39 USC 207 - Seal

§ 201. United States Postal Service
§ 202. Board of Governors
§ 203. Postmaster General; Deputy Postmaster General
§ 204. General Counsel; Judicial Officer; Chief Postal Inspector
§ 205. Procedures of the Board of Governors
§ 206. Advisory Council
§ 207. Seal
§ 208. Reservation of powers

§ 201. United States Postal Service

There is established, as an independent establishment of the executive branch of the Government of the United States, the United States Postal Service.

(Pub. L. 91–375, Aug. 12, 1970, 84 Stat. 720.)

§ 202. Board of Governors

(a)

(1) The exercise of the power of the Postal Service shall be directed by a Board of Governors composed of 11 members appointed in accordance with this section. Nine of the members, to be known as Governors, shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, not more than 5 of whom may be adherents of the same political party. The Governors shall elect a Chairman from among the members of the Board. The Governors shall represent the public interest generally, and shall be chosen solely on the basis of their experience in the field of public service, law or accounting or on their demonstrated ability in managing organizations or corporations (in either the public or private sector) of substantial size; except that at least 4 of the Governors shall be chosen solely on the basis of their demonstrated ability in managing organizations or corporations (in either the public or private sector) that employ at least 50,000 employees. The Governors shall not be representatives of specific interests using the Postal Service, and may be removed only for cause. Each Governor shall receive a salary of $30,000 a year plus $300 a day for not more than 42 days of meetings each year and shall be reimbursed for travel and reasonable expenses incurred in attending meetings of the Board. Nothing in the preceding sentence shall be construed to limit the number of days of meetings each year to 42 days.

(2) In selecting the individuals described in paragraph (1) for nomination for appointment to the position of Governor, the President should consult with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the minority leader of the House of Representatives, the majority leader of the Senate, and the minority leader of the Senate.

(b)

(1) The terms of the 9 Governors shall be 7 years, except that the terms of the 9 Governors first taking office shall expire as designated by the President at the time of appointment, 1 at the end of 1 year, 1 at the end of 2 years, 1 at the end of 3 years, 1 at the end of 4 years, 1 at the end of 5 years, 1 at the end of 6 years, 1 at the end of 7 years, 1 at the end of 8 years, and 1 at the end of 9 years, following the appointment of the first of them. Any Governor appointed to fill a vacancy before the expiration of the term for which his predecessor was appointed shall serve for the remainder of such term. A Governor may continue to serve after the expiration of his term until his successor has qualified, but not to exceed one year.

(2) No person may serve more than 2 terms as a Governor.

(c) The Governors shall appoint and shall have the power to remove the Postmaster General, who shall be a voting member of the Board. His pay and term of service shall be fixed by the Governors.

(d) The Governors and the Postmaster General shall appoint and shall have the power to remove the Deputy Postmaster General, who shall be a voting member of the Board. His term of service shall be fixed by the Governors and the Postmaster General and his pay by the Governors.

(e)

(1) The Governors and the members of the Postal Regulatory Commission shall appoint, by a favorable vote of a majority of the Governors in office and of a majority of the members of the Commission in office, and shall have the power to remove the Inspector General.

(2) The Inspector General shall be appointed—

(A) for a term of 7 years;

(B) without regard to political affiliation; and

(C) solely on the basis of integrity and demonstrated ability in accounting, auditing, financial analysis, law, management analysis, public administration, or investigations.

(3) The Inspector General may at any time be removed upon the written concurrence of at least 7 Governors and 3 members of the Postal Regulatory Commission, but only for cause. Nothing in this subsection shall be considered to exempt the Governors from the requirements of section 415(e) of title 5.

(Pub. L. 91–375, Aug. 12, 1970, 84 Stat. 720; Pub. L. 98–81, § 2, Aug. 23, 1983, 97 Stat. 487; Pub. L. 99–190, § 144, Dec. 19, 1985, 99 Stat. 1324; Pub. L. 104–208, div. A, title I, § 101(f) [title VI, §§ 644(a), 662(a)(1)], Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009–314, 3009–366, 3009–378; Pub. L. 109–435, title V, § 501(a)(1), (b), (c)(1), (d)(1), Dec. 20, 2006, 120 Stat. 3232, 3233; Pub. L. 117–108, title II, § 209(b), Apr. 6, 2022, 136 Stat. 1152; Pub. L. 117–286, § 4(b)(62), Dec. 27, 2022, 136 Stat. 4350.)

