Thank you for sharing your concerns about this with us. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like additional assistance regarding this or any other matter.

cc: The Honorable Chaka Fattah

Ranking Minority Member

Sincerely,

Dennis Burke

Dennis K. Burke

Acting Assistant Attorney General

I am writing in regard to the enclosed proposed delegation of authority from you to the Postmaster General, as well as recently signed memoranda of understanding between the Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Secret Service. These documents authorize the Postal Inspection Service to conduct law enforcement for violations of various wire and electronic communications laws. I would appreciate a detailed explanation of the legal and substantive basis for the delegation of authority and memoranda.

As you know, the Subcommittee has been examining the role, if any, for the Postal Service in the provision of electronic services to the public. One concern voiced by witnesses before the Subcommittee is whether the Postal Service is inappropriately broadening its mission into electronic commerce services by unfairly leveraging its assets as a $60 billion government agency, which enjoys the protections of a statutory monopoly for the delivery of letter mail. The Department recently submitted comments on amendments to my legislation, H.R. 22, which advances the first comprehensive modernization of our nation's postal laws since 1970. A central component of this legislation is to ensure that in the provision of competitive products, the Postal Service is competing fairly with the private

sector.

I would appreciate an explanation as to why the Department believes there is any need to give the Postal Service additional law enforcement authority to protect its electronic services - including those that are not yet offered by the Service. Why is the Postal Service's current authority to protect its assets inadequate to the task?

It may be difficult to foresee the outcome of this delegation in a dynamic and rapidly changing communications marketplace. What analyses has the Department conducted of the Postal Service's need for this delegation and the potential consequences on competition? Is the Department concerned about the potential for unintended consequences if the proposed delegation of authority is approved and implemented?

Attorney General Reno

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Also, in your response to this letter, please address the following questions in light of the fact that Congress has not explicitly entrusted electronic communications services to the Postal Service: Given the government's interest in fair competition, would broadening the Service's law enforcement authority into electronic products confer an unfair competitive advantage on the Postal Service? How is it appropriate to grant this proposed delegation to the Postal Service when it is also attempting to offer a variety of commercial electronic commerce services? Has the Department considered the impact of delegating this federal law enforcement authority only to the Postal Service and not to other providers of e-mail and electronic communications? Would it be more effective and efficient to have all federal law enforcement in this area centralized in a single agency?

Please provide a written response on this matter at your earliest convenience. I would further appreciate your commitment to not move forward on the enclosed delegation until the Department fully examines and analyzes the potential consequences of this action. In that regard, I believe that it would also be helpful for the Department to reassess the appropriateness of the enclosed memoranda in light of the potential impact on competition.

With best wishes, I am

Sincerely yours,

Он

de Mill-Hughe

John M. McHugh, Chairman

Subcommittee on the Postal Service

Enclosures

CC:

William J. Henderson, Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer

Karla W. Corcoran, Inspector General, U.S. Postal Service

Honorable Henry J. Hyde, Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary

Honorable Tom Bliley, Chairman, Committee on Commerce

Honorable F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., Chairman, Committee on Science

DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY

BETWEEN THE

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES

AND UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE

The Attorney General of the United States and the U.S. Postal Service are authorized by 18 U.S.C. § 3061 (b)(2) (Section 6253, Pub. L. 100-690) to provide by agreement for the enforcement of laws of the United States by the Postal Service where the Attorney General determines that violations of such laws have a detrimental effect upon the operations of the U.S. Postal Service.

The Attorney General finds that, acting pursuant to the mandate of the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970, Pub. L. 91-375, to provide prompt, reliable, and efficient services (39 U.S.C. § 101 (b)), the U.S. Postal Service has developed, uses, and will continue to use computerized processes for the efficient processing and delivery of mail, accounting for postal revenues, and for management of personnel and property. Moreover, databases within computers store information about Postal Service operations, deliverable addresses, and financial transactions, and present technology offers the possibility of unlawful access to and manipulation of these essential processes and databases.

In addition, the U.S. Postal Service offers communications systems for the electronic receipt, validation, transmission, and delivery of electronic messages, as well as for the paymert and receipt of postage, and it intends to expand these as well as develop other communication services for the American public. Present technology offers the possibility of interception, alteration and counterfeiting of electronic messages and postage by persons acting with fraudulent intent. The U.S. Postal Service proposes to offer services that will provide safeguards against such activity. These services include an "electronic postmark" that will provide evidence of the sending and/or receipt of electronic messages between senders and recipients of electronic messages, as well as a secure system for the payment and receipt of postage. The utility and value of these services to the public is directly related to their integrity. Criminal attacks against their integrity would have a detrimental effect upon the operations and finances of the U.S. Postal Service.

Building upon its experience and expertise in protecting the integrity of conventional, corporeal mail, the U.S. Postal Service proposes to use the investigative and security resources of the Postal Inspection Service to preserve and protect the integrity of the databases it uses to operate the Nation's universal postal service and the electronic communication services it offers and will offer to the public. To achieve this purpose, the U.S. Postal Service should be able to take advantage of the protection provided by existing statutes prohibiting access device, computer, and wire fraud within the limited jurisdictional area granted by this delegation.

THEREFORE, the Attorney General and the Postmaster General agree as follows:

1. Purpose

The general purpose of this delegation is to ensure the Postal Inspection Service does not lose its ability to investigate criminal conduct against the present and future operations and services of the U.S. Postal Service. The Attorney General and the Postmaster General agree that a limited delegation of jurisdiction to investigate violations of Title 18, United States Code, §§ 1029, 1030, 1343, and 2701 will accomplish this objective. It is not the intention of the Attorney General and the Postmaster General to expand the Investigative role of the Postal Inspection Service beyond the provisions of 18 U.S.C. § 3061.

In this context, the parties understand "criminal conduct that has a detrimental effect upon the operations of the Postal Service” to mean criminal conduct in which the Postal Service is an actual or intended victim. It also means conduct that directly affects electronic messages conveyed by the Postal Service and the counterfeiting or misuse of any electronic postmarks used by the Postal Service. It also means criminal conduct directed against any computer, computer system, communication system, delivery system, payment system or other similar property owned or leased by or provided to the Postal Service.

2. Limited Jurisdiction

The U.S. Postal Service recognizes the concurrent jurisdiction of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Secret Service as the principal law enforcement agencies responsible for the enforcement of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1029 and 1030, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation as the principal enforcement agency responsible for the enforcement of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1343 and 2701.

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