A bill to authorize the use of certified mail for the transmission or service of matter which, if mailed, is required by certain Federal laws to be transmitted or served by registered mail, and for other purposes.
Public Law 96-245 · H.R. 5673 · 96th Congress · began in the House
Signed by Jimmy Carter (D) on May 21, 1980 · Government Operations and Politics
Sponsor: Rep. William Ford (D-MI-15)
Cosponsors (3): Rep. Frank Thompson, Rep. Bill Clay,
Passage votes
- HouseMethod not stated
- SenateMethod not stated
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Amends the National Labor Relations Act to authorize the use of certified mail for the service of complaints, orders, and other process and papers of the National Labor Relations Board.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Post Office and Civil Service Committee · House · referred to, reported by
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 12 actions.
- May 21, 1980Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- PresidentPresident · Public Law 96-245.
- May 13, 1980PresidentPresident · Measure presented to President.
- May 12, 1980PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in Senate.
- May 7, 1980PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in House.
- FloorFloor · Measure passed Senate.
- CommitteeCommittee · Discharged from Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
- Dec 4, 1979CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
- Dec 3, 1979FloorFloor · Measure passed House.
- Nov 27, 1979CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Post Office and Civil Service Committee
- Oct 23, 1979CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Post Office and Civil Service Committee
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the House
Data notes
Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.