Mobile Post Office Relief Act
The Mobile Post Office Relief Act would amend the U.S. Code to require the Postal Service to deploy a mobile retail unit in the geographic area of a postal retail facility within three business days whenever that facility becomes a “covered postal retail facility” and temporarily ceases providing retail postal services. The mobile unit would carry out the same basic retail functions the facility offered before the temporary outage, including sale of boxes and packaging materials, access for PO box holders to receive mail, and processing forms for changes of address or temporary mail holds. The mobile unit would continue to provide these services until the facility resumes normal operations. The bill defines what counts as a covered postal retail facility, clarifies applicability to existing facilities, and adds a clerical update to the code.
Key Points
- 1Deployment requirement: Within three business days after a postal retail facility becomes a covered postal retail facility, the Postal Service must station a mobile unit in the area to provide specified services.
- 2Services provided by the mobile unit:
- 3- Retail postal services (including sale of PO boxes and packaging materials);
- 4- A means for PO box holders to receive mail sent to their box;
- 5- Processing forms for change of address or temporary mail holds.
- 6Definitions and criteria:
- 7- Covered postal retail facility: a facility that is at least 0.5 miles from any other postal retail facility, is temporarily not providing retail services, has not provided such services in the prior 60 days, and, if contractor-operated, the contractor ceased services before contract termination.
- 8- Postal retail facility: a USPS facility (or contractor-operated facility) where retail postal services are provided.
- 9Duration and continuity: The mobile unit provides the required services in the area for as long as the facility remains a covered postal retail facility, until the facility ceases to be covered.
- 10Transitional provisions: Existing covered facilities as of enactment are treated as if they became covered immediately after enactment; there is a 30-day deadline to station a mobile unit in the area for these facilities. A clerical amendment adds Sec. 417 to the table of sections in Chapter 4 of Title 39.