post office when suitable 
                        alternate quarters are not immediately 
                        available in the community;
                            ``(v) a challenge to the sanctity of the 
                        mail; or
                            ``(vi) a lack of adequate measures to 
                        safeguard the post office or its revenues; and
                    ``(F) the term `post office'--
                            ``(i) means a Post Office, as that term is 
                        defined in section 241.1 of title 39, Code of 
                        Federal Regulations, or any successor 
                        regulation; and
                            ``(ii) does not include a post office 
                        branch or station.
            ``(2) Authority.--A District Manager may implement an 
        emergency suspension of a post office in accordance with the 
        requirements under paragraphs (3) through (7).
            ``(3) Notification.--If a District Manager implements an 
        emergency suspension of a post office, the District Manager 
        shall provide immediate notice of the suspension to--
                    ``(A) the Headquarters Review Coordinator or the 
                Field Performance office;
                    ``(B) local officials of the Postal Service, 
                including--
                            ``(i) all direct reports to the District 
                        Manager;
                            ``(ii) the Vice President, Area Operations;
                            ``(iii) State and national postmaster 
                        organizations;
                            ``(iv) relevant local transportation and 
                        logistics officials of the Postal Service;
                            ``(v) accounting services of the Postal 
                        Service and Postmaster accounts;
                            ``(vi) each upstream Processing and 
                        Distributions Center responsible for processing 
                        mail to and from the relevant post office;
                            ``(vii) the Address Management division of 
                        the Postal Service;
                            ``(viii) the Shared Human Resources Center 
                        of the Postal Service;
                            ``(ix) the Discontinuance Coordinator of 
                        the Postal Service;
                            ``(x) the Facilities Service Office of the 
                        Postal Service;
                            ``(xi) local political officials;
                            ``(xii) the Vice President, Facilities; and
                            ``(xiii) the Customer Relationship Manager; 
                        and
                    ``(C) customers, notification to whom shall 
                include--
                            ``(i) the effective date of the suspension;
                            ``(ii) the reason for the suspension;
                            ``(iii) any alternate service available, 
                        including how to request curbside delivery;
                            ``(iv) the nearest post offices and hours 
                        of service; and
                            ``(v) the name, telephone number, and email 
                        address of an individual to contact for more 
                        information.
            ``(4) Alternate service.--
                    ``(A) In general.--If a District Manager implements 
                an emergency suspension of a post office, the District 
                Manager shall establish alternate service as quickly as 
                possible.
                    ``(B) Determination to discontinue.--If the Postal 
                Service appears likely to make a determination under 
                subsection (a)(3) to discontinue a post office that is 
                under an emergency suspension, the District Manager 
                shall make every effort to provide the alternate 
                service under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph that 
                is most likely to be recommended in the determination 
                to discontinue the post office.
            ``(5) Employee reassignment.--If a District Manager 
        implements an emergency suspension of a post office, the 
        District Manager shall temporarily reassign each employee of 
        the post office in accordance with each applicable statute, 
        regulation, and collective bargaining agreement.
            ``(6) Suspension review team.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than 10 days after the 
                date on which a District Manager implements an 
                emergency suspension of a post office, the District 
                Manager shall form a suspension review team to review 
                the decision to implement the emergency suspension.
                    ``(B) Members.--The members of a suspension review 
                team shall include--
                            ``(i) the Discontinuance Coordinator;
                            ``(ii) the Manager of Post Office 
                        Operations or a designee;
                            ``(iii) a representative from the Facility 
                        Services Office; and
                            ``(iv) in the case of the suspension of a 
                        post office staffed by a postmaster, State 
                        presidents of each postmaster organization or 
                        their designees.
                    ``(C) Decisions.--All decisions of the suspension 
                review team shall be by an affirmative vote of a 
                majority of the members of the suspension review team.
                    ``(D) Site visit.--The suspension review team for a 
                post office shall conduct a site visit to the post 
                office.
                    ``(E) Recommendation.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Not later than 10 
                        business days after the site visit under 
                        subparagraph (D), the suspension review team 
                        shall notify the District Manager and the Vice 
                        President, Delivery Operations of its 
                        recommendation to--
                                    ``(I) continue the emergency 
                                suspension; or
                                    ``(II) reopen the post office.
                            ``(ii) Postmaster organizations.--In the 
                        case of the suspension of a post office staffed 
                        by a postmaster, the suspension review team 
                        shall also notify the national postmaster 
                        organizations of its recommendation under 
                        clause (i).
