Browse regulations

Applies Treasury's debt issuance regulations (Circular 300) to U.S. Postal Service obligations, modified to align with USPS's Trust Indenture and its Federal Reserve agreement.

Deleting would create a gap in federal debt management standards for USPS, risking imprudent borrowing and increased taxpayer exposure since USPS obligations carry the full faith and credit of the United States.

Mandates that USPS notify bulk mailers when their shipments are involved in transportation accidents or catastrophes. The sectional center director must notify known mailers of incidents, with details including mailer names, damage extent, delivery delays, and destinations. Postal inspectors oversee compliance, and USPS disclaims liability for notification failures.

Forces all postal users to subsidize a notification service that the market could efficiently provide through private contracts between USPS and bulk mailers. The administrative burden increases baseline postal rates, representing a hidden tax that distorts price signals and prevents efficient allocation based on actual customer willingness to pay. This one-size-fits-all mandate prohibits USPS from offering tiered service options and forces non-bulk shippers to cross-subsidize large-volume commercial customers, violating free market principles and unnecessarily expanding bureaucratic overhead.

USPS internal rules implementing the Privacy Act, requiring confidentiality of personal records, banning undisclosed record systems, and imposing civil/criminal penalties for violations including willful disclosure, unauthorized record systems, and false pretense requests.

As a government monopoly with compulsory access to citizens' private communications, USPS requires strict data handling rules to prevent abuse of its unique position; repeal would eliminate essential privacy safeguards against surveillance with no alternative mechanism.

This part establishes information security standards for the U.S. Postal Service, focusing on protecting national security information in its custody. It covers classification, derivative classification, access controls, handling, storage, dissemination, disposal, FOIA requests, and oversight responsibilities for the Chief Postal Inspector, Chief Privacy Officer, and employees.

The regulation imposes significant bureaucratic overhead on USPS for handling classified information that could be managed through simpler adherence to general federal classification standards. Costs include mandatory training, oversight committees, and complex procedures that divert resources from its core postal mission. Unseen effects include overclassification, reduced information sharing, and administrative inertia that resists efficiency improvements, while offering marginal security benefits over more streamlined approaches.

This regulation implements the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) specifically for the U.S. Postal Service, establishing procedures for the public to request, review, and appeal decisions regarding access to USPS records. It defines what constitutes a record, outlines how requests must be submitted (in writing with specific details), describes processing procedures including multi-track and expedited processing, sets rules for granting/denying requests with required content of denials, provides special procedures for confidential commercial information submitted by third parties, and establishes an appeals process to the General Counsel within 90 days.

Deleting this regulation would eliminate the only clear, standardized mechanism for Americans to access USPS records, crippling transparency and accountability. FOIA is fundamental to the rule of law—citizens must be able to see what their government does. The procedural rules reduce arbitrary agency discretion and ensure consistent treatment of requesters. While administrative costs exist, the sanity-check function of transparency—enabling journalists, watchdogs, and ordinary citizens to uncover waste, fraud, and abuse—far outweighs them. Without these procedures, USPS could handle requests ad hoc, creating greater confusion, inconsistency, and likely more litigation, ultimately making information even less accessible. The regulation achieves transparency in a structured way that could not be replicated without formal rules governing timelines, fees, appeals, and exemptions.

Regulation establishes USPS internal records management and FOIA/Privacy Act compliance program, exempting USPS from Federal Records Act and creating hierarchy of roles including Privacy and Records Office, Chief FOIA Officer, Deputy Chief FOIA Officer, FOIA Coordinators, and Records Custodians to manage records, handle FOIA requests, and ensure transparency and privacy.

Deletion would undermine transparency and accountability of a government agency. FOIA compliance and proper records management are essential for public oversight and preventing wasteful practices. While it creates internal bureaucracy, the costs are confined to USPS operations and don't directly burden the public. Simpler approaches might lead to inconsistent compliance and reduced transparency.

Regulation governing USPS post office relocations requiring Form 1021 completion, customer approval for moves ≥1/4 mile, and Deputy Postmaster General approval for cross-county moves with detailed notification.

This is an internal agency operational rule with minimal compliance burden that ensures appropriate public input for significant location changes and proper oversight for cross-county moves. Deleting it would create operational chaos without any meaningful reduction in regulatory burden or economic benefit.

Rules governing conduct on U.S. Postal Service property, covering inspections, property preservation, disturbances, solicitation, weapons, traffic, nondiscrimination, and penalties. Applies to all postal facilities and persons entering them.

