[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3831 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3831

To amend the provisions of title 5, United States Code, relating to the 
    methodology for calculating the amount of any Postal surplus or 
 supplemental liability under the Civil Service Retirement System, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 23, 2010

  Mr. Carper introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the provisions of title 5, United States Code, relating to the 
    methodology for calculating the amount of any Postal surplus or 
 supplemental liability under the Civil Service Retirement System, 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 Operations Sustainment and 
Transformation Act of 2010'' or the ``POST Act of 2010''.

SEC. 2. MODIFIED METHODOLOGY.

    (a) In General.--Section 8348(h) of title 5, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the 
                following:
                    ``(B) The Office shall redetermine the Postal 
                surplus or supplemental liability as of the close of 
                the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, and for each 
                year thereafter, through the fiscal year ending 
                September 30, 2042. The results of the redetermination, 
                including appropriate supporting analyses and 
                documentation, shall be reported to the Postal Service 
                on or before March 31 of the subsequent fiscal year. If 
                the result for a fiscal year is a surplus, that amount 
                shall remain in the Fund until distribution is 
                authorized under subparagraph (C). Beginning March 31, 
                2017, if the result is a supplemental liability, the 
                Office shall establish an amortization schedule, 
                including a series of annual installments commencing on 
                September 30 of the subsequent fiscal year, which 
                provides for the liquidation of such liability by 
                September 30, 2042.''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (C)--
                            (i) by inserting ``(i)'' after ``(C)'';
                            (ii) by striking ``2015, 2025, 2035, and 
                        2039'' and inserting ``2017, 2022, 2027, 2032, 
                        2037, and 2042''; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(ii)(I) As of the close of the fiscal years 
                ending September 30, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 
                2015, and 2016, if the result is a surplus, that 
                amount, or any part of that amount, may be transferred 
                to the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund.
                    ``(II) Any transfer under subclause (I) shall be--
                            ``(aa) made at the discretion of the Board 
                        of Governors of the Postal Service in the 
                        amount determined by the Board of Governors, 
                        except the amount may not exceed the amount 
                        under section 8909a(d)(3)(A) for the applicable 
                        fiscal year; and
                            ``(bb) credited to the Postal Service for 
                        payment of the amount required under section 
                        8909a(d)(3)(A) for the applicable fiscal year.
                    ``(III) The Board of Governors shall--
                            ``(aa) provide written notice to the Office 
                        of any amount to be transferred under this 
                        clause; and
                            ``(bb) take all actions under this clause 
                        by a majority vote.
                    ``(IV) The Office shall transfer any amount 
                determined by the Board of Governors to the credit of 
                the Postal Service in accordance with this clause.''; 
                and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) To the extent that a determination under paragraph 
        (1)(A), relating to benefits attributable to civilian 
        employment with the United States Postal Service, is based on 
        the first sentence of section 8339(a), such determination shall 
        be made in accordance with such sentence and otherwise 
        applicable provisions of law, subject to the following:
                    ``(A) The `average pay' used in the case of any 
                individual shall be a single amount, determined in 
                accordance with section 8331(4), taking into account 
                the rates of basic pay in effect for such individual 
                during the periods of creditable service performed by 
                such individual. Nothing in this subsection shall be 
                considered to permit or require--
                            ``(i) one determination of average pay with 
                        respect to service performed with the United 
                        States Postal Service; and
                            ``(ii) a separate determination of average 
                        pay with respect to service performed with its 
                        predecessor entity in function.
                    ``(B) To determine the portion of an annuity 
                attributable to civilian employment with the United 
                States Postal Service, the appropriate percentage to 
                apply under the provisions of section 8339(a) with 
                respect to such employment is, in the case of--
                            ``(i) any period of employment with the 
                        United States Postal Service which follows
                            ``(ii) any other period of employment 
                        creditable under section 8332 (whether with the 
                        entity referred to under subparagraph (A)(ii) 
                        or otherwise),
                the applicable percentage under such provisions, 
                determined after taking into account any periods of 
                employment described in clause (ii) which precede the 
                period of employment (described in clause (i)) as to 
                which the determination of the appropriate percentage 
                to apply under section 8339(a) is being made.''.
    (b) Intent of Congress.--It is the intent of Congress that the 
amendments made by this section apply with respect to the allocation of 
past, present, and future benefit liabilities between the United States 
Postal Service and the Treasury of the United States.

SEC. 3. OTHER POSTAL SERVICE PROVISIONS.

