Bills · S. 3175 · Text

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S. 3175: the bill

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3175 Reported in Senate (RS)]

<DOC>





                                                       Calendar No. 578
119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3175

  To establish a pilot program for ZIP Code boundary changes, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 18, 2025

Mr. Lankford (for himself and Ms. Ernst) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 
                        and Governmental Affairs

                           September 14, 2026

                Reported by Mr. Paul, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To establish a pilot program for ZIP Code boundary changes, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``Community Involvement in 
Zone Improvement Plans Act of 2025'' or the ``CIPZIP Act of 
2025''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. PILOT POSTAL SERVICE PROGRAM FOR ZIP CODE BOUNDARY 
              CHANGES.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
title 39, United States Code, the United States Postal Service 
(referred to in this section as the ``Postal Service'') shall establish 
a pilot program through which the Postal Service may consider entering 
into an agreement with an agency of a State government, local 
government, or Tribal government to receive money, property, or 
services to defray part or all of the net costs, if any, in conjunction 
with a request for a ZIP code boundary change or realignment.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Denial of ZIP Code Boundary Change or Realignment 
Requests.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) In general.--If the Postal Service denies a 
        request from a State government, local government, or Tribal 
        government for a ZIP code boundary change or realignment on the 
        basis of a net cost to the Postal Service, the Postal Service 
        shall--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) notify the requestor in writing of the 
                existence of the program established under subsection 
                (a);</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) provide the requestor with an estimate 
                of the net cost to the Postal Service of the 
                implementation of the request;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) allow not less than 30 days for the 
                requestor to propose an agreement meeting the 
                requirements of the pilot program established under 
                subsection (a); and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) give due consideration to a proposed 
                agreement under subparagraph (C).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Cost as only dispositive factor for a 
        denial.--If a net cost to the Postal Service is the only 
        dispositive factor in a denial of a request under paragraph 
        (1), and the requestor is able to defray that cost under an 
        agreement described in subsection (a), the Postal Service shall 
        accept the agreement and grant the request.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Reports.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Annual reports.--Not later than 360 days after 
        the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 
        Postal Regulatory Commission shall submit to the Committee on 
        Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and 
        the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House 
        of Representatives a report on the pilot program under 
        subsection (a), including--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the number of requests the United 
                States Postal Service has received for a ZIP code 
                boundary change or realignment, including the number of 
                requests granted and denied;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the number of agreements entered into 
                under the pilot program established under subsection 
                (a), and with respect to each such agreement, the total 
                value of the costs defrayed; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) with respect to each denial of a 
                request for a ZIP code boundary change or realignment--
                </DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) whether a notification was 
                        provided pursuant to subsection (b)(1)(A); 
                        and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) the estimated net cost 
                        provided pursuant to subsection 
                        (b)(1)(B).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) By member request.--The Postal Service shall 
        submit to any Member of Congress, upon request, a report of the 
        factors contributing to the denial of a request from a State 
        government, local government, or Tribal government for a ZIP 
        code boundary change or realignment.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) Sunset.--The pilot program established under this 
section shall terminate on the date that is 7 years after the date of 
enactment of this Act.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Community Involvement and 
Partnership in Zone Improvement Plans Act of 2025'' or the ``CIPZIP Act 
of 2025''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISH A COMMUNITY-PROPOSED ZIP CODE MODIFICATION PROCESS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Financial costs.--The term ``financial costs'' means 
        the direct and indirect costs imposed on the Postal Service 
        attributable to implementing a ZIP code modification through 
        reliably identified causal relationships.
            (2) Local government.--The term ``local government'' has 
        the meaning given that term in section 3702 of title 39, United 
        States Code.
            (3) Postal service.--The term ``Postal Service'' means the 
        United States Postal Service.
            (4) ZIP code.--The term ``ZIP code'' means the multi-digit 
        nationwide standardized mail code used to identify delivery 
        areas for postal operations that the Postal Service has 
        developed and maintained under the Zone Improvement Plan.
    (b) ZIP Code Modification Requests.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Postal Service shall establish and 
        make public an administrative process for considering State, 
        local, and Tribal government requests to modify a ZIP code for 
        an area subject to their jurisdiction by--
                    (A) amending or altering existing ZIP code 
                boundaries; or
                    (B) establishing new ZIP codes.
            (2) Process.--
                    (A) Criteria.--The administrative process 
                established under paragraph (1) shall include criteria 
                for the consideration of each request to modify a ZIP 
                code that must include--
                            (i) the feasibility and impact of the 
                        requested ZIP code modification on the 
                        operations and network, including mail service;
                            (ii) financial costs to the Postal Service; 
                        and
                            (iii) an assessment of the foreseeable need 
                        for future changes to mailing addresses.
                    (B) Decisions.--The administrative process 
                established under paragraph (1) shall--
                            (i) permit the Postal Service to consider 
                        any ZIP code modification and to implement the 
                        appropriate modification to a ZIP code; and
                            (ii) ensure that a State, local, or Tribal 
                        government submitting a request to modify a ZIP 
                        code is provided with a written rationale as 
                        part of any denial of the request, including 
                        whether financial costs to the Postal Service 
                        was a factor and, if so, the estimated cost to 
                        the Postal Service.
                    (C) Designated public contact.--The administrative 
                process established under paragraph (1) shall require 
                the Postal Service to designate a specific individual 
                who shall act as the point of contact for a State, 
                local, or Tribal government submitting a request to 
                modify a ZIP code.
                    (D) Resubmission.--The administrative process 
                established under paragraph (1) shall--
                            (i) prohibit a State, local, or Tribal 
                        government from submitting an identical or 
                        substantially similar request to modify a ZIP 
                        code for a period of 5 years from the date that 
                        a denial of the original request is 
                        communicated to the State, local, or Tribal 
                        government;
                            (ii) not limit the ability of a State, 
                        local, or Tribal government to submit an 
                        alternative request to modify a ZIP code after 
                        a denial of the original request; and
                            (iii) permit any State, local, or Tribal 
                        government that was denied a requested ZIP code 
                        modification during the 10-year period 
                        immediately preceding the date of enactment of 
                        this Act to resubmit such request, regardless 
                        of whether the request is substantially the 
                        same as the denied original request.
                    (E) Appeals.--Should a request to modify a ZIP code 
                be denied, the administrative process under paragraph 
                (1) shall--
                            (i) include procedures for an appeals 
                        process for the State, local, or Tribal 
                        government submitting the request;
                            (ii) require any appeal to be submitted on 
                        or before the date that is 45 days after the 
                        issuance of the denial of the request; and
                            (iii) only allow 1 appeal per request.

