Protect Postal Performance Act

Key Points

• The bill bans the USPS from closing any post office that is the only one within 15 miles or that serves as the closest post office for 15,000 or more people. This protects rural and underserved communities from losing their local mail access.
• Before any post office closes, USPS must hold a public hearing (in-person or virtual) and then wait 180 days after posting a summary of the hearing online. The summary must describe comments received and share how many were for or against the closure.
• The bill blocks USPS from closing or consolidating mail processing centers in any postal district that failed to meet on-time delivery benchmarks the previous year, including 93% for two-day first-class mail and 90.3% for three-to-five-day first-class mail.
• The Postal Regulatory Commission must review any proposed changes to mail processing facilities before they happen. If the Commission finds a change would slow mail delivery, USPS must publish a plan to keep mail on time and then wait 180 days before moving forward.
• The bill protects mail processing centers in geographically separated regions of a state (like islands or areas cut off by water) that have more than 100,000 permanent residents, making sure those areas keep at least one facility.
• USPS is banned from reducing how often mail is picked up or dropped off at any post office through local or regional transportation optimization plans without Postal Regulatory Commission approval. If the Commission recommends against the changes, USPS cannot proceed.

Votes

No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.