[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1534 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
1st Session
S. 1534
To limit the closing and consolidation of certain post offices in rural
communities, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 31 (legislative day, July 21), 2003
Mr. Reid introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Governmental AffairsYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To limit the closing and consolidation of certain post offices in rural
communities, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Rural Post Office and Community
Preservation Act of 2003''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) a 1993 study by the National Trust for Historic
Preservation found that approximately 80 percent of people in
small communities plan their trips around a visit to a post
office;
(2) the Postal Service is increasingly closing small, rural
post offices in the center of town and replacing such services
with more distant post offices on the outskirts of such
communities; and
(3) closing post offices in the centers of small, rural
communities removes the hub of such communities and has a
deleterious effect on the economies and quality of life in such
communities.
(b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to limit the closure of
centrally located rural post offices, and to enhance the economic
health and quality of life of rural communities.
SEC. 3. MAINTAINING CENTRALLY LOCATED RURAL POST OFFICES.
Section 404(b) of title 39, United States Code, is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``(3)(A) In this paragraph, the term `rural community'
means a city, town, or unincorporated area with a population of
not more than 20,000 people.
``(B) The Postal Service may not make a determination to
close or consolidate a post office in a rural community, unless
the Postal Service makes a determination that such closing or
consolidation will have a positive economic impact on that
community and enhance the quality of life in that community.
``(C) In making a determination under subparagraph (B), the
Postal Service shall presume that the relocation of a centrally
located post office in a rural community to the boundaries of
that community will have a negative economic impact on that
community and will not enhance the quality of life in that
community.
``(D) If the Postal Service makes a determination to close
or consolidate a post office in a rural community, the Postal
Service shall develop a plan, in consultation with people in
the rural community, to provide for the rehabilitation and use
of the post office for purposes favored by the people of that
community. Such plan shall be developed before the closing or
consolidation takes effect.''.
SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR REHABILITATION OF POST OFFICES IN RURAL COMMUNITIES.
(a) Definition.--In this section, the term `rural community' means
a city, town, or unincorporated area with a population of not more than
20,000 people.
(b) Grants.--The Postal Service may award grants to State and local
governments, private organizations, or individuals to provide for the
rehabilitation of any closed post office in a rural community.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2003 through 2007 to
carry out this section.
SEC. 5. TRANSFER OF CLOSED POST OFFICE IN ELY, NEVADA.
The Postal Service shall transfer the real property (including all
buildings and improvements) located at 415 5th Street in Ely, Nevada,
and occupied by the closed post office, to the local county government
of Ely County, Nevada.
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