663 CONTENTS Swygert, John D., Director of the Installations Management Division, Post Office Department, accompanied by Tyler Abell, Associate General O'Connor, John F., legislative director, United Federation of Postal Clerks. INCREASE IN AREA WITHIN WHICH POSTAL STATIONS, SUBSTATIONS, AND BRANCHES MAY BE ESTABLISHED WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1963 U. S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON POSTAL AFFAIRS OF THE COMMITTEE ON POST OFFICF AND CIVIL SERVICE, Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met at 10 a.m., pursuant to call, in room 6202, New Senate Office Building, Senator A. S. Mike Monroney (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Senator Monroney. Also present: Senator Boggs. Staff members present: William P. Gulledge, staff director and counsel; Dr. Robert L. Sumwalt, assistant staff director; and Frank A. Paschal, minority clerk. Senator MONRONEY. The Post Office Subcommittee will be in session. This hearing is convened today so that the Postal Affairs Subcommittee may hear testimony on a House-passed measure. It is H.R. 5778, a companion bill to S. 1370. H.R. 5778 and S. 1370 would increase from 10 to 20 miles the area within which the Postmaster General may establish stations, substations, or branches of post offices. I will place the House bill and the House committee report thereon in the record at this point. (The exhibits are as follows:) [H.R. 5778 88th Cong., 1st sess.] AN ACT To amend title 39, United States Code, to increase from 10 to 20 miles the area within which the Postmaster General may establish stations, substations, or branches of post offices, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That subsections (c) and (d) of section 705 of title 39, United States Code, are amended to read as follows: "(c) The Postmaster General may establish stations, substations, or branches of a post office within twenty miles of the outer boundary or limits of a village, town, or city having 1,500 or more inhabitants and in which the principal office is located. This authority may not be used by the Postmaster General as a basis for discontinuing an established post office. "(d) The Postmaster General may establish stations, substations, or branches of a post office at camps, posts, or stations of the Armed Forces, at defense or other strategic installations, and at airports." Passed the House of Representatives August 19, 1963. RALPH R. ROBERTS, Clerk. 1 [H. Rept. 636, 88th Cong., 1st sess.] INCREASE IN AREA WITHIN WHICH POSTAL STATIONS, SUBSTATIONS, AND BRANCHES MAY BE ESTABLISHED The Committee on Post Office and Civil Service, to whom was referred the bill (H.R. 5778) to amend title 39, United States Code, to increase from 10 to 20 miles the area within which the Postmaster General may establish stations, substations, or branches of post offices, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendments and recommend that the bill as amended do pass. AMENDMENTS The committee proposes two amendments to H.R. 5778, as introduced: An amendment to the text and an amendment to the title. AMENDMENT TO THE TEXT The amendment to the text proposed by the committee strikes out all after the enacting clause and inserts in lieu thereof a substitute text which appears in the reported bill in italic type. A discussion of the purpose and effect of this amendment to the text is contained in this report under the heading "Discussion of Amendment to the Text." AMENDMENT TO THE TITLE The amendment proposed by the committee to the title of the bill is as follows: Amend the title so as to read: "A bill to amend title 39, United States Code, to increase from 10 to 20 miles the area within which the Postmaster General may establish stations, substations, or branches of post offices, and for other purposes." The purpose of this proposed amendment to the title is to indicate the scope of the bill as reported by the committee. PURPOSE The purpose of this legislation, which is based upon an official recommendation of the Postmaster General, is to provide for the orderly development of timely, efficient, and economical postal service to patrons in suburban areas by authorizing the establishment of postal stations, substations, or branches within reasonable distance of cities or towns which have existing post offices. STATEMENT Present law authorizes the Postmaster General to establish postal stations, substations, or branches of an existing post office within 10 miles of the outer boundary or limits of the city or town in which the post office is located if the population of the city or town is 1,500 or more. This limitation is no longer adequate or realistic in view of the tremendous and continuing growth in suburban areas and our vastly improved transportation facilities and networks. The limitation, in fact, now constitutes an impediment to the orderly development of efficient and economical postal service in such areas. The impediment will be removed by the enactment of this legislation which increases the 10-mile limitation to 20 miles. Experience in the Post Office Department has demonstrated that suburban patrons can be afforded all of the necessary postal services, and at the same time attain or maintain the desired "community identity," by the establishment of post office branches within an appropriate distance from the boundaries of cities and towns which have existing post offices. This practice also saves the Government and the taxpayers the expense usually incurred in the establishment of separate post offices in such areas. Moreover, it has been found quite frequently that city delivery service can be provided in such an area, and that the community identity can be maintained, by means of a branch post office where an independent office could not be established because of failure to meet the statutory requirement for city delivery service as contained in section 6001 of title 39, United States Code. DISCUSSION OF AMENDMENT TO THE TEXT Specific authority to establish and to discontinue post offices long has been vested by law in the Postmaster General (39 U.S.C. 701). Thus, neither the existing nor the proposed authorization to establish postal stations, substations, or branches is necessary for the establishment or discontinuance of any post office. However, it is the judgment of the committee that the authorization to establish such stations, substations, or branches should be coupled with a clear statement of congressional intent that it shall not be used as a basis for discontinuing any established post office. Such a statement of intent will safeguard against any possible future application of this authorization in a manner inconsistent with the legislative intent. The amendment to the text proposed by the committee will provide this statement of congressional intent by adding, at the end of section 705(c) of title 39, United States Code (which authorizes the establishment of postal stations, substations, or branches subject to the distance limitations described above), the following: "This authority may not be used by the Postmaster General as a basis for discontinuing an established post office." The Post Office Department reports that it has no objection to this provision. During the public hearings on this legislation the Post Office Department witness also officially recommended the inclusion in the bill of an authorization for the Postmaster General to establish stations, substations, or branches of existing post offices at airports, without any limitation on the distance from the cities in which such existing post offices are located. This additional authorization is needed to provide efficient, timely, and economical postal service at airports, which now are being located at considerable distances from major cities and which, in the public interest, should be served by the post offices in such cities. The committee concurs in this recommendation of the Post Office Department. Precedent exists in section 705(d) of title 39, United States Code, which authorizes the establishment of postal stations, substations or branches at camps, posts, or stations of the Armed Forces and at defense or other strategic locations, without any limitation of distance. The amendment to the text proposed by the committee will place this recommendation in effect by inserting, immediately before the period at the end of section 705(d) of title 39, a comma and the words "and at airports." COST The enactment of this legislation will involve no additional cost to the Government and some savings may result from better administration and more efficient service. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT The official recommendation of the Postmaster General for the enactment of this legislation follows: OFFICE OF THE POSTMASTER GENERAL, Hon. JOHN W. McCORMACK, DEAR MR. SPEAKER: There is forwarded herewith a draft of legislation to amend title 39 of the United States Code to increase the area within which the Postmaster General may establish stations, substations, or branches of post offices from 10 to 20 miles. This proposal is a part of the Post Office Department's legislative program for the 88th Congress and the Bureau of the Budget has advised that, from the standpoint of the administration's program, there is no objection to the submission of this proposal for the consideration of the Congress. It is recommended that this proposal be enacted by the Congress. Sincerely yours, J. EDWARD DAY, Postmaster General. A BILL To amend title 39 of the United States Code to increase the area within which the Postmaster General may establish stations, substations, or branches of post offices from 10 to 20 miles Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That subsection (c) of section 705 of title 39, United States Code, is amended by deleting "10 miles" appearing therein, and inserting in lieu thereof "20 miles"." |