39 U.S.C. § 502
Section 502 · Commissioners
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 6 court decisions — leading case Free Enterprise Fund v. Public Company Accounting Oversight Bd. (2010)
Most recently applied in National Postal Policy Council v. PRC (November 2021)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) The Postal Regulatory Commission is composed of 5 Commissioners, appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Commissioners shall be chosen solely on the basis of their technical qualifications, professional standing, and demonstrated expertise in economics, accounting, law, or public administration, and may be removed by the President only for cause. Each individual appointed to the Commission shall have the qualifications and expertise necessary to carry out the enhanced responsibilities accorded Commissioners under the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act. Not more than 3 of the Commissioners may be adherents of the same political party.
(b) No Commissioner shall be financially interested in any enterprise in the private sector of the economy engaged in the delivery of mail matter.
(c) A Commissioner may continue to serve after the expiration of his term until his successor has qualified, except that a Commissioner may not so continue to serve for more than 1 year after the date upon which his term otherwise would expire under subsection (f).
(d) One of the Commissioners shall be designated as Chairman by, and shall serve in the position of Chairman at the pleasure of, the President.
(e) The Commissioners shall by majority vote designate a Vice Chairman of the Commission. The Vice Chairman shall act as Chairman of the Commission in the absence of the Chairman.
(f) The Commissioners shall serve for terms of 6 years.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
References in Text
The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, referred to in subsec. (a), is Pub. L. 109–435, Dec. 20, 2006, 120 Stat. 3198. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title of 2006 Amendment note set out under section 101 of this title and Tables.
Effective Date
Section not to affect the appointment or tenure of any person serving as a Commissioner on the Postal Regulatory Commission under an appointment made before Dec. 20, 2006, or any nomination made before that date, but when any such office becomes vacant, the appointment to fill that office to be made in accordance with this section, see section 601(b) of Pub. L. 109–435, set out as an Effective Date of 2006 Amendment note under section 501 of this title.