Proposal Would Ease Bill-Paying Deadlines

That time-honored excuse - “the check is in the mail” - could take on new, legal significance if Congress passes a law being pushed by a talk radio host and three dozen members of the House.

Their proposal would mandate that the date a bill is postmarked is the date it is considered paid.

It is a simple idea which has upset a lot of people, including big credit card companies, department stores and the nation’s bankers.

Proponents had their say on Capitol Hill on Thursday. Rep. John M. McHugh, R-N.Y., chairman of the House subcommittee on the U.S. Postal Service, said theirs is “sound legislation aimed at solving a problem that most bill payers can understand.”

McHugh, the bill’s chief sponsor, wasted no time denouncing opponents of his Postmark Prompt Payment Act of 1995 for declining to testify about it. So, for most of the 90-minute hearing, the subcommittee heard unstinting praise for an idea which the chairman said came from Florida radio talk show host Bruce Williams.

Williams, whose show is carried by more than 400 stations, contended that his idea is “a grass-roots initiative” which would resolve bill-paying questions faced by all Americans. He presented the subcommittee with a box of 4,000 to 5,000 postcards endorsing the measure.

A half-dozen House members queued in the Rayburn Office Building hearing room to back Williams’ idea. “This would straighten out a lot of disagreements and save a lot of litigation,” said Rep. Andrew Jacobs Jr., D-Ind.

Bills would have to be addressed properly and have adequate postage to qualify under the bill. Stamps - not postage from meters - would be required.

The Postal Service has taken no position on the measure, but Mark Silbergeld, a Consumers Union official, predicted that passage would prompt businesses to increase pressure on the Postal Service for faster delivery.