[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5377 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5377

To provide for certain safeguards with respect to the sale of historic 
               postal facilities, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 31, 2014

  Mr. Serrano (for himself and Ms. Lee of California) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and 
                           Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide for certain safeguards with respect to the sale of historic 
               postal facilities, 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 Facilities Preservation and 
Sales Reform Act''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 39, UNITED STATES CODE, WITH RESPECT TO THE 
              CLOSURE AND CONSOLIDATION OF POSTAL FACILITIES.

    (a) In General.--Section 404(d) of title 39, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by striking subsection (d)(1) and inserting the 
        following:
    ``(d)(1) Prior to making a determination under subsection (a)(3) of 
this section as to the necessity for the closing or consolidation of 
any postal facility, the Postal Service shall--
            ``(A) hold at least 3 public meetings, located within the 
        area affected by the closing or consolidation, at least 120 
        days prior to such determination; and
            ``(B) provide adequate notice of its intention to close or 
        consolidate such facility at least 180 days prior to the 
        proposed date of such closing or consolidation to persons 
        served by such facility to ensure that such persons will have 
        an opportunity to present their views.
    ``(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), `adequate notice' with respect 
to a closure or consolidation of a post office means written 
notification to--
            ``(A) each person served by such post office;
            ``(B) each officer or employee who is employed at such post 
        office; and
            ``(C) each Federal, State, and local elected official who 
        represents the ZIP code in which such post office is 
        located.'';
            (2) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through (6) as 
        paragraphs (3) through (7), respectively; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(8) The following entities shall have a right of first refusal, 
in descending order of priority, to purchase any postal facility 
offered for sale by the Postal Service under this section:
            ``(A) A Federal agency (as that term is defined in section 
        2671 of title 28).
            ``(B) The State in which such facility is located.
            ``(C) The city, town, or local unit of government with 
        jurisdiction over the area in which such facility is located.
    ``(9) The Postal Service may not enter into any contract or 
agreement with a person where such contract permits such person to 
represent, with respect to a sale of a postal facility under this 
section, the Postal Service and the proposed buyer of the facility.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--Section 404(d) of title 
39, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in paragraphs (3) through (7) (as redesignated by 
        subsection (a)(2)), by striking ``post office'' in each 
        instance it appears and inserting ``postal facility'';
            (2) in paragraph (3) (as so redesignated), by striking 
        ``post offices'' and inserting ``postal facilities''; in each 
        instance it appears
            (3) in paragraph (4) (as so redesignated), by striking 
        ``paragraph (2)'' and inserting ``paragraph (3)'';
            (4) in paragraph (6) (as so redesignated), by striking 
        ``paragraph (3)'' and inserting ``paragraph (4)''; and
            (5) in paragraph (7) (as so redesignated), by striking 
        ``paragraph (5)'' and inserting ``paragraph (6)''.

SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 39, UNITED STATES CODE, WITH RESPECT TO 
              HISTORIC POSTAL FACILITIES.

    (a) Sale of Postal Facilities.--Section 404(d) of title 39, United 
States Code, is further amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph:
    ``(10) With respect to any historic postal facility (as that term 
is defined in section 417) offered for sale or proposed for relocation 
or cessation of services by the Postal Service under this section, the 
Postal Service may not enter into any contract or agreement to sell the 
facility or relocate or cease services at such facility until the 
proposed decision to sell or relocate such facility is reviewed 
pursuant to section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (16 
U.S.C. 470f).''.
    (b) General Historic Postal Facility Requirements.--Chapter 4 of 
title 39, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
``Sec. 417. Historic postal facilities
    ``(a) Historic Surplus Property Program.--If the Postal Service 
makes a determination to sell a historic postal facility under section 
404, and the preservation of such facility has been determined by the 
State Historic Preservation Officer or the Keeper of the National 
Register of Historic Places to be of national significance, the Postal 
Service shall use the Historic Surplus Property Program (administered 
by the National Park Service and the General Services Administration) 
to dispose of such facility.
    ``(b) Federal Preservation Officer Duties.--The Federal 
preservation officer at the Postal Service shall be consulted in any 
decision with respect to the sale or lease of any historic postal 
facility or any historic art at such facility.
    ``(c) List of Historic Postal Facilities; Budget.--The Postmaster 
General shall maintain--
            ``(1) a list of historic postal facilities and publish such 
        list on the Postal Service Web site; and
            ``(2) a separate preservation budget to track obligations 
        and expenditures by the Postal Service with respect to historic 
        preservation activities.
    ``(d) New Deal Art.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Federal preservation officer at the 
        Postal Service shall promptly notify the National Museum of 
        American Art in any instance where New Deal art owned by the 
        Postal Service is loaned or relocated.
            ``(2) Availability of policies.--The Postmaster General 
        shall make all Postal Service policies relating to historic 
        preservation and New Deal art available to the public.
    ``(e) Definitions.--In this section--
            ``(1) the term `historic postal facility' means any postal 
        facility listed, or eligible to be listed, in the National 
        Register of Historic Places; and
            ``(2) the term `New Deal art' means any work of art located 
        at a postal facility that--
                    ``(A) was commissioned by the Federal Government 
                between 1933 and 1936; and
                    ``(B) is owned by the Postal Service.''.
    (c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for title 39, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 
416 the following new item:

