[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3916 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3916

 To reduce the operating costs of the United States Postal Service, to 
provide for continued postal services for certain areas, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 7, 2012

  Ms. Waters introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
              Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To reduce the operating costs of the United States Postal Service, to 
provide for continued postal services for certain areas, 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 ``Protecting Post Offices Act''.

SEC. 2. CALCULATION OF POSTAL SERVICE RETIREE HEALTH BENEFIT PAYMENTS.

    Section 8909a(d)(3) of title 5, United States Code, is amended as 
follows:
            (1) Subparagraph (A) is repealed.
            (2) In subparagraph (B), by striking ``2017'' and inserting 
        ``2012''.

SEC. 3. NONPOSTAL SERVICES; POST OFFICE CLOSURES.

    (a) Nonpostal Services.--Subsection (a) of section 404 of title 39, 
United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (7), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (8), by striking the period and inserting 
        ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(9) to provide nonpostal services.''.
    (b) Post Office Closures.--Subsection (e) of such section is 
amended to read as follows:
    ``(e)(1) Notwithstanding subsections (a)(3) or (d), the Postal 
Service may not close or consolidate any post office or other postal 
facility that is located in a ZIP Code that has a high rate of poverty 
and a high rate of unemployment. To determine whether a ZIP Code has a 
high rate of poverty or unemployment, the Postmaster General shall 
consult with the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Labor.
    ``(2) Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
subsection, the Postmaster General shall submit a report to Congress on 
alternative uses with respect to under-used postal facilities, 
including whether such facilities could offer nonpostal services and 
products.''.

SEC. 4. RATE REGULATION FOR MARKET-DOMINANT PRODUCTS.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding section 3622 of title 39, United 
States Code, the Postmaster General shall have the authority to 
regulate rates for market-dominant products. Such authority shall not 
apply to the rate discounts established under subsection (e) of such 
section.
    (b) Notification.--If the Postmaster General determines under 
subsection (a) that an adjustment in a rate for a market-dominant 
product is necessary, the Postmaster General shall provide public 
notice of such adjustment not later than 45 days before the 
implementation of such adjustment.
    (c) Consumer Price Index.--In determining whether an adjustment in 
a rate for a market-dominant product is reasonable, the Postmaster 
General may compare the percentage change of such adjustment with the 
percentage change of the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers 
unadjusted for seasonal variation during the 12-month period preceding 
the date the Postmaster General files notice of such adjustment 
pursuant to subsection (b).
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