Title 39Postal ServiceRelease 119-73

§2009a Budgetary treatment of the Postal Service Fund

Title 39 › Part PART III— - MODERNIZATION AND FISCAL ADMINISTRATION › Chapter CHAPTER 20— - FINANCE › § 2009a

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Postal Service Fund’s money and spending, including related administrative costs, must be kept separate from the federal budget. They are not counted in the President’s budget or the congressional budget totals (including budget authority and outlays). The Fund is also exempt from general statutory limits on federal outlays and lending, from any order under part C of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, and must not be counted when calculating the deficit under section 3(6) of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 or when measuring an excess deficit under sections 251 and 252 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 for any fiscal year.

Full Legal Text

Title 39, §2009a

Postal Service — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the receipts and disbursements of the Postal Service Fund, including disbursements for administrative expenses incurred in connection with the Fund—
(1)shall not be included in the totals of—
(A)the budget of the United States Government as submitted by the President, or
(B)the congressional budget (including allocations of budget authority and outlays provided therein);
(2)shall be exempt from any general budget limitation imposed by statute on expenditures and net lending (budget outlays) of the United States Government; and
(3)shall be exempt from any order issued under part C of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, and shall not be counted for purposes of calculating the deficit under section 3(6) of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 for purposes of comparison with the maximum deficit amount under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 nor counted in calculating the excess deficit for purposes of section 251 and 252 11 See References in Text note below. of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, for any fiscal year.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, referred to in par. (3), is title II of Pub. L. 99–177, Dec. 12, 1985, 99 Stat. 1038. Part C of the Act is classified generally to subchapter I (§ 900 et seq.) of chapter 20 of Title 2, The Congress. section 251 and 252 of the Act are classified to section 901 and 902, respectively, of Title 2, and were amended generally by Pub. L. 101–508, title XIII, § 13101(a), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1388–577, 1388–581. section 251 of the Act was further amended generally by Pub. L. 112–25, title I, § 101, Aug. 2, 2011, 125 Stat. 241. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 900 of Title 2 and Tables. section 3(6) of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, referred to in par. (3), is classified to section 622(6) of Title 2.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Pub. L. 101–239, title IV, § 4001(c), Dec. 19, 1989, 103 Stat. 2133, provided that: “The

Amendments

made by this section [enacting this section] shall apply with respect to budgets for fiscal years beginning after September 30, 1989.”

Construction

Pub. L. 101–239, title IV, § 4001(b), Dec. 19, 1989, 103 Stat. 2133, provided that: “Nothing in any amendment made by subsection (a) [enacting this section] shall be considered to diminish the oversight responsibilities or authority of the Congress under law, rule, or regulation with respect to the budget and operations of the United States Postal Service.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

39 U.S.C. § 2009a

Title 39Postal Service

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73