[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5298 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5298
To facilitate the leasing of United States Postal Service property for
the development of housing, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
August 6, 2026
Mr. Van Hollen (for himself and Mr. Curtis) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To facilitate the leasing of United States Postal Service property for
the development of housing, 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 ``Delivering Americans Affordable
Homes Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The United States is facing a housing supply shortage
that has resulted in a record number of housing cost-burdened
households across regions and spanning the large and small
cities, towns, and coastal and rural communities of the United
States.
(2) The Postal Service has operated with an annual
financial loss in each year since fiscal year 2007. In fiscal
year 2025, the Postal Service reported a net loss of
$9,000,000,000.
(3) The Postal Service owns roughly 8,500 parcels of land
in communities across the country, many of which are suitable
for housing development.
(4) The development of housing on land owned by the Postal
Service is consistent with its longstanding mission and the
delivery of prompt, reliable, and efficient mail services to
all communities.
(5) In order to generate revenue to improve its financial
position, and respond to the national housing supply shortage,
it is in the public interest for the Postal Service to pursue
opportunities to lease to State, local, and Tribal governments
and their development partners those real property rights which
would facilitate housing development and which would create new
sources of revenue for the Postal Service.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Eligible housing use.--The term ``eligible housing
use'' means a project to construct new housing units--
(A) for which not less than 80 percent of the total
net rentable area is exclusively for residential use;
and
(B) which may include commercial, recreational, or
public uses.
(2) Joint development partnership.--The term ``Joint
Development Partnership'' means a joint venture to acquire real
property rights and develop the property for an eligible
housing use--
(A) consisting of--
(i) a public entity; and
(ii) 1 or more entities with the
demonstrated capacity to construct and operate
housing for rent, including any--
(I) private entity;
(II) non-profit entity;
(III) public housing agency; or
(IV) local housing finance agency;
and
(B) that is memorialized in a contract, a
memorandum of understanding, or other legally binding
agreement.
(3) Office.--The term ``Office'' means the Housing Liaison
Office established under section 4(a).
(4) Postal service.--The term ``Postal Service'' means the
United States Postal Service.
(5) Postmaster.--The term ``Postmaster'' means the
Postmaster General of the United States Postal Service.
(6) Public entity.--The term ``public entity'' means--
(A) a State, or an agency or instrumentality of a
State;
(B) a political subdivision of a State, or an
agency or instrumentality of a political subdivision of
a State;
(C) the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the
Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and or the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or agency
or instrumentality of any such district or territory;
or
(D) an Indian tribe or authorized tribal
organization, or Alaska Native village or organization.
SEC. 4. HOUSING LIAISON OFFICE.
(a) Establishment.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Postmaster shall establish within
the Postal Service a Housing Liaison Office.
(2) Placement.--The Postmaster may task an existing office
of the Postal Service with the functions of the Office.
(b) Duties.--The duties of the Office shall be to support the lease
of Postal Service real property for housing development in accordance
with this Act and carry out the following:
(1) Inventory parcels for leasing.--
(A) In general.--The Office shall identify all real
property owned by the Postal Service, with respect to
which the lease of such property, in whole or in part,
including the lease of any right in connection with
such property, may be feasible for housing development.
(B) Factors.--In identifying any parcel of real
property for the purposes of subparagraph (A), the
Office shall consider--
(i) the parcel's size, shape, grading,
adjacencies, developable air rights,
developable ground rights, and potential for
site consolidation with neighboring land
parcels;
(ii) any physical constraints on the
development of the parcel for housing; and
(iii) the parcel's proximity to amenities,
including employers, public transportation
stations, utilities, and other services and
amenities.
(C) Publication of inventory.--Not later than 180
days after the date of enactment of this Act, and
annually thereafter on January 1 of each year, the
Office shall publish the inventory of property
identified under subparagraph (A) in the Federal
Register and on an official Postal Service website.
(2) Establish a joint development process.--
(A) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Office shall
publish guidance on a publicly available website
establishing a process by which a Joint Development
Partnership may propose and negotiate with the Office
to lease, in whole or in part, Postal Service real
property, including developable ground rights,
developable air rights, and any other potential
development rights, for an eligible housing use.
(B) Requirements.--The joint development process
established under subparagraph (A) shall, in sequential
order--
(i) permit a public entity to identify any
particular parcel of real property owned by the
Postal Service for a joint development
proposal, whether or not it is included in the
inventory published under paragraph (1)(C);
(ii) permit a Joint Development Partnership
to propose an eligible housing use for the
parcel; and
(iii) permit a Joint Development
Partnership to enter into negotiations with the
Office to potentially lease the identified
parcel, in accordance with this Act.
(C) Model documents.--Not later than 180 days after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Office shall
make publicly available model lease agreements and
model versions of other transactional documents which
may be used by the Office to complete real property
transactions pursuant to this Act.
