An independent federal agency, the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) has the thankless task of trying to make the US Postal Service run more efficiently. Given the Postal Service’s long history of troubles, rate increases and consumer complaints, it might seem at first glance that the PRC is falling down on its own job. However, the commission only recently (as of 2006) was given the demanding task of shaping up the USPS’s long-sagging performance. Although the commission was first established in 1970 (as the Postal Rate Commission), it was largely a rubber stamp operation for its first three-and-a-half decades of operation, regularly approving postal rate increases requested by the Postal Service. But in 2006 Congress decided to broaden the PRC’s responsibilities and give it some teeth to enforce its new regulatory powers over the Postal Service. In the short time since its reorganization, the PRC has garnered some criticism for supporting postal rate changes that favored large corporate publishers and banks.
Following the adoption of the US Constitution, members of Congress adopted legislation in 1789 that established the post office and the Office of the Postmaster General. These two entities were responsible for the delivery of mail throughout the country. In the early part of the 19th century, officials in Washington, DC, began referring to the post office as the Post Office Department, although it wasn’t until 1872 that lawmakers formally created such an office by name as part of the Executive Branch.
By the 1930s, letter carriers began delivering mail to customers at the edges of cities using “mail boxes” located along the curbside of roads. As Americans began moving increasingly to the suburbs in the 1950s, more and more curbside mailboxes began to spring up.
By the mid-1960s, the Post Office Department found itself in serious financial trouble, due to neglect and fragmented control. Facilities, equipment, wage and management efficiency needed to be overhauled. In October 1966, the Chicago Post Office came to a halt as the volume of mail surpassed workers’ ability to sort and deliver it. A 1967 House Appropriations Subcommittee labeled the postal service “a race with catastrophe.” Five to ten million pieces of mail were being sent each day, but the system could not keep up.
In 1970, the Post Office Department was reorganized as a semi-independent agency of the federal government. Its name was changed to the United States Postal Service (USPS). The same legislation created an independent Postal Rate Commission, charged with reviewing proposals by the Postal Service to change postal rates, fees and mail classifications. The commission was headed by members appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate to serve six-year terms.
The work of the commission consisted primarily of conducting public, on-the-record hearings concerning proposed rate, mail classification or major service changes, and recommending decisions for action by the postal governors.
Over the next three decades, Americans continued to complain about the quality of service provided by the USPS, especially in light of ever-increasing postage increases that the commission would often rubber stamp. Beginning in the 1990s, members of Congress began to debate the need for overhauling the postal service. Some advocated radical changes, such as privatizing the delivery of mail.
Finally, in December 2006, Congress and President George W. Bush agreed to the most significant postal reform law since the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970. The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) (PDF) affected the Postal Service’s finances, the way it sets rates, and how it is governed and regulated. It also made changes to the Postal Rate Commission, altering its name to the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), to reflect what is now supposed to be a body that provides greater oversight of the Postal Service.
The new law required the PRC to develop new regulations that would govern postal rates, consult with the Postal Service on delivery service standards and performance measures, consult with the State Department on international postal policies, prevent cross-subsidization or other anticompetitive postal practices, promote transparency and accountability, and adjudicate complaints.
The Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) is an independent federal agency that is charged with improving the work of the US Postal Service. The PRC has a number of oversight responsibilities, including making sure the Postal Service is complying with federal laws. The commission also develops accounting practices and procedures for the Postal Service to follow. The PRC has the power to subpoena records, direct the Postal Service to adjust rates and take other remedial actions, and levy fines against the USPS.
The PRC is composed of five commissioners appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate to serve six-year terms. No more than three members of the commission may be from one political party. The PRC’s staff consists of those with expertise in law, economics, finance, statistics, and cost accounting.
PRC Offices:
The Office of Accountability & Compliance conducts technical analysis and formulates policy recommendations for the commission in both domestic and international matters. It performs analyses of rate changes, negotiated service agreements, classifications of new products, post office closings, and other issues. The office evaluates Postal Service accounting records, financial reports, and other financial data to assess accuracy and conformity.
The Office of General Counsel provides legal assistance for the PRC, defends its decisions in court, and manages the formal complaint process.
The Office of Secretary & Administration records the official actions of the PRC. It archives commission documents, maintains personnel records, and provides other support services involving the commission’s library, docket room, and computers.
The Office of Inspector General performs audits and investigations of the PRC’s work. It reports fraud and abuse in commission programs and operations.
The commission’s library makes available numerous reports and documents to the public, including dockets, PRC reports and studies, and USPS periodic reports.
