FEDERALhearing transcript

Congressional Hearing on Fourth-Class Mail Rate Setting

Original title: Fourth-class mail: hearing before the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service, House of Representatives, Eighty-ninth Congress, first session on H.R. 5938, and similar bills, bills to repeal the provisions of law relating to the fixing of the Postmaster General, with the consent of the Interstate Commerce Commission, of rates of postage on fourth-class mail, and for other purposes ...

July 20, 2026

postal service mail rates H.R. 5938 Postmaster General Interstate Commerce Commission

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The Frame

What this does

The bill proposes shifting the authority to set rates exclusively to the Postmaster General, removing the oversight role previously held by the .

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Postmaster General

The Postmaster General would gain sole authority to set fourth-class mail rates if the bill passes.

Interstate Commerce Commission

The ICC would lose its statutory role in consenting to fourth-class mail rate adjustments.

What changed

Last recorded activity July 20, 2026.

What's next

Next step not available in the current record.

Summary

This document is a transcript of a 1965 House Committee hearing regarding H.R. 5938, a bill proposed to change how postage rates for are determined. The legislation seeks to repeal the requirement that the Postmaster General obtain consent from the (ICC) to set these rates.

Key Facts

The hearing concerns H.R. 5938 and similar legislative proposals.
The legislation aims to repeal existing laws requiring the Postmaster General to obtain Interstate Commerce Commission consent for fourth-class mail rates.
The hearing took place during the Eighty-ninth Congress, first session.
The primary objective is to modify the administrative process for adjusting postage rates for fourth-class mail.

Why It Matters

The bill proposes shifting the authority to set rates exclusively to the Postmaster General, removing the oversight role previously held by the .

Frequently Asked Questions

What is fourth-class mail?

Historically, referred to parcel post, including packages, catalogs, and books.

Why was the Interstate Commerce Commission involved in mail rates?

Existing law required the Postmaster General to secure the ICC's consent to ensure that rates for parcel post were set in a manner consistent with regulatory standards.

News Coverage

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Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift90% confidence

Centralization of Rate Authority

The bill represents a move to consolidate rate-setting power within the Post Office Department by removing external regulatory oversight.

Postmaster General Interstate Commerce Commission

Connected Entities

organizationInterstate Commerce Commission“The regulatory body currently required to consent to fourth-class mail rate chan”Map →

organizationCommittee on Post Office and Civil Service“The House committee conducting the hearing.”Map →

personPostmaster General“The official whose rate-setting authority is the subject of the bill.”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.govinfo.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance40
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy20
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment5
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz5
Current news / social attention level

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