    (a) Postal Policy.--Section 101(b) of title 39, United States Code, 
is amended--
            (1) by striking ``a maximum degree of''; and
            (2) by striking ``where post offices'' and all that follows 
        through ``a deficit''.
    (b) Specific Powers.--Section 404 of title 39, United States Code, 
is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraphs (6) through (8) as 
                paragraphs (7) through (9), respectively; and
                    (B) by inserting after paragraph (5) the following:
            ``(6) to provide other services that are not postal 
        services, as defined in section 102(5), after determining that 
        the provision of such services utilizes the processing, 
        transportation, delivery, retail network, or technology of the 
        Postal Service in a manner that is consistent with the public 
        interest;'';
            (2) in subsection (d)(2)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``shall 
                consider--'' and inserting the following: ``shall give 
                primary consideration to whether such closing or 
                consolidation is consistent with the policy of the 
                Government, as stated in section 101(b) of this title, 
                that the Postal Service shall provide effective and 
                regular postal services to rural areas, communities, 
                and small towns;
                    ``(B) shall also consider--'';
                    (B) by striking ``whether such closing'' and all 
                that follows through ``(iv)'';
                    (C) by striking ``(v)'' and inserting ``(iv)''; and
                    (D) by striking ``(B)'' and inserting ``(C)''; and
            (3) in subsection (e)(1), by inserting before the period at 
        the end the following: ``, except that the term `nonpostal 
        service' shall not include any service that may be offered 
        pursuant to specific authority in this title or pursuant to 
        other statutory authority''.
    (c) Cooperation With Other Agencies.--Section 411 of title 39, 
United States Code, is amended in the first sentence by striking ``and 
the Government Printing Office'' inserting ``, the Government Printing 
Office, and agencies and other units of State and local governments''.
    (d) Wine and Beer Shipping.--
            (1) Mailability.--
                    (A) Nonmailable articles.--Section 1716(f) of title 
                18, United States Code, is amended, by striking 
                ``mails'' and inserting ``mails, except to the extent 
                that the mailing is allowable under section 3001(p) of 
                title 39''.
                    (B) Intoxicants.--Section 1154(a) of title 18, 
                United States Code, is amended, by inserting ``or, with 
                respect to the mailing of wine or malt beverages, to 
                the extent allowed under section 3001(p) of title 39'' 
                after ``mechanical purposes''.
            (2) Regulations.--Section 3001 of title 39, United States 
        Code, is amended by adding at the end the following subsection:
    ``(p)(1) Wine or malt beverages shall be considered mailable if 
mailed by a licensed winery or brewery, in accordance with applicable 
regulations under paragraph (2).
    ``(2) The Postal Service shall prescribe such regulations as may be 
necessary to carry out this subsection, including regulations providing 
that--
            ``(A) the mailing shall be by a means established by the 
        Postal Service to ensure direct delivery to the addressee or a 
        duly authorized agent at a postal facility;
            ``(B) the addressee (and any duly authorized agent) shall 
        be an individual at least 21 years of age, and shall present a 
        valid, government-issued photo identification at the time of 
        delivery;
            ``(C) the wine or malt beverages may not be for resale or 
        other commercial purpose; and
            ``(D) the winery or brewery involved shall--
                    ``(i) certify in writing to the satisfaction of the 
                Postal Service that the mailing is not in violation of 
                any provision of this subsection or regulation 
                prescribed under this subsection; and
                    ``(ii) provide any other information or affirmation 
                that the Postal Service may require, including with 
                respect to the prepayment of State alcohol beverage 
                taxes.
    ``(3) For purposes of this subsection, a winery or brewery shall be 
considered to be licensed if it holds an appropriate basic permit 
issued under the Federal Alcohol Administration Act.''.
            (3) Effective date.--The amendments made by this subsection 
        shall take effect 180 days after the date of enactment of this 
        Act.
    (e) Arbitration; Labor Disputes.--Section 1207(c)(2) of title 39, 
United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(A)'' after ``(2)'';
            (2) by striking the last sentence and inserting ``The 
        arbitration board shall render a decision not later than 45 
        days after the date of its appointment.''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(B) In rendering a decision under this paragraph, the 
        arbitration board shall consider such relevant factors as--
                    ``(i) the financial condition of the Postal 
                Service;
                    ``(ii) the flexibilities and restrictions in the 
                rate system established under the Postal Accountability 
                and Enhancement Act (Public Law 109-435), and the 
                amendments made by that Act; and
                    ``(iii) the requirement related to pay and 
                compensation comparability included in section 1003(a) 
                of this title.''.
    (f) Revised Reporting Requirement.--Section 3652(a) of title 39, 
United States Code, is amended by striking ``90 days after the end of 
each year'' and inserting ``the next January 15 after the end of each 
year''.
    (g) No Limitation on Frequency of Mail Delivery.--Notwithstanding 
any other provision of law, the United States Postal Service shall 
exercise authority under section 3691 of title 39, United States Code, 
and section 301 of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act to 
adjust the frequency of the delivery of mail.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on 
the date of enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>