Post by Bruce on Jun 19, 2014 22:39:04 GMT -5
In the House of Representatives of the United States of America, Mr. Terrus, for himself, offers A Bill To establish the United States Postal Service, this bill being known and cited as the Postal Service Act of 1789. Be it enacted by the House of Representatives and Senate of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that: the following be added to Title VIII:
Chapter 2. Postal Service.
Section 4. Director of the United States Postal Service.
(a) The President shall appoint, with the advice and consent of the Senate, a Director of the United States Postal Service, hereinafter in this chapter the Director, who shall superintend the operations of the Postal Service, and who shall serve at the pleasure of the President.
(b) It shall be the duty of the Director:
1. to provide for carrying the mail of the United States as he judges most convenient, and as often as he judges prudent, having regard to the productiveness thereof as well as other circumstances;
2. to issue postage and to provide for a standard price of said postage to defray the cost of the operations of the Postal Service;
3. to superintend the business of the Postal Service, proscribing such regulations as he may find necessary;
4. to, once in three months, obtain from his employees, the accounts and vouchers of their receipts and expenditures, and the balances due thereon, and render to the Treasurer, a quarterly account of all the receipts and expenditures in the said department, to be adjusted and settled as other public accounts, and shall pay, quarterly, into the treasury of the United States, the balance in his hands; and
5. to establish, construct, and maintain postal roads;
6. to provide for the protection of the officers and employees of the Postal Service, and also of the mail being transported by the Postal Service, and also of the facilities managed by the Postal Service;
7. to establish, construct, and maintain Post Offices to facilitate the usage of the Postal Service by the public;
8. to digest and prepare plans for the improvement of the delivery of mail by the Postal Service;
9. to make report, and give information to either brach of the legislature, in person or in writing (as he may be required), respecting all matters referred to him by the Senate or House of Representatives, or which shall appertain to his office; and
10. to perform and execute such duties as may from time to time be enjoined on or entrusted to him by the President, agreeable to the Constitution.
© The Director shall be authorized:
1. to establish an office or offices in the capital of the United States, and in any other locations that the he may deem prudent, and to staff that office or those offices with such assistants, clerks, and other employees as may deem necessary;
2. to issue postage and to establish the price of postage, but only to defray the costs of the operations of the Postal Service, and not to make a profit;
3. to establish, construct, and maintain postal roads, and as he may deem necessary, to establish tolls for the usage of such roads;
4. to coordinate the activities of the United States Inspectors and the Postmasters of the United States;
5. to take any other actions necessary, and agreeable to the Constitution, to fulfill his duties.
(d) The President may appoint, with the advice and consent of the Senate, a Deputy Director of the United States Postal Service to assist the Director with his duties, and to act as Director whenever there is not a Director, or whenever the Director is unable to perform his duties.
Section 5. Postmasters of the United States.
(a) The President shall appoint, with the advice and consent of the Senate, a Postmaster of the United States, hereinafter a Postmaster, for each judicial district of the United States.
(b) It shall be the duty of each Postmaster:
1. to provide for carrying the mail of the United States within his district as he judges most convenient, and as often as he judges prudent, having regard to the productiveness thereof as well as other circumstances;
2. to superintend the business of the Postal Service within his district, proscribing such regulations as he may find necessary;
3. to ensure that, at the Post Offices within his district, there is always one or more employees of the Postal Service present between 8 in the morning and 5 in the evening, and that at least one of these employees is capable of assisting citizens and residents with their postal needs;
4. to make report, and give information to either brach of the legislature, in person or in writing (as he may be required), respecting all matters referred to him by the Senate or House of Representatives, or which shall appertain to his office; and
5. to perform and execute such duties as may from time to time be enjoined on or entrusted to him by the Director, agreeable to the Constitution.
© The President may appoint, with the advice and consent of the Senate, Deputy Postmasters of the United States and Assistant Postmasters of the United States to assist each Postmaster of the United States.
Section 6. Inspectors of the United States.
(a) The President shall appoint, with the advice and consent of the Senate, an Inspector of the United States, hereinafter an Inspector, for each judicial district of the United States.
