Us Code § 3652 - Annual reports to the Commission

§ 3652. Annual reports to the Commission

(a) Costs, Revenues, Rates, and Service.—Except as provided in subsection (c), the Postal Service shall, no later than 90 days after the end of each year, prepare and submit to the Postal Regulatory Commission a report (together with such nonpublic annex to the report as the Commission may require under subsection (e))—

(1) which shall analyze costs, revenues, rates, and quality of service, using such methodologies as the Commission shall by regulation prescribe, and in sufficient detail to demonstrate that all products during such year complied with all applicable requirements of this title; and

(2) which shall, for each market-dominant product provided in such year, provide—

(A) product information, including mail volumes; and

(B) measures of the quality of service afforded by the Postal Service in connection with such product, including—

(i) the level of service (described in terms of speed of delivery and reliability) provided; and

(ii) the degree of customer satisfaction with the service provided.

The Inspector General shall regularly audit the data collection systems and procedures utilized in collecting information and preparing such report (including any annex thereto and the information required under subsection (b)). The results of any such audit shall be submitted to the Postal Service and the Postal Regulatory Commission.

(b) Information Relating to Workshare Discounts.—The Postal Service shall include, in each report under subsection (a), the following information with respect to each market-dominant product for which a workshare discount was in effect during the period covered by such report:

(1) The per-item cost avoided by the Postal Service by virtue of such discount.

(2) The percentage of such per-item cost avoided that the per-item workshare discount represents.

(3) The per-item contribution made to institutional costs.

(c) Market Tests.—In carrying out subsections (a) and (b) with respect to experimental products offered through market tests under section 3641 in a year, the Postal Service shall—

(1) report data on the costs, revenues, and quality of service by market test, which may be reported in summary form; and

(2) report such data as the Postal Regulatory Commission requires.

(d) Supporting Matter.—The Postal Regulatory Commission shall have access, in accordance with such regulations as the Commission shall prescribe, to the working papers and any other supporting matter of the Postal Service and the Inspector General in connection with any information submitted under this section.

(e) Content and Form of Reports.—

(1) In general.—The Postal Regulatory Commission shall, by regulation, prescribe the content and form of the public reports (and any nonpublic annex and supporting matter relating to the report) to be provided by the Postal Service under this section. In carrying out this subsection, the Commission shall give due consideration to—

(A) providing the public with timely, adequate information to assess the lawfulness of rates charged;

(B) avoiding unnecessary or unwarranted administrative effort and expense on the part of the Postal Service; and

(C) protecting the confidentiality of commercially sensitive information.

(2) Revised requirements.—The Commission may, on its own motion or on request of an interested party, initiate proceedings (to be conducted in accordance with regulations that the Commission shall prescribe) to improve the quality, accuracy, or completeness of Postal Service data required by the Commission under this subsection whenever it shall appear that—

(A) the attribution of costs or revenues to products has become significantly inaccurate or can be significantly improved;

(B) the quality of service data has become significantly inaccurate or can be significantly improved; or

(C) such revisions are, in the judgment of the Commission, otherwise necessitated by the public interest.

(f) Confidential Information.—

(1) In general.—If the Postal Service determines that any document or portion of a document, or other matter, which it provides to the Postal Regulatory Commission in a nonpublic annex under this section or under subsection (d) contains information which is described in section 410(c) of this title, or exempt from public disclosure under section 552(b) of title 5, the Postal Service shall, at the time of providing such matter to the Commission, notify the Commission of its determination, in writing, and describe with particularity the documents (or portions of documents) or other matter for which confidentiality is sought and the reasons therefor.

(2) Treatment.—Any information or other matter described in paragraph (1) to which the Commission gains access under this section shall be subject to paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 504(g) in the same way as if the Commission had received notification with respect to such matter under section 504(g)(1).

(g) Other Reports.—The Postal Service shall submit to the Postal Regulatory Commission, together with any other submission that the Postal Service is required to make under this section in a year, copies of its then most recent—

(1) comprehensive statement under section 2401(e);

(2) performance plan under section 2803; and

(3) program performance reports under section 2804.

(Added Pub. L. 109–435, title II, §204(b), Dec. 20, 2006, 120 Stat. 3211.)