H.R. 4335 (112th): Postal Service Accountability Act of 2012

Introduced:
Mar 29, 2012 (112th Congress, 2011–2013)
Sponsor:
Rep. Nick Rahall II [D-WV3]
Status:
Died (Referred to Committee)

The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. H.R. stands for House of Representatives bill.

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Status

This bill was introduced on March 29, 2012, in a previous session of Congress, but was not enacted.

Progress
Introduced Mar 29, 2012
Referred to Committee Mar 29, 2012
Cosponsors
6 cosponsors (4D, 2R) (show)
Committees

House Oversight and Government Reform

The committee chair determines whether a bill will move past the committee stage.

Full Title

To amend title 39, United States Code, to allow the Postal Regulatory Commission to set aside determinations by the United States Postal Service to close or consolidate postal facilities that would deny essential postal services to rural areas, communities, or small towns, and for other purposes.

Summary

No summaries available.

Text

Read Bill Text »

Last updated Mar 29, 2012.
8 pages

Primary Source

View on THOMAS (The Library of Congress)

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Citation

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GovTrack’s Bill Summary

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Library of Congress Summary

The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.

3/29/2012--Introduced.
Postal Service Accountability Act of 2012 - Directs the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), in making a determination whether to close or consolidate a post office, to consider the economic effects on the community served by such post office.
Increases from 60 to 120 days the waiting period during which the USPS is prohibited from taking action to close or consolidate a post office after its written determination is made available to persons served by such post office.
Establishes a waiting period and appeal procedures for USPS determinations to close or consolidate mail processing facilities.
(Current law addresses such procedures only with respect to post offices.) Permits facility employees or members of the community in which such a facility is located to appeal to the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) any USPS determination to close or consolidate a mail processing facility.
Requires the USPS to consider, among other factors, whether a closing or consolidation is consistent with the policy to provide a maximum degree of effective and regular postal services to rural areas, communities, and small towns where post offices are not self-sustaining.
Specifies, upon an appeal of a USPS determination to close or consolidate a post office or mail processing facility, that the PRC's authority to set aside the USPS determination includes a determination by the PRC that USPS conclusions with respect to specific factors are unsupported by substantial evidence on the record.
Prohibits the USPS, if an appeal is filed, from closing or consolidating a post office or mail processing facility without the written concurrence of at least three PRC Commissioners. Requires the USPS, within one year after a post office or mail processing facility is closed or consolidated, to review and make public its findings in regard to the accuracy of its earlier findings and whether substitute services are meeting community needs.

House Republican Conference Summary

The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.

No summary available.

House Democratic Caucus Summary

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The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:

United States Code

The United States Code is the compilation of permanent laws enacted by Congress. Temporary and other non-permanent laws do not appear in the United States Code. (About half of the United States Code is the law itself, called positive law. The other half is merely a compilation of the laws but has no legal significance.)