Last fall, President Trump nominated Robert M. Duncan, a Kentucky resident, and David C. Williams, an Illinois resident, to fill two vacancies on the United States Postal Service Board of Governors. The Senate has now confirmed these two nominees, and President Trump has announced his intent to nominate two other members to the board, as well: Ron A. Bloom, a New York resident, and Roman Martinez IV, a Florida resident.
“The U.S. Postal Service is pleased with yesterday’s action by the U.S. Senate to confirm nominees to the Postal Service Board of Governors. We look forward to working with Robert M. Duncan and David C. Williams when they begin their terms as governors and thank the administration for nominating them to serve on the board. We also thank the administration for nominating two additional candidates yesterday to serve as governors, Ron A. Bloom and Roman Martinez IV,” said Postmaster General Megan J. Brennan in a release posted on the USPS's news site.
When the board is fully staffed, it is comprised of nine members (not including the Postmaster General and Deputy Postmaster General). The board is responsible for approving price increases and the annual USPS promotions that have been popular with mailers since their inception in 2011. The lack of an active board for the past year has meant that there were no promotions for the mail industry in 2018, affecting both mailers (who have looked forward to the annual opportunities for postage savings) and the USPS (which enjoys the extra mail volume spurred on by these mailings). There has also not been the opportunity for a price increase, since any requests for increases must be approved by the board prior to being evaluated by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC). While the lack of a rate hike sounds positive at first, the inconsistency is difficult for those in the industry. It is much easier for the mailers to accept smaller, more consistent increases as they plan their postal budgets. Now that there is an active board, an estimated 2.5% price increase will likely be implemented in January of 2019. We will keep you posted as the USPS files its price change request this fall.
More information on the two potential candidates can be found here.