December 10, 2014

On Thursday, December 4, the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) announced that President Obama had appointed Commissioner Robert Taub as Acting Chairman, replacing Ruth Goldway who had been Chairman since August 2009. She was first appointed by President Clinton in April 1998 to the predecessor agency, the Postal Rate Commission, and twice reappointed by President George W. Bush, most recently in 2008 to serve a third term ending in November 2014. Goldway had just begun the holdover year that is allowed until a replacement is confirmed. Taub has served as a Commissioner since October 2011. Goldway is a Democrat and Taub a Republican.

Yesterday, two other Commissioners who have been waiting in the wings to be confirmed by the Senate after being nominated by President Obama were in fact confirmed by a voice vote in the Senate. Nanci Langley is a Democrat who previously served from June 2008 through November 2013. Republican Tony Hammond was a Commissioner from August 2002 through October 2013.

Key takeaways and from these announcements include:

• The PRC is now at full strength with five Commissioners.
• The Obama Administration probably lost patience with Chairman Goldway’s extensive global travel in the face of widespread criticism by the Inspector General, key members of Congress including Senators Tom Carper (D-DE) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA).
• Robert Taub was appointed Acting Chairman most likely until the Administration names a Democratic replacement for Goldway.
• We should keep in mind that Chairman Taub in the exigent rate case dissented against the decision to limit the surcharge to a finite revenue amount, saying, “The Commission fails to account for the entire, ongoing impact of the exigent event on the Postal Service’s ability to recover lost contribution.”
• Taub immediately appointed himself as the Presiding Officer over the exigent rate case, replacing Goldway in what appears to be a routine move.
• The full slate of Commissioners could handle any exigent remand from the Court of Appeals differently than the three who made the December 24, 2013 decision.
• Ruth Goldway acknowledged the end of her term as chairman in a letter to friends in the mailing community: “Just as the holiday season began, my third and final term at the PRC officially ended. I am now in what’s called a grace period until the President selects a new commissioner for this seat. I informed the President of my decision to leave office about six months ago and consulted with White House personnel on my replacement.”
• We await word on whether the Senate will confirm Mickey Barnett to the Postal Service Board of Governors so they can have a quorum, as well as four other nominees waiting.

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