[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4656 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4656

   To place a moratorium on the United States Postal Service's mail 
 processing facility closure and consolidation and to maintain Postal 
          Service delivery standards, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 1, 2016

Mr. Huffman (for himself, Mr. McKinley, Mr. Serrano, and Mr. Jenkins of 
West Virginia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
              Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To place a moratorium on the United States Postal Service's mail 
 processing facility closure and consolidation and to maintain Postal 
          Service delivery standards, 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 ``Stop Postal Closures Act of 2016''.

SEC. 2. POSTAL FACILITY CLOSURE AND CONSOLIDATIONS.

    (a) Moratorium on Closings and Consolidations.--Beginning on the 
date of enactment of this Act, the United States Postal Service may not 
close or consolidate any postal facility (as that term is defined in 
section 404(f)(5) of title 39, United States Code, as added by 
subsection (b)), or carry out any network rationalization activity, 
until the Postal Regulatory Commission has certified that the Postal 
Service has met the national service standards in accordance with the 
requirements of section 3.
    (b) Process for Closing and Consolidating Processing Facilities.--
Section 404 of title 39, United States Code, is amended by adding at 
the end the following:
    ``(f)(1) The Postal Service may not close or consolidate any postal 
facility without the approval of the Postal Regulatory Commission, as 
provided in this subsection. For purposes of this subsection, the term 
`postal facility' means a Postal Service facility that is primarily 
involved in the preparation, dispatch, or other physical processing of 
mail, but does not include--
            ``(A) any post office, station, or branch; or
            ``(B) any facility used only for administrative functions.
    ``(2) Before making a determination to close or consolidate any 
postal facility, the Postal Service shall conduct an area mail 
processing study with respect to the facility. Such study shall 
include--
    ``(A) a plan to reduce the capacity of the facility without closing 
the facility;
    ``(B) an analysis of the effect of the closure or consolidation on 
the ability of individuals served by the facility to vote by mail and 
the ability of the Postal Service to timely deliver ballots in 
elections for public office by mail in accordance with the deadline to 
return ballots established under applicable law;
    ``(C) an analysis of the effect of closure or consolidation on 
the--
            ``(i) ability of individuals served by the facility to 
        receive medications and other crucial notices and market-
        dominant products;
            ``(ii) affected community, including any disproportionate 
        impact on a State, region, or locality;
            ``(iii) travel times and distances for affected customers 
        to access postal services;
            ``(iv) delivery times for all classes of mail; and
            ``(v) small businesses in the area, including shipping and 
        communications with customers and suppliers and the 
        corresponding impact on revenues, operations, and growth;
    ``(D) an analysis of any characteristics of the geographic area in 
which the facility is located that may have a unique effect, including 
remoteness, broadband internet availability, and weather-related 
obstacles to using alternative postal facilities; and
    ``(E) any other factor the Postal Service determines necessary.
    ``(3) The Postmaster General shall publish--
            ``(A) any study completed under paragraph (2) on the Postal 
        Service public Web site; and
            ``(B) a notice that the study is complete and available to 
        the public.
    ``(4) If the Postal Service makes a determination to close or 
consolidate a postal facility after completing the requirements of 
paragraphs (2) and (3), the Postal Service shall--
            ``(A) provide written notice of the determination to 
        Congress and the Postal Regulatory Commission;
            ``(B) provide adequate public notice of the intention to 
        close or consolidate the facility, including through written 
        notification (in multiple languages where necessary), within 30 
        days after the date notice is provided under subparagraph (A), 
        to each person in the zip code served by such postal facility;
            ``(C) during the period of 120 days beginning on the date 
        that is 30 days after the date notice is provided under 
        subparagraph (A), ensure that interested persons have an 
        opportunity to submit public comments;
            ``(D) prior to the period described in subparagraph (C), 
        provide for public notice of such opportunity by--
                    ``(i) publication on the Postal Service public Web 
                site;
                    ``(ii) prominent posting at the affected postal 
                facility; and
                    ``(iii) advertising the dates and locations of the 
                public community meetings required under subparagraph 
                (E); and
            ``(E) during the period described in subparagraph (C), 
        conduct at least 3 public meetings located within the area 
        affected by the closing or consolidation that provides an 
        opportunity for public comments to be submitted verbally or in 
        writing.
    ``(5) Before the date on which the Postal Service proposes to close 
or consolidate a postal facility, the Postal Service shall publish on 
the Postal Service public Web site--
            ``(A) notice of the final determination to close or 
        consolidate the facility; and
            ``(B) a justification statement that includes--
                    ``(i) a response to all public comments received 
                under paragraph (4);
                    ``(ii) the considerations made by the Postal 
                Service under such paragraph; and
                    ``(iii) the actions that will be taken by the 
                Postal Service to mitigate any negative effects 
                identified under such paragraph.
    ``(6)(A) Beginning on the date that the Postal Service publishes 
the notice under paragraph (5), the Postal Regulatory Commission shall 
have 90 days to--
            ``(i) review the study, public comments, and the Postal 
        Service's response and notice, as described in such paragraphs; 
        and
            ``(ii) approve or disapprove of the closure or 
        consolidation.
    ``(B) If the Commission disapproves the closure or consolidation, 
the Postal Service may not attempt to consolidate or close that 
facility under this subsection for two years beginning on the date of 
the Commission's determination under subparagraph (A)(ii). A 
disapproval notice under this subparagraph shall be published on the 
Commission's public Web site.
    ``(C) If the Commission approves the closure or consolidation, the 
Postal Service may not begin the closure or consolidation action until 
the date that is 15 days after the date of the Commission's approval. 
An approval notice under this subparagraph shall be published on the 
Commission's public Web site.''.
    (c) Application.--The amendment made by subsection (b) shall apply 
to any closure or consolidation determination made by the United States 
Postal Service with respect to a postal facility (as that term is 
defined in section 404(f)(1) of title 39, United States Code, as added 
by subsection (b)) on or after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. MARKET-DOMINANT PRODUCT SERVICE STANDARDS.