(b) It shall be the duty of each Inspector:
1. to protect postal officers, postal employees, mail, and postal facilities within his district;
2. to assist the United States Marshal for his district with general law enforcement activities, as necessary;
3. to proscribe such regulations to his subordinates as he may find necessary;
4. to perform such duties as may be enjoined upon him by the Director, agreeable to the constitution; and
5. to make report, and give information to either branch of the legislature, in person or in writing (as he may be required), respecting all matters referred to him by the Senate or House of Representatives, or which shall appertain to his office.
© Each Inspector shall be authorized:
1. to surveil or investigate any person or entity suspected of conspiring to commit, or committing, a crime against a postal officer or postal employee, or a crime involving mail;
2. to investigate any crime committed against a postal office or postal employee, or a crime involving mail;
3. to detain an individual in his district, for no more than 24 hours, upon discovery of evidence that provides a reasonable suspicious to a prudent person that said individual committed a crime;
3. to conduct a basic search of a person detained under part 3 of this subsection so as to ensure that person does not have weapons, and to confiscate any weapons found on that person for the entirety of that person's detention, but no other evidence found during such search shall be confiscated;
4. to conduct a search of a person's household or property in his district without a warrant, but only upon discovery of information sufficient to warrant a prudent person's belief that evidence of a crime or contraband would be found in the search, and only upon discovery of information sufficient to warrant a prudent person's belief that such evidence would be destroyed in the time it would take to seek and receive a warrant for the search of that person's household or property;
5. to execute any court order, including a mittimus warrant, in his district;
6. to appoint an individual temporarily as a Deputy United States Inspector, or an Assistant United States Inspector, but such appointment shall not exceed one month in duration; and
7. to take such other actions as may be necessary to enforce the law, agreeable to the Constitution and the laws of the United States, provided that no Inspector shall attempt to usurp the responsibilities or powers of the United States Marshal for his District.
(b) The President may appoint, with the advice and consent of the Senate, Deputy United States Inspectors and Assistant United States Inspectors for each judicial district as he deems prudent, and each Deputy United States Inspector and Assistant United States Inspector shall assist the United States Inspector of his district.
Section 7. Post Regulations.
(a) No ship or vessel, arriving at any port within the United States, where a post-office is established, shall be permitted to report, make entry or break bulk, till the master or commander shall have delivered to the Postmaster with jurisdiction over that port, all letters directed to any person or persons within the United States, which, under his care or within his power, shall be brought in such ship or vessel, other than such as are directed to the owner or consignee: but when a vessel shall be bound to another port, than that, at which she may enter, the letters belonging to, or to be delivered at the said port of delivery, shall not be delivered to the postal service at the port of entry. And it shall be the duty of the collector or other officer of the port, empowered to receive entries of ships or vessels, to require from every master or commander of such ship or vessel, an oath or affirmation, purporting that he haa delivered all such letters, except as aforesaid.
(b) The postmaster to whom letters may be delivered pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall pay to the master, commander, or other person delivering the same, except the commanders of foreign packets, an amount to be determined by the Director for every such letter or packet; and shall obtain from the person delivering the same, a certificate specifying the number of letters and packets, with the name of the ship or vessel, and the place from whence she last sailed; which certificate, together with a receipt for the money, shall be with his half-yearly accounts, transmitted to the Director, who shall credit the amount thereof to the postmaster forwarding the same.
© The Director shall make provision, where it may be necessary, for the receipt of all letters and packets intended to be conveyed by any ship or vessel, beyond sea, or from any port of the United States to another port therein, ensuring that the letters so received shall be formed into a mail, sealed up, and directed to the postmaster of the port to which such ship or vessel shall be bound. And for every letter or packet so received, there shall be paid, at the time of its reception, a postage of one cent. And the Director may make arrangements with the postmasters in any foreign country for the reciprocal receipt and delivery of letters and packets, through the post-offices.
(d) Each Postmaster shall, respectively, publish at the expiration of every three months, in one of the newspapers published at, or nearest the place of his residence, for three successive weeks, a list of all the letters then remaining in his respective offices; and at the expiration of the next three months, shall send such of the said letters as then remain on hand, as dead letters, to the post-office, where the same shall be opened and inspected; and if any valuable papers or matter of consequence shall be found therein, it shall be the duty of the Postmaster to cause a descriptive list thereof to be inserted in one of the newspapers, published at the place most convenient to where the owner may be supposed to reside, if within the United States, and such letter and the contents shall be preserved, to be delivered to the person, to whom the same shall be addressed, upon payment of the postage and the expense of publication.
