[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 40 (Monday, March 3, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H933-H935]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MAIL TRAFFIC DEATHS REPORTING ACT OF 2025
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 758) 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.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 758
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 2025''.
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
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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 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
Kentucky (Mr. Comer) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Kentucky.
General Leave
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
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 Kentucky?
There was no objection.
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 758, which requires U.S.
Postal Service employees and contractors to report to the Postal
Service traffic crashes that result in injury or death.
In 2023, 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.
{time} 1615
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, the ranking member of the House
Oversight Committee, for working to partner with me on this necessary
legislation. I encourage all of my House colleagues to support this
national safety legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Mail Traffic Deaths Reporting
Act, bipartisan legislation that I am proud to co-lead with our
chairman, Mr. Comer.
This commonsense bill earned unanimous House approval in the 118th
Congress, demonstrating our shared commitment to public safety. This
legislation addresses a critical safety gap by requiring the U.S.
Postal Service to collect, track, and report serious crashes and
fatalities involving vehicles transporting the U.S. mail.
After meeting with families of truck crash victims and hearing their
painful, heartbreaking stories, we are resolute in our mission to
prevent further avoidable tragedies.
The need for this bill was tragically illustrated in June of 2022
when the Godinez family was struck by a truck contracted by the Postal
Service with faulty brakes, no insurance, and a driver without a
commercial driver's license. Three generations of that family, Mr.
Speaker, including 3-month-old Tessleigh, lost their lives in one
tragic incident.
However, this wasn't an isolated incident. Between 2020 and 2023, at
least 79 people were killed in crashes involving Postal Service-
contracted trucks, but the true number may be even higher because,
shockingly, the Postal Service was failing to document these incidents.
This lack of oversight has allowed alarming safety violations to
persist.
Between 2020 and 2022, the Department of Transportation identified
466 Postal Service trucking contractors with high rates of hours-of-
service violations. For example, in 2021 and 2022, 39 percent of
companies carrying U.S. mail repeatedly violated rules preventing
driver exhaustion. One contractor violated these critical driver safety
protocols more than 200 times over a 5-year period.
Unfortunately, the Postal Service's original approach to fatality and
safety data was ``out of sight, out of mind.''
In May of 2023, I requested the Postal Service inspector general
launch an audit of the Postal Service's contract trucking safety. As a
result of their review, the Postal Service established an ad hoc
reporting system, one that the Postal Service still has failed to share
with our offices.
However, the Postal Service still lacks formal written policies for
tracking contractor accidents and fatalities, including guidance for
terminating contractors or subcontractors who are noncompliant.
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Our bill codifies the inspector general's primary recommendation and
delivers accountability by requiring detailed reporting of any mail
transport crash resulting in serious injury or death, maintenance of a
comprehensive database of such reports, and annual public reporting of
such findings. Most importantly, it also establishes penalties for
contractors who fail to comply with the reporting requirements.
This is a long overdue bill that will save lives.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to have led this effort with Mr. Comer. This
is going to save lives. I urge all of my colleagues to support the
legislation of H.R. 758, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. COMER. 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.
I encourage all my colleagues to support this commonsense bill that
increases transparency into the Postal Service's safety record to
improve the public safety throughout our Nation. I yield back the
balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Comer) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 758.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
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