§ 202. — Board of Governors.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 39USC202]
TITLE 39--POSTAL SERVICE
PART I--GENERAL
CHAPTER 2--ORGANIZATION
Sec. 202. Board of Governors
(a) 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 be chosen to
represent the public interest generally, and 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.
(b) The terms of the 9 Governors shall be 9 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.
(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 shall appoint 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, but only for cause. Nothing
in this subsection shall be considered to exempt the Governors from the
requirements of section 8G(e) of the Inspector General Act of 1978.
(Pub. L. 91-375, Aug. 12, 1970, 84 Stat. 720; Pub. L. 98-81, Sec. 2,
Aug. 23, 1983, 97 Stat. 487; Pub. L. 99-190, Sec. 144, Dec. 19, 1985, 99
Stat. 1324; Pub. L. 104-208, div. A, title I, Sec. 101(f) [title VI,
Secs. 644(a), 662(a)(1)], Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009-314, 3009-366,
3009-378.)
References in Text
Section 8G of the Inspector General Act of 1978, referred to in
subsec. (e), is section 8G of Pub. L. 95-452, which is set out in the
Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.
Amendments
1996--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 104-208, Sec. 101(f) [title VI,
Sec. 644(a)], substituted ``$30,000 a year'' for ``$10,000 a year''.
Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 104-208, Sec. 101(f) [title VI,
Sec. 662(a)(1)], added subsec. (e).
1985--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 99-190 substituted ``42'' for ``30'' in
two places.
1983--Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 98-81 inserted provision that a Governor
may continue to serve after the expiration of his term until his
successor has qualified, but not to exceed one year.
Effective Date of 1996 Amendment
Section 101(f) [title VI, Sec. 644(b)] of Pub. L. 104-208 provided
that: ``Subsection (a) [amending this section] shall take effect at the
beginning of the next applicable pay period beginning after the date of
the enactment of this Act [Sept. 30, 1996].''
Effective Date
Section effective Aug. 12, 1970, see section 15(a) of Pub. L. 91-
375, set out as a note preceding section 101 of this title.
Savings Provision
Payment to Governors of Board of Governors of Postal Service of $300
a day for not more than 60 days of meetings in each of first 2 years
following effective date of this section [see Effective Date note set
out above], notwithstanding this section, see section 5(g) of Pub. L.
91-375, set out as a note preceding section 101 of this title.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 102, 203, 1001, 1005 of this
title; title 2 section 356.
