USPS Board of Governors Reaches Quorum

With the appointment of three new governors last week, the USPS Board of Governors has finally reached a quorum. The Senate appointed Roman Martinez IV, Ron Bloom, and John Barger to the Board of Governors on August 1, 2019. Now, seven total governors sit on the board, and only two of the nine total positions remain unfilled. The new appointees join chairman Robert Duncan, Postmaster General Megan Brennan, Ronald Stroman, and David Williams.

What is a Quorum and Why Does It Matter?

A quorum is defined as the minimum number of members of an assembly or society that must be present at any of its meetings to make the proceedings of that meeting valid.

In other words, it’s the amount of people it takes for an entity to conduct its business. Think of this in terms of majority voting (there needs to be a tiebreaker, etc). Since the USPS Board of Governors has nine total seats, a quorum requires at least five members.

With these three new appointments, this is the first time the Board of Governors has reached a quorum since December 2o14. Finally reaching a quorum is a big deal for the Board of Governors, because now they have the ability to vote on matters to help steer the Postal Service in the right direction.

The Postal Reform Plan May Finally Be Coming Into Focus

In other news, the Board’s first order of business is finalizing a 10-year plan to reform the Postal Service. Postmaster General Brennan and the newly beefed-up Board of Governors make up the driving force behind the push to solve USPS’ financial troubles. USPS is in dire financial straits due to pre-funding legislation, and Congress is running out of time to act.

In a hearing held by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, Postmaster General Brennan remarked on the urgency of needing to turn USPS around.

“If we make our legally mandated payments in 2019, we will be out of cash in 2020,” Brennan said during the hearing.

Now that the USPS Board of Directors has reached a quorum, it should help move matters along much more efficiently. Here’s to hoping this new Board of Governors can help steer USPS back onto the path of financial stability!