Sponsor
Adam Schiff
Senator · D-CA
The bill gives unhoused and housing‑unstable people a stable mailing address to improve access to benefits and increases transparency about implementation, while creating ongoing taxpayer costs, potential USPS operational impacts, and verification hurdles that could delay access for some eligible people.
Unhoused and housing‑unstable people gain a free PO box so they have a stable mailing address, making it easier for them to receive mail and access services and benefits (e.g., Medicaid, SNAP, TANF).
Provides an official mailing address that reduces administrative barriers to benefit enrollment and official communications, improving interactions with federal and state programs.
Congressional appropriations will reimburse USPS for lost PO box revenue and related costs, reducing the likelihood that the Postal Service must cut other services to comply.
Taxpayers could incur ongoing costs beginning in FY2027 to reimburse USPS for lost box rental revenue and other box-related expenses.
Eligibility verification processes could create administrative hurdles for eligible people who lack identity documents, delaying or blocking their access to free PO boxes and intended benefits.
USPS may need to reconfigure retail space or add staffing to provide free boxes, which could disrupt local post office operations during implementation.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Requires USPS to provide free PO boxes to eligible unhoused or housing‑unstable individuals and authorizes annual appropriations to reimburse USPS for lost revenue and costs.
Senator · D-CA
Requires the U.S. Postal Service to provide free post office boxes to eligible unhoused or housing‑unstable individuals who meet income or program participation criteria (poverty-level income or enrollment in TANF, Medicaid, SNAP, WIC, or federal rental housing programs). The USPS must issue regulations within one year, may acquire additional boxes, and the Postmaster General must submit an implementation plan and periodic progress reports to Congress. The law authorizes Congress to annually appropriate funds to reimburse USPS for lost box rental revenue and cover additional acquisition, installation, maintenance, and related operational costs; beginning in FY2027 USPS will request annual amounts from Congress equal to lost revenue and necessary costs to carry out the requirement.
Official title: Provide free post office boxes to individuals who are unhoused or experiencing housing instability, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 22, 2026 by Adam Schiff · Last progress July 22, 2026