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Jet-Setting Postal Chair Replaced

Investigations revealed profligate spending on travel

AP
December 4, 2014

The U.S. Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) has named a new acting chairman, after the Washington Free Beacon revealed that its current leader was racking up tens of thousands of dollars in foreign travel expenses.

A PRC official announced in an internal email obtained by the Free Beacon that commissioner Robert Taub would be replacing current chairman Ruth Goldway on Thursday.

"I am pleased to announce that PRC Commissioner Robert Taub has been named as the acting chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission," wrote Alexander Cooper, the special assistant to the PRC vice chairman.

The announcement comes on the heels of a Free Beacon investigation last month that found Goldway spent over $36,000 on taxpayer-funded trips to Rio de Janeiro, Doha, Stockholm, and other foreign hot spots between 2012 and 2013.

Goldway had also violated agency rules by using her credit card to pay for over $18,000 in travel charges, which were later reimbursed.

These trips came after lawmakers had already raised concerns about Goldway’s travel expenses. The Washington Post reported in 2012 that she spent $70,000 on trips during the first two years of her chairmanship.

"When organizations are struggling, good leaders often make a pointed effort of curbing their own expenses as an example," Rep. Darrell Issa told the Post at the time.

The PRC is the regulatory agency for U.S. Postal Service, which has been on the brink of bankruptcy for years.

Goldway was appointed to the commission in 1998, and has served as chairman since 2009. Her term was set to expire at the end of last month, although insiders speculated she would stay on for an additional year if no replacement were named.

Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee chairman Tom Carper (D., Del.) and ranking member Tom Coburn (R., Okla.) called on President Barack Obama in July to name a new PRC chair to replace Goldway before her term expires.

"Naming your choice for Ms. Goldway’s seat and for the future chairmanship of the Commission well in advance of the expiration of her term will remove uncertainty," the senators wrote in a letter. "It will also allow this Committee to continue its work on postal reform with a better sense of who will be implementing it in the coming years."

A spokesperson for the PRC did not immediately respond to request for comment.