These are basic, reasonable rules essential for maintaining order, safety, and operational efficiency at postal facilities. Deleting them would lead to increased disruptions, safety hazards, and interference with the public's ability to use postal services. The minimal compliance costs are far outweighed by the benefits of having functional, secure postal facilities accessible to all Americans.

Assigns security responsibility for mail, funds, and property to all postal employees and establishes a security hierarchy with the Chief Postal Inspector as Security Officer and postmasters as Security Control Officers under the Chief's rules.

Internal agency management does not require codification in the Code of Federal Regulations; this rule contributes to regulatory bloat without imposing substantive external requirements and can be handled through USPS internal directives.

Grants the Board of Governors authority to create advisory boards and appoint members, or delegate this authority to the Postmaster General.

This internal administrative provision enables unnecessary bureaucratic expansion. Advisory boards can be formed through ordinary management without regulatory authorization, avoiding overhead costs, complexity, and potential for mission creep. No public benefit justifies codifying this structural flexibility as a regulation.

This regulation delegates Title VI civil rights compliance responsibilities between the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and Department of Education regarding educational institutions and healthcare facilities that serve veterans. It specifies which agency oversees compliance for different types of institutions (proprietary schools, nonprofit institutions, colleges/universities, hospitals) and outlines enforcement procedures including assurances, reports, investigations, and voluntary compliance efforts.

This regulation extends federal civil rights enforcement into private educational and healthcare institutions that accept VA benefits, using the spending power to impose compliance burdens on entities that would otherwise operate independently. The administrative costs—though appearing procedural—contribute to the broader $2 trillion regulatory burden and create barriers to entry, particularly for smaller institutions. More fundamentally, it federalizes what should be local or private decisions about association and service, violating constitutional federalism and the principle that government should not condition benefits on surrendering institutional autonomy—a practice that distorts market incentives and protects established players from competition through compliance costs.

This regulation establishes detailed procedures for handling, inventorying, and disposing of personal property (funds and effects) of veterans who die, elope, or are discharged from VA field facilities. It defines terminology, requires veterans to designate recipients, mandates comprehensive inventories, sets delivery rules to designees or heirs, imposes a $25 shipping limit, requires extensive notices, and provides for public auction of unclaimed property after 90 days.

This over-engineered bureaucracy imposes significant administrative costs on the VA and burdens grieving veterans' families with arbitrary restrictions (e.g., $25 shipping cap, 90-day windows) and excessive procedural requirements. The core need—safeguarding and distributing property—could be met with far simpler rules, reducing taxpayer overhead and respecting families' dignity during difficult times. Unseen costs include forfeiture of property due to complex procedures, diversion of VA resources from core veteran care, and forced sales that may not maximize value for rightful owners.

This regulation establishes compulsory license fees for coin-operated phonorecord players (jukeboxes), setting scheduled fees of $25 (1982), $50 (1984), and $63 (1987), with fees suspended from 1990-1999 pending a private industry licensing agreement.

This regulation is functionally obsolete—fees have been suspended since 1990—yet remains on the books, adding to the CFR's complexity. Even when active, it imposed federal micromanagement on small businesses (bars, restaurants) for a matter that private licensing collectives (ASCAP, BMI) already handle efficiently through market mechanisms. Its continued presence violates the principle that regulations must be necessary and current, not historical artifacts.

Regulation establishes compulsory statutory license rates and complex fee structures for cable systems retransmitting broadcast signals, including base royalty rates, tiered rates based on gross receipts, syndicated exclusivity surcharges, and sports programming surcharges. It references historical FCC rules dating to 1981 and mandates detailed payment calculations for copyright holders.

This regulation violates freedom of contract by forcing copyright holders to license their property at government-mandated rates. The complex tiered structure with numerous surcharges creates disproportionate compliance burdens on small cable operators (30% higher per-employee costs) while protecting incumbents. Dating to 1981, it fails to account for modern streaming/digital distribution. Market negotiation between willing parties would achieve efficient outcomes without regulatory distortion, and compulsory licensing reduces content creation incentives.

This regulation implements the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act for Nixon administration materials, defining categories of materials (historical, private/personal, Watergate-related), establishing NARA's custody and preservation duties, and prescribing access procedures with restrictions based on classification, privacy, law enforcement, and historical significance. It segregates non-historical materials for return to owners and balances public access with legitimate restrictions.

Deletion would destroy the legal framework preserving historically significant presidential records—including Watergate evidence—undermining government accountability, historical transparency, and the rule of law. The regulation balances public access with necessary restrictions (national security, privacy) in a way that simple statute cannot, and its administrative costs are negligible compared to the trillion-dollar regulatory burdens this review targets. Without it, presidential materials could be withheld, destroyed, or improperly released, eroding public trust and historical understanding.