The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) could soon suffer a body blow if the U.S. Senate does not confirm Robert Duncan to another term on the USPS Board of Governors by December 8. And while there have been positive developments toward a confirmation, this is not yet certain. The time for political games is over.
Without Governor Duncan, the Board will lose its quorum if a new Postmaster General is not found by January 31. USPS will be operationally handicapped and incapable of driving important needed changes. One of the few bright spots on postal public policy is that the Board returned to a quorum in August 2019, with five outside Governors, after not having a quorum since 2014.
The Postal Service’s Board of Governors is legally and operationally a big deal. It is the equivalent of a corporation’s Board of Governors. As USPS says on its website, the Board “directs and controls its expenditures, reviews its practices, conducts long-range planning, approves officer compensation and sets policies on all postal matters.”
