Reimbursement of unlawful rates; penalty for unreasonable delay

Section 3681 of title 39, United States Code, is amended— (1) by striking No mailer and inserting (a) No mailer; (2) by striking through 3664 of this title, or is superseded by a lower rate or fee established under subchapter II of this chapter; and (3) by adding at the end the following new subsection: (b) (1) (A) If the Postal Regulatory Commissions determines that a rate or fee for a product is unlawful in a review conducted pursuant to section 3653 of this title or in a complaint proceeding conducted pursuant to section 3662 of this title, the Commission shall order the price increase authority for such product and all other products in the class of mail containing such product to be reduced (but not below zero) for the next following price adjustment and each succeeding price adjustments until the amount of foregone revenue is equal to amount of revenue received by the Postal Service from the portion of such rate or fee that exceeded the lawful amount such rate or fee. (B) In this paragraph, the term foregone revenue means the difference between— (i) the revenue that the Postal Service would have received from the sale of the products subject to an order under subparagraph (A) during the period that the Postal Service is unable to increase the prices of such products pursuant to such order if— (I) the Commission had not issued such order; and (II) the rate or fee for the product with the unlawful rate or fee for which the Commission issued such order was the maximum lawful rate or fee for such product at the time the Commission issued such order; and (ii) the revenue the Postal Service receives from the sale of the products subject to such order during such period. (2) (A) In a complaint proceeding conducted pursuant to section 3662 of this title, if the Postal Regulatory Commission finds that the Postal Service has unreasonably delayed the proceeding, the Commission may order a reduction in the price increase authority for the product or products whose rate or fee it has determined to be unlawful to the extent that the unreasonable delay caused by the Postal Service has extended the time during which users of such product or products have paid the unlawful rate or fee. (B) A reduction under subparagraph (A) shall be in addition to any reduction under paragraph (1). (C) The Commission shall include in an order under subparagraph (A) with respect to the unreasonably delay of a proceeding an explanation of the basis for the determination of the Commission regarding the time such proceeding would have required absent such unreasonable delay..