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Postal Data Privacy Act of 2026
To require a court order for use of a mail cover.
Summary
This bill requires government entities to obtain a court order before using mail covers, which are procedures where the Postal Service records information about mail such as addresses and postage without opening it. A court may issue such an order only if the government entity demonstrates specific and articulable facts showing reasonable grounds to believe the mail cover is relevant and material to an ongoing criminal investigation. The bill also requires the Chief Postal Inspector to preserve postal records and evidence for 90 days upon request, with the option to extend for an additional 90 days. State governments may prohibit their own authorities from using mail covers even with a court order under their state laws.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
9 cosponsors
- Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC)
- Rep. Craig, Angie [D-MN-2] (D-MN)
- Rep. Garcia, Robert [D-CA-42] (D-CA)
- Rep. Jacobs, Sara [D-CA-51] (D-CA)
- Rep. Johnson, Henry C. "Hank" [D-GA-4] (D-GA)
- Rep. McGovern, James P. [D-MA-2] (D-MA)
- Rep. Stansbury, Melanie A. [D-NM-1] (D-NM)
- Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12] (D-MI)
- Rep. Veasey, Marc A. [D-TX-33] (D-TX)
Money behind the sponsor
Top reported contributors to Mary Gay Scanlon’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.
- BALLARD SPAHR LLP $35,392
- BALLARD SPAHR $32,750
- UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA $10,450
- NULL $9,550
- AMERISOURCEBERGEN CORPORATION $6,600
Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Mary Gay Scanlon → · Outside spending →
Actions (2)
- May 29, 2026 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. · house
- May 29, 2026 Introduced in House
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 29, 2026
Ms. Scanlon (for herself, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. McGovern, Ms. Norton, and Ms. Jacobs) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To require a court order for use of a mail cover.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Postal Data Privacy Act of 2026”.
SEC. 2. MAIL COVERS.
(a) In General.—Chapter 83 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 1737 the following: “Sec. 1738. Limitation on use of mail covers
“(a) Requirement for Court Order.—
“(1) Limitation.—A governmental entity may not use a mail cover, unless the governmental entity obtains a court order pursuant to paragraph (2).
“(2) Court order.—A court order authorizing the use of a mail cover may be issued by any court that is a court of competent jurisdiction and shall issue only if a governmental entity offers specific and articulable facts showing that there are reasonable grounds to believe that mail covers are relevant and material to an ongoing criminal investigation. In the case of a State governmental authority, such a court order shall not issue if prohibited by the law of such State.
“(b) Requirement To Preserve Evidence.—
“(1) In general.—The Chief Postal Inspector, upon the request of a governmental entity, shall take all necessary steps to preserve records and other evidence in its possession pending the issuance of a court order or other process.
“(2) Period of retention.—Records referred to in paragraph (1) shall be retained for a period of 90 days, which shall be extended for an additional 90-day period upon a renewed request by the governmental entity.
“(c) Mail Cover Defined.—The term ‘mail cover’ has the meaning given that term in section 233.3 of title 39, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation).”.
(b) Clerical Amendment.—The table of sections for chapter 83 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item related to section 1737 the following:
“1738. Limitation on use of mail covers.”. <all>
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