Chapter 2. Postal Service.
Section 4. Director of the United States Postal Service.
(a) The President shall appoint, with the advice and consent of the Senate, a Director of the United States Postal Service, hereinafter in this chapter the Director, who shall superintend the operations of the Postal Service, and who shall serve at the pleasure of the President.
(b) It shall be the duty of the Director:
1. to provide for carrying the mail of the United States as he judges most convenient, and as often as he judges prudent, having regard to the productiveness thereof as well as other circumstances;
2. to issue postage and to provide for a standard price of said postage to defray the cost of the operations of the Postal Service;
3. to superintend the business of the Postal Service, proscribing such regulations as he may find necessary;
4. to, once in three months, obtain from his employees, the accounts and vouchers of their receipts and expenditures, and the balances due thereon, and render to the Treasurer, a quarterly account of all the receipts and expenditures in the said department, to be adjusted and settled as other public accounts, and shall pay, quarterly, into the treasury of the United States, the balance in his hands; and
5. to establish, construct, and maintain postal roads;
6. to provide for the protection of the officers and employees of the Postal Service, and also of the mail being transported by the Postal Service, and also of the facilities managed by the Postal Service;
7. to establish, construct, and maintain Post Offices to facilitate the usage of the Postal Service by the public;
8. to digest and prepare plans for the improvement of the delivery of mail by the Postal Service;
9. to make report, and give information to either brach of the legislature, in person or in writing (as he may be required), respecting all matters referred to him by the Senate or House of Representatives, or which shall appertain to his office; and
10. to perform and execute such duties as may from time to time be enjoined on or entrusted to him by the President, agreeable to the Constitution.
© The Director shall be authorized:
1. to establish an office or offices in the capital of the United States, and in any other locations that the he may deem prudent, and to staff that office or those offices with such assistants, clerks, and other employees as may deem necessary;
2. to issue postage and to establish the price of postage, but only to defray the costs of the operations of the Postal Service, and not to make a profit;
3. to establish, construct, and maintain postal roads, and as he may deem necessary, to establish tolls for the usage of such roads;
4. to coordinate the activities of the United States Inspectors and the Postmasters of the United States;
5. to take any other actions necessary, and agreeable to the Constitution, to fulfill his duties.
(d) The President may appoint, with the advice and consent of the Senate, a Deputy Director of the United States Postal Service to assist the Director with his duties, and to act as Director whenever there is not a Director, or whenever the Director is unable to perform his duties.
Section 5. Postmasters of the United States.
(a) The President shall appoint, with the advice and consent of the Senate, a Postmaster of the United States, hereinafter a Postmaster, for each judicial district of the United States.
(b) It shall be the duty of each Postmaster:
1. to provide for carrying the mail of the United States within his district as he judges most convenient, and as often as he judges prudent, having regard to the productiveness thereof as well as other circumstances;
2. to superintend the business of the Postal Service within his district, proscribing such regulations as he may find necessary;
3. to ensure that, at the Post Offices within his district, there is always one or more employees of the Postal Service present between 8 in the morning and 5 in the evening, and that at least one of these employees is capable of assisting citizens and residents with their postal needs;
4. to make report, and give information to either brach of the legislature, in person or in writing (as he may be required), respecting all matters referred to him by the Senate or House of Representatives, or which shall appertain to his office; and
5. to perform and execute such duties as may from time to time be enjoined on or entrusted to him by the Director, agreeable to the Constitution.
© The President may appoint, with the advice and consent of the Senate, Deputy Postmasters of the United States and Assistant Postmasters of the United States to assist each Postmaster of the United States.
Section 6. Inspectors of the United States.
(a) The President shall appoint, with the advice and consent of the Senate, an Inspector of the United States, hereinafter an Inspector, for each judicial district of the United States.
(b) It shall be the duty of each Inspector:
1. to protect postal officers, postal employees, mail, and postal facilities within his district;
2. to assist the United States Marshal for his district with general law enforcement activities, as necessary;
3. to proscribe such regulations to his subordinates as he may find necessary;
4. to perform such duties as may be enjoined upon him by the Director, agreeable to the constitution; and
5. to make report, and give information to either branch of the legislature, in person or in writing (as he may be required), respecting all matters referred to him by the Senate or House of Representatives, or which shall appertain to his office.