    (a) National Mail Delivery Service Standards.--With respect to any 
market-dominant product (as that term is defined in section 102(8) of 
title 39, United States Code)--
            (1) the national service standards implemented by the 
        United States Postal Service and in effect on January 5, 2015, 
        shall have no force or effect; and
            (2) the Postal Service shall reinstate the national service 
        standards that were in effect on July 1, 2012.
    (b) Delivery Standards Enforcement.--The Postal Regulatory 
Commission shall determine, on an annual basis and using the 
performance ratings established under subsection (c), if the United 
States Postal Service is meeting the national service standards 
established under subsection (a) for market-dominant products. Such 
determination shall be submitted to the Federal Register.
    (c) Performance Ratings.--The Postal Regulatory Commission shall 
rate the performance of the Postal Service with respect to--
            (1) each 3-digit zip code area, postal district, and 
        operational area;
            (2) all postal districts--
                    (A) by urban, suburban, or rural category; and
                    (B) nationwide;
            (3) all operational areas--
                    (A) by urban, suburban, or rural category; and
                    (B) nationwide;
            (4) market-dominant products nationwide; and
            (5) first-class mail nationwide.
    (d) Definition of Urban, Suburban, and Rural.--For purposes of 
subsection (c), the Postal Regulatory Commission--
            (1) shall promulgate regulations to define the terms 
        ``urban'', ``suburban'', and ``rural'';
            (2) in defining the terms under paragraph (1), shall--
                    (A) consider--
                            (i) any recommendations submitted to the 
                        Commission by the Postmaster General; and
                            (ii) existing definitions of those terms 
                        that are in use by the Postal Service, the 
                        Federal Government, and other sources; and
                    (B) incorporate stakeholder input; and
            (3) shall categorize each 3-digit zip code area as an 
        urban, suburban, or rural community.
    (e) Corrective Action.--
            (1) In general.--If the Postal Regulatory Commission finds 
        that the Postal Service is not meeting the national service 
        standards, the Commission may recommend to the Postal Service 
        corrective actions and reasonable performance targets to meet 
        the standards. The recommendations shall be published on the 
        Commission's public Web site and annually submitted to Congress 
        and the Postal Service.
            (2) Postal service response.--Not later than 60 days after 
        receiving any recommendations under paragraph (1), the 
        Postmaster General shall respond in writing to the 
        recommendations. The response shall explain how the Postal 
        Service will change operations to achieve the recommendations. 
        The response shall be published on the Commission's public Web 
        site and annually submitted to Congress and the Commission.
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