39 U.S.C. § 3401 — Mailing privileges of members of Armed

Page 97 TITLE 39—POSTAL SERVICE § 3401 1, 1997, 111 Stat. 2542, which provided that the amend- ments made by section 1 of Pub. L. 99–87, enacting this section and amending sections 3201 and 3204 of this title and section 733 of Title 44, Public Printing and Docu- ments, and any guidelines, rules, or regulations pre- scribed to carry out such amendments were to cease to be effective after December 31, 2002, was repealed by Pub. L. 109–426, § 1, Dec. 20, 2006, 120 Stat. 2911. ISSUANCE OF GUIDELINES, RULES, AND REGULATIONS Pub. L. 99–87, § 2, Aug. 9, 1985, 99 Stat. 291, provided that: ‘‘(a) GUIDELINES.—The guidelines described in section 3220(a)(1) of title 39, United States Code, as added by this Act, shall be prescribed not later than ninety days after the date of the enactment of this Act (Aug. 9, 1985). ‘‘(b) RULES AND REGULATIONS.—The regulations de- scribed in subsection (a)(2) of section 3220 of title 39, United States Code, as added by this Act, and the rules and regulations described in subsection (b) of such sec- tion, as so added, shall be prescribed not later than one hundred and eighty days after the date of the enact- ment of this Act (Aug. 9, 1985).’’ REPORTING REQUIREMENTS Pub. L. 99–87, § 3, Aug. 9, 1985, 99 Stat. 291, as amended by Pub. L. 100–202, § 101(m) (title VI, § 627(b)), Dec. 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 1329–390, 1329–430; Pub. L. 102–514, § 1(1), Oct. 24, 1992, 106 Stat. 3371; Pub. L. 105–126, § 1(1), Dec. 1, 1997, 111 Stat. 2542, required the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Senate Com- mittee on Rules and Administration, and the House Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards each to submit a report no later than June 30, 2002, on the authority provided by this section. CLARIFICATION RELATING TO COORDINATION OF GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS Pub. L. 99–87, § 4, Aug. 9, 1985, 99 Stat. 292, provided that: ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the authority provided by section 3220(b) of title 39, United States Code, as added by this Act, shall not be consid- ered to be subject to the authority of any agency with- in the executive branch of the Government of the United States to coordinate programs relating to miss- ing children.’’ CHAPTER 34—ARMED FORCES AND FREE POSTAGE Sec. 3401. Mailing privileges of members of Armed Forces of the United States. [3402. Repealed.] 3403. Matter for blind and other handicapped per- sons. 3404. Unsealed letters sent by blind or physically handicapped persons. 3405. Markings. 3406. Balloting materials under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act. Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2019—Pub. L. 116–92, div. A, title X, § 1055(c)(2), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1593, added item 3401 and struck out former item 3401 ‘‘Mailing privileges of members of Armed Forces of the United States and of friendly for- eign nations’’. 1986—Pub. L. 99–410, title II, § 201(b)(1), Aug. 28, 1986, 100 Stat. 928, added item 3406. 1979—Pub. L. 96–70, title I, § 1331(e)(3)(B), Sept. 27, 1979, 93 Stat. 482, struck out item 3402 ‘‘Mailing privi- leges of members of Armed Forces of the United States and of friendly foreign nations in the Canal Zone’’. § 3401. Mailing privileges of members of Armed Forces of the United States (a)(1) First-class letter mail having the char- acter of personal correspondence shall be car- ried, at no cost to the sender, in the manner pro- vided by this section, when mailed by an eligible individual described in paragraph (2) and ad- dressed to a place within the delivery limits of a United States post office, if— (A) such letter mail is mailed by the eligible individual at an Armed Forces post office es- tablished in an overseas area designated by the President, where the Armed Forces of the United States are deployed for a contingency operation as determined by the Secretary of Defense; or (B) the eligible individual is hospitalized as a result of disease or injury incurred as a re- sult of service in an overseas area designated by the President under subparagraph (A). (2) An eligible individual described in this paragraph is— (A) a member of the Armed Forces of the United States on active duty, as defined in section 101 of title 10; or (B) a civilian employee of the Department of Defense or a military department who is pro- viding support to military operations. (b) There shall be transported by surface or air, consistent with the service purchased by the mailer, between Armed Forces post offices or from an Armed Forces post office to a point of entry into the United States, the following cat- egories of mail matter which are mailed at any such Armed Forces post office: (1) Letter mail communications having the character of personal correspondence. (2) Any parcel exceeding 1 pound in weight but less than 70 pounds in weight and less than 130 inches in length and girth combined. (3) Publications published not less fre- quently than once per week and featuring principally current news