The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee today granted its approval for another term for Postal Board of Governors Chairman Mickey Barnett. It was Barnett who a year ago sent the letter to bulk mailers alerting them that an exigency increase would be necessary if postal reform was not enacted.
Barnett’s nomination will now go to the Senate floor for final approval, which is sure to be granted. Not only does he have the experience of having been in place on the board since the Postal Accountability and Enforcement Act was passed in 2006, but the board is in dire need of bodies. Barnett is one of only four sitting governors on a board that, by law, can accommodate nine.
“Mickey Barnett’s nomination comes at a very challenging time for the Postal Service, said committee chairman Tom Carper (D-DE) during this morning’s hearing. “Mr. Barnett knows that Americans want a Postal Service they can rely on, one that will take full advantage of the countless opportunities that lie ahead.”
Like Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), who is said to be in line to replace Carper as chairman in the next Congress, Barnett favors a free-market philosophy for the future of the Post Office. “Treating us as a utility was a reasonable model for a couple hundred years, but there’s no need to [continue to] regulate us as a monopoly,” Barnett said in an earlier hearing. “We’re not going to use monopolistic powers to drive competitors out.”
