ASSESSMENT OF FUTURE BUSINESS MODEL OF THE POSTAL SERVICE.

SEC. 710. ASSESSMENT OF FUTURE BUSINESS MODEL OF THE POSTAL SERVICE.(a) Government Accountability Office Mandate.—The Comptroller General of the United States shall prepare and submit to the President and Congress a report that builds upon the work of the 2002 President’s Commission on the United States Postal Service by evaluating in-depth various options and strategies for the long-term structural and operational reforms of the United States Postal Service. The final report required by this section shall be submitted within 5 years of the date of enactment of this Act.(b) Protection of Universal Service.—The Government Accountability Office may include such recommendations as it considers appropriate with respect to how the Postal Service’s business model can be maintained or transformed in an orderly manner that will minimize adverse effects on all interested parties and assure continued availability of affordable, universal postal service throughout the United States. The Government Accountability Office shall not consider any strategy or other course of action that would pose a significant risk to the continued availability of affordable, universal postal service throughout the United States.(c) Elements of Report.—(1) Topics to address.—The report shall address at least the following:(A) Specification of nature and bases of one or more sets of reasonable assumptions about the development of the postal services market, to the extent that such assumptions may be necessary or appropriate for each strategy identified by the Government Accountability Office.(B) Specification of the nature and bases of one or more sets of reasonable assumptions about the development of the regulatory framework for postal services, to the extent that such assumptions may be necessary or appropriate for each strategy identified by the Government Accountability Office.(C) Qualitative and, to the extent possible, quantitative effects that each strategy identified by the Government Accountability Office may have on universal service generally, the Postal Service, mailers, postal employees, private companies that provide delivery services, and the general public.(D) Financial effects that each strategy identified by the Government Accountability Office may have on the Postal Service, postal employees, the Treasury of the United States, and other affected parties, including the American mailing consumer.(E) Feasible and appropriate procedural steps and timetables for implementing each strategy identified by the Government Accountability Office.(F) Such additional topics as the Comptroller General shall consider necessary and appropriate.(2) Matters to consider.—For each strategy identified, the Government Accountability Office shall assess how each business model might—(A) address the human-capital challenges facing the Postal Service, including how employee-management relations within the Postal Service may be improved;120 STAT. 3248(B) optimize the postal infrastructure, including the best methods for providing retail services that ensure convenience and access to customers;(C) ensure the safety and security of the mail and of postal employees; (D) minimize areas of inefficiency or waste and improve operations involved in the collection, processing, or delivery of mail; and(E) impact other matters that the Comptroller General determines are relevant to evaluating a viable long-term business model for the Postal Service.(3) Experiences of other countries.—In preparing the report required by subsection (a), the Government Accountability Office shall comprehensively and quantitatively investigate the experiences of other industrialized countries that have transformed the national post office. The Government Accountability Office shall undertake such original research as it deems necessary. In each case, the Government Accountability Office shall describe as fully as possible the costs and benefits of transformation of the national post office on all affected parties and shall identify any lessons that foreign experience may imply for each strategy identified by the research organization.(d) Outside experts.—In preparing its study, the Government Accountability Office may retain the services of additional experts and consultants.(e) Consultation.—In preparing its report, the Government Accountability Office shall consult fully with the Postal Service, the Postal Regulatory Commission, other Federal agencies, postal employee unions and management associations, mailers, private companies that provide delivery services, and the general public. The Government Accountability Office shall include with its final report a copy of all formal written comments received under this subsection.(f) Authorization of Appropriations.—There are authorized to be appropriated from the Postal Service Fund such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.