US Codex
U.S.C.
Notes

§3201. Definitions — Inbound Citations

39 U.S.C. § 3201

Cited by 58 provisions in release 119-102.

Citations to 39 U.S.C. § 3201 as a whole

  • 39 U.S.C. § 3216(e)(1)
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    (1) Not later than two weeks after the last day of each quarter of the fiscal year, or as soon as practicable thereafter, the Postmaster General shall send to the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives, the House Communications Standards Commission, the Secretary of the Senate, and the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration a report which shall contain a tabulation of the estimated number of pieces and costs of franked mail, as defined in section 3201 of this title, in each mail classification sent through the mail for that quarter and for the preceding quarters in the fiscal year, together with separate tabulations of the number of pieces and costs of such mail sent by the House and by the Senate.

Citations to §3201(1)

  • 39 U.S.C. § 3202(a)
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    (a) Subject to the limitations imposed by sections 3204 and 3207 of this title, there may be transmitted as penalty mail—
    (1) official mail of—
    (A) officers of the Government of the United States other than Members of Congress;
    (B) the Smithsonian Institution;
    (C) the Pan American Union;
    (D) the Pan American Sanitary Bureau; and
    (E) the United States Employment Service and the system of employment offices operated by it in conformity with the provisions of sections 49–49c, 49d, 49e–49k of title 29, and all State employment systems which receive funds appropriated under authority of those sections.
    (2) mail relating to naturalization to be sent to the Immigration and Naturalization Service by clerks of courts addressed to the Department of Justice or the Immigration and Naturalization Service, or any official thereof; and
    (3) mail relating to a collection of statistics, survey, or census authorized by title 13 and addressed to the Department of Commerce or a bureau or agency thereof.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3204(a)
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    (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section or section 3220(a) of this title, an officer, executive department, or independent establishment of the Government of the United States may not mail, as penalty mail, any article or document unless—
    (1) a request therefor has been previously received by the department or establishment; or
    (2) its mailings is required by law.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3204(b)
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    (b) Subsection (a) of this section does not prohibit the mailing, as penalty mail, by an officer, executive department, or independent agency of—
    (1) enclosures reasonably related to the subject matter of official correspondence;
    (2) informational releases relating to the census of the United States and authorized by title 13;
    (3) matter concerning the sale of Government securities;
    (4) forms, blanks, and copies of statutes, rules, regulations, instructions, administrative orders, and interpretations necessary in the administration of the department or establishment;
    (5) agricultural bulletins;
    (6) lists of public documents offered for sale by the Superintendent of Documents;
    (7) announcements of the publication of maps, atlases, and statistical and other reports offered for sale by the Federal Power Commission as authorized by section 825k of title 16; or
    (8) articles or documents to educational institutions or public libraries, or to Federal, State, or other public authorities.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3205
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    Executive departments and agencies, independent establishments of the Government of the United States, and organizations and persons authorized by law to use penalty mail, shall account for all penalty covers through the Postal Service.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3206(a)
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    (a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, executive departments and agencies, independent establishments of the Government of the United States, and Government corporations concerned, shall transfer to the Postal Service as postal revenue out of any appropriations or funds available to them, as a necessary expense of the appropriations or funds and of the activities concerned, the equivalent amount of postage due, as determined by the Postal Service, for matter sent in the mails by or to them as penalty mail under authority of section 3202 of this title.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3207(a)
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    (a) Penalty mail is restricted to articles not in excess of the weight and size prescribed for that class of mail receiving high priority in handling and delivery, except—
    (1) stamped paper and supplies sold or used by the Postal Service; and
    (2) books and documents published or circulated by order of Congress when mailed by the Superintendent of Documents.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3207(b)
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    (b) A penalty mail article which is—
    (1) over 4 pounds in weight;
    (2) not in excess of the weight and size prescribed for mail matter; and
    (3) otherwise mailable;
    is mailable at rates for that class of mail entitled to the lowest priority in handling and delivery, even though it may include written matter and may be sealed.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3209
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    Persons and governmental organizations authorized to use penalty mail shall supply all information requested by the Postal Service necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter as soon as practicable after request therefor.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3213(1)
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    (1) as penalty mail by the Secretary of Agriculture; and
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3220(a)(1)
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    (1) The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, after consultation with appropriate public and private agencies, shall prescribe general guidelines under which penalty mail may be used to assist in the location and recovery of missing children. The guidelines shall provide information relating to—
    (A) the form and manner in which materials and information relating to missing children (such as biographical data and pictures, sketches, or other likenesses) may be included in penalty mail;
    (B) appropriate sources from which such materials and information may be obtained;
    (C) the procedures by which such materials and information may be obtained; and
    (D) any other matter which the Office considers appropriate.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3220(a)(1)(A)
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    (A) the form and manner in which materials and information relating to missing children (such as biographical data and pictures, sketches, or other likenesses) may be included in penalty mail;
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3220(a)(2)
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    (2) Each executive department and independent establishment of the Government of the United States shall prescribe regulations under which penalty mail sent by such department or establishment may be used in conformance with the guidelines prescribed under paragraph (1).

