Chairman Robert G. Taub Statement on the Postal Regulatory Commission’s 50th Anniversary:Working for the People: 50 Years of Ensuring Transparency and Accountability of the U.S. Postal Service

Washington, DC — Today the Postal Regulatory Commission marks 50 years of public service in its mission to ensure transparency and accountability of one of our Nation’s most valued treasures rooted in the Constitution — the U.S. Postal Service. President Richard M. Nixon signed into law the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 on August 12 of that year. This momentous legislation would transform the Post Office Department into a newly independent Postal Service the following year. Yet the law immediately created the Postal Rate Commission as the 1970 Act ended the role of the U.S. Congress in setting stamp prices. Later, with passage of the Postal Accountability & Enhancement Act of 2006, the agency was renamed the Postal Regulatory Commission as part of significantly expanding its responsibilities.