RL32903
Postal Reform Bills: A Side-by-Side Comparison of H.R. 22 and S. 662
October 16, 2006

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Summary:

The 109th Congress is considering two bipartisan bills that would reform the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) -- H.R. 22 and S. 662. H.R. 22 was introduced and referred to the House Government Reform Committee on the first day of the 109th Congress (January 4, 2005). On April 14, the Government Reform Committee marked up H.R. 22 and ordered it reported by a vote of 39-0. Thereafter, H.R. 22 was referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary on April 28, discharged therefrom May 27, and placed on Union Calendar No. 55 that same day. The House passed H.R. 22 on July 26, 2005, by a vote of 410 to 20, and it was placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar (Calendar No. 176). S. 662 was introduced in the Senate on March 17, 2005, and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. On June 22, S. 662 was amended and reported by a vote of 15-1. S. 662 and amendments thereto were agreed to by unanimous consent, incorporated into H.R. 22, and passed by the Senate on February 9, 2006. That same day, the Senate also appointed conferees. The House has not appointed its conferees. H.R. 22 and S. 662 are similar to two bills from the 108th Congress -- H.R. 4341 and S. 2468 -- which cleared committee by unanimous votes but were not brought to the floor. Like these previous bills, H.R. 22 and S. 662 would define the categories of postal services and products as "competitive" or "market-dominant" and prohibit the Postal Service from subsidizing competitive products with revenues from market-dominant products. USPS could set rates for market-dominant products but increases would be capped at the rate of inflation. Although H.R. 22 and S. 662 are closer together than their counterparts in the 108th Congress, the two bills have significant differences: