The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) or the Postal Act of 2006 is a United States federal statute enacted by the 109th United States Congress and signed into law by President George W. Bush on December 20, 2006. It was meant to overhaul the United States Postal Service (USPS) after a financial crisis affected the Service in 2001. It was the first major overhaul of the USPS since the Service became an independent agency in 1970.

In 1970, Richard Nixon signed the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 into law. This law transformed the United States Post Office Department into the modern United States Postal Service. This was in response to a growing deficit in the post-war years and a nationwide strike by postal workers.

In 2001, an economic crisis was predicted for the Service that led Congressional leaders to hold hearings on what factors might cause a full blown crisis. These factors included falling revenue, falling mail volume due to competition, and increasing debt. When the crisis did hit, it was found that the lengthy rate setting process, higher personnel costs compared to competitors, and the increased usage of the internet all contributed to the crisis. The American Postal Workers Union (APWU) claimed that the $12 billion in annual discounts given to private mailers for pre-sorting mail was also to blame.

In December of 2002, President Bush created the Commission on the United States Postal Service. It was this Commission's job to research the falling revenue of the Service and provide recommendations to the President about what actions could be taken to remedy the situation. In its final report, the Commission recommended that the Service should;

In 2003, Congress passed the Postal Civil Service Retirement System Funding Reform Act of 2003 as a stopgap measure to increase revenue in the Service. While it provided some relief, it also created an escrow account from which the Service had to pay in to yet could not withdraw from. It also made the Service liable for certain benefits granted to military and veteran employees, which was usually paid for by the United States Treasury and which no other government organization had to independently pay for.

The bill was introduced in the United States House of Representatives by Tom Davis, a Republican from Virginia, and cosponsored by Republican John M. McHugh of New York and Democrats Henry Waxman of California and Danny K. Davis of Illinois. As the chair of the Senate Oversight committee, Senator Susan Collins of Maine shepherded the bill's passage through the Senate. The bill was approved during the lame duck session of the 109th Congress, and approved via voice vote in the House and by unanimous consent in the Senate.

According to Tom Davis, the Bush administration threatened to veto the legislation unless they added the provision regarding funding the employee benefits in advance with the objective of using that money to reduce the federal deficit. When he signed the bill on December 20, 2006, Bush issued a signing statement that says that the government can open mail under emergency conditions, though Waxman asserted that the government cannot do this without a search warrant.

Title VI replaced the Postal Rate Commission with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC). The PRC was granted a greater scope of responsibilities and the power to issue subpoenas.