Title: Nonpartisan Postmaster General Act
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Nonpartisan Postmaster General Act
This bill restricts the political activities of the members of the Postal Service Board of Governors, including the Postmaster General and the Deputy Postmaster General.
Specifically, the bill (1) prohibits the Postmaster General and the Deputy Postmaster General from taking an active part in political management or political campaigns; (2) prohibits the Board of Governors, the Postmaster General, and the Deputy Postmaster General from holding any political position while in office or soliciting funds for the campaign of a candidate for elected office or for a political party; and (3) restricts nominees for Postmaster General and Deputy Postmaster General to those who have not engaged in political activities in the four years prior to their appointments.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4561 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4561

 To clarify and increase the restrictions on political activities that 
 are applicable to the members of the Board of Governors of the United 
States Postal Service, including the Postmaster General and the Deputy 
              Postmaster General, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 10, 2020

 Mr. Peters (for himself, Mr. Manchin, Ms. Klobuchar, and Mr. Carper) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
        Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To clarify and increase the restrictions on political activities that 
 are applicable to the members of the Board of Governors of the United 
States Postal Service, including the Postmaster General and the Deputy 
              Postmaster General, 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 ``Nonpartisan Postmaster General 
Act''.

SEC. 2. LIMITATIONS ON POLITICAL ACTIVITIES OF UNITED STATES POSTAL 
              SERVICE OFFICERS.

    (a) Hatch Act Officer Applicability.--
            (1) In general.--Section 410 of title 39, United States 
        Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) Hatch Act Officer Applicability.--For the purposes of 
applying subchapter III of chapter 73 of title 5, and any regulations 
thereunder, to the Postal Service pursuant to subsection (b)(1) of this 
section, the following are deemed to be employees of the Postal 
Service:
            ``(1) The Postmaster General.
            ``(2) The Deputy Postmaster General.
            ``(3) Any individual holding a position in the Postal 
        Service to which the individual was appointed by the President, 
        by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, including a 
        Governor appointed under section 202 of this title.''.
            (2) Further restricted employees.--Section 7323(b)(2)(B) of 
        title 5, United States Code, is amended--
                    (A) in clause (i), by striking ``or'' at the end;
                    (B) in clause (ii), by striking the period at the 
                end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(iii) a person holding a position described in section 
        410(e) of title 39.''.
    (b) Political Activities of Board Members.--Section 202 of title 
39, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) by striking ``The Governors shall'' and 
                inserting ``(1) The Governors shall''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(2) The Governors may appoint as the Postmaster General only an 
individual who has not held a political position at any time during the 
4-year period ending on the date on which the individual is so 
appointed.'';
            (2) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) by striking ``The Governors and the Postmaster 
                General shall'' and inserting ``(1) The Governors and 
                the Postmaster General shall''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(2) The Governors and the Postmaster General may appoint as the 
Deputy Postmaster General only an individual who has not held a 
political position at any time during the 4-year period ending on the 
date on which the individual is so appointed.''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(f) Political Positions and Activities Prohibited.--While serving 
as a member of the Board, an individual may not--
            ``(1) hold a political position; or
            ``(2) solicit funds for--
                    ``(A) the campaign of a candidate for election for 
                a Federal, State, or local elected office; or
                    ``(B) a Federal, State, or local political party.
    ``(g) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
            ``(1) the term `hold a political position' means--
                    ``(A) to hold Federal, State, or local elected 
                office;
                    ``(B) to file paperwork to be a candidate for 
                election for a Federal, State, or local elected office; 
                or
                    ``(C) to be an officer, director, or employee of a 
                Federal, State, or local political party; and
            ``(2) the term `political party' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 
        1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101).''.
    (c) Severability.--If any provision of this Act, an amendment made 
by this Act, or the application of such a provision or amendment to any 
person or circumstance is held to be unconstitutional, the remaining 
provisions of and amendments made by this Act, and the application of 
the provision or amendment to any other person or circumstance, shall 
not be affected thereby.
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