39 C.F.R. § 9.1 General policy.
Title 39 - Postal Service
(a) To represent the public interest generally and to insure that the Postal Service meets the needs of the mailing public, the Governors must be free to hold uninhibited discussions on broad postal issues with mailers and the general public. Nevertheless, the Governors believe that certain restrictions on communications with the public are appropriate when the Governors act in their capacity as final administrative decisionmakers on recommended decisions of the Postal Rate Commission concerning postal rates and classifications. These restrictions should reflect a balance between, on the one hand, the need to safeguard the integrity of the administrative process for setting rates and classifications and insure meaningful judicial review of decisions of the Governors on these subjects, and on the other hand, the need for open access to the Board to permit the members to meet their statutory responsibilities. To strike an appropriate balance, the Board has adopted the following general guidelines: From the time the Postal Rate Commission issues a recommended decision until the Governors have acted on the recommended decision, any communication from an interested person to the Governors that is relevant to the merits of the proceeding should be on the public record and available for public inspection. (b) In reviewing recommended decisions of the Commission, the Governors act on the record before them. They are under no obligation to take communications from the public into account in reaching their decision.
Title 39: Postal Service
PART 9—POLICY ON COMMUNICATIONS WITH GOVERNORS OF THE POSTAL SERVICE DURING PENDENCY OF RATE AND CLASSIFICATION PROCEEDINGS [APPENDIX]
§ 9.1 General policy.