Citations to §3201(2)

Citations to §3201(3)

  • 39 U.S.C. § 3210(f)
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    (f) Any mass mailing which otherwise would be permitted to be mailed as franked mail under this section shall not be so mailed unless the cost of preparing and printing the mail matter is paid exclusively from funds appropriated by Congress, except that an otherwise frankable mass mailing may contain, as an enclosure or supplement, any public service material which is purely instructional or informational in nature, and which in content is frank­able under this section.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3210(g)
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    (g) Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal, State, or local law, or any regulation thereunder, the equivalent amount of postage determined under section 3216 of this title on franked mail mailed under the frank of the Vice President or a Member of Congress, and the cost of preparing or printing such frankable matter for such mailing under the frank, shall not be considered as a contribution to, or an expenditure by, the Vice President or a Member of Congress for the purpose of determining any limitation on expenditures or contributions with respect to any such official, imposed by any Federal, State, or local law or regulation, in connection with any campaign of such official for election to any Federal office.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3215
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    A person entitled to use a frank may not lend it or permit its use by any committee, organization, or association, or permit its use by any person for the benefit or use of any committee, organization, or association. This section does not apply to any standing, select, special, or joint committee, or subcommittee thereof, or commission, of the Senate, House of Representatives, or Congress, composed of Members of Congress, or to the Democratic caucus or the Republican conference of the House of Representatives or of the Senate.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3216(c)
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    (c) Payment under subsection (a) or (b) of this section shall be deemed payment for all matter mailed under the frank and for all fees and charges due the Postal Service in connection therewith.

Citations to §3201(4)

