[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 78 (Monday, May 6, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H2846-H2849]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               MAIL TRAFFIC DEATHS REPORTING ACT OF 2024

  Mr. LaTURNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 7527), to direct the United States Postal Service to issue 
regulations requiring Postal Service employees and contractors to 
report to the Postal Service traffic crashes involving vehicles 
carrying mail that result in injury or death, and for other purposes, 
as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 7527

       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 ``Mail Traffic Deaths 
     Reporting Act of 2024''.

     SEC. 2. REGULATIONS ON TRAFFIC CRASH DEATHS AND INJURIES 
                   INVOLVING VEHICLES TRANSPORTING MAIL.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Postmaster General of the Postal 
     Service shall issue regulations to require the collection, 
     tracking, and public reporting of information related to 
     deaths and injuries resulting from traffic crashes involving 
     vehicles transporting mail. Such regulations shall establish 
     appropriate mechanisms to monitor

[[Page H2847]]

     and enforce compliance with the reporting requirements of 
     this Act and may utilize existing reporting mechanisms in use 
     at the time of enactment of this Act.
       (b) Reports on Crashes.--
       (1) Employees.--Any employee of the Postal Service engaged 
     in the transportation of mail shall report to the Postal 
     Service any traffic crash involving the vehicle the employee 
     was operating during such transportation that resulted in 
     injury or death not later than three days after such crash.
       (2) Contractors.--Any contractor (of any tier) of the 
     Postal Service engaged in the transportation of mail shall 
     report to the Postal Service any traffic crash involving the 
     vehicle the contractor was operating during such 
     transportation that resulted in injury or death not later 
     than three days after such crash.
       (3) Contents.--Any report submitted under paragraph (1) or 
     (2) shall include detailed information describing, at a 
     minimum, the crash, including the date, time, location, 
     nature of the crash, information identifying the contractor, 
     number of injuries, fatalities, and any contributing factors 
     to the crash. An employee or contractor (as the case may be) 
     shall update the report, in such form and manner as the 
     Postal Service deems appropriate, to reflect any change in 
     crash-caused injuries or fatalities.
       (4) Accommodations in event of injury.--The Postal Service 
     shall provide for procedures under which reports may be 
     submitted under this subsection under an alternative deadline 
     in the event a Postal Service employee or contractor is 
     unable to submit a report due to serious injury resulting 
     from the applicable crash.
       (5) Standard form.--The Postmaster General shall create a 
     standard form available to Postal Service employees and 
     contractors for the purposes of submitting reports under this 
     subsection.
       (c) Database.--
       (1) In general.--The Postal Service shall maintain a 
     continuously updated internal digital database that includes 
     comprehensive information related to deaths and injuries from 
     traffic crashes involving vehicles transporting mail.
       (2) Contents.--The database shall include any information 
     provided by Postal Service employees and contractors under 
     subsection (b).
       (d) Report.--
       (1) In general.--The Postal Service shall make available to 
     the public an annual report summarizing information related 
     to deaths and injuries from traffic crashes involving 
     vehicles transporting mail.
       (2) Contents.--The report shall include aggregated 
     statistics, trends, and analysis to enhance transparency and 
     accountability.
       (3) Privacy.--Information in the report shall be made 
     available to the public in a manner that does not personally 
     identify any Postal Service employee, contractor, or any 
     other individual.
       (e) Penalties.--Any Postal Service contractor who fails to 
     report a traffic crash within the deadline prescribed under 
     subsection (b) shall be subject to appropriate penalties as 
     determined appropriate by the Postal Service, including 
     fines, suspension of contracts, or termination of contracts. 
     The Postal Service may take into account the severity of the 
     applicable traffic crash and the frequency of noncompliance 
     with the requirements of this Act by the applicable Postal 
     Service contractor when determining which penalty to apply 
     (if any).
       (f) Crash Defined.--In this Act, the term ``crash''--
       (1) means an occurrence involving a commercial motor 
     vehicle operating on a highway in interstate or intrastate 
     commerce which results in--
       (A) a fatality;
       (B) bodily injury to a person who, as a result of the 
     injury, immediately receives medical treatment away from the 
     scene of the accident; or
       (C) one or more motor vehicles incurring disabling damage 
     as a result of the accident, requiring at least one of the 
     motor vehicle to be transported away from the scene by a tow 
     truck or other motor vehicle; and
       (2) does not include--
       (A) an occurrence involving only boarding and alighting 
     from a stationary motor vehicle; or
       (B) an occurrence involving only the loading or unloading 
     of cargo.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Kansas (Mr. LaTurner) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Kansas.