of interest to mem- bers of the Armed Forces of the United States and the general public. (c) The Department of Defense shall transfer to the Postal Service as postal revenues, out of any appropriations or funds available to the De- partment of Defense, 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 under authority of sub- section (a) of this section. (d) The Department of Defense shall transfer to the Postal Service as postal revenues, out of any appropriations or funds available to the De- partment of Defense, as a necessary expense of the appropriations or funds and of the activities concerned, sums equal to the expenses incurred by the Postal Service, as determined by the Postal Service, in providing air transportation for mail mailed at or addressed to Armed Forces post offices established under section 406 of this title, but reimbursement under this subsection shall not include the expense of air transpor- tation (1) for which the Postal Service collects a special charge to the extent the special charge covers the additional expense of air transpor- Page 98 TITLE 39—POSTAL SERVICE § 3401 tation or (2) that is provided by the Postal Serv- ice at the same postage rate or charge for mail which is neither mailed at nor addressed to an Armed Forces post office. (e) This section shall be administered under such conditions, and under such regulations, as the Postal Service and the Secretary of Defense jointly may prescribe. (f) In this section: (1) The term ‘‘military aircraft’’ means an aircraft owned, operated, or chartered by the Department of Defense. (2) The term ‘‘United States air carrier’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘air carrier’’ in section 40102 of title 49. (Pub. L. 91–375, Aug. 12, 1970, 84 Stat. 755; Pub. L. 92–469, Oct. 6, 1972, 86 Stat. 782; Pub. L. 96–70, title I, § 1331(e)(2), Sept. 27, 1979, 93 Stat. 482; Pub. L. 98–443, § 9(g)(1), Oct. 4, 1984, 98 Stat. 1707; Pub. L. 101–384, Sept. 18, 1990, 104 Stat. 737; Pub. L. 101–509, title VI, § 631(a), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1480; Pub. L. 101–510, div. A, title XI, § 1113, Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1636; Pub. L. 102–484, div. A, title X, § 1051(b)(3), Oct. 23, 1992, 106 Stat. 2498; Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title III, § 364, Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1628; Pub. L. 103–272, § 5(k)(1), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1375; Pub. L. 106–398, § 1 [[div. A], title X, § 1088], Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1654, 1654A–294; Pub. L. 108–375, div. A, title X, § 1071, Oct. 28, 2004, 118 Stat. 2056; Pub. L. 110–405, § 2(b)(10), Oct. 13, 2008, 122 Stat. 4290; Pub. L. 116–92, div. A, title X, § 1055(a)–(c)(1), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1592, 1593.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2019—Pub. L. 116–92, § 1055(c)(1), struck out ‘‘and of friendly foreign nations’’ after ‘‘United States’’ in sec- tion catchline. Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 116–92, § 1055(a), amended subsec. (a) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (a) related to carriage at no cost of letter mail or sound- or video- recorded communications having the character of per- sonal correspondence mailed at Armed Forces post of- fices. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 116–92, § 1055(b)(3), amended sub- sec. (b) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (b) re- lated to the carriage by air of certain categories of mail matter. Subsecs. (c) to (g). Pub. L. 116–92, § 1055(b), redesig- nated subsecs. (d) to (g) as (c) to (f), respectively, and struck out former subsec. (c) which read as follows: ‘‘Any parcel, other than a parcel mailed at a rate of postage requiring priority of handling and delivery, not exceeding 30 pounds in weight and 60 inches in length and girth combined, which is mailed at or addressed to any Armed Forces post office established under section 406(a) of this title, shall be transported by air on a space available basis on certificated United States air carriers or, for carriage of mail in foreign air transpor- tation, other air carriers, air taxi operators or foreign air carriers as permitted by section 5402 of this title, or on military aircraft, upon payment of a fee for such air transportation in addition to the rate of postage other- wise applicable to such a parcel not transported by air.’’ 2008—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 110–405, § 2(b)(10)(D), struck out concluding provisions which read as follows: ‘‘Whenever adequate service by certificated United States air carriers and military aircraft is not avail- able to provide transportation of mail matter by air in accordance with this subsection, the transportation of such mail may be authorized by other than certificated United States air carriers and military aircraft.’’ Pub. L. 110–405, § 2(b)(10)(A)–(C), substituted ‘‘or, for carriage of mail in foreign air transportation, other air carriers, air taxi operators or foreign air carriers as permitted by section 5402 of this title’’ for ‘‘at rates fixed and determined by the Secretary of Transpor- tation in accordance with section 41901 of title 49’’, struck out ‘‘at rates not to exceed those so fixed and determined for scheduled United States air carriers’’ after ‘‘military aircraft’’, and substituted ‘‘certifi- cated’’ for ‘‘scheduled’’ wherever appearing. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 110–405, § 2(b)(10)(D), struck out at end ‘‘If adequate service by certificated United States air carriers and military aircraft is not available, any such parcel may be transported by other than certifi- cated United States air carriers and military aircraft.’’. Pub. L. 110–405, § 2(b)(10)(A)–(C), substituted ‘‘or, for carriage of mail in foreign air transportation, other air carriers, air taxi operators or foreign air carriers as permitted by section 5402 of this title’’ for ‘‘at rates fixed and determined by the Secretary of Transpor- tation in accordance with section 41901 of title 49’’, struck out ‘‘at rates not to exceed those so fixed and determined for scheduled United States air carriers’’ after ‘‘military aircraft’’, and substituted ‘‘certifi- cated’’ for ‘‘scheduled’’ wherever appearing. 2004—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 108–375, § 1071(a)(1), sub- stituted ‘‘title 49, or on military aircraft at rates not to exceed those so fixed and determined for scheduled United States air carriers,’’ for ‘‘title 49,’’ in introduc- tory provisions and ‘‘carriers and military aircraft’’ for ‘‘carriers’’ in two places in concluding provisions. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 108–375, § 1071(a)(2), in first sen- tence, substituted ‘‘title 49, or on military aircraft at rates not to exceed those so fixed and determined for scheduled United States air carriers,’’ for ‘‘title 49,’’ and, in second sentence, inserted ‘‘and military air- craft’’ after ‘‘by scheduled United States air carriers’’ and substituted ‘‘by other than scheduled United States air carriers and military aircraft’’ for ‘‘by air carriers other than scheduled United States air car- riers’’. Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 108–375, § 1071(b), added subsec. (g). 2000—Subsec. (b)(2), (3). Pub. L. 106–398 substituted ‘‘the maximum size allowed by the Postal Service for fourth class parcel post (known as ‘Standard Mail (B)’)’’ for ‘‘100 inches in length and girth combined’’. 1994—Subsecs. (b), (c). Pub. L. 103–272 substituted ‘‘section 41901’’ for ‘‘section 1376’’. 1993—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 103–160, in introductory provisions, inserted ‘‘an individual who is’’ before ‘‘a member’’ and ‘‘or a civilian, otherwise authorized to use postal services at Armed Forces installations, who holds a position or performs one or more functions in support of military operations, as designated by the military theater commander,’’ after ‘‘section 101 of title 10,’’ and, in subpars. (A) and (B), substituted ‘‘such individual’’ for ‘‘the member’’. 1992—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 102–484 substituted ‘‘sec- tion 101 of title 10,’’ for ‘‘section 101(4) and (22) of title 10,’’ in introductory provisions. 1990—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 101–510 substituted ‘‘sound- or video-recorded’’ for ‘‘sound-recorded’’ in introduc- tory provisions. Subsec. (a)(1)(A). Pub. L. 101–510 substituted ‘‘sound- or video-recorded’’ for ‘‘sound-recorded’’. Pub. L. 101–509, which directed that ‘‘, or temporarily deployed overseas for an operational contingency in ar- duous circumstances, as determined by the Secretary of Defense’’ be inserted after ‘‘belligerent’’, and that ‘‘or’’ be struck out the first time it appears, was exe- cuted by making the insertion as directed but by strik- ing out ‘‘or’’ appearing before ‘‘serving with a friendly foreign force’’ to reflect the probable intent of Con- gress. Pub. L. 101–384 inserted ‘‘engaged in temporary mili- tary operations under arduous circumstances,’’ before ‘‘or serving’’. Subsecs. (a)(2)(D), (b)(1)(A). Pub. L. 101–510 substituted ‘‘sound- or video-recorded’’ for ‘‘sound-re- corded’’. Page 99 TITLE 39—POSTAL SERVICE § 3404 1984—Subsecs. (b), (c). Pub. L. 98–443 substituted ‘‘Secretary of Transportation’’ for ‘‘Civil Aeronautics Board’’. 1979—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 96–70 substituted ‘‘or the Virgin Islands,’’ for ‘‘the Virgin Islands, or the Canal Zone,’’. 1972—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 92–469, § 1, substituted ‘‘15’’ for ‘‘5’’ after ‘‘pounds’’ in cl. (B), redesignated sub- sec. (b)(2) as (b)(1)(C), and deleted therefrom former cls. reading ‘‘(A) in an overseas area designated by the President under subsection (a) of this section, or (B) in an isolated, hardship, or combat support area overseas, or where adequate surface transportation is not avail- able’’. Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 92–469, § 1, added subsec. (b)(2). Former subsec. (b)(2) redesignated subsec. (b)(1)(C). Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 92–469, § 1, substituted ‘‘15’’ for ‘‘5’’ after ‘‘pounds’’. Subsecs. (c) to (f). Pub. L. 92–469, § 2, added subsec. (c) and redesignated former subsecs. (c) to (e) as (d) to (f), respectively. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2008 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 110–405 effective Oct. 1, 2008, see section 2(c) of Pub. L. 110–405, set out as a note under section 101 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1984 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 98–443 effective Jan. 1, 1985, see section 9(v) of Pub. L. 98–443, set out as a note under section 5314 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1979 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 96–70 effective Oct. 1, 1979, see section 3304 of Pub. L. 96–70, set out as an Effective Date note under section 3601 of Title 22, Foreign Rela- tions and Intercourse. EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective July 1, 1971, pursuant to Resolution No. 71–9 of the Board of Governors. See section 15(a) of Pub. L. 91–375, set out as a note preceding section 101 of this title. OPERATION DESERT SHIELD Pub. L. 101–509, title VI, § 631(b), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1480, provided that: ‘‘This section [amending this sec- tion] shall apply to military personnel participating in ‘Operation Desert Shield’.’’ Executive Documents EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 11255 Ex. Ord. No. 11255, Nov. 1, 1965, 30 F.R. 14135, which designated Vietnam and certain waters adjacent there- to as an overseas combat area where the Armed Forces of the United States are engaged in military operations involving armed conflict with a hostile foreign force, for purposes of sections 4169 and 4303 of former Title 39, was revoked by Ex. Ord. No. 12553, Feb. 25, 1986, 51 F.R. 7237. EX. ORD. NO. 12556. DELEGATION OF FUNCTIONS TO SECRETARY OF DEFENSE Ex. Ord. No. 12556, Apr. 16, 1986, 51 F.R. 13205, pro- vided: By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, including section 301 of title 3 of the United States Code, it is hereby ordered as follows: SECTION 1. Delegation of Functions. The function con- ferred upon the President by section 3401(a) of title 39 of the United States Code, of designating an area for free mailing privileges, is delegated to the Secretary of Defense. SEC. 2. Interagency Consultation. In performing the function delegated by this Order, the Secretary of De- fense shall consult with the Secretary of State and the United States Postal Service, and with the heads of other Executive agencies as appropriate. The Secretary of Defense shall provide timely notice to the United States Postal Service of any designations or termi- nations of designations made under this Order. RONALD REAGAN. [§ 3402. Repealed. Pub. L. 96–70, title I, § 1331(e)(3)(A), Sept. 27, 1979, 93 Stat. 482] Section, Pub. L. 91–375, Aug. 12, 1970, 84 Stat. 757, re- lated to mailing privileges of members of Armed Forces of the United States and of friendly foreign nations in the Canal Zone. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF REPEAL Repeal effective Oct. 1, 1979, see section 3304 of Pub. L. 96–70, set out as an Effective Date note under section 3601 of Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse. § 3403. Matter for blind and other handicapped persons (a) The matter described in subsection (b) of this section (other than matter mailed under section 3404 of this title) may be mailed free of postage, if— (1) the matter is for the use of the blind or other persons who cannot use or read conven- tionally printed material because of a physical impairment and who are certified by com- petent authority as unable to read normal reading material in accordance with the provi- sions of sections 135a and 135b of title 2; (2) no charge, or rental, subscription, or other fee, is required for such matter or a charge, or rental, subscription, or other fee is required for such matter not in excess of the cost thereof; (3) the matter may be opened by the Postal Service for inspection; and (4) the matter contains no advertising. (b) The free mailing privilege provided by sub- section (a) of this section is extended to— (1) reading matter and musical scores; (2) sound reproductions; (3) paper, records, tapes, and other material for the production of reading matter, musical scores, or sound reproductions; (4) reproducers or parts thereof, for sound re- productions; and (5) braille writers, typewriters, educational or other materials or devices, or parts thereof, used for writing by, or specifically designed or adapted for use of, a blind person or a person having a physical impairment as described in subsection (a)(1) of this section. (Pub. L. 91–375, Aug. 12, 1970, 84 Stat. 757.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective July 1, 1971, pursuant to Resolution No. 71–9 of the Board of Governors. See section 15(a) of Pub. L. 91–375, set out as a note preceding section 101 of this title. § 3404. Unsealed letters sent by blind or phys- ically handicapped persons Unsealed letters sent by a blind person or a person having a physical impairment, as de-