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Jet-Setting Postal Regulator To Step Down

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Peter Fricke Contributor
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The Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) announced on Thursday that embattled chairwoman Ruth Goldway would be stepping down, eliciting praise from some of her sharpest critics.

David Williams, president of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA), welcomed the announcement in a press release, saying, “TPA has been extremely critical of Ms. Goldway’s leadership of the PRC and her questionable judgment on issues ranging from proposed expansion of grocery delivery, to taxpayer funded international trips.”

The PRC approved the “experimental market trial” of a grocery-delivery service in October, allowing the USPS to test the program in major metropolitan areas around the country. (RELATED: USPS Getting Into the Business of Delivering Groceries)

At the time, Williams claimed that the proposal “is simply another way for the agency to expand their reach without instituting real reform,” and argued that the PRC should instead focus on “its mandate of delivering the mail on time to its customers anywhere in the country.”

Goldway had previously come under fire in November, when the Washington Free Beacon reported that “between 2012 and 2013 … Goldway spent over $36,000 on official travel to hot spots such as Rio de Janeiro and Doha—despite internal criticism and prior efforts by lawmakers to reign in her spending.”

“While Goldway’s travel is tied to Postal Service-related meetings,” the Free Beacon said, “insiders argue that her presence at these events is rarely vital and not tied to the PRC’s mission to regulate postal rates and services.” (RELATED: The USPS Wants to Mind and Sell Data Gathered From Your Mail)

Goldway will be replaced by current PRC Commissioner and acting chair Robert Taub, who Williams said, “has a unique opportunity to lay the groundwork for much-needed reforms at the United States Postal Service.”

“As acting PRC Chairman, Mr. Taub can halt the expedient expansion of the USPS grocery delivery service and push for the ending of Saturday mail delivery,” Williams argued, adding that, “The USPS is in desperate need of change in order to stop the billions of dollars in annual losses.” (RELATED: Struggling Postal Service to Spend $2.2 Million on San Francisco Conference)

According to Post & Parcel, Taub “is one of only three remaining members of the regulatory panel, which is supposed to comprise five Commissioners,” because in recent years Congress “has failed to confirm new Commissioners to replace those whose terms have expired.”

A PRC spokesman informed Post & Parcel that, “Goldway will continue in her role as a Commissioner following the end of her term, adding that the Commission can still perform its regulatory responsibility without a full panel.”

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