                             General Leave

  Mr. LaTURNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on this measure.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Kansas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. LaTURNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7527, which requires U.S. 
Postal Service employees and contractors to report traffic crashes that 
result in injury or death to the Postal Service.
  Last year, The Wall Street Journal published an article alleging that 
the Postal Service contracted with low-cost trucking companies that did 
not follow highway safety regulations. They also reported that postal 
contractors have been involved in car crashes that have killed 79 
people in the last 3 years.
  To conduct oversight of this important topic, Congress needs to be 
informed. The Mail Traffic Deaths Reporting Act requires the Postal 
Service to report to Congress any traffic crashes that result in injury 
or death.
  Under the bill, Postal Service employees and contractors will have 3 
days to report a traffic accident to the Postal Service. These reports 
will include, at minimum, the date, time, location, nature of the 
crash, information identifying the contractor, and number of injuries 
and fatalities. The Postal Service will maintain a comprehensive 
internal digital database of this information.
  The Postal Service is also required to compile a publicly available 
report summarizing annual stats related to injuries and deaths from 
traffic accidents.
  I thank Representative Connolly and House Oversight and 
Accountability Committee Chairman   James Comer for bringing this 
necessary legislation to the consideration of the House.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this legislation introduced 
by Mr. Connolly.
  Between 2021 and 2023, truck drivers contracted by the Postal Service 
were involved in at least 68 different traffic accidents, and 79 people 
were killed in them.
  On February 27, 2024, the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector 
General found that the Postal Service failed to record all mail 
transport accidents in a central database, including accidents 
involving truck driver contractors. As a result, the Postal Service 
failed to have a complete understanding of traffic accidents and the 
comprehensive safety performance of its mail transport drivers.
  With this new information from the inspector general, it is clear 
that the level of fatalities across this period could even have been 
higher.
  The Mail Traffic Deaths Reporting Act, the excellent bill brought 
forward by Mr. Connolly, would resolve these serious oversight 
deficiencies by increasing transparency, comprehension, and 
understanding of the full scale of mail transport accidents and 
ultimately improve safety for postal transport drivers and for the 
public. The bill would require all Postal Service mail transport 
drivers, including 4,600 postal trucking contractors, to adhere to a 
range of reporting, tracking, and accountability measures.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Subcommittee Ranking Member Gerry Connolly from 
Virginia for his great leadership in strengthening Postal Service mail 
transport safety, and I am pleased to support this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Connolly).
  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend from Maryland, the 
distinguished ranking member, for yielding, and the Republican manager 
from Kansas.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the bill, the Mail Traffic 
Deaths Reporting Act. This necessary bill which I am co-leading with my 
distinguished colleague, the chairman of the Oversight and 
Accountability Committee, Mr. Comer, has strong, bipartisan support. It 
passed through our committee 40-0.
  I am thrilled that the chairman and I could partner, write, and 
introduce the Mail Traffic Deaths Reporting Act, which requires the 
United States Postal Service to collect, track, and report on serious 
crashes and fatalities involving vehicles transporting U.S. postal 
mail.
  The chairman and I have both met with the families of truck crash 
victims. We have heard their painful stories and are committed to 
stopping preventable tragedies involving mail transport. These 
families-turned-advocates welcome this legislation which is

[[Page H2848]]

endorsed by the Truck Safety Coalition.
  In June of 2022, the Godines family was traveling back to their home 
in Gillette, Wyoming. Traveling behind the family on I-25 as they 
passed Greeley, Colorado, was a contract freight truck carrying U.S. 
mail on a U.S. Postal Service contract.
  The truck's brakes were out of alignment, it was uninsured, and its 
driver had no commercial driver's license. When that truck carrying 
U.S. delivery material slammed into the back of the Godines' family 
vehicle, in an instant, Mr. Speaker, three generations of Godines were 
killed. They lost their lives, including a 3-month old baby, Tessleigh. 
Safety concerns about the freight contract trucking practices at the 
Postal Service have been increasing ever since.
  Between 2020 and 2023, as has been noted, at least 79 people have 
been killed in crashes involving trucks contracted by the Postal 
Service. The true number is higher because just last year we learned 
that the Postal Service did not report serious crashes involving 
its trucking contractors.