SEC. 3. PILOT POSTAL SERVICE PROGRAM FOR ZIP CODE BOUNDARY CHANGES.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any provision of title 39, United 
States Code, the United States Postal Service (referred to in this 
section as the ``Postal Service'') shall establish a pilot program 
through which the Postal Service may consider entering into an 
agreement with an agency of a State government, local government, or 
Tribal government to receive money, property, or services to defray 
part or all of the net costs, if any, in conjunction with a request for 
a ZIP code boundary change or realignment.
    (b) Denial of ZIP Code Boundary Change or Realignment Requests.--
            (1) In general.--If the Postal Service denies a request 
        from a State government, local government, or Tribal government 
        for a ZIP code boundary change or realignment on the basis of a 
        net cost to the Postal Service, the Postal Service shall--
                    (A) notify the requestor in writing of the 
                existence of the program established under subsection 
                (a);
                    (B) provide the requestor with an estimate of the 
                net cost to the Postal Service of the implementation of 
                the request;
                    (C) allow not less than 30 days for the requestor 
                to propose an agreement meeting the requirements of the 
                pilot program established under subsection (a); and
                    (D) give due consideration to a proposed agreement 
                under subparagraph (C).
            (2) Cost as only dispositive factor for a denial.--If a net 
        cost to the Postal Service is the only dispositive factor in a 
        denial of a request under paragraph (1), and the requestor is 
        able to defray that cost under an agreement described in 
        subsection (a), the Postal Service shall accept the agreement 
        and grant the request.
    (c) Reports.--
            (1) Annual reports.--Not later than 360 days after the date 
        of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Postal 
        Regulatory Commission shall submit to the Committee on Homeland 
        Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the 
        Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of 
        Representatives a report on the pilot program under subsection 
        (a), including--
                    (A) the number of requests the Postal Service has 
                received for a ZIP code boundary change or realignment, 
                including the number of requests granted and denied;
                    (B) the number of agreements entered into under the 
                pilot program established under subsection (a), and 
                with respect to each such agreement, the total value of 
                the costs defrayed; and
                    (C) with respect to each denial of a request for a 
                ZIP code boundary change or realignment--
                            (i) whether a notification was provided 
                        pursuant to subsection (b)(1)(A); and
                            (ii) the estimated net cost provided 
                        pursuant to subsection (b)(1)(B).
            (2) By member request.--The Postal Service shall submit to 
        any Member of Congress, upon request, a report of the factors 
        contributing to the denial of a request from a State 
        government, local government, or Tribal government for a ZIP 
        code boundary change or realignment.
    (d) Sunset.--The pilot program established under this section shall 
terminate on the date that is 7 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act.

SEC. 4. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.

    Except that the United States Postal Service shall establish and 
maintain an administrative process for requests to modify a ZIP code 
under section 2 and establish a pilot program for entering into certain 
agreements under section 3, nothing in this Act shall be construed to 
diminish the authority of the United States Postal Service as provided 
by law, including to provide for the collection, handling, 
transportation, delivery, or disposition of mail or provide post 
offices, postal facilities, and equipment as it determines to be 
necessary.
                                                       Calendar No. 578

119th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 3175

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

  To establish a pilot program for ZIP Code boundary changes, and for 
                            other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                           September 14, 2026

                       Reported with an amendment
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