I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8607 To protect and promote the ability of members of the Armed Forces and citizens to vote by mail, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 16, 2020 Mr. LARSON of Connecticut (for himself and Mr. COURTNEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Re- form, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, and Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speak- er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju- risdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To protect and promote the ability of members of the Armed Forces and citizens to vote by mail, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘U.S. Postal Service 4 Accountability and Voting Rights Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:51 Nov 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8607.IH H8607 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8607 IH SEC. 2. POSTAL SERVICE OPERATION AND LEVEL OF SERV- 1 ICE CHANGES TEMPORARILY PROHIBITED. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—During the period beginning on 3 the date of the enactment of this Act and ending on Janu- 4 ary 31, 2021, the United States Postal Service may not 5 implement or approve any change to the operations or the 6 level of service provided by the Postal Service from those 7 in effect on January 1, 2020, that would reduce service 8 performance or impede prompt, reliable, and efficient serv- 9 ices, including any of the following actions: 10 (1) Any change in the nature of postal services 11 which will generally affect service on a nationwide or 12 substantially nationwide basis. 13 (2) Any revision of service standards. 14 (3) Any closure or consolidation of any post of- 15 fice or postal facility, or any reduction of such office 16 or facility hours. 17 (4) Any prohibition or restriction on the use of 18 overtime or overtime pay to Postal Service officers 19 or employees. 20 (5) Any change that would prevent the Postal 21 Service from meeting its service standards or cause 22 a decline in measurements of performance relative to 23 those service standards. 24 (6) Any change that would have the effect of 25 delaying deferring, or curtailing mail, allowing for 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:51 Nov 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8607.IH H8607 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8607 IH the non-delivery of mail to a delivery route, or in- 1 creasing the volume of undelivered mail. 2 (7) Treating election mail as any class of mail 3 other than first-class mail, regardless of whether 4 such treatment requires payment of overtime pay to 5 officers or employees of the Postal Service. 6 (8) Removing, decommissioning, or any other 7 stoppage of mail sorting machines, other than for 8 routine maintenance. 9 (9) Removing or eliminating any mail collection 10 box that is available to the public. 11 (10) Enacting any rule, policy, or standard the 12 purpose or effect of which would delay the delivery 13 of mail to or from a government entity. 14 (11) Instituting any hiring freeze. 15 (b) REVERSAL OF POLICIES HINDERING DELIVERY 16 OF MAIL.—Not later than 30 days after the date of the 17 enactment of this Act, the Postal Service shall reverse any 18 initiative or action that was implemented during the pe- 19 riod beginning on January 1, 2020, and ending on the 20 date of the enactment of this Act and is causing delay 21 in processing or delivery or non-delivery of the mail. 22 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 23 (1) ELECTION MAIL.—The term ‘‘election mail’’ 24 means mail consisting of— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:51 Nov 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8607.IH H8607 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8607 IH (A) voter registration application forms, 1 completed voter registration application forms, 2 and voter registration cards or similar mate- 3 rials; 4 (B) absentee and other mail-in ballot appli- 5 cation forms, blank absentee and other mail-in 6 ballots, and completed absentee and other mail- 7 in ballots; and 8 (C) other materials relating to an election 9 which are mailed by a State or local election of- 10 ficial to individuals who are registered to vote 11 in the election. 12 (2) GOVERNMENT ENTITY.—The term ‘‘govern- 13 ment entity’’ means the Federal Government or any 14 State (as that term is defined in section 311 of title 15 5, United States Code) or local government and any 16 subdivision thereof. 17 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 18 authorized to be appropriated to the Postal Service Fund 19 (established under section 2003 of title 39, United States 20 Code) $1,000,000,000 for fiscal years 2020 and 2021 to 21 carry out this section. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:51 Nov 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8607.IH H8607 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8607 IH SEC. 3. PROHIBITING CERTAIN OPERATIONAL AND LEVEL 1 OF SERVICE CHANGES. