Bills
| 3.23.22

Should Every Post Office Display the Official Portraits of the President & Vice President? (H.R. 5705)

Do you support or oppose this bill?

What is H.R. 5705?

(Updated November 19, 2020)

This bill — known as the POTUS Act — would require each office of the U.S. Postal Service to display the official portraits of the president and vice president side-by-side with the president on the left. The portraits would be required to be equal in size and displayed at the same height.

Currently, there is a Postal Service regulation prohibiting photos of the president and vice president from hanging in post offices. This bill was introduced in response to a complaint from a constituent of the sponsor, who noted their local post office displayed portraits of former President Obama and Vice President Biden but began enforcing the rule after President Trump’s inauguration.

The bill's full title is the Postal Operations To be Unbiased and Sensible (POTUS) Act of 2018.

Argument in favor

The Postal Service rule against displaying portraits of the president and vice president in post offices is ridiculous, and anecdotal evidence it’s being selectively enforced is disturbing. People expect to see pictures of government leaders in public buildings, so all post offices should feature portraits of the president and vice president regardless of who is in office.

Argument opposed

The Postal Service shouldn’t be required to display portraits of the president and vice president in every post office around the country. The regulation prohibiting such portraits needs to remain in place — but it mustn’t be selectively enforced based on the political leanings of local post office managers.

Impact

Visitors to post offices; post office managers; and the U.S. Postal Service.

Cost of H.R. 5705

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Dan Donovan (R-NY) introduced this bill to require all post offices to display the official portraits of the president and vice president. He drafted it after a constituent complained about their local office enforcing the Postal Service rule prohibiting such photos during the Trump administration after displaying portraits of Obama and Biden:

“First of all, the USPS rule is  ridiculous. When people go to the post office or any federal building, they expect to see pictures of their government leaders displayed. Second of all, it’s disturbing to hear anecdotal evidence that this rule was ignored for a very long time, and is only being enforced now because of who occupies the Oval Office.”

Donovan added in a statement to the Washington Examiner that:

“It’s sad that a bill like this is even necessary, but my constituent noticed what seemed like selective enforcement so I took action. Once this bill becomes law, there will be one uniform standard for every president and every post office.”


Media:

Summary by Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: White House / Public Domain)