MAIL Act

Sponsor: Adam B. Schiff (Democratic-CA)July 22, 2026

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Introduced

In Committee

Passed One Chamber

Passed Both Chambers

Signed into Law

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Provides free post office boxes to people who are unhoused or facing housing instability.

This bill would offer free post office boxes to people who are unhoused or facing housing instability. Eligible individuals could get a stable mailing address without fees. The Postal Service would receive money to cover the costs and lost revenue from these free boxes.

What Would Change

Today, individuals must pay fees to rent post office boxes from the United States Postal Service. There are no specific laws allowing unhoused or housing unstable individuals to get these services for free. After this bill, the Postal Service would be required to provide free post office boxes to eligible unhoused or housing unstable individuals. The Postal Service would also receive money from Congress to cover the lost fees and extra costs of providing these free boxes.

Key Provisions

Requires the United States Postal Service to create new rules within one year to provide free post office boxes to eligible individuals.
Defines "eligible individual" as someone unhoused or housing unstable who meets income limits or receives certain government aid (like Medicaid or SNAP).
Defines "unhoused or housing unstable individual" using existing federal definitions for homelessness or being at risk of homelessness.
Sets aside money each year for the Postal Service to cover lost fees and the costs of providing these free post office boxes.
Lets the Postal Service buy more post office boxes, retail space, and equipment, and hire more staff as needed for the program.

View on Congress.gov

S 5070 · 119th Congress · July 22, 2026 · AI Summary by gemini-2.5-flash · 10/10

MAIL Act

What Would Change

Key Provisions

Lobbying Activity