[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2956 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2956

   To amend title 39, United States Code, to provide for additional 
criteria for the United States Postal Service to consider with respect 
   to closing or consolidating a post office, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 15, 2011

 Ms. Moore (for herself and Ms. Fudge) introduced the following bill; 
 which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 39, United States Code, to provide for additional 
criteria for the United States Postal Service to consider with respect 
   to closing or consolidating a post office, 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 ``Fair and Equitable Postal Service 
Access Act''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO POST OFFICE CLOSURE OR CONSOLIDATION PROCEDURES.

    (a) In General.--Section 404(d) of title 39, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)(A)(i), by inserting before the 
        semicolon the following: ``, including whether such closing or 
        consolidation will decrease access to postal or nonpostal 
        service offered at such post office in such community with 
        respect to elderly individuals, economically disadvantaged 
        individuals, individuals with limited mobility, or individuals 
        without reliable and affordable access to the Internet'';
            (2) in paragraph (2)(A)(v), by inserting before the 
        semicolon the following: ``, including, during the previous 5 
        years: the number of, and revenue derived from, money-order 
        transactions processed by such post office; the volume of 
        international mail processed by such post office; and the 
        number of customers served at such post office'';
            (3) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following:
    ``(3)(A) Any determination of the Postal Service to close or 
consolidate a post office shall be in writing and shall include the 
findings of the Postal Service with respect to the considerations 
required to be made under paragraph (2). Such determination and 
findings shall be made available to individuals served by such post 
office.
    ``(B) With respect to the closing or consolidation of a post office 
located in a community where individuals listed in paragraph (2)(A)(i) 
reside, the analysis required under paragraph (2) shall include an 
assessment of the effect such closing or consolidation will have on 
such individuals.''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(7) The Postal Service shall not close or consolidate a post 
office if such closing or consolidation would result in a 
disproportionate, unreasonable, or undue burden on a class of 
individuals listed in paragraph (2)(A)(i).
    ``(8) For purposes of this subsection--
            ``(A) an individual is `economically disadvantaged' if, 
        with respect to the community in which such individual lives, 
        at least 60 percent of the households have children who are 
        eligible for free or reduced price lunches under the school 
        lunch program under the Richard B. Russell National School 
        Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.);
            ``(B) the term `elderly', used with respect to an 
        individual, means age 65 or older;
            ``(C) the term `post office' includes a branch post office 
        and a post office station;
            ``(D) whether an individual has limited mobility shall be 
        determined by, with respect to the community in which such 
        individual lives--
                    ``(i) how accessible public transportation is, as 
                measured by the availability of public transportation 
                options in the community; the frequency of service on 
                such options; and the time and distance required to 
                access such options as a pedestrian; and
                    ``(ii) the rate of highway motor vehicle ownership, 
                as measured by, in the most recent American Community 
                Survey published by the Bureau of the Census, the 
                difference between the number of individuals in such 
                community that own or lease a highway motor vehicle and 
                the statewide average of individuals who own or lease 
                such a vehicle;
            ``(E) in order to determine whether an individual has 
        reliable and affordable access to the Internet, the Postal 
        Service shall use the Internet Use Supplement in the most 
        recent Current Population Survey published by the Bureau of the 
        Census; and
            ``(F) in order to determine the statistical data required 
        under this subsection with respect to a class of individuals 
        listed in paragraph (2)(A)(i), the Postal Service may use any 
        available data from local or State governments or the Federal 
        Government.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to any post office--
            (1) that has been determined to be necessary for closing or 
        consolidation under section 404(d) of title 39, United States 
        Code; or
            (2) that is included in a proposal--
                    (A) to change the nature of postal services on a 
                nationwide or substantially nationwide basis; and
                    (B) for which the Postal Service has requested an 
                advisory opinion from the Postal Regulatory Commission 
                pursuant to section 3661(b) of such title.
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