  • 39 U.S.C. § 3208
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    Shipments of official matter other than franked mail shall be sent by the most economical means of transportation practicable. The Postal Service may refuse to accept official matter for shipment by mail when in its judgment it may be shipped by other means at less expense, or it may provide for its transportation by freight or express whenever a saving to the Government of the United States will result therefrom without detriment to the public service.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3210(a)(1)
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    (1) It is the policy of the Congress that the privilege of sending mail as franked mail shall be established under this section in order to assist and expedite the conduct of the official business, activities, and duties of the Congress of the United States.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3210(a)(4)
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    (4) It is the intent of the Congress that the franking privilege under this section shall not permit, and may not be used for, the transmission through the mails as franked mail, of matter which in its nature is purely personal to the sender or to any other person and is unrelated to the official business, activities, and duties of the public officials covered by subsection (b)(1) of this section, except that nothing in this paragraph may be construed to prohibit the use of the franking privilege for the transmission of matter which is purely personal to a recipient who is a constituent of a Member of Congress and which is related to the official business, activities, and duties of the Member.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3210(a)(5)
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    (5) It is the intent of the Congress that a Member of or Member-elect to Congress may not mail as franked mail—
    (A) mail matter which constitutes or includes any article, account, sketch, narration, or other text laudatory and complimentary of any Member of, or Member-elect to, Congress on a purely personal or political basis rather than on the basis of performance of official duties as a Member or on the basis of activities as a Member-elect;
    (B) mail matter which constitutes or includes—
    (i) greetings from the spouse or other members of the family of such Member or Member-elect unless it is a brief reference in otherwise frankable mail;
    (ii) reports of how or when such Member or Member-elect, or the spouse or any other member of the family of such Member or Member-elect, spends time other than in the performance of, or in connection with, the legislative, representative, and other official functions of such Member or the activities of such Member-elect as a Member-elect; or
    (iii) any card expressing holiday greetings from such Member or Member-elect; or
    (C) mail matter which specifically solicits political support for the sender or any other person or any political party, or a vote or financial assistance for any candidate for any public office.
    The House Communications Standards Commission and the Select Committee on Standards and Conduct of the Senate shall prescribe for their respective Houses such rules and regulations and shall take such other action, as the Commission or Committee considers necessary and proper for the Members and Members-elect to conform to the provisions of this clause and applicable rules and regulations. Such rules and regulations shall include, but not be limited to, provisions prescribing the time within which such mailings shall be mailed at or delivered to any postal facility to attain compliance with this clause and the time when such mailings shall be deemed to have been so mailed or delivered and such compliance attained.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3210(a)(6)(A)
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    (A) It is the intent of Congress that a Member of, or Member-elect to, Congress may not mail any mass mailing as franked mail—
    (i) if the mass mailing is postmarked fewer than 60 days immediately before the date of any primary election or general election (whether regular, special, or runoff) in which the Member is a candidate for reelection; or
    (ii) in the case of a Member of, or Member-elect to, the House who is a candidate for any other public office, if the mass mailing—
    (I) is prepared for delivery within any portion of the jurisdiction of or the area covered by the public office which is outside the area constituting the congressional district from which the Member or Member-elect was elected; or
    (II) is postmarked fewer than 60 days immediately before the date of any primary election or general election (whether regular, special, or runoff) in which the Member or Member-elect is a candidate for any other public office.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3210(a)(6)(C)
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    (C) No Member of the Senate may mail any mass mailing as franked mail if such mass mailing is postmarked fewer than 60 days immediately before the date of any primary election or general election (whether regular, special, or runoff) for any national, State or local office in which such Member is a candidate for election.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3210(b)(1)
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    (1) The Vice President, each Member of or Member-elect to Congress, the Secretary of the Senate, the Sergeant at Arms of the Senate, each of the elected officers of the House of Representatives (other than a Member of the House), the Legislative Counsels of the House of Representatives and the Senate, the Law Revision Counsel of the House of Representatives, and the Senate Legal Counsel, may send, as franked mail, matter relating to their official business, activities, and duties, as intended by Congress to be mailable as franked mail under subsection (a)(2) and (3) of this section.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3210(b)(3)
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    (3) The Vice President, each Member of Congress, the Secretary of the Senate, the Sergeant at Arms of the Senate, and each of the elected officers of the House (other than a Member of the House), during the 90-day period immediately following the date on which they leave office, may send, as franked mail, matter on official business relating to the closing of their respective offices. The House Communications Standards Commission and the Select Committee on Standards and Conduct of the Senate shall prescribe for their respective Houses such rules and regulations, and shall take such other action as the Commission or Committee considers necessary and proper, to carry out the provisions of this paragraph.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3210(c)
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    (c) Franked mail may be in any form appropriate for mail matter, including, but not limited to, correspondence, newsletters, questionnaires, recordings, facsimiles, reprints, and reproductions. Franked mail shall not include matter which is intended by Congress to be nonmailable as franked mail under subsection (a)(4) and (5) of this section.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3210(d)(1)
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    (1) A Member of Congress may mail franked mail with a simplified form of address for delivery within that area constituting the congressional district or State from which the Member was elected.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3210(d)(2)
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    (2) A Member-elect to the Congress may mail franked mail with a simplified form of address for delivery within that area constituting the congressional district or the State from which he was elected.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3210(d)(3)
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    (3) A Delegate, Delegate-elect, Resident Commissioner, or Resident Commissioner-elect to the House of Representatives may mail franked mail with a simplified form of address for delivery within the area from which he was elected.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3210(d)(4)
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    (4) Any franked mail which is mailed under this subsection shall be mailed at the equivalent rate of postage which assures that the mail will be sent by the most economical means practicable.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3210(d)(5)
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    (5) The Senate Committee on Rules and Administration and the House Communications Standards Commission shall prescribe for their respective Houses rules and regulations governing any franked mail which is mailed under this subsection and shall by regulation limit the number of such mailings allowed under this subsection.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3210(d)(6)(A)