  That revelation raised serious questions about safety oversight by 
the USPS involving their contracted vehicles, including the troubling 
allegation that the Postal Service is managing truck freight operations 
which do not adhere to legal and commonsense safety standards.
  The Postal Service has, for example, set delivery schedules requiring 
drivers to exceed hours of service requirements and has selected 
carriers with extensive records of safety violations. It looks like 
there is no vetting of these contractors at all.
  Between December of 2020 and December of 2022, the Department of 
Transportation identified a frightening 466 Postal Service trucking 
contractors that had high rates of violations related to driving hours. 
In 2021 and 2022, 39 percent of trucking companies carrying U.S. mail 
by contract violated rules meant to prevent driver exhaustion and did 
so repeatedly. Between 2017 and 2022, one single trucking group 
contracted by USPS had broken those rules 200 times-plus.
  When I asked the Postal Service for the number of deaths involved in 
the contracted transport of mail, the Postal Service said that they 
didn't have that information because they did not collect, monitor, or 
report such information.
  Imagine that comfort to grieving families.
  That was until, of course, May of 2023 when I asked the Inspector 
General of the U.S. Postal Service to look into this issue and, all of 
a sudden, the Postal Service responded by establishing an ad hoc 
centralized reporting mechanism for serious and deadly crashes 
involving postal freight contractors.
  Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the ``Contract Trucking Safety 
and Compliance Report.''

                            Findings Summary

       We found that the Postal Service's highway trucking 
     contract safety controls, contract compliance, and screening 
     oversight were not always effective. First, the Postal 
     Service did not track contractor accidents and fatalities. 
     Second, the Postal Service did not always develop appropriate 
     safety requirements, provide adequate oversight, or enforce 
     the terms and conditions of the contracts or freight auction 
     Ordering Agreements.
       Lastly, the Postal Service's screening processes did not 
     always include a contract trucker's driving history. These 
     collective deficiencies hindered visibility into safety 
     performance and could compromise the safety and security of 
     the mail and motorists.


 Finding #1: The Postal Service Does Not track trucking accidents and 
                       fatalities by contractors

       The Postal Service did not tract trucking contractor 
     accidents and fatalities and therefore, we could not 
     determine the total number of occurrences. We analyzed 
     incident data between October 2018 and December 2022 tracked 
     on the DOT's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration 
     (FMCSA) website to help assess Postal Service contract 
     trucker safety performance. This list does not contain all 
     contractors utilized by the Postal Service as FMCSA does not 
     track company safety data separately. However, we were able 
     to identify at least 373 accidents resulting in 89 fatalities 
     that were directly related to 43 on-duty contractors 
     servicing Postal Service truck contracts. These 43 
     contractors were associated with Postal Service contracts 
     totaling about $1.34 bi11ion between October 2018 and 
     December 2022. We determined that the Postal Service had not 
     terminated any contracts with trucking companies involved in 
     accidents or fatalities prior to March 2023.
       The Postal Service was unable to provide statistics and 
     information on incidents (e.g., frequency, location, time, or 
     involved parties) as it did not monitor FMCSA or have a 
     system for recording or tracking related contractor data. 
     However, when accidents or fatalities occur on trucking 
     routes contracted with the Postal Service, contractors are 
     required to report incident data to Postal Service 
     contracting personnel. As stated earlier, Postal Service 
     policy also requires AOs to report accident information to 
     the Postal Inspection Service. Despite these reporting 
     requirements, there is no centralized collection of 
     information concerning these incidents. Postal Service 
     officials acknowledged the lack of such a system, noting that 
     tracking this data was not previously required by Postal 
     Service policy or procedures.
       The Postal Service has recently started to track this 
     information. In March 2023, the Vice President, 
     Transportation Strategy, stated that all traffic accidents 
     involving contract trucking drivers be reported directly to 
     him and the appropriate CO. This directive; however, was not 
     recorded in written policy. In June 2023, the Postal Service 
     stated they have an existing platform that could be used for 
     storing contract trucking safety data. However, as of 
     November 2023, the Postal Service has not created 
     corresponding policies governing the use of this system 
     (including related roles, responsibilities, and procedures) 
     to record contract trucking safety data.
       The Postal Service is however, taking other actions to 
     monitor, assess, and potentially act on contractor safety 
     data. First, it hired outside experts to review changes in 
     the suppliers' safety ratings, create a list of suppliers to 
     avoid, and determine suppliers' insurance coverage risk. 
     Second, it is working to establish new contract trucking 
     processes and procedures to improve the quality of 
     contractors, including the removal of contractors with a 
     conditional safety rating. Collectively, these actions would 
     better inform the Postal Service when making decisions to 
     either (a) choose a contractor based on their safety 
     performance or (b) take appropriate termination or other 
     corrective actions in instances of poor safety performance.
       However even with these actions, the lack of a finalized 
     method and established policies to track and monitor 
     contractor accident and fatality data in the existing safety 
     database limits the Postal Service's visibility into 
     contractor safety performance. This deficiency could allow 
     unsafe drivers to transport mail and put other motorists at 
     risk.
       Recommendation #1:
       We recommend the Vice President, Transportation Strategy, 
     finalize the method for tracking contractor accident and 
     fatality data and establish corresponding written policies 
     and procedures, including related roles and responsibilities.


