[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2875 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2875

 To require the prompt reconstruction of and restoration of suspended 
        operation of rural post offices, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 21, 2023

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require the prompt reconstruction of and restoration of suspended 
        operation of rural post offices, 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 ``Rural Post Office Reconstruction Act 
of 2023''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Rural communities rely heavily on post offices for 
        daily life.
            (2) Many rural towns lack access to digital communications 
        and high-speed broadband.
            (3) The loss of a functioning post office in a rural 
        community jeopardizes vital services, including reliable 
        medical deliveries, payment disbursements, and essential 
        communications.
            (4) Efficiently and promptly rebuilding rural post offices 
        is necessary to ensure individuals retain vital services.

SEC. 3. RECONSTRUCTION AND RESTORATION OF SUSPENDED POST OFFICES.

    (a) Amendment.--Chapter 4 of title 39, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 417. Reconstruction and restoration of suspended post offices
    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section--
            ``(1) the term `damaged rural post office' means a rural 
        post office--
                    ``(A) that becomes inoperable or suffers 
                irreparable damage on or after the date that is 2 years 
                before the date of enactment of this section; and
                    ``(B) for which no alternate suitable quarters 
                exist in the community;
            ``(2) the term `rural post office' means a post office 
        located in an area not included within an urban area (as 
        defined by the Bureau of the Census); and
            ``(3) the term `suspended rural post office' means a rural 
        post office that suspends operation due to a lease or rental 
        agreement termination on or after the date that is 2 years 
        before the date of enactment of this section.
    ``(b) Reconstruction.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Postal Service shall commence 
        reconstruction of a damaged rural post office, which shall be 
        carried out in consultation with the Administrator of the 
        Federal Emergency Management Agency if the damage is due to a 
        natural disaster--
                    ``(A) if the damaged rural post office becomes 
                inoperable or suffers irreparable damage on or after 
                the date of enactment of this section, not later than 
                90 days after the date of such inoperability or 
                irreparable damage; and
                    ``(B) if the damaged rural post office became 
                inoperable or suffered irreparable damage not more than 
                2 years before the date of enactment of this section, 
                not later than 90 days after the date of such 
                enactment.
            ``(2) Exception.--The Postal Service shall delay 
        reconstruction of a damaged rural post office under paragraph 
        (1) if individuals directly involved with the reconstruction 
        will be subject to physical injury or undue risk due to the 
        reconstruction efforts until such time as it would be safe for 
        those individuals to proceed with the reconstruction.
    ``(c) Restoration of Suspended Operation.--The Postal Service, in 
consultation with the Administrator of General Services, shall secure a 
suitable replacement lease or rental agreement for a suspended rural 
post office--
            ``(1) if the suspended rural post office suspends operation 
        on or after the date of enactment of this section, not later 
        than 90 days after the date of suspension of operation; and
            ``(2) if the suspended rural post office suspended 
        operation not more than 2 years before the date of enactment of 
        this section, not later than 90 days after the date of such 
        enactment.
    ``(d) Report Required.--If the Postal Service does not execute the 
measures described in subsection (b) or (c) within the time period 
required under the applicable subsection, the Postmaster General shall 
submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 
of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Accountability of the 
House of Representatives a report that--
            ``(1) describes in detail the specific reasons why 
        reconstruction of the damaged rural post office or restoration 
        of operation of the suspended rural post office was not 
        performed;
            ``(2) describes in detail any remediation efforts for 
        individuals adversely affected by the suspension of mail 
        operations; and
            ``(3) provides a specific timeline for completion of the 
        reconstruction or restoration of operations, as applicable.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for 
chapter 4 of title 39, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 416 the following:

``417. Reconstruction and restoration of suspended post offices.''.

SEC. 4. FUNDING.

    No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
the amendments made by this Act.

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date that 
is 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>