PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Feb 6, 2025
Protect Our Letter Carriers Act of 2025This bill requires or authorizes certain actions related to the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).The bill requires the Department of Justice to appoint an assistant U.S. attorney in each judicial district to coordinate and supervise the investigation and prosecution of various crimes related to postal services (for example, assault on a postal service employee, breaking into a post office, or obstruction of mails). The bill also requires the U.S. Sentencing Commission to amend sentencing guidelines to provide that the assault or robbery of a postal employee shall be treated the same as the assault of a law enforcement officer.
Additionally, the bill authorizes appropriations for the USPS to install high security collection boxes and replace older versions of the universal mailbox key with electronic versions.
People & committees
Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-1] · R–PA
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
Source last updated: Sep 19, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-02-06 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The proposed Protect Our Letter Carriers Act of 2025 would authorize funding for more secure Postal Service collection boxes and electronic mailbox keys. It would require a federal prosecutor in each judicial district to coordinate specified postal crime cases. It would also require sentencing rules to treat assault or robbery of postal employees like assault of law enforcement officers, including certain dangerous conduct during immediate escape. The funding provision would authorize future appropriations; it would not itself provide the money.
This Act may be cited as the Protect Our Letter Carriers Act of 2025.
There is authorized to be appropriated $1,400,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030 to the United States Postal Service to carry out, as determined by the United States Postal Service— (1) the installation of high security collection boxes; and (2) the replacement of older versions of the universal mailbox key, also known as the arrow key, with electronic versions.
appoint in each judicial district an assistant United States attorney with principal responsibility in the district to coordinate and supervise the investigation and prosecution of alleged offenses
the assault or robbery of a postal employee, including conduct committed during the immediate flight after the commission of such an assault or robbery if the conduct creates a substantial risk of serious bodily injury, shall be treated in the same manner as the assault of a law enforcement officer.
The bill would express Congress's position that letter carriers must be protected from violence and that the Attorney General should vigorously prosecute assaults against postal employees. This is a statement of congressional views, rather than a requirement to prosecute every case.
It is the sense of the Congress that— (1) United States Postal Service letter carriers must be protected from acts of violence; and (2) the Attorney General should vigorously prosecute any case of assault against a postal employee.
The bill would authorize Congress to provide $1.4 billion to the Postal Service for each fiscal year from 2026 through 2030. The Postal Service would determine how to carry out installation of high-security collection boxes and replacement of older universal mailbox keys, called arrow keys, with electronic versions. This authorization does not itself appropriate funds.
There is authorized to be appropriated $1,400,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030 to the United States Postal Service to carry out, as determined by the United States Postal Service— (1) the installation of high security collection boxes; and (2) the replacement of older versions of the universal mailbox key, also known as the arrow key, with electronic versions.
The Attorney General would have to consult each district's United States attorney and appoint an assistant United States attorney—a federal prosecutor—to coordinate and supervise specified investigations and prosecutions. The responsibility would cover alleged violations of title 18, chapter 83 and sections 2115–2117, plus section 111 offenses against a carrier or other person entrusted with and holding the mail. The cited criminal statutes are not reproduced in the bundle.
The Attorney General shall, in consultation with the United States attorney for the district, appoint in each judicial district an assistant United States attorney with principal responsibility in the district to coordinate and supervise the investigation and prosecution of alleged offenses committed— (1) in violation of chapter 83 of title 18; (2) in violation of sections 2115, 2116, or 2117 of title 18; or (3) against a carrier or person entrusted with the mail and having custody thereof, in violation of section 111 of title 18.
The Attorney General would have to meet the prosecutor appointment requirement within one year after enactment.
The Attorney General shall comply with section 542(c) of title 28, United States Code, not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.
The United States Sentencing Commission would have to amend its sentencing guidelines and policy statements—the rules and guidance used in sentencing—to treat assault or robbery of a postal employee like assault of a law enforcement officer. This would include conduct during immediate escape after such an assault or robbery if that conduct creates a substantial risk of serious bodily injury.
the United States Sentencing Commission shall amend the sentencing guidelines and policy statements promulgated under section 994 of title 28, United States Code, to provide that the assault or robbery of a postal employee, including conduct committed during the immediate flight after the commission of such an assault or robbery if the conduct creates a substantial risk of serious bodily injury, shall be treated in the same manner as the assault of a law enforcement officer.
The deadline for the sentencing changes would be May 1 following the first year that begins after enactment. The provision therefore ties its deadline to enactment rather than specifying a fixed calendar year.
Not later than May 1 following the first year that begins after the date of the enactment of this Act, the United States Sentencing Commission shall amend the sentencing guidelines and policy statements
The supplied official-actions snapshot, updated September 19, 2026, records introduction in the House on February 6, 2025, and referral that day to the Judiciary Committee and the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. It does not establish subsequent legislative action or enactment.
Source snapshot updated 2026-09-19T23:37:10Z.
2025-02-06: Introduced in House
2025-02-06: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-02-06. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy rider was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places outside general program funding was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version; accompanying earmark materials are absent.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow carve-out, special exemption, or preferential exception was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. Coverage of the bill's intended beneficiaries alone does not constitute such a benefit. This conclusion is limited to the supplied version.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Sep 19, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI