Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 90 Part 1.djvu/1358

 90 STAT. 1308 Study, recommendation.

Public service, costs and

39 USC 101 et seq.

Ratemaking.

Service levels,

PUBLIC LAW 94-421—SEPT. 24, 1976 (b) The Commission shall identify and study the problems facing the United States Postal Service and recommend actions to be taken to resolve those problems. The Commission shall not be limited to any particular subject areas for consideration but the Commission— (1) shall identify and study the public service aspects of the United States Postal Service, shall recommend to what extent and by what means such aspects may be defined and costs thereof reasonably estimated, and shall, insofar as practicable, identify any difference between— (A) the costs that the Postal Service should reasonably be expected to incur in providing postal services in accordance with the policies of title 39, United States Code, and (B) the revenues that the Postal Service may reasonably be expected to receive from rates and fees for postal services, with due consideration to the fact that demands for postal services may be reflected by changes in the levels of such rates and fees; (2) shall determine the extent to which the public service aspects of the Postal Service shall be supported by appropriations and shall recommend a plan for such appropriations with due consideration being given to— (A) the economic and social benefits of the postal system to the user and recipient of the mail, (B) the relative economic ability of the users of various classes of mail to absorb the costs of the postal system, (C) the extent to which the costs of maintaining a system which would provide a reasonable degree of regular postal services to the entire public without regard to individual usage, and the degree to which such costs should be borne by the public generally rather than by mail users in particular, (D) the relative economic and social benefits of other uses of private and public funds, and (E) the need of the Postal Service for adequate and dependable funding and for systematic planning and ratemaking to provide efficient and economical postal services in accordance with the policies of title 39, United States Code; (3) shall study the desirability and feasibility of— {A.) the ratemaking procedures established under title 39, United States Code, particularly the functions and responsibilities of the Postal Eate Commission, and shall develop recommendations for more expeditious and economical procedures that are responsive to the needs of the Postal Service and the public, including, if the Commission recommends the abolition of the Postal Rate Commission, a method of assuring that changes in postal rates shall be reviewed independently outside the Postal Service, (B) a system in which changes in postal rates shall not exceed changes in consumer prices unless greater changes in such rates are approved by a body independent of the Postal Service, (C) the ratemaking criteria established by section 3622(b) of title 39, United States Code, and (D) a statutory requirement for cost attributions to par' ticular classes of mail or types of mail service; (4) shall review the appropriateness of current and future service levels and the extent to which, if any, such levels should be supported by appropriations; and

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