PRC Supports Money-Losing Deal for Postal Service
In October 2007 the Postal Regulatory Commission supported a rate change for Bank of America mailings that, by the commission’s own findings, could cost the Postal Service more than $45 million. The union representing postal workers opposed the rate change for BofA, arguing that Postal Service predictions of savings were based on obsolete data.
Commission Favors Corporate Giants in Rate Decision
In July 2007 the Postal Regulatory Commission set new postage rates that favored large-circulation publications (such as those owned by Time Warner) over small and medium-sized periodicals. The change followed years of lobbying by Time Warner officials. Instead of facing an 11% rate increase, many corporate giants of the publishing industry were going to enjoy smaller increases, and some were even receiving rate reductions, while small- and medium-sized publications were stuck with 20-30% jumps in postage costs. One periodical (the American Conservative) was looking at a 58% rise. The Nation magazine reported that it expected to pay $500,000 more a year in print costs. The change was likely to drive some publications into bankruptcy.
Bush Uses Postal Accountability Act to Claim Right to Open Mail without Warrant
When he signed into law the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006, President George W. Bush added a signing statement claiming the right to open mail without a warrant.
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Founded: 1970
Annual Budget: $14 million
Employees: 55
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Postal Regulatory Commission
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Ruth Y. Goldway has the distinction of being the longest-serving presidential appointee currently in Washington. She was first appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1998 to the Postal Regulatory Commission’s predecessor (the Postal Rate Commission), and twice was reappointed by President George W. Bush. President Barack Obama appointed her chairman of the Commission on August 6, 2009..
Born in New York City, Goldway is the daughter of David Goldway and Rosalyn Hersh. Her father once served as chairman of the editorial board of Science & Society, a quarterly journal of Marxist scholarship. She attended the Bronx High School of Science before going to the University of Michigan. After earning her Bachelor of Arts, she received her master’s in English literature from Wayne State University.
Having moved to California, Goldway served as assistant to the director of the state Department of Consumer Affairs during the 1970s.
She eventually became friends with liberal activist and politician Tom Hayden, who supported her candidacy for Santa Monica’s city council. Elected in 1979, Goldway served four years as mayor of the left-leaning city. She was voted out of office in 1983. Although some thought her defeat was a result of her radical politics, others attributed it to her authoritarian governing style.
From 1983-1984 Goldway was founder and chairperson of the Santa Monica Pier Restoration Corporation.
Her career shifted into the world of higher education when she became director of public affairs at California State University, Los Angeles.
From 1991-1994 she served as manager of public affairs for the Getty Trust, the largest arts and education foundation in the U.S.
During this time she received a small part in the 1993 movie Dave, playing the Secretary of Education in the cabinet of fictional President Bill Mitchell. Goldway got the part as a result of knowing screenwriter Gary Ross.
Goldway and her husband, Derek Shearer, were FOBs (Friends of Bill Clinton), which resulted in Shearer being appointed U.S. ambassador to Finland by President Clinton in 1993. The couple remained in Finland until 1997, during which time Goldway authored several articles for the Finnish magazine “Gloria,” organized seminars on women’s issues and assisted in the promotion of American products and services. Her memoir of her overseas experience, Letters from Finland, was published in Finland in 1998.
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Blair, Dan
Previous Chairman
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A native of Joplin, Missouri, Dan G. Blair was the first chairman of the independent Postal Regulatory Commission, successor to the former Postal Rate Commission. President George W. Bush selected Blair to serve as chairman of the Postal Rate Commission on December 15, 2006, and he served as chairman until August 2009.
Blair received a bachelor of journalism degree from the School of Journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1981 and his Juris Doctor from the School of Law at the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1984.
Blair spent 17 years on Capitol Hill working for committees in both the House and Senate. He served as minority general counsel for the House Committee on Post Office and Civil Service from 1985 to 1994. He then served as staff director for the House Subcommittee on the Postal Service, responsible for directing the subcommittee’s oversight of the USPS and the development of comprehensive postal reform legislation.
From 1998 through 2001, Blair served as senior counsel to Senator Fred Thompson (R-TN) on the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs. He was responsible for review of legislation and policy affecting the federal civil service, the USPS, federal budget process, government ethics, and federal lobbying reform.
Blair was appointed by President Bush in December 2001 to serve as deputy director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). In addition to serving as deputy director, Blair was acting director of OPM for five months prior to the confirmation of Linda M. Springer as director in July 2005.
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