Title: POSTAL Act of 2017
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Providing Opportunities for Savings, Transactions, and Lending Act of 2017 or the POSTAL Act of 2017
This bill expands the specific powers of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to include the provision of basic financial services, including: (1) small-dollar loans; (2) checking accounts, interest-bearing savings accounts, and services relating to international money transfers, each of which may be provided by the USPS alone or in partnership with depository institutions and credit unions; (3) other basic financial services as appropriate in the public interest; and (4) the creation of a Postal Card that allows users to engage in such financial services.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3617 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3617

   To amend title 39, United States Code, to provide that the United 
States Postal Service may provide certain basic financial services, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 28, 2017

 Mr. Richmond (for himself, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Conyers, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. 
  Blumenauer, and Mr. Rush) introduced the following bill; which was 
      referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 39, United States Code, to provide that the United 
States Postal Service may provide certain basic financial services, 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 ``Providing Opportunities for Savings, 
Transactions, And Lending Act of 2017'' or the ``POSTAL Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORITY FOR THE POSTAL SERVICE TO OFFER CERTAIN FINANCIAL 
              SERVICES.

    (a) In General.--Section 404(a) of title 39, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (7), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(9) to provide basic financial services, including--
                    ``(A) small-dollar loans;
                    ``(B) alone, or in partnership with depository 
                institutions (as defined under section 3 of the Federal 
                Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813)) and credit 
                unions--
                            ``(i) checking accounts and interest-
                        bearing savings accounts; and
                            ``(ii) services relating to international 
                        money transfers;
                    ``(C) such other basic financial services as the 
                Postal Service determines appropriate in the public 
                interest; and
                    ``(D) the creation of a `Postal Card' that allows 
                users to engage in the financial services described 
                under this paragraph.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--Section 404(e)(2) of title 
39, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 
``The preceding sentence shall not apply to any financial service 
offered by the Postal Service under subsection (a)(9).''.
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