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COMMITTEE ON 111"0+/.1'\ 1-."'.t:'(4Noe~ ST~fff)i~ 

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The Honorable Ruth Y. Goldway 

Chainnan 

U.S. Postal Regulatory Commission 

901 New York Avenue, NW 

Washington, DC 20268 

Dear Ms. Goldway, 

WASHINGTON, DC 20510-6250 

February 8, 2012 

As you know, the U. S. Postal Service is facing a dire fiscal crisis that threatens its very survival. 

As the agency charged with conducting critical oversight of this troubled institution and one that 

receives all of its funding through postal revenue, the Postal Regulatory Commission knows the 

circumstances facing the Postal Service's all too well. 

Due in part to the significant financial challenges facing the Postal Service, the Commission is 

facing a larger and heavier workload. You and I have spoken in the past about my concerns with 

the Commission's handling of this workload and the timeliness and quality of its work. Since 

then, I've been appreciative of the steps you, your fellow commissioners, and your staff have 

taken to improve Commission operations and to keep my staff and me infonned of your work 

and the Commission's progress. I was concerned, however, when it was brought to my attention 

recently through media reports that, since becoming Commission Chainnan, you have 

significantly increased your official travel, including international travel, compared to your 

predecessors. Given the Postal Service's ongoing financial challenges and the amount of work 

the Commission has on its plate, a significant increase in official travel by you - or any member 

of the Commission- raises questions. 

This is a time when the leadership of the Congress, the Postal Service, and the Postal Regulatory 

Commission needs to focus like a laser on the Postal Service's financial problems and potential 

solutions to those problems. If we are going to ask postal employees and customers to make 

sacrifices to save the Postal Service, then the leadership at the Postal Service and the 

Commission - and even Members of Congress - have a responsibility to set a good example 

when it comes to frugality and basic: financial management. 

Therefore, I request that you provid,e the Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial 

Management, which I am privileged to chair, with a detailed itinerary and justification for each 

official trip you have made since becoming Commission Chainnan, as well as the travel itinerary 

and justification of your past two predecessors. In addition, I ask that you detail for me the 

Commission's official travel policy for its employees, including commissioners, as well as any 

procedures the Conunission has in place to prevent travel that is wasteful or not related to the 

furtherance of the Commission's important mission or the achievement of its strategic goals. 
I ask that you provide this information by February 20, 2012. Should you have any questions, 

please ask your staff to contact John Kilvington at (202) 224-7061. 

Thank you very much for your ongoing attention to this important matter. 

Sincerely yours, 

Jb'~ Tom Carper, Chairm _ Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government lnformation, Federal Services, 

and International Security