[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2754 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2754

  To establish a Presidential Commission on the United States Postal 
                                Service.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 18, 2002

  Ms. Collins introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
           referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To establish a Presidential Commission on the United States Postal 
                                Service.

    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 ``United States Postal Service 
Commission Act of 2002''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established the Presidential 
Commission on the United States Postal Service (in this Act referred to 
as the ``Commission'').
    (b) Membership.--
            (1) Composition.--The Commission shall be composed of 11 
        members appointed by the President, of whom--
                    (A) 1 shall be designated by the President as 
                chairperson of the Commission;
                    (B) at least 1 shall not be a Federal officer or 
                employee; and
                    (C) at least 1 shall be a union representative.
            (2) Prohibition.--No member of the Commission appointed 
        under paragraph (1) may be a stakeholder.
            (3) Definition of stakeholder--In this Act the term 
        ``stakeholder'' means any individual who--
                    (A) has close ties to the United States Postal 
                Service, including--
                            (i) any employee or officer of, or any 
                        competitor with, the United States Postal 
                        Service; and
                            (ii) any member of a labor organization 
                        representing any unit of the United States 
                        Postal Service or any entity in competition 
                        with the United States Postal Service; or
                    (B) is an employee of the Postal Rate Commission.
    (c) Period of Appointment; Vacancies.--Members shall be appointed 
for the life of the Commission. Any vacancy in the Commission shall not 
affect its powers, but shall be filled in the same manner as the 
original appointment.
    (d) Initial Meeting.--Not later than 90 days after the date on 
which all members of the Commission have been appointed, the Commission 
shall hold its first meeting.
    (e) Meetings.--The Commission shall meet at the call of the 
chairperson.
    (f) Quorum.--A majority of the members of the Commission shall 
constitute a quorum, but a lesser number of members may hold hearings.

SEC. 3. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.

    (a) Study.--The Commission shall study matters relating to--
            (1) the mission and role of the United States Postal 
        Service, including the scope of competition with the private 
        sector, the extent of the monopoly of the United States Postal 
        Service on letter mail, and the extent to which the United 
        States Postal Service should engage in any postal-related 
        activity, rate setting, and price flexibilities;
            (2) the best structure of the United States Postal Service 
        to ensure its future financial viability, including proposals 
        that would restructure the United States Postal Service as a 
        private entity, Government agency, or commercial Government 
        entity and examine the human capital issues of the United 
        States Postal Service;
            (3) infrastructure, including post offices and mail 
        processing centers;
            (4) the regulatory and governance structure of the United 
        States Postal Service, including the Postal Rate Commission and 
        the Board of Governors;
            (5) the transparency and accountability of United States 
        Postal Service operations;
            (6) security of United States Postal Service employees and 
        customers;
            (7) increasing the efficiency of the United States Postal 
        Service, including cost-cutting measures, productivity, and 
        technology implementation; and
            (8) other issues that the Commission determines are 
        relevant to ensuring the long term viability and increased 
        efficiency of the United States Postal Service.
    (b)  Report.--Not later than the date that is the earlier of the 
date occurring 1 year after the initial meeting of the Commission or 15 
months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission 
shall submit a report to the President, the Committee on Governmental 
Affairs of the Senate, and the Committee on Governmental Reform of the 
House of Representatives that includes--
            (1) a detailed statement of the findings and conclusions of 
        the Commission addressing the matters studied under subsection 
        (a); and
            (2) the recommendations of the Commission for such 
        legislation and administrative actions as it considers 
        appropriate.

SEC. 4. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.

    (a) Hearings.--The Commission may hold such hearings, sit and act 
at such times and places, take such testimony, and receive such 
evidence as the Commission considers advisable to carry out this Act.
    (b) Information From Federal Agencies.--
            (1) In general.--The Commission may secure directly from 
        any Federal department or executive agency and from the United 
        States Postal Service and the Postal Rate Commission such 
        information as the Commission considers necessary to carry out 
this Act.
            (2) Information request.--Upon request of the chairperson 
        of the Commission, the head of such department or agency shall 
        furnish the information under paragraph (1) to the Commission.
    (c) United States Postal Services.--The Commission may use the 
United States mails in the same manner and under the same conditions as 
other departments and agencies of the Federal Government.

SEC. 5. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS.

    (a) Compensation of Members.--Each member of the Commission who is 
not an officer or employee of the Federal Government shall be 
compensated at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the annual rate 
of basic pay prescribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule under 
section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each day (including 
travel time) during which such member is engaged in the performance of 
the duties of the Commission. All members of the Commission who are 
officers or employees of the United States shall serve without 
compensation in addition to that received for their services as 
officers or employees of the United States.
    (b) Travel Expenses.--The members of the Commission shall be 
allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at 
rates authorized for employees of agencies under subchapter I of 
chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while away from their homes 
or regular places of business in the performance of services for the 
Commission.
    (c) Staff.--
            (1) In general.--
                    (A) Appointment and termination.--The chairperson 
                of the Commission may, without regard to the civil 
                service laws and regulations, appoint and terminate an 
                executive director and such other additional personnel 
                as may be necessary to enable the Commission to perform 
                its duties.
                    (B) Approval of executive director.--The employment 
                of an executive director under subparagraph (A) shall 
                be subject to approval by the Commission.
            (2) Compensation.--The chairperson of the Commission may 
        fix the compensation of the executive director and other 
        personnel without regard to chapter 51 and subchapter III of 
        chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, relating to 
        classification of positions and General Schedule pay rates, 
        except that the rate of pay for the executive director and 
        other personnel may not exceed the rate payable for level V of 
        the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of such title.
            (3) Personnel as federal employees.--
                    (A) In general.--The executive director and any 
                personnel of the Commission who are employees shall be 
                employees under section 2105 of title 5, United States 
                Code, for purposes of chapters 63, 81, 83, 84, 85, 87, 
                89, and 90 of that title.
                    (B) Members of commission.--Subparagraph (A) shall 
                not be construed to apply to members of the Commission.
    (d) Detail of Government Employees.--Any Federal Government 
employee may be detailed to the Commission without reimbursement, and 
such detail shall be without interruption or loss of civil service 
status or privilege.
    (e) Procurement of Temporary and Intermittent Services.--The 
chairperson of the Commission may procure temporary and intermittent 
services under section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, at rates 
for individuals which do not exceed the daily equivalent of the annual 
rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Executive Schedule 
under section 5316 of such title.

SEC. 6. TERMINATION OF THE COMMISSION.

    The Commission shall terminate 60 days after the date on which the 
Commission submits its report under section 3.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out this Act.
                                 <all>