[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4400 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4400

   To amend title 39, United States Code, to prevent the use of paid 
confidential informants by the United States Postal Service in certain 
   narcotics investigations; to require that the appointment of the 
 Inspector General of the United States Postal Service be made by the 
  President, with the advice and consent of the Senate; and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 12, 1994

 Mr. Clay (for himself, Mr. Stokes, Miss Collins of Michigan, and Mrs. 
Byrne) introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the 
 Committees on Post Office and Civil Service and Government Operations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 39, United States Code, to prevent the use of paid 
confidential informants by the United States Postal Service in certain 
   narcotics investigations; to require that the appointment of the 
 Inspector General of the United States Postal Service be made by the 
  President, with the advice and consent of the Senate; 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 ``Postal Inspection Service and 
Inspector General Act''.

SEC. 2. RESTRICTION ON THE USE OF PAID CONFIDENTIAL INFORMANTS BY THE 
              POSTAL SERVICE; CHANGE IN THE METHOD FOR APPOINTING 
              CERTAIN POSTAL OFFICERS.

    (a) Confidential Informants.--
            (1) Restriction.--Section 404 of title 39, United States 
        Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c)(1) The Postal Service may not retain the services of a paid 
confidential informant for purposes of any investigation concerning the 
possible violation of any law relating to controlled substances, unless 
the unlawful use of the mails is involved.
    ``(2) The Postal Service shall render a semiannual report to the 
Congress concerning any investigation--
            ``(A) in which the Postal Service retains the services of a 
        paid confidential informant; and
            ``(B) which results in the arrest of 1 or more individuals 
        for violating any law relating to controlled substances.
    ``(3) For the purpose of this subsection--
            ``(A) the term `controlled substance' has the meaning given 
        such term by section 102(6) of the Controlled Drug Abuse 
        Prevention and Control Act of 1970; and
            ``(B) a confidential informant shall be considered to be 
        `paid' if such informant receives, or is to receive, a monetary 
        or nonmonetary benefit (including any forbearance from a civil 
        or criminal action) for the services involved.''.
            (2) Applicability.--The amendment made by paragraph (1) 
        shall apply with respect to any investigation commencing on or 
        after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (b) Officers.--
            (1) In general.--Section 204 of title 39, United States 
        Code, is amended--
                    (A) by amending the section heading to read as 
                follows:
``Sec. 204. Assistant Postmasters General; General Counsel; Judicial 
              Officer; Chief Postal Inspector'';
                    (B) in the first sentence by striking ``and a 
                Judicial Officer.'' and inserting ``a Judicial Officer, 
                and a Chief Postal Inspector.'';
                    (C) in the second sentence by striking ``and the 
                Judicial Officer'' and inserting ``the Judicial 
                Officer, and the Chief Postal Inspector''; and
                    (D) by striking ``Postmaster General'' each place 
                it appears and inserting ``Board''.
            (2) Conforming amendment.--The table of sections for 
        chapter 2 of title 39, United States Code, is amended by 
        striking the item relating to section 204 and inserting the 
        following:

``204. Assistant Postmasters General; General Counsel; Judicial 
                            Officer; Chief Postal Inspector.''.
            (3) Savings provision.--The appointment of the individual 
        serving as the General Counsel, Judicial Officer, or Chief 
        Postal Inspector of the United States Postal Service on the 
        date of the enactment of this Act, or of an individual serving 
        as an Assistant Postmaster General on such date, shall, if such 
        appointment was made in accordance with then applicable 
        provisions of law, be considered to have been made under the 
        second sentence of section 204 of title 39, United States Code, 
        as amended by this subsection, except that this paragraph shall 
        not apply with respect to any interim appointment.

SEC. 3. INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE.

    (a) Definitions.--Section 11 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 
(5 U.S.C. App.) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1) by inserting ``the Postmaster 
        General;'' after ``the Attorney General;''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2) by inserting ``the United States 
        Postal Service,'' after ``Treasury;''.
    (b) Transfer of Functions.--Section 9(a) of the Inspector General 
Act of 1978, as amended by section 203(g)(3)(A) of the National and 
Community Service Trust Act of 1993 (Public Law 103-82; 107 Stat. 890), 
is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (U) by striking ``and'' after 
                the semicolon; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(W) of the United States Postal Service, that 
                portion of the Postal Inspection Service that is 
                engaged in internal audit and program review 
                activities; and''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2) by inserting ``(or, in the case of the 
        United States Postal Service, the Postmaster General, in 
        consultation with the Board of Governors)'' after ``head of the 
        establishment involved''.
    (c) Special Provisions.--The Inspector General Act of 1978 is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating the first section designated as 
        section 8G as section 8H;
            (2) by redesignating the second section designated as 
        section 8G as section 8I; and
            (3) by inserting after section 8F the following:

    ``special provisions concerning the united states postal service

    ``Sec. 8G. In carrying out the duties and responsibilities 
specified in this Act, the Inspector General of the United States 
Postal Service shall have oversight responsibility for all activities 
of the Postal Inspection Service, including any internal investigation 
performed thereby. The Chief Postal Inspector shall promptly report the 
significant activities being carried out by the Postal Inspection 
Service to such Inspector General.''.
    (d) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Relating to the inspector general act of 1978.--Section 
        8H of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (as so redesignated by 
        subsection (c)(1)) is amended--
                    (A) in subsection (a)(2) by striking ``Tennessee 
                Valley Authority,'' and all that follows through the 
                semicolon and inserting ``Tennessee Valley Authority, 
                and the United States International Trade 
                Commission;''; and
                    (B)(i) by striking subsection (f), and 
                redesignating subsections (g) and (h) as subsections 
                (f) and (g), respectively;
                    (ii) in paragraphs (3) and (4) of subsection (a) by 
                striking ``(h)(1)'' and inserting ``(g)(1)''; and
                    (iii) in subsection (c) by striking ``Except as 
                provided under subsection (f) of this section, the'' 
                and inserting ``The''.
            (2) Relating to title 39, united states code.--Section 
        410(b) of title 39, United States Code, is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph 
                (9); and
                    (B) by amending paragraph (10) to read as follows:
            ``(10) the Inspector General Act of 1978; and''.
    (e) Effective Date; Interim Service.--
            (1) Effective date.--This section and the amendments made 
        by this section shall take effect upon the expiration of the 3-
        month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this 
        Act.
            (2) Interim service.--The individual serving as Inspector 
        General of the United States Postal Service on the day before 
        this section takes effect may continue to serve in that 
        capacity until--
                    (A) a successor has taken office, or
                    (B) such individual ceases to be the Chief Postal 
                Inspector of the United States Postal Service.

                                 <all>