© Each Inspector shall be authorized:
1. to surveil or investigate any person or entity suspected of conspiring to commit, or committing, a crime against a postal officer or postal employee, or a crime involving mail;
2. to investigate any crime committed against a postal office or postal employee, or a crime involving mail;
3. to detain an individual in his district, for no more than 24 hours, upon discovery of evidence that provides a reasonable suspicious to a prudent person that said individual committed a crime;
3. to conduct a basic search of a person detained under part 3 of this subsection so as to ensure that person does not have weapons, and to confiscate any weapons found on that person for the entirety of that person's detention, but no other evidence found during such search shall be confiscated;
4. to conduct a search of a person's household or property in his district without a warrant, but only upon discovery of information sufficient to warrant a prudent person's belief that evidence of a crime or contraband would be found in the search, and only upon discovery of information sufficient to warrant a prudent person's belief that such evidence would be destroyed in the time it would take to seek and receive a warrant for the search of that person's household or property;
5. to execute any court order, including a mittimus warrant, in his district;
6. to appoint an individual temporarily as a Deputy United States Inspector, or an Assistant United States Inspector, but such appointment shall not exceed one month in duration; and
7. to take such other actions as may be necessary to enforce the law, agreeable to the Constitution and the laws of the United States, provided that no Inspector shall attempt to usurp the responsibilities or powers of the United States Marshal for his District.
(b) The President may appoint, with the advice and consent of the Senate, Deputy United States Inspectors and Assistant United States Inspectors for each judicial district as he deems prudent, and each Deputy United States Inspector and Assistant United States Inspector shall assist the United States Inspector of his district.
Section 7. Post Regulations.
(a) No ship or vessel, arriving at any port within the United States, where a post-office is established, shall be permitted to report, make entry or break bulk, till the master or commander shall have delivered to the Postmaster with jurisdiction over that port, all letters directed to any person or persons within the United States, which, under his care or within his power, shall be brought in such ship or vessel, other than such as are directed to the owner or consignee: but when a vessel shall be bound to another port, than that, at which she may enter, the letters belonging to, or to be delivered at the said port of delivery, shall not be delivered to the postal service at the port of entry. And it shall be the duty of the collector or other officer of the port, empowered to receive entries of ships or vessels, to require from every master or commander of such ship or vessel, an oath or affirmation, purporting that he haa delivered all such letters, except as aforesaid.
(b) The postmaster to whom letters may be delivered pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall pay to the master, commander, or other person delivering the same, except the commanders of foreign packets, an amount to be determined by the Director for every such letter or packet; and shall obtain from the person delivering the same, a certificate specifying the number of letters and packets, with the name of the ship or vessel, and the place from whence she last sailed; which certificate, together with a receipt for the money, shall be with his half-yearly accounts, transmitted to the Director, who shall credit the amount thereof to the postmaster forwarding the same.
© The Director shall make provision, where it may be necessary, for the receipt of all letters and packets intended to be conveyed by any ship or vessel, beyond sea, or from any port of the United States to another port therein, ensuring that the letters so received shall be formed into a mail, sealed up, and directed to the postmaster of the port to which such ship or vessel shall be bound. And for every letter or packet so received, there shall be paid, at the time of its reception, a postage of one cent. And the Director may make arrangements with the postmasters in any foreign country for the reciprocal receipt and delivery of letters and packets, through the post-offices.
(d) Each Postmaster shall, respectively, publish at the expiration of every three months, in one of the newspapers published at, or nearest the place of his residence, for three successive weeks, a list of all the letters then remaining in his respective offices; and at the expiration of the next three months, shall send such of the said letters as then remain on hand, as dead letters, to the post-office, where the same shall be opened and inspected; and if any valuable papers or matter of consequence shall be found therein, it shall be the duty of the Postmaster to cause a descriptive list thereof to be inserted in one of the newspapers, published at the place most convenient to where the owner may be supposed to reside, if within the United States, and such letter and the contents shall be preserved, to be delivered to the person, to whom the same shall be addressed, upon payment of the postage and the expense of publication.