                    ``(F) Continued suspension.--
                            ``(i) In general.--If the suspension review 
                        team recommends under subparagraph (E) that the 
                        emergency suspension of a post office continue, 
                        the District Manager shall--
                                    ``(I) not later than 10 days after 
                                being notified of that recommendation, 
                                initiate discontinuance procedures for 
                                the post office; or
                                    ``(II) not later than 30 days after 
                                being notified of that recommendation, 
                                publish and submit to the Vice 
                                President, Delivery Operations, a plan 
                                of action to restore service to the 
                                affected community--
                                            ``(aa) within a reasonable 
                                        period of time; and
                                            ``(bb) in any event, not 
                                        later than 180 days after the 
                                        date on which the emergency 
                                        suspension was implemented.
                            ``(ii) Delay in restoration of service.--If 
                        a District Manager publishes and submits a plan 
                        of action to restore service to an affected 
                        community under clause (i)(II) and service to 
                        the affected community is not restored within 
                        180 days of the date on which the emergency 
                        suspension was implemented, the District 
                        Manager shall--
                                    ``(I)(aa) publish notice of the 
                                delay, including--
                                            ``(AA) a reason for the 
                                        delay; and
                                            ``(BB) an anticipated date 
                                        of restoration of service; and
                                    ``(bb) not later than 10 days after 
                                publishing the notice, host a live, in-
                                person question-and-answer forum in the 
                                affected community; or
                                    ``(II) initiate discontinuance 
                                procedures for the post office.
                            ``(iii) Further delays in restoration of 
                        service.--Upon the expiration of each 30-day 
                        period after the date that is 180 days after 
                        the date on which the emergency suspension of a 
                        post office was implemented, if service has not 
                        been restored to the affected community, the 
                        District Manager shall publish an updated 
                        notice of the delay that includes the 
                        anticipated date of restoration of service.
                            ``(iv) 1-year delay.--If 1 year has elapsed 
                        since the implementation of an emergency 
                        suspension of a post office and service has not 
                        been restored to the affected community, the 
                        District Manager--
                                    ``(I) shall host--
                                            ``(aa) a second live, in-
                                        person question-and-answer 
                                        forum in the affected 
                                        community; and
                                            ``(bb) additional live, in-
                                        person question-and-answer fora 
                                        in the affected community every 
                                        subsequent 180 days until--

                                                    ``(AA) service is 
                                                restored; or

                                                    ``(BB) the District 
                                                Manager initiates 
                                                discontinuance 
                                                procedures for the post 
                                                office; and

                                    ``(II) if no alternate services are 
                                located within 10 miles of the post 
                                office, not later than 60 days after 
                                the date that is 1 year after the date 
                                on which the emergency suspension was 
                                implemented, shall develop and publish 
                                a plan to establish a temporary 
                                location from which to provide service 
                                within 10 miles of the suspended 
                                facility.
                    ``(G) Reopening of post office.--If the suspension 
                review team recommends under subparagraph (E) that a 
                post office be reopened--
                            ``(i) not later than 5 business days after 
                        the date on which the suspension review team 
                        provides notice of the recommendation under 
                        clause (i) of that subparagraph, the District 
                        Manager shall reopen the post office; and
                            ``(ii) the Inspector General shall conduct 
                        an investigation to determine the legitimacy of 
                        the concerns that resulted in the emergency 
                        suspension.
            ``(7) Restoration of service.--Upon restoration of service 
        under paragraph (6)(F) or the reopening of a post office under 
        paragraph (6)(G), the District Manager shall immediately 
        notify--
                    ``(A) the affected community;
                    ``(B) the Headquarters Review Coordinator; and
                    ``(C) the local Facilities Database Coordinator.
            ``(8) Lease or rental agreement expiration.--
                    ``(A) In general.--
                            ``(i) Prohibition on emergency 
                        suspensions.--A District Manager may not 
                        implement an emergency suspension of a post 
                        office based on the expiration of the lease or 
                        rental agreement for the post office.
                            ``(ii) Alternative process.--The Postal 
                        Service may establish an alternative process 
                        for the suspension of postal services to a 
                        community based on the expiration of a lease or 
                        rental agreement for a post office in 
                        accordance with subparagraphs (B) through (I) 
                        of this paragraph.
                    ``(B) Preparation for expiration.--Before the 
                expiration of a lease or rental agreement for a post 
                office, the District Manager shall--
                            ``(i) initiate or attempt to initiate 
                        negotiations for an extension of the lease or 
                        rental agreement, or sale of the property to 
                        the Postal Service, with a sufficient amount of 
                        time, which shall be not less than 18 months, 
                        to allow for the likely completion of 
                        negotiations before the expiration of the lease 
                        or rental agreement; or
                            ``(ii) initiate discontinuance procedures 
                        for the post office with a sufficient amount of 
                        time, which shall be not less than 18 months, 
                        to allow for likely completion of the 
                        procedures before the expiration of the lease 
                        or rental agreement.
