The United States Postal Service, Postal Inspectors Equity Act

Floor Speech

* Mr. LYNCH. Madam Speaker, the United States Postal Service, Postal Inspectors Equity Act, is intended to allow postal inspectors to receive full law enforcement availability pay (LEAP) comparable to criminal investigators of other executive branch agencies. Postal inspectors protect the U.S. Postal Service, its employees and its customers from criminal attack, and protect the nation's mail system from criminal misuse.

* Under current law, compensation and benefits for postal inspectors are required to ``be maintained on a standard of comparability to the compensation and benefits paid for comparable levels of work in the executive branch of the Government outside of the Postal Service.'' See Title 39, U.S.C. 1003(c). Currently, the Postal Service is paying postal inspectors LEAP, but such payments are not statutorily required.

* As written, the bill will require the Postal Service to pay postal inspectors LEAP pursuant to statute. The United States Postal Service, Postal Inspectors Equity Act will amend Title 5, U.S.C. 5545a to define postal inspectors as law enforcement officers eligible to receive LEAP. The bill will preserve and protect postal inspectors' law enforcement availability pay and ensure that the Postal Inspection Service will be able to recruit and retain highly qualified postal inspectors.

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