Sponsors (14)
The bill directs substantial federal investment and stronger federal prosecution/sentencing to protect postal workers and secure mail, but does so at significant taxpayer cost and with risks of uneven implementation, operational challenges, and increased burdens on prosecutorial and correctional systems.
Residents and postal users nationwide will get upgraded, higher‑security collection boxes and modern electronic access controls funded by roughly $1.4B/year (FY2025–FY2029), which should reduce mail theft, improve service reliability, and create local procurement/installation work.
Postal employees and communities will benefit from a stronger, more coordinated federal prosecutorial focus on mail- and carrier-related offenses (AG encouragement plus appointment of dedicated AUSAs), which should improve investigation, charging consistency, and deterrence.
Postal employees (and those who assault or rob them) face tougher sentencing protections and expanded coverage for dangerous escape conduct, increasing accountability and likely deterring attacks on carriers.
Taxpayers face substantial new federal spending (about $7B over five years for equipment plus likely DOJ personnel and possible increased incarceration costs), which could crowd out other priorities and raise fiscal burdens.
The bill includes non‑binding language and leaves implementation choices to USPS/DOJ, creating a risk that funding or prosecutorial emphasis will be applied unevenly and that some communities or districts will be left with older, less‑secure boxes or strained resources.
Harsher sentencing and guideline changes could increase prison populations and costs and may restrict judicial discretion in cases where mitigating factors exist.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Authorizes $1.4B/year (FY2025–FY2029) for USPS security upgrades, requires DOJ to appoint district coordinators for postal‑related prosecutions, and directs tougher federal sentencing treatment for assaults on postal workers.
Provides $1.4 billion annually for fiscal years 2025–2029 to fund installation of high‑security postal collection boxes and replacement of older universal mailbox keys with electronic versions, and directs the Department of Justice to prioritize and coordinate prosecutions of assaults against postal carriers. It also requires the Attorney General to appoint, in every federal judicial district, an Assistant U.S. Attorney to coordinate investigation and prosecution of mail‑related assaults and robberies, and directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to treat assaults on postal employees like assaults on law enforcement officers for sentencing purposes.
Introduced February 6, 2025 by Kirsten Gillibrand · Last progress February 6, 2025