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—During any calendar year begin- 3 ning after the date of the enactment of this Act in which 4 a Federal election is held, the Postal Service may not im- 5 plement or approve any change to the operations or the 6 level of service provided by the Postal Service from those 7 in effect on January 1 of the calendar year, that would 8 reduce service performance or impede prompt, reliable, 9 and efficient services, including the actions described in 10 paragraphs (1) through (11) of section 2(a). 11 (b) SERVICE TO MILITARY AND FAMILIES OF MILI- 12 TARY.—The Postal Service may not implement or approve 13 any change that reduces the level of service with respect 14 to absent uniformed service voters or overseas voters below 15 the level of service in effect on January 1, 2020. 16 SEC. 4. TRACKING PROGRAM FOR ABSENTEE BALLOTS AND 17 VOTER REGISTRATION APPLICATION FORMS; 18 AVAILABILITY OF FEDERAL WRITE-IN ABSEN- 19 TEE BALLOT FOR ALL VOTERS. 20 (a) REQUIREMENTS.—Title III of the Help America 21 Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is amended— 22 (1) by redesignating section 304 as section 305; 23 and 24 (2) by inserting after section 303 the following 25 new sections: 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:51 Nov 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8607.IH H8607 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8607 IH ‘‘SEC. 304. ABSENTEE BALLOT AND VOTER REGISTRATION 1 APPLICATION FORM TRACKING PROGRAM. 2 ‘‘(a) ABSENTEE BALLOT TRACKING.— 3 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—Each State shall carry 4 out a program to track and confirm the receipt of 5 absentee ballots in an election for Federal office 6 under which the State or local election official re- 7 sponsible for the receipt of voted absentee ballots in 8 the election carries out procedures to track and con- 9 firm the receipt of such ballots, and makes informa- 10 tion on the receipt of such ballots available to the in- 11 dividual who cast the ballot by means of online ac- 12 cess using the Internet site of the official’s office. 13 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION ON WHETHER VOTE WAS 14 COUNTED.—The information referred to under para- 15 graph (1) with respect to the receipt of an absentee 16 ballot shall include information regarding whether 17 the vote cast on the ballot was counted, and, in the 18 case of a vote which was not counted, the reasons 19 therefor. 20 ‘‘(b) VOTER REGISTRATION APPLICATION FORM 21 TRACKING.— 22 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—Each State shall carry 23 out a program to track and confirm the receipt of 24 voter registration application forms in an election for 25 Federal office under which the State or local election 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:51 Nov 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8607.IH H8607 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8607 IH official responsible for processing such forms carries 1 out procedures to track and confirm the receipt of 2 such forms, and makes information on the receipt of 3 such forms available to the individual applicant by 4 means of online access using the Internet site of the 5 official’s office. 6 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION ON WHETHER FORM WAS 7 ACCEPTED.—The information referred to under 8 paragraph (1) with respect to the receipt of a voter 9 registration application form shall include informa- 10 tion regarding whether the form was accepted and 11 the applicant is registered to vote in the election for 12 Federal office, and, in the case of a form which was 13 not accepted, the reasons therefor. 14 ‘‘(c) USE OF TOLL-FREE TELEPHONE NUMBER BY 15 OFFICIALS WITHOUT INTERNET SITE.—A program estab- 16 lished by a State or local election official whose office does 17 not have an Internet site may meet the requirements of 18 subsections (a) and (b) if the official has established a toll- 19 free telephone number that may be used— 20 ‘‘(1) by an individual who cast an absentee bal- 21 lot to obtain the information on the receipt of the 22 voted absentee ballot as provided under subsection 23 (a); and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:51 Nov 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8607.IH H8607 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8607 IH ‘‘(2) by an individual applicant for voter reg- 1 istration to obtain the information on the receipt of 2 the voter registration application form as provided 3 under subsection (b). 4 ‘‘(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply 5 with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for 6 Federal office held in November 2022 and each succeeding 7 election for Federal office. 8 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 9 is authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000,000 for each 10 of fiscal years 2021 through 2023 to carry out this sec- 11 tion.’’. 12 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO EN- 13 FORCEMENT.