      Finding #2: Lack of Subcontractor and Team Driver Oversight

       The Postal Service lacked requirements and clear policies 
     or did not always enforce the terms and conditions of the 
     contracts or freight auction Ordering Agreements to promote 
     safe highway trucking practices. We found the following 
     deficiencies:
       Lack of Visibility in Subcontractor Use. The Postal Service 
     did not always know who was authorized to transport the mail 
     on its behalf. Freight auction brokers were not required to 
     obtain prior written approval or inform the Postal Service of 
     the specific contractors being utilized. Instead, the Postal 
     Service relied on the broker to complete subcontractor 
     authorization and vet the subcontractor, but those results 
     are not required to be reported to the Postal Service. The 
     onus is on the broker to ensure the subcontractor is in 
     compliance with Postal Service policies.
       Specific to HCR contracts, per the procurement handbook, 
     contractors should specify their intent to subcontract route 
     operations during contract award and disclose any subsequent 
     subcontractor additions. Further, if a contractor wants to 
     use additional subcontractors, Postal Service policy states 
     this is an exceptional action and should be approved only 
     when the contractor can offer sufficient reasons for the 
     change. HCR contract terms and conditions also require the 
     contractor to fully disclose subcontractor relationships as 
     part of its proposal.
       However, of the 15 COs and AOs interviewed, 14 (93 percent) 
     did not know when HeR contractors utilized a subcontractor. 
     Furthermore, HCR contractors must obtain prior written 
     approval from the CO to employ subcontractors. However, six 
     of the seven COs we interviewed were not aware of this 
     requirement and therefore did not have the required 
     documentation. Instead, the Postal Service relied on the HCR 
     contractor to determine when to use a subcontractor and to 
     ensure the subcontractor adhered to the terms and conditions 
     including safety requirements. Using subcontractors without 
     the prior written approval of the CO is a major irregularity 
     for which the contractor may be terminated without notice or 
     warning. However, while the SPs and Ps require approval from 
     the CO before subcontracting, it does not state that approval 
     needs to be written.

  Mr. CONNOLLY. As the USPS OIG stated in a report released this past 
March, while it is a welcome step, the Postal Service still does not 
have a single written policy requiring the tracking of trucking 
contractor accidents and fatalities.

[[Page H2849]]

  The OIG's number one recommendation was that the Postal Service fix 
this serious safety oversight immediately, and that is what we are 
doing today.
  Our legislation would codify the number one recommendation of the 
OIG, to begin to improve USPS freight trucking safety and provide 
accountability.
  This bill will maintain an internal database, and I hope it will lead 
to reforms by the Postal Service and save lives.

                              {time}  1645

  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Connolly) for the purposes of a colloquy.
  Mr. Connolly, is it the case that rules that would clearly apply to 
USPS trucks carrying postal mail have not been applied to the 
contractors?
  Mr. CONNOLLY. I think that is a fair conclusion.
  Mr. RASKIN. In other words, the postal truck drivers who are working 
for the Postal Service have to have all the proper licensure and all 
the proper certification and training. Presumably the brakes are 
checked on their trucks, but because of the contracting out, they 
somehow have been able to escape all the rules we have with respect to 
road safety?
  Mr. CONNOLLY. I think, again, that is a fair conclusion, Mr. Raskin.
  Mr. RASKIN. Well, again, I commend the gentleman for bringing this to 
public attention. That is an extraordinary number of people to lose 
their lives on the road to private contractors, who seem to have 
completely escaped the grasp of the rules that have been adopted under 
the Postal Service. Additionally, we know that the Postal Service 
traditionally has taken far more serious interest in public safety and 
public welfare.
  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I say to Mr. Raskin, what is so troubling 
is these are 100 percent preventable tragedies. Not one of these lives 
had to be lost but for the callousness and lack of regard at the Postal 
Service in vetting freight contractors.
  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to 
close.
  Mr. Speaker, this is excellent bipartisan legislation with Congress 
acting just as it should to address a serious public policy problem, 
and let's hope that we pass this quickly, the President signs it 
quickly, and we don't lose any more Americans or Postal Service workers 
on the road.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge everyone to support it, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. LaTURNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to 
close.
  Mr. Speaker, the Postal Service is tasked with the challenging job of 
providing fast, reliable mail service nationwide. While they do so, 
their safety should be prioritized.
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to support this 
commonsense bill that increases transparency into the Postal Service's 
safety record to improve public safety throughout our Nation, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Higgins of Louisiana). The question is 
on the motion offered by the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. LaTurner) that 
the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 7527, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________