§ 203. Postmaster General; Deputy Postmaster General

The chief executive officer of the Postal Service is the Postmaster General appointed under section 202(c) of this title. The alternate chief executive officer of the Postal Service is the Deputy Postmaster General appointed under section 202(d) of this title.

(Pub. L. 91–375, Aug. 12, 1970, 84 Stat. 721.)

§ 204. General Counsel; Judicial Officer; Chief Postal Inspector

There shall be within the Postal Service a General Counsel, such number of Assistant Postmasters General as the Board shall consider appropriate, a Judicial Officer, and a Chief Postal Inspector. The General Counsel, the Assistant Postmasters General, the Judicial Officer, and the Chief Postal Inspector shall be appointed by, and serve at the pleasure of, the Postmaster General. The Judicial Officer shall perform such quasi-judicial duties, not inconsistent with chapter 36 of this title, as the Postmaster General may designate. The Judicial Officer shall be the agency for the purposes of the requirements of chapter 5 of title 5, to the extent that functions are delegated to him by the Postmaster General. The Chief Postal Inspector shall report to, and be under the general supervision of, the Postmaster General. The Postmaster General shall promptly notify the Governors and both Houses of Congress in writing if he or she removes the Chief Postal Inspector or transfers the Chief Postal Inspector to another position or location within the Postal Service, and shall include in any such notification the reasons for the removal or transfer.

(Pub. L. 91–375, Aug. 12, 1970, 84 Stat. 721; Pub. L. 104–208, div. A, title I, § 101(f) [title VI, § 662(f)(2)(A)], Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009–314, 3009–382.)

§ 205. Procedures of the Board of Governors

(a) The Board shall direct and control the expenditures and review the practices and policies of the Postal Service, and perform other functions and duties prescribed by this title.

(b) Vacancies in the Board, as long as there are sufficient members to form a quorum, shall not impair the powers of the Board under this title.

(c) The Board shall act upon majority vote of those members who are present, and any 6 members present shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business by the Board, except—

(1) that in the appointment or removal of the Postmaster General, and in setting the compensation of the Postmaster General and Deputy Postmaster General, a favorable vote of an absolute majority of the Governors in office shall be required;

(2) that in the appointment or removal of the Deputy Postmaster General, a favorable vote of an absolute majority of the Governors in office and the member serving as Postmaster General shall be required; and

(3) as otherwise provided in this title.

(d) No officer or employee of the United States may serve concurrently as a Governor. A Governor may hold any other office or employment not inconsistent or in conflict with his duties, responsibilities, and powers as an officer of the Government of the United States in the Postal Service.

(Pub. L. 91–375, Aug. 12, 1970, 84 Stat. 721.)

§ 206. Advisory Council

(a) There shall be a Postal Service Advisory Council of which the Postmaster General shall be the Chairman and the Deputy Postmaster General shall be the Vice Chairman. The Advisory Council shall have 11 additional members appointed by the President. He shall appoint as such members (1) 4 persons from among persons nominated by those labor organizations recognized as collective-bargaining representatives for employees of the Postal Service in one or more collective-bargaining units, (2) 4 persons as representatives of major mail users, and (3) 3 persons as representatives of the public at large. All members shall be appointed for terms of 2 years except that, of those first appointed, 2 of the members representative of labor organizations, 2 of the members representative of major postal users, and 1 member representing the public at large shall be appointed for 1 year. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration of the term for which his predecessor was appointed shall serve for the remainder of such term.

(b) The Postal Service shall consult with and receive the advice of the Advisory Council regarding all aspects of postal operations.

(c) The members of the Council representative of the public at large shall receive for each meeting of the Council an amount equal to the daily rate applicable to level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5. All members of the Council shall be reimbursed for necessary travel and reasonable expenses incurred in attending meetings of the Council.

(Pub. L. 91–375, Aug. 12, 1970, 84 Stat. 722.)

§ 207. Seal

The seal of the Postal Service shall be filed by the Board in the Office of the Secretary of State, judicially noticed, affixed to all commissions of officers of the Postal Service, and used to authenticate records of the Postal Service.

(Pub. L. 91–375, Aug. 12, 1970, 84 Stat. 722.)

§ 208. Reservation of powers

Congress reserves the power to alter, amend, or repeal any or all of the sections of this title, but no such alteration, amendment, or repeal shall impair the obligation of any contract made by the Postal Service under any power conferred by this title.

(Pub. L. 91–375, Aug. 12, 1970, 84 Stat. 722.)