,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #hiai  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,december #i1        
#bjbj,mr4 ,cunningham introduced the    
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs   
,a ,,bill  ,to direct the ,secretary of 
,veterans ,affairs to consolidate and   
upgrade the mail management systems of  
the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs1  
and for other purposes4  #a4 ,short     
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,ensuring ,vastly ,improved ,performance
 7e,v,i,p7 for ,mail ,service for our   
,veterans ,act or the e,v,i,p ,mail     
,service for ,veterans ,act4  #b4 ,mail 
strategy and modernization  7a7 ,develop
 strategy  7#a7 ,in general ,not later  
than #ahj days after the date of the    
enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary  
of ,veterans ,affairs shall develop a   
strategy to improve the printing and    
mailing operations of the ,department of
 ,veterans ,affairs4  7#b7 ,exclusion   
,the strategy described in paragraph    

7#a7 does not apply to the mailing of   
prescription and over-the-counter drugs4
  7b7 ,strategy goals ,the ,secretary   
shall include in the strategy under     
subsection 7a7 plans for improving the  
printing and mailing operations of the  
,department1 including plans for the    
following3 7#a7 ,consolidate the        
printing and mailing operations of the  
,department-- 7,a7 such that the        
operations are performed at not more    
than four locations1 except that the    
,veterans ,health ,administration and   
the ,veterans ,benefits ,administration 
are each primarily serviced by not more 
than two of the locations2  7,b7 to     
enable production cost efficiencies2 and
  7,c7 to improve the timeliness of     
sending mail4  7#b7 ,ensure each of the 
locations described in paragraph        
7#a77;,a7 has the capacity to offset    
service disruptions at another such     
location1 and enable the exchange of    
mail volume between such locations for  
purposes of such offsetting and for     

balancing the mail volume for which each
 such location is responsible4  7#c7    
,update the printing and mailing        
practices of the ,department to decrease
 mailing costs1 including increasing the
 use of automation discounts offered by 
the ,united ,states ,postal ,service4   
7#d7 ,improve the accuracy of mail data 
maintained by the ,department4  7#e7    
,improve the tracking of mail within the
 ,department4  7#f7 ,perform house      
holding on a more consistent basis4     
7#g7 ,set ,departmentwide standards1    
including minimum requirements and      
target goals1 for appropriate mail data 
metrics4  7#h7 ,improve the accuracy of 
address information held by the         
,department for persons to whom the     
,department sends mail4  7c7 ,pilot     
program ,the ,secretary may carry out a 
pilot program to test the feasibility   
and efficacy of the strategy developed  
under subsection 7a74  7d7              
,implementation  7#a7 ,in general ,not  
later than #ahj days after the          

,secretary has developed the strategy   
under subsection 7a71 the ,secretary    
shall implement the strategy except as  
provided in paragraphs 7#b7 and 7#c74   
7#b7 ,consolidation ,subject to         
paragraph 7#c71 not later than #bd      
months after the ,secretary has         
developed the strategy under subsection 
7a7 the ,secretary shall implement the  
strategy with respect to the goals      
described in paragraphs 7#a7 and 7#b7 of
 subsection 7b74  7#c7 ,extension in    
case of pilot program ,if the ,secretary
 carries out a pilot program under      
subsection 7c71 not later than #cf      
months after the ,secretary has         
developed the strategy under subsection 
7a7 the ,secretary shall implement the  
strategy4  7e7 ,report  7#a7 ,contents  
,not later than the date described in   
paragraph 7#b71 the ,secretary shall    
submit to the ,committees on ,veterans' 
,affairs of the ,senate and the ,house  
of ,representatives a report on-- 7,a7  
the effect of the strategy developed    

under subsection 7a71 as implemented1 on
 the reliability and timeliness of      
correspondence between the ,department  
and veterans and their dependants2  7,b7
 the cost savings resulting from the    
implementation of the strategy2  7,c7   
the improvements implemented under the  
strategy to the hardware and software   
used for printing and mailing operations
 of the ,department1 including any such 
improvements that will be implemented2  
and  7,d7 whether the ,department is    
processing a significant volume of mail 
correspondence volumes outside of the   
locations described in subsection       
7b77#a77;,a74  7#b7 ,timing ,the date   
described in this paragraph is-- 7,a7   
two years after the date of the         
enactment of this ,act2 or  7,b7 if the 
,secretary carries out a pilot program  
under subsection 7c71 three years after 
the date of the enactment of this ,act4 
7f7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 
,the term house holding means           
consolidating into a single piece of    

mail all mail that is sent on the same  
day from the same location to the same  
intended recipient at one address4  7#b7
 ,the term mail data means metrics      
relating to printing and mailing        
operations1 including the quantity of   
mail1 costs1 and address errors4  7#c7  
,the term printing and mailing          
operations means the processes1         
personnel1 facilities1 and materials and
 other resources involved in the        
production1 handling1 and transmission  
of electronic and physical mail1 and the
 management thereof4