[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1534 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

  1st Session
                                S. 1534

To limit the closing and consolidation of certain post offices in rural 
                  communities, and for other purposes.


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                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                July 31 (legislative day, July 21), 2003

 Mr. Reid introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
        referred to the Committee on Governmental AffairsYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

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                                 A BILL


 
To limit the closing and consolidation of certain post offices in rural 
                  communities, 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 ``Rural Post Office and Community 
Preservation Act of 2003''.

 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) a 1993 study by the National Trust for Historic 
        Preservation found that approximately 80 percent of people in 
        small communities plan their trips around a visit to a post 
        office;
            (2) the Postal Service is increasingly closing small, rural 
        post offices in the center of town and replacing such services 
        with more distant post offices on the outskirts of such 
        communities; and
            (3) closing post offices in the centers of small, rural 
        communities removes the hub of such communities and has a 
        deleterious effect on the economies and quality of life in such 
        communities.
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to limit the closure of 
centrally located rural post offices, and to enhance the economic 
health and quality of life of rural communities.

SEC. 3. MAINTAINING CENTRALLY LOCATED RURAL POST OFFICES.

    Section 404(b) of title 39, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
            ``(3)(A) In this paragraph, the term `rural community' 
        means a city, town, or unincorporated area with a population of 
        not more than 20,000 people.
            ``(B) The Postal Service may not make a determination to 
        close or consolidate a post office in a rural community, unless 
        the Postal Service makes a determination that such closing or 
        consolidation will have a positive economic impact on that 
        community and enhance the quality of life in that community.
            ``(C) In making a determination under subparagraph (B), the 
        Postal Service shall presume that the relocation of a centrally 
        located post office in a rural community to the boundaries of 
        that community will have a negative economic impact on that 
        community and will not enhance the quality of life in that 
        community.
            ``(D) If the Postal Service makes a determination to close 
        or consolidate a post office in a rural community, the Postal 
        Service shall develop a plan, in consultation with people in 
        the rural community, to provide for the rehabilitation and use 
        of the post office for purposes favored by the people of that 
        community. Such plan shall be developed before the closing or 
        consolidation takes effect.''.

SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR REHABILITATION OF POST OFFICES IN RURAL COMMUNITIES.

    (a) Definition.--In this section, the term `rural community' means 
a city, town, or unincorporated area with a population of not more than 
20,000 people.
    (b) Grants.--The Postal Service may award grants to State and local 
governments, private organizations, or individuals to provide for the 
rehabilitation of any closed post office in a rural community.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2003 through 2007 to 
carry out this section.

SEC. 5. TRANSFER OF CLOSED POST OFFICE IN ELY, NEVADA.

    The Postal Service shall transfer the real property (including all 
buildings and improvements) located at 415 5th Street in Ely, Nevada, 
and occupied by the closed post office, to the local county government 
of Ely County, Nevada.
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