``417. Historic postal facilities.''.

SECTION 4. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS WITH RESPECT TO HISTORIC POSTAL 
              FACILITIES.

    (a) Moratorium on Sale of Historic Postal Facilities.--
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Postmaster General of 
the United States Postal Service may not enter into any agreement to 
sell a postal facility that is listed, or eligible to be listed, in the 
National Register of Historic Places unless the sale is conducted 
pursuant to the procedures established under section 404(d) of title 
39, United States Code, as amended by sections 2 and 3.
    (b) Application of National Historic Preservation Act.--Congress 
reaffirms that sections 106, 110, and 111 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act apply to the United States Postal Service.
    (c) Development of Postal Service Policies and Procedures With 
Respect to Historic Postal Facilities.--
            (1) Model historic property covenant.--
                    (A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the 
                date of enactment of this Act, the Postmaster General 
                shall, in consultation with the Advisory Council on 
                Historic Preservation, the National Conference of State 
                Historic Preservation Officers, and the National Trust 
                for Historic Preservation, develop a model covenant, to 
                be used and applied with respect to any historic postal 
                facility offered for sale by the Postal Service.
                    (B) Covenant requirements.--Such covenant shall 
                provide that--
                            (i) the purchaser of such a facility shall 
                        allow public access to any historic artwork 
                        located within such facility;
                            (ii) the Postal Service shall contribute 
                        sufficient funds to the maintenance of any such 
                        artwork; and
                            (iii) the purchaser of such a facility 
                        shall not demolish the historic postal facility 
                        or alter it in any way that is incompatible 
                        with the historic character of such facility.
                    (C) Covenant guidance.--Not later than 1 year after 
                the date of enactment of this Act, the Postmaster 
                General shall, in consultation with the Advisory 
                Council on Historic Preservation, the National 
                Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers, and 
                the National Trust for Historic Preservation, develop 
                and implement guidelines with respect to notifying any 
                private entity of the responsibilities of such entity 
                under the covenant developed under subsection (a), 
                including stewardship requirements and any pertinent 
                information on Federal or State tax incentive programs.
            (2) Training.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Postmaster General shall, in 
        consultation with the Advisory Council on Historic 
        Preservation, develop guidance and training procedures for 
        officers and employees of the Postal Service on the processes, 
        requirements, and special considerations with respect to the 
        sale of any historic postal facility, including--
                    (A) the application of section 106 of the National 
                Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470f) to such 
                sale; and
                    (B) consultation with stakeholders with respect to 
                such sale.
            (3) Leasing.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Postmaster General shall develop and 
        implement a policy with respect to, as an alternative to 
        selling any historical postal facility, leasing such facility, 
        as permitted under section 111 of the National Historic 
        Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470h-3).
            (4) Report on use of gsa for sale of property.--Not later 
        than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
        Postmaster General shall publish a report on whether the Postal 
        Service should use the Office of Real Property Disposal of the 
        General Services Administration with respect to selling any 
        historic postal facility.

SEC. 5. PROPOSED POSTAL SERVICE RULE UNDER THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL 
              POLICY ACT.

    The proposed rule published by the Postal Service in the Federal 
Register on January 13, 2014 (79 Fed. Reg. 2102 et seq.), and any 
subsequent rule that is substantially the same shall have no force or 
effect.
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