[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5627 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5627
To amend title 39, United States Code, to provide that the United
States Postal Service may provide certain basic financial services, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 19 (legislative day, December 16), 2024
Mrs. Gillibrand (for herself and Mr. Sanders) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 39, United States Code, to provide that the United
States Postal Service may provide certain basic financial services, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Postal Banking Act''.
SEC. 2. AUTHORITY FOR THE POSTAL SERVICE TO OFFER CERTAIN FINANCIAL
SERVICES.
(a) In General.--Section 404(a) of title 39, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (7), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at the end and
inserting a semicolon; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(9) to provide basic financial services, including--
``(A) low-cost, small-dollar loans, not to exceed
$500 at a time, or $1,000 from 1 year of the issuance
of the initial loan, as adjusted annually by the
Postmaster General to reflect any change in the
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers of the
Department of Labor;
``(B) small-dollar lending servicing, which shall
ensure that the customer's access to the products and
the public interest is given significant consideration;
``(C) small checking accounts and interest-bearing
savings accounts, not to exceed the greater of--
``(i) $20,000 per account; and
``(ii) 25 percent of the median account
balance reported in the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation's quarterly Consolidated
Reports of Condition and Income;
``(D) transactional services, including debit
cards, automated teller machines, online checking
accounts, check-cashing services, automatic bill-pay,
mobile banking, or other products or partnerships that
allow users to engage in the financial services
described in this paragraph;
``(E) remittance services, including the receiving
and sending of money to domestic or foreign recipients;
and
``(F) such other basic financial services as the
Postal Service determines appropriate in the public
interest;
``(10) to set interest rates and fees for the financial
instruments and products provided by the Postal Service that--
``(A) ensures that the customer access to the
products and the public interest is given significant
consideration;
``(B) ensures that interest rates on savings
accounts are at least 100 percent of the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation's weekly national rate on
nonjumbo savings accounts; and
``(C) ensures that the total interest rates on
small-dollar loan amounts--
``(i) are inclusive of interest, fees,
charges, and ancillary products and services;
and
``(ii) do not exceed 101 percent of the
Treasury 1 month constant maturity rate; and
``(11) to provide all financial products and services in
subsection (a) exclusively, ensuring that the customer's access
to the products and the public interest is given significant
consideration, and not through a partnership or contract with
private institutions, including insured depository
institutions.''.
(b) No Bank Charter.--The United States Postal Service shall not be
granted a bank charter, become an insured depository institution, as
defined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C.
1813), for the purpose of capital requirements.
(c) UCC.--The United States Postal Service shall be subject to the
provisions of article 4 of the Uniform Commercial Code.
(d) Regulations.--The Postmaster General, in consultation with the
Secretary of the Treasury, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection,
and the Federal banking agencies, shall promulgate regulations carrying
out this Act and the amendments made by this Act.
(e) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--
(1) In general.--Section 404(e)(2) of title 39, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``The preceding sentence shall not apply to any financial
service offered by the Postal Service under subsection
(a)(9).''.
(2) Federal reserve act.--Section 11 of the Federal Reserve
Act is amended--
(A) by redesignating the second subsection (s)
(relating to assessments, fees, and other charges for
certain companies) as subsection (t); and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(u) Funding for Postal Financial Services.--The Board, in
consultation with the Chairman of the Board and the Postmaster General,
shall transfer to the Postmaster General such sums as may be necessary
to carry out the services described in section 404(a)(9) of title 39,
United States Code, which shall--
``(1) be sufficient to ensure that the products described
in that section shall substantially decrease the number of
people who do not have a bank account or use alternative
financial products such as payday lending, check cashing,
prepaid debt cards, and overdraft fees; and
``(2) be provided to the Postmaster General through an
account separate from products not included or allowed under
section 404 of that title.''.
(f) Rule of Construction.--The services offered by the United
States Postal Service under section 404 of title 39, United States
Code--
(1) shall be considered permissible non-banking activities
in accordance with section 225.28 of title 12, Code of Federal
Regulations; and
(2) shall not be considered the business of banking under
the seventh paragraph of section 5136 of the Revised Statutes
(12 U.S.C. 24).
(g) GAO Report.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall
submit to Congress an annual report that includes the demographics,
number of participants, and average balances and uses for all products
described in paragraphs (9) and (10) of section 404(a) of title 39,
United States Code, as added by subsection (a) of this section.
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