(3) Disposition for housing development.--
(A) Permitted dispositions.--The Office shall, at
the discretion of the Office and subject to the
approval of the Postmaster, enter into a lease of real
property rights, including developable ground rights,
developable air rights, and any other potential
development rights, in connection with any real
property owned by the Postal Service with a Joint
Development Partnership for an eligible housing use, in
accordance with section 5.
(B) Considerations; refusal to lease.--The Office
shall consider in its decision to enter into a lease
agreement and may refuse to lease property rights under
this Act if--
(i) the financial benefit of such lease to
the Postal Service would be less than the cost
to the Postal Service arising from the
development of housing pursuant to the lease
agreement; or
(ii)(I) the development of housing pursuant
to the lease agreement would be substantially
disruptive to the delivery of mail; and
(II) the Postal Service would be unable to
mitigate such disruption with reasonable
changes to its delivery service.
(C) Prioritization.--The Office shall prioritize
prospective lease agreements--
(i) that cover the costs, in whole or in
part, of the maintenance, renovation, or
rehabilitation of the Postal Service facility
at the property of the prospective lease;
(ii) with a Joint Development Partnership
the component entities of which--
(I) have previously demonstrated
time and cost efficiency in housing
development;
(II) have previously constructed
housing with the support of Federal,
State, local, or non-profit subsidies;
and
(III) have demonstrated willingness
to obtain Federal, State, local, or
non-profit subsidies for development of
housing on the property of the
prospective lease; and
(iii) that maximize the income-restricted
affordability of the units in the proposed
housing development project.
(c) Consultants.--The Office may hire experts and consultants as
may be necessary to carry out its functions under this Act.
SEC. 5. LEASE AGREEMENTS.
(a) In General.--Each lease agreement entered into pursuant to this
Act shall--
(1) be for a term of not less than 60 years;
(2) specify affordability terms, including that--
(A) restrictions on affordability in the lease
agreement shall last for not less than 50 years; and
(B) not less than 20 percent of units in the
proposed housing development project shall be
affordable to households earning 80 percent or less of
the Area Median Income of the area of the proposed
housing project, adjusted for household size; and
(3) over the life of the lease, provide revenue to the
Postal Service of not less than the lesser of--
(A) the appraised fair annual rental value of the
leased property rights, as appraised at the time the
parties enter into the lease agreement, minus the value
of any public benefit, at the discretion of the Postal
Service; or
(B) the net present value of the leased property
rights, as appraised at the time the parties enter into
the lease agreement, minus the value of any public
benefit, at the discretion of the Postal Service.
(b) No Sales.--The Office may not enter into any agreement to sell
any real property rights to a Joint Development Partnership for an
eligible housing use pursuant to this Act.
(c) Preservation.--In any lease agreement under this Act, the
Office shall preserve any art that--
(1) is physically located at the Postal Service property
subject to the lease agreement;
(2) was completed between 1934 and 1943; and
(3) was commissioned, in whole or in part, with funding
from the United States Department of the Treasury Section of
Painting and Sculpture Program, United States Department of the
Treasury Section of Fine Arts, or United States Department of
the Treasury Relief Art Project.
(d) Other Requirements.--All laborers and mechanics employed by
contractors or subcontractors in the performance of construction,
alteration, or repair work carried out, in whole or in part, pursuant
to a lease agreement under this Act shall be paid wages at rates not
less than those prevailing on projects of a similar character in the
locality as determined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with
subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States Code. With
respect to the labor standards specified in this subsection, the
Secretary of Labor shall have the authority and functions set forth in
Reorganization Plan Numbered 14 of 1950 (64 Stat. 1267; 5 U.S.C. App.)
and section 3145 of title 40, United States Code.
(e) Rule of Construction.--The lease of property rights pursuant to
this Act shall not, by itself, be considered to be a closure or
consolidation for purposes of section 404(d) of title 39, United States
Code, or any regulations issued under that section.
SEC. 6. FUNDING.
(a) Initial Funding.--Upon the enactment of this Act, the Postal
Service shall reserve the next $10,000,000 dollars it receives in
revenue from the sale of Postal Service property for carrying out the
activities of the Office.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--
(1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated to
the Postal Service to carry out this Act, to remain available
until expended--
(A) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2027;
(B) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2028;
(C) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2029;
(D) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2030; and
(E) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2031.
(2) Authorization in subsequent fiscal years.--To the
extent amounts authorized to be appropriated under paragraph
(1) for a fiscal year are not appropriated in that fiscal year,
such amounts are authorized to be appropriated in a subsequent
fiscal year, in addition to any other amount authorized to be
appropriated in that subsequent fiscal year.
(c) Revenue From Activities.--Each year, the Postal Service may
reserve up to $10,000,000 (as adjusted annually for inflation) that it
receives from lease agreements entered into under this Act for carrying
out the activities of the Office. All other revenue from lease
agreements entered into under this Act shall be deposited into the
Postal Service Fund.
SEC. 7. PRESERVATION OF AUTHORITY.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit any authority of
the Postal Service over real property under section 401 of title 39,
United States Code.
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