,i #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #dca ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,january #ae1 #bjbe,mr4 ,graves 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,cleaver1 ,mr4 ,alford1 ,mr4 ,bost1 ,mr4 ,collins1 ,mr4 ,stauber1 and ,mr4 ,mann7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,oversight and ,government ,reform ,a ,,bill ,to require the ,united ,states ,postal ,service to reimburse fees charged for the late payment of bills that were delayed in the mail1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,pony ,up ,act4 #b4 ,payment of fees resulting from delayed delivery 7a7 ,in general ,except as otherwise provided in this section1 the ,united ,states ,postal ,service shall pay to a citizen assessed any fee or penalty for the late payment of a bill an amount determined under subsection 7b7 if such bill1 notice of such bill1 or payment is delivered late4 7b7 ,payment calculation ,the amount to which a citizen is entitled under subsection 7a7 is the amount that is equal to the total amount of the fees and penalties described in such subsection that such citizen is obligated to pay4 7c7 ,application 7#a7 ,in general ,a citizen seeking a payment under this section shall submit to the ,united ,states ,postal ,service an application at such time1 in such manner1 and containing such information as the ,united ,states ,postal ,service determines appropriate4 7#b7 ,application submission ,the ,united ,states ,postal ,service shall allow citizens to submit the application required by paragraph 7#a7 on a publicly available website of the ,united ,states ,postal ,service1 by mail1 and at any post office4 7d7 ,unforeseen circumstances exception ,for the purposes of this section1 a bill1 notice of bill1 or payment is not delivered late if a cause not reasonably within the control of the ,united ,states ,postal ,service delayed the delivery of such bill or notice1 including a major disaster or emergency declared by the ,president4 7e7 ,appeals 7#a7 ,in general ,a citizen may appeal a determination made by the ,united ,states ,postal ,service under this section to the ,judicial ,officer by submitting such appeal in writing within #cj days after receiving notice of such determination4 7#b7 ,procedure ,the ,judicial ,officer shall issue a decision with respect to an appeal under paragraph 7#a7 as soon as practicable1 and such decision shall be final4 7f7 ,regulations ,not later than #fj days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,united ,states ,postal ,service shall issue rules implementing this section4 7g7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,delivered late ,the term delivered late1 with respect to a bill1 notice of bill1 or payment1 means that-- 7,a7 such bill1 notice1 or payment was mailed2 7,b7 in the case of a bill or notice of bill1 the ,united ,states ,postal ,service received the mail containing such bill or notice not less than #ab days prior to the date on which the payment for the bill was due and the ,united ,states ,postal ,service delivered such mail less than #f days prior to the date on which payment for the bill was due2 and 7,c7 in the case of a payment1 the ,united ,states ,postal ,service received the mail containing such payment not less than #e days prior to the date on which the payment was due and the ,united ,states ,postal ,service delivered such mail after the date on which payment was due4 7#b7 ,judicial officer ,the term ,judicial ,officer means the ,judicial ,officer appointed under section #bjd of title #ci1 ,united ,states ,code4 #c4 ,report on mail delivery delays 7a7 ,annual report ,not later than one year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 and annually thereafter1 the ,united ,states ,postal ,service shall submit to the ,committee on ,oversight and ,government ,reform of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs of the ,senate a report on delays in delivering mail1 including1 for each class of mail-- 7#a7 the average delivery time and average delay time for-- 7,a7 mail delivered under an agreement between the sender1 other than a sender primarily engaged in the transportation or delivery of parcels or letters carried out of the mails1 and the ,united ,states ,postal ,service2 and 7,b7 all other mail delivered by the ,united ,states ,postal ,service2 7#b7 the volume of mail described in paragraph 7#a77;,a7 that is presorted and an explanation of the effect of presorting such mail on the average delivery time and average delay time for such mail2 and 7#c7 the volume of mail described in paragraph 7#a77;,b7 that is presorted and an explanation of the effect of presorting such mail on the average delivery time and average delay time for such mail4 7b7 ,prioritization audit 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,inspector ,general of the ,united ,states ,postal ,service shall conduct an assessment of the policies and practices of the ,united ,states ,postal ,service to determine if the ,united ,states ,postal ,service prioritizes the delivery of mail described in subsection 7a77#a77;,a7 over mail that is the same class of mail and is not described in such subsection4 7#b7 ,report ,not later than one year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,inspector ,general of the ,united ,states ,postal ,service shall submit to the ,committee on ,oversight and ,government ,reform of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs of the ,senate a report on the findings of the assessment required by paragraph 7#a74 7c7 ,class of mail defined ,for the purposes of this section1 the term class of mail means the items described in paragraphs 7#a7 through 7#aj7 of section #cfba7;a7 of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 and the items described in paragraphs 7#a7 through 7#e7 of section #cfca7;a7 of such title4