                    ``(C) Discontinuance.--If the District Manager does 
                not initiate or attempt to initiate negotiations 
                described in subparagraph (B)(i) with a sufficient 
                amount of time (as defined in that subparagraph) to 
                allow for likely completion of negotiations before the 
                expiration of the lease or rental agreement, 
                discontinuance procedures may not be initiated for the 
                post office earlier than the date that is 3 years after 
                the date on which the lease or rental agreement 
                expires.
                    ``(D) Failure to reach agreement.--If, as of 30 
                days before the expiration of a lease or rental 
                agreement for a post office, the District Manager has 
                not reached an agreement with the lessor to extend the 
                lease or rental agreement or to sell the property to 
                the Postal Service, the District Manager shall--
                            ``(i) notify the affected community of a 
                        possible disruption in service due to the 
                        possible expiration of the lease or rental 
                        agreement; and
                            ``(ii) include in the notification under 
                        clause (i)--
                                    ``(I) the expiration date of the 
                                lease or rental agreement;
                                    ``(II) alternate services available 
                                if the lease or rental agreement 
                                expires, including how to request 
                                curbside delivery;
                                    ``(III) the nearest post offices 
                                and hours of service; and
                                    ``(IV) the name, telephone number, 
                                and email address of an individual to 
                                contact for more information.
                    ``(E) New lease or rental agreement.--Not later 
                than 30 days after the date on which a lease or rental 
                agreement for a post office expires, the District 
                Manager shall make best efforts to enter into a new 
                lease or rental agreement for a post office in, or 
                within a reasonable distance of, the community in which 
                the post office that was the subject of the expired 
                lease or rental agreement is located.
                    ``(F) Failure to enter into new lease or rental 
                agreement.--If, within 30 days after the expiration of 
                a lease or rental agreement for a post office, the 
                District Manager is unable to execute a new lease or 
                rental agreement at the same location or another 
                location within the affected community, the District 
                Manager shall--
                            ``(i) publish notice of intent to submit to 
                        the Vice President, Delivery Operations a plan 
                        of action to restore service to the affected 
                        community--
                                    ``(I) within a reasonable period of 
                                time; and
                                    ``(II) in any event, not later than 
                                180 days after the date on which the 
                                lease or rental agreement expired; or
                            ``(ii) if no suitable alternate quarters 
                        are available in the community--
                                    ``(I) publish notice of intent to 
                                initiate discontinuance procedures for 
                                the post office; and
                                    ``(II) initiate discontinuance 
                                procedures.
                    ``(G) Delay in restoration of service.--If a 
                District Manager publishes and submits a plan of action 
                to restore service to an affected community under 
                subparagraph (F)(i) and service to the affected 
                community is not restored within 180 days of the date 
                on which the lease or rental agreement for the post 
                office expired, the District Manager shall--
                            ``(i)(I) publish notice of the delay, 
                        including--
                                    ``(aa) a reason for the delay; and
                                    ``(bb) an anticipated date of 
                                restoration of service; and
                            ``(ii) not later than 10 days after 
                        publishing the notice, host a live, in-person 
                        question-and-answer forum in the affected 
                        community.
                    ``(H) Further delays in restoration of service.--
                Upon the expiration of each 30-day period after the 
                date on which the District Manager publishes notice 
                under subparagraph (G)(i), if service has not been 
                restored to the affected community, the District 
                Manager shall publish an updated notice of the delay 
                that includes the anticipated date of restoration of 
                service.
                    ``(I) 1-year delay.--If service to the affected 
                community is not restored within 1 year of the date on 
                which the lease or rental agreement for the post office 
                expired, the District Manager--
                            ``(i) shall host--
                                    ``(I) a second live, in-person 
                                question-and-answer forum in the 
                                affected community; and
                                    ``(II) additional live, in-person 
                                question-and-answer fora in the 
                                affected community every subsequent 180 
                                days until--
                                            ``(aa) service is restored; 
                                        or
                                            ``(bb) the District Manager 
                                        initiates discontinuance 
                                        procedures for the post office; 
                                        and
                            ``(ii) if no alternate services are located 
                        within 10 miles of the post office, not later 
                        than 60 days after the date that is 1 year 
                        after the date on which the lease or rental 
                        agreement for the post office expired, shall 
                        develop and publish a plan to establish a 
                        temporary location from which to provide 
                        service within 10 miles of the post office.
            ``(9) Delegation.--A District Manager may delegate any 
        authority or responsibility under this subsection except under 
        paragraph (2), (4)(B), or (6)(A).
            ``(10) Applicability.--This subsection shall apply to any 
        emergency suspension of a post office that is implemented on or 
        after the date of enactment of the Post Office Discontinuance 
        Accountability Act of 2017.''.
                                 <all>