joint committee on postal service

joint committee on postal service Sec. 13. (a) (1) There is hereby established a Joint Committee on the Postal Service (hereinafter referred to as the “joint committee”), to be composed of three members of the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service of the Senate, to be appointed by the President of the Senate, and three members of the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service of the House of Representatives, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. (2) The chairman of the joint committee shall be the chairman of the Post Office and Civil Service Committee of the Senate, and the vice-chairman shall be the chairman of the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service of the House of Representatives. Vacancies in the membership of the joint committee shall not affect the power of the remaining members to execute the functions of the joint committee, and shall be filled in the same manner as the original selection. A majority of the members of the joint committee, or any subcommittee thereof, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, except that a lesser number, to be fixed by the joint committee, shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of taking sworn testimony. (b) The joint committee, acting as a whole or by subcommittee, shall conduct a thorough study and investigation in respect of the following matters: (1) Postal rates and charges in relation to the reasonable cost of handling the several classes of mail matter and special services, with due allowances in each class for the care required, the degree of preferment, priority in handling, and economic value of the services rendered and the public interest served thereby. (2) The extent to which expenditures now charged to the Post Office Department for the following items should be excluded in considering costs for the several classes of mail matter and special services: (A) Expenditures for free postal services; (B) Expenditures in excess of revenues for international postal services; (C) Expenditures for subsidies for postal services pursuant to law or legislative policy of Congress; (D) Expenditures in excess of revenues, pursuant to the Act of June 5, 1930 (39 U. S. C. 793), not enumerated in the preceding subparagraphs (A), (B), or (C); (E) Expenditures for services of any character not otherwise enumerated herein which may be performed for other departments and agencies of the Government; and (F) Expenditures which may be justified only on a national welfare basis and not primarily as a business function. (3) Expenditures for the Post Office Department by other Government agencies which should be considered in connection with the cost for the handling of the several classes of mail matter and special services, such as employees’ retirement, use of Government buildings, and maintenance services. 65 Stat. 678 (4) The extent, if any, to which Post Office Department expenditures in excess of revenue, for its various services and for the handling of various classes of mail, are justified as being in the public interest. (c) (1) The joint committee, or any duly authorized subcommittee thereof, is authorized (A) to hold such hearings; (B) to sit and act at such places and times; (C) to require, by subpena or otherwise, the attendance of such witnesses and the production of such books, papers, and documents; (D) to administer such oaths; (E) to take such testimony; (F) to procure such printing and binding; and (G) to make such expenditures, as it deems advisable. The cost of stenographic services to report such hearings shall not exceed 25 cents per hundred words. The provisions of sections 102 to 104, inclusive, of the Revised Statutes shall apply in the case of any failure of any witness to comply with a subpena or to testify when summoned under authority of this section. (2) The joint committee is authorized to appoint and fix the compensation of such personnel as it deems necessary to assist it in the performance of its functions. Such compensation shall not be fixed at a rate in excess of the maximum rate payable under section 202 (e) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, as amended, in the case of employees of standing committees, except that the joint committee may employ part-time consultants, experts, and technicians at a per diem rate not in excess of $50. The joint committee may also contract for the service of accounting and management engineering firms to assist it in the performance of its functions. Insofar as practicable, the joint committee shall employ persons familiar with the operation of the postal service, accounting practices, or problems of public transportation and distribution with special reference to rate making in those fields. The chairman and vice chairman of the joint committee are authorized to assign from time to time the members of the staff of their respective committees to duties and responsibilities in connection with the operation of such joint committee. (d) The joint committee shall report from time to time to the committees of the Senate and House of Representatives from which the membership of the joint committee was appointed, and shall submit its final report to the Senate and the House of Representatives not later than January 15, 1953, of the results of its study and investigation together with such recommendations as to necessary legislation as it may deem advisable. Upon the submission of such final report the joint committee shall cease to exist. (e) There is hereby authorized to be appropriated not in excess of $100,000 to carry out the purposes of this section, to be disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate on vouchers signed by the chairman and vice chairman of the joint committee.