[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 7, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E28-E29]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     THE POSTAL PRIVACY ACT OF 1997

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. GARY A. CONDIT

                             of California

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, January 7, 1997

  Mr. CONDIT. Mr. Speaker, I have today introduced the Postal Privacy 
Act of 1997. This legislation is intended to protect the privacy of 
each U.S. resident who files a change of address notice with the U.S. 
Postal Service. The bill is identical to a bill that I introduced in 
the 104th Congress.
  Few people are aware that when they tell the Postal Service about an 
address change, the Postal Service makes the information public through 
a program called National Change of Address [NCOA]. NCOA has about two 
dozen licensees--including many large direct mail companies--who 
receive all new addresses and sell address correction services to 
mailers. If you give your new address to the Postal Service, it will be 
distributed to thousands of mailers. People always ask ``How did they 
get my new address?'' The answer may be that it came from the Postal 
Service. People who want their mail forwarded--and who doesn't--have no 
choice. File a change of address notice and your name and new address 
will be sold.
  NCOA is a reasonable program because it saves the Postal Service and 
the mailing community money by making everyone more efficient. There 
are consumer benefits as well. I support NCOA, but it needs one small 
change. Individuals who file a change of address notice should be given 
a choice. They should have the option of having their mail forwarded 
without having their name and address sold to the world of direct mail 
advertisers and others who traffic in personal information. This is 
what the Postal Privacy Act will do. It will give people a choice. It 
will not end the NCOA program.
  Who might be concerned about keeping a new address private? Anyone 
who has fled an abusive spouse does not want the Postal Service giving 
out a new address. An individual who files a change of address notice 
on behalf of a deceased relative will not want the new address sold. 
Imagine sorting through the affairs of a deceased family member only to 
receive a mound of unwanted mail offering new products and services to 
that family member from marketers who assume that the person has moved 
to a new home. Jurors in highly visible trials, public figures, and 
others may have a special need for privacy as might elderly people who 
may be more vulnerable to unwanted solicitations.

  The bottom line is that everyone should have a choice about how his 
or her name and address is made available to others. You don't have to 
have a justification. It should be your decision. The Postal Service 
should not make this decision for you.
  A few years ago, the Postal Service announced that it would provide 
some protection to individuals who have court orders protecting them 
against spousal abuse. This was a small step in the right direction, 
but it was not enough. Only those who have gone to the trouble and 
expense of obtaining a court order receive protection. Everyone should 
be entitled to the same option, but without the need for a court order. 
The Postal Service has demonstrated that it is possible to provide 
protection to people selectively. I want to extend the option to 
everyone.
  There is nothing new about giving consumers a choice. The Direct 
Marketing Association, a trade association for the direct marketing 
industry, has been a strong supporter of opt-out procedures which give 
individuals a choice about what type of mail they receive. The 
association supports its own mail preference service that offers 
consumers an option. There is no reason why the Postal Service cannot 
do the same thing.
  The Postal Privacy Act of 1997 is based on work done by the 
Government Operations Committee. Those who seek more information about 
NCOA should read Give Consumers A Choice: Privacy Implications of U.S. 
Postal Service National Change of Address Program (House Report 102-
1067).
  There have been several interesting developments since that 1992 
congressional report. In 1996, the General Accounting Office 
investigated the NCOA program and found that oversight of NCOA 
licensees by the Postal Service was inadequate to prevent, detect, and 
correct potential breaches of licensing agreements. The report was 
prepared at my request, and it showed that the Postal Service's NCOA 
protections were poorly administered. GAO found weaknesses in the 
seeding program, in the audit of NCOA licensees, and in the review of 
licensee advertising. GAO also found that the use by licensees of NCOA 
data for the purpose of creating a new movers list violates the Privacy 
Act of 1974. This adds to findings in the Government Operations 
Committee report that the NCOA program is operating in violation of 
several laws. The GAO report is titled ``U.S. Postal Service: Improved 
Oversight Needed to Protect Privacy of Address Changes'' (GAO/GGD-96-
119) (August 1996).
  Another new development recently came to light courtesy of the 
Internet. An organization called Private Citizen recently suggested in 
an Internet privacy discussion group that there is already a way to 
stop the Postal Service from selling a new address. The change of 
address form allows consumers to indicate if a new address is permanent 
or temporary. If you check the permanent box, your first class mail is 
forwarded for a year and your new address is sold through the NCOA 
program. If you check the temporary box and indicate that the move is 
for 364 days, you will receive the same mail forwarding service, but 
the Postal Service does not sell addresses when a move is temporary. I 
verified with the Postal Service that this is correct.
  There is even a bonus of sorts for those who check the temporary box. 
The Postal Service will not honor mailer ancillary service endorsements 
requesting a new address through an address correction requested 
endorsement. This is another way that the Postal Service releases new 
addresses of its customers to anyone who asks. Those who check the 
temporary box can evade this form of disclosure as well.
  The Postal Service's treatment of the addresses of temporary movers 
suggests two interesting consequences. First, the existing system 
demonstrates that the Postal Service already can distinguish between 
addresses that are to be sold and those that are not to be sold. 
Arguments that giving consumers a choice will be difficult or expensive 
are false.

[[Page E29]]

At worst, complying with my bill will only require a change in the form 
and minor adjustments to notices and procedures.
  Second, consumers who want a choice about the disclosure of their new 
address can obtain it today. They can keep the Postal Service from 
releasing their new addresses. My bill will make sure that everyone has 
that choice. We should not restrict this option to those few who learn 
of this sneaky method of forcing the Postal Service to do the right 
thing. Let's tell everyone about this option.

                          ____________________