U.S. Code » Title 39 » Part PART I— GENERAL › Chapter CHAPTER 4— GENERAL AUTHORITY

39 U.S.C. § 401

General powers of the Postal Service

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Subject to the provisions of section 404a, the Postal Service shall have the following general powers:(1) to sue and be sued in its official name;(2) to adopt, amend, and repeal such rules and regulations, not inconsistent with this title, as may be necessary in the execution of its functions under this title and such other functions as may be assigned to the Postal Service under any provisions of law outside of this title;(3) to enter into and perform contracts, execute instruments, and determine the character of, and necessity for, its expenditures;(4) to determine and keep its own system of accounts and the forms and contents of its contracts and other business documents, except as otherwise provided in this title;(5) to acquire, in any lawful manner, such personal or real property, or any interest therein, as it deems necessary or convenient in the transaction of its business; to hold, maintain, sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of such property or any interest therein; and to provide services in connection therewith and charges therefor;(6) to construct, operate, lease, and maintain buildings, facilities, equipment, and other improvements on any property owned or controlled by it, including, without limitation, any property or interest therein transferred to it under section 2002 of this title;(7) to accept gifts or donations of services or property, real or personal, as it deems, necessary or convenient in the transaction of its business;(8) to settle and compromise claims by or against it;(9) to exercise, in the name of the United States, the right of eminent domain for the furtherance of its official purposes; and to have the priority of the United States with respect to the payment of debts out of bankrupt, insolvent, and decedents’ estates; and(10) to have all other powers incidental, necessary, or appropriate to the carrying on of its functions or the exercise of its specific powers.(Pub. L. 91–375, Aug. 12, 1970, 84 Stat. 722; Pub. L. 109–435, title IV, § 403(b)(1), title V, § 504, Dec. 20, 2006, 120 Stat. 3227, 3235.)Editorial NotesAmendments

2006—Pub. L. 109–435, § 403(b)(1), substituted “Subject to the provisions of section 404a, the” for “The” in introductory provisions.

Par. (2). Pub. L. 109–435, § 504, amended par. (2) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (2) read as follows: “to adopt, amend, and repeal such rules and regulations as it deems necessary to accomplish the objectives of this title;”.

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesEffective Date

Pars. (1) and (3) to (10) effective July 1, 1971, pursuant to Resolution No. 71–9 of the Board of Governors and par. (2) effective Aug. 12, 1970. See section 15(a) of Pub. L. 91–375, set out as a note preceding section 101 of this title.

Executive DocumentsEmergency Preparedness Functions

For assignment of certain emergency preparedness functions to the Postmaster General, see Parts 1, 2, and 26 of Ex. Ord. No. 12656, Nov. 18, 1988, 53 F.R. 47491, set out as a note under section 5195 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare.

Executive Order No. 13975

Ex. Ord. No. 13975, Jan. 14, 2021, 86 F.R. 6547, which encouraged Buy American policies for the United States Postal Service, was revoked by Ex. Ord. No. 14005, § 14(a), Jan. 25, 2021, 86 F.R. 7478, set out as a note under section 8301 of Title 41, Public Contracts.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 308 cases (21 in the last 5 years), 1971–2026 · leading case: Loeffler v. Frank, 486 U.S. 549 (1988).
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Loeffler v. Frank, 486 U.S. 549 (1988). · cites it 12× “In the majority's view, Congress' provision in the 1970 Postal Reorganization Act, 39 U. S. C. § 401 (1), that the Postal Service may "sue and be sued" was irrelevant to the question before it, because "a sue-and-be-sued clause does not expand the obligations of a federal entity…”
United States Postal Serv. v. Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations, 453 U.S. 114 (1981). · cites it 4× “See 39 U. S. C. § 401 et seq. and the Domestic Mail Manual (DMM), which has been incorporated by *123 reference in the Code of Federal Regulations, 39 CFR pt.”
MB Fin. Grp., Inc. v. United State Postal Serv., 545 F.3d 814 (9th Cir. 2008). · cites it 8× “The district court held that § 2680(b) barred relief on the breach of contract claim as well because it was "based on the same facts as [the] negligence claim.”
Franchise Tax Bd. v. United States Postal Serv., 467 U.S. 512 (1984). · cites it 4× “5 The Court of Appeals rejected the Board’s argument that § 5517 did not prohibit issuance of the orders, and also rejected the argument that the provision in 39 U. S. C. § 401 (1) declaring that the Postal Service may “sue and be sued in its official name” had waived any…”
Cohen v. Postal Holdings, LLC, 873 F.3d 394 (2d Cir. 2017). · cites it 2× “Postal Holdings therefore contended that the PRA not only waived the USPS’s sovereign -immunity, but also gave the district court jurisdiction over its Third Party Complaint.”
Gomez-Perez v. Potter, 553 U.S. 474 (2008). · cites it 2× “On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held that the Postal Reorganization Act, 39 U. S. C. § 401 (1), unequivocally waived the Postal Service’s sovereign immunity, see 476 F.”
Bolger v. Youngs Drug Prods. Corp., 463 U.S. 60 (1983). · cites it 2× “" In addition, the provision does not apply to advertisements mailed to certain recipients such as a manufacturer of contraceptives, a licensed physician, or a pharmacist.”
Milner v. Bolger, 546 F. Supp. 375 (E.D. Cal. 1982). · cites it 10× “I The primary obstacle to the invocation of sovereign immunity by the Postal Service is the “sue and be sued” clause of 39 U.S.C. § 401 (1): The Postal Service shall have the following general powers: (1) to sue and be sued in its official name; It has long been established that…”
Michele Portmann, Doing Bus. as Grafica, an Individual v. United States, 674 F.2d 1155 (7th Cir. 1982). · cites it 3× “To effectuate this goal, Congress clothed the Service with broad and extensive powers, including the ability “to sue and be sued in its official name,” 39 U.S.C. § 401 (1), the power “to enter into and perform contracts, execute instruments, and determine the character of, and…”
Ascom Hasler Mailing Sys., Inc. v. United States Postal Serv., 815 F. Supp. 2d 148 (D.D.C. 2011). · cites it 5× “Rather, the applicable waiver of sovereign immunity is the Postal Reorganization Act itself, which waives the immunity of USPS by giving it the power “to sue and be used in its official name.”
Dolan v. United States Postal Serv., 546 U.S. 481 (2006). “The FTCA, in turn, waives sovereign immunity in two different sections of the United States Code. The first confers federal-court jurisdiction in a defined category of cases involving negligence committed by federal employees in the course of their employment.”
Stephen B. Licata v. United States Postal Serv., 33 F.3d 259 (3d Cir. 1994). · cites it 3× “It is 39 U.S.C. § 401 (1) that waives the Service’s sovereign immunity by providing that it may “sue and be sued in its official name.”
Show all 308 citing cases →
39 U.S.C. § 401(1): 2 cases
Anselma Crossing, L.P. v. United States Postal Serv., 637 F.3d 238 (3d Cir. 2011).
Young v. United States Postal Serv., 698 F. Supp. 1139 (S.D.N.Y. 1988).
39 U.S.C. § 401(2): 1 case
Rockville Reminder, Inc. v. United States Postal Serv., 350 F. Supp. 590 (D. Conn. 1972).
39 U.S.C. § 401(3): 1 case
Am. K-9 Detection Servs., LLC v. United States, No. 20-1614 (Fed. Cl. Aug. 16, 2021).
39 U.S.C. § 401(9): 1 case
Butz Eng'g Corp. v. United States, 204 Ct. Cl. 561 (Ct. Cl. 1974).
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