—Section 401 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21111) 14 is amended by striking ‘‘sections 301, 302, and 303’’ and 15 inserting ‘‘subtitle A of title III’’. 16 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 17 of such Act is amended— 18 (1) by redesignating the item relating to sec- 19 tions 304 as relating to section 305; and 20 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec- 21 tion 303 the following new item: 22 ‘‘Sec. 304. Absentee ballot and voter registration application form tracking pro- gram.’’. VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:51 Nov 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H8607.IH H8607 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8607 IH SEC. 5. PROMOTING USE OF FEDERAL WRITE-IN ABSENTEE 1 BALLOT UNDER UNIFORMED AND OVERSEAS 2 CITIZENS ABSENTEE VOTING ACT. 3 (a) ELIMINATING EXEMPTIONS FOR STATES USING 4 ALTERNATIVE BALLOTS AND STATES MAKING BALLOTS 5 AVAILABLE 90 DAYS BEFORE ELECTION.—Section 103 6 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting 7 Act (52 U.S.C. 20303) is amended— 8 (1) by striking subsections (e) and (g); and 9 (2) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub- 10 section (e). 11 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 12 this section shall apply with respect to the regularly sched- 13 uled general election for Federal office held in November 14 2020 and each succeeding election for Federal office. 15 SEC. 6. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 16 (a) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 30 days after 17 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Postmaster Gen- 18 eral shall submit to Congress a report on any change to 19 the operations or the level of service provided by the Postal 20 Service from those in effect on January 1, 2020, that— 21 (1) reduced service performance or impeded 22 prompt, reliable, and efficient services, including any 23 actions described in paragraphs (1) through (11) of 24 section 2(a); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:51 Nov 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8607.IH H8607 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8607 IH (2) was implemented or approved during the 1 period beginning on June 15, 2020, and ending on 2 the date of the enactment of this Act. 3 (b) BIENNIAL REPORT.—Not later than January 1 4 of any odd-numbered calendar year beginning after the 5 date of the enactment of this Act, the Postmaster General 6 shall submit to Congress a report on any changes de- 7 scribed in section 2(a) that were implemented or approved 8 during the previous calendar year. 9 (c) MILITARY AND OVERSEAS ABSENTEE VOTING.— 10 Not later 30 days after the date of the enactment of this 11 Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Defense, 12 acting through the Presidential designee under the Uni- 13 formed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, shall 14 submit to Congress a report on how changes to the oper- 15 ations or level of service provided by the Postal Service 16 affect absentee voting by absent uniformed service voters 17 and overseas voters under such Act. 18 (d) IMPLEMENTATION OF MILITARY AND OVERSEAS 19 VOTER EMPOWERMENT ACT.—Not later than 30 days 20 after the date of the enactment of this Act and annually 21 thereafter, the Inspector General of the Department of 22 Defense shall submit to Congress a report on the effective- 23 ness of the implementation of the Military and Overseas 24 Voter Empowerment Act (subtitle H of title V of the Na- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:51 Nov 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8607.IH H8607 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8607 IH tional Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010; 1 Public Law 111–84) and the amendments made by such 2 Act, including the effectiveness of such Act and such 3 amendments in promoting registration and voting by ab- 4 sent uniformed service voters and overseas voters and in 5 increasing the availability and effectiveness of voter reg- 6 istration and voting assistance services for such voters, 7 and shall include in the report such recommendations as 8 the Inspector General considers appropriate for improving 9 the availability and effectiveness of such services for such 10 voters. 11 SEC. 7. CYBERSPACE INFORMATION THREAT TRAINING. 12 (a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any currently man- 13 dated training, the Secretary of Defense shall annually 14 furnish to all members of the Armed Forces and all civil- 15 ian employees of the Department of Defense training re- 16 garding cyberspace information threats. 17 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 18 (1) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en- 19 tity’’ means— 20 (A) a government of a foreign country or 21 an agency or instrumentality of a foreign coun- 22 try; 23 (B) a foreign person that is aided, abetted, 24 or directed by a government of a foreign coun- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]