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    (A) Any Member of, or Member-elect to, the House of Representatives entitled to make any mailing as franked mail under this subsection shall, before making any mailing, submit a sample or description of the mail matter involved to the House Communications Standards Commission for an advisory opinion as to whether the proposed mailing is in compliance with the provisions of this subsection.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3210(d)(6)(B)
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    (B) The Senate Select Committee on Ethics may require any Member of, or Member-elect to, the Senate entitled to make any mailings as franked mail under this subsection to submit a sample or description of the mail matter to the Committee for an advisory opinion as to whether the proposed mailing is in compliance with the provisions of this subsection.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3210(d)(7)
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    (7) Franked mail mailed with a simplified form of address under this subsection—
    (A) shall be prepared as directed by the Postal Service; and
    (B) may be delivered to—
    (i) each box holder or family on a rural or star route;
    (ii) each post office box holder; and
    (iii) each stop or box on a city carrier route.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3210(f)
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    (f) Any mass mailing which otherwise would be permitted to be mailed as franked mail under this section shall not be so mailed unless the cost of preparing and printing the mail matter is paid exclusively from funds appropriated by Congress, except that an otherwise frankable mass mailing may contain, as an enclosure or supplement, any public service material which is purely instructional or informational in nature, and which in content is frank­able under this section.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3210(g)
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    (g) Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal, State, or local law, or any regulation thereunder, the equivalent amount of postage determined under section 3216 of this title on franked mail mailed under the frank of the Vice President or a Member of Congress, and the cost of preparing or printing such frankable matter for such mailing under the frank, shall not be considered as a contribution to, or an expenditure by, the Vice President or a Member of Congress for the purpose of determining any limitation on expenditures or contributions with respect to any such official, imposed by any Federal, State, or local law or regulation, in connection with any campaign of such official for election to any Federal office.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3211
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    The Vice President, Members of Congress, the Secretary of the Senate, the Sergeant at Arms of the Senate, each of the elected officers of the House of Representatives (other than a Member of the House) during the 90-day period immediately following the expiration of their respective terms of office, may send and receive as franked mail all public documents printed by order of Congress.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3212(a)
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    (a) Members of Congress may send the Congressional Record as franked mail.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3212(b)
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    (b) Members of Congress may send, as franked mail, any part of, or a reprint of any part of, the Congressional Record, including speeches or reports contained therein, if such matter is mailable as franked mail under section 3210 of this title.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3213(2)
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    (2) during the 90-day period immediately following the expiration of their terms of office, as franked mail by Members of Congress.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3214
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    A former President and the surviving spouse of a former President may send nonpolitical mail within the United States and its territories and possessions as franked mail. Such mail of a former President and of the surviving spouse of a former President marked “Postage and Fees Paid” in the manner prescribed by the Postal Service shall be accepted by the Postal Service for transmission in the international mails.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3216(a)
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    (a) The equivalent of—
    (1) postage on, and fees and charges in connection with, mail matter sent through the mails—
    (A) under the franking privilege (other than under section 3219 of this title), by the Vice President, Members of and Members-elect to Congress, the Secretary of the Senate, the Sergeant at Arms of the Senate, each of the elected officers of the House of Representatives (other than a Member of the House), the Legislative Counsels of the House of Representatives and the Senate, the Law Revision Counsel of the House of Representatives, and the Senate Legal Counsel; and
    (B) by the survivors of a Member of Congress under section 3218 of this title; and
    (2) those portions of fees and charges to be paid for handling and delivery by the Postal Service of Mailgrams considered as franked mail under section 3219 of this title;
    shall be paid by appropriations for the official mail costs of the Senate and the House of Representatives for that purpose and then paid to the Postal Service as postal revenue. Except as to Mailgrams and except as provided by sections 733 and 907 of title 44, envelopes, wrappers, cards, or labels used to transmit franked mail shall bear, in the upper right-hand corner, the sender’s signature, or a fac­simile thereof.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3216(a)(2)
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    (2) those portions of fees and charges to be paid for handling and delivery by the Postal Service of Mailgrams considered as franked mail under section 3219 of this title;
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3216(e)(1)
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    (1) Not later than two weeks after the last day of each quarter of the fiscal year, or as soon as practicable thereafter, the Postmaster General shall send to the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives, the House Communications Standards Commission, the Secretary of the Senate, and the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration a report which shall contain a tabulation of the estimated number of pieces and costs of franked mail, as defined in section 3201 of this title, in each mail classification sent through the mail for that quarter and for the preceding quarters in the fiscal year, together with separate tabulations of the number of pieces and costs of such mail sent by the House and by the Senate.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3218
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    Upon the death of a Member of Congress during his term of office, the surviving spouse of such Member (or, if there is no surviving spouse, a member of the immediate family of the Member designated by the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House of Representatives, as appropriate, in accordance with rules and procedures established by the Secretary or the Clerk) may send, for a period not to exceed 180 days after his death, as franked mail, nonpolitical correspondence relating to the death of the Member.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3219
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    Any Mailgram sent by the Vice President, a Member of or Member-elect to Congress, the Secretary of the Senate, the Sergeant at Arms of the Senate, an elected officer of the House of Representatives (other than a Member of the House), the Legislative Counsel of the House of Representatives or the Senate, the Law Revision Counsel of the House of Representatives, or the Senate Legal Counsel, and then delivered by the Postal Service, shall be considered as franked mail, subject to section 3216(a)(2) of this title, if such Mailgram contains matter of the kind authorized to be sent by that official as franked mail under section 3210 of this title.
  • 39 U.S.C. § 3220(b)
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    (b) The Senate Committee on Rules and Administration and the House Communications Standards Commission shall prescribe for their respective Houses rules and regulations, and shall take such other action as the Committee or Commission considers necessary and proper, in order that purposes similar to those of subsection (a) may, in the discretion of the congressional official or office concerned, be carried out by the use of franked mail sent by such official or office.

Citations to §3201(5)