Identification of and appropriations for public services

§ 2303. Identification of and appropriations for public services (a) The following shall be considered to be public services for the purposes of sections 2301–2305 of this title— (1) the total loss resulting from the transmission of matter in the mails free of postage or at reduced rates of postage as provided by statute, inducting the following: (A) reduced rates for certain publications as provided by sections 4359 and 4360 of this title; (B) penalty mailings of the Pan American Union and the Pan American Sanitary Bureau as provided by section 4152 (a) of this title; (C) free-in-county mailing of publications as provided by section 4358 of this title; (D) free postage and reduced postage rates on reading matter and other articles for the blind as provided by sections 4653 and 4654 of this title; (E) free mailing privileges for members of the diplomatic corps of the countries of the Postal Union of the Americas and Spain as provided by section 4167 of this title; (F) free mailing privileges granted to individuals by the Act of May 7, 1945 (59 Stat. 707) and other provisions of law; (G) reduced third-class postage rates to certain organizations as provided by section 4452 of this title; 74 Stat. 601 (H) section 302 of The Federal Voting Assistance Act of 1955 (5 U. S. C. 2192), granting free postage, including free airmail postage, to post cards, ballots, voting instructions, and envelopes transmitted in the mails under authority or that Act; and (I) reduced postage rates on books, films, and similar educational material as provided by section 4554 of this title. (2) the loss resulting from the operation of such prime and necessary public services as the star route system and third and fourth class post offices; (3) the loss incurred in performing non-postal services, such as the sale of documentary stamps for the Department of the Treasury; (4) the loss incurred in performing special services such as cash on delivery, insured mail, special delivery, and money orders; and (5) the additional cost of transporting United States mail by foreign air carriers at a Universal Postal Union rate in excess of the rate prescribed for United States carriers. (b) There is hereby authorized to be appropriated to the revenues of the Post Office Department for each fiscal year from any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated an amount, which shall be deemed to be attributable to the public services enumerated under subsection (a) of this section, equal to the total estimated expenditures of the Post Office Department for the year for such public services as determined by the Congress in the appropriation Act based upon budget estimates submitted to the Congress. The appropriations shall be available to enable the Postmaster General to pay in to postal revenues at quarterly or other intervals such sums as may be necessary to reimburse the Post Office Department for the amount attributable to public services.