There have been recent reports of the improper disposition of franked mail found in Postal Service™ collection mail. Section 491.523 of the Postal Operations Manual (POM) prohibits Postal Service employees from detaining franked mail, except in situations involving mail security. In addition, Postal Service employees who suspect abuse of franked mail privileges should refer the matter to officials of the Pricing and Classification Service Center (PCSC).
Effective December 3, 2009, the POM is revised to reflect the title of the PCSC and to clarify the chain of referral for suspected abuse of franked mail privileges.
Postal Operations Manual (POM)
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4 Mail Processing Procedures
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49 Congressional and Political Campaign Mail
491 Congressional Mail
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491.5 Accounting for Franked Mail Entered at Post Offices Outside Washington, DC
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491.52 Individual Piece Mailings
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491.523 Detention of Mail
[Revise the last two sentences of 491.523 to re5ad as follows:]
***Report any indications of abuses to the Pricing and Classification Service Center (PCSC). The PCSC must refer cases of abuse to the Postal Inspection Service for investigation and to Government Relations, Headquarters, for coordination with the appropriate congressional agency.
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We will incorporate the revision into the next printed edition of the POM and into the online update, available on the Postal Service PolicyNet website:
n Go to http://blue.usps.gov.
n In the left-hand column under “Essential Links”, click PolicyNet.
n Click HBKs.
The direct URL for the Postal Service PolicyNet website is http://blue.usps.gov/cpim.
— Government Relations and Industry,
Government Relations and Public Policy, 12-3-09
