President Obama Taps Robert Taub Chairman Of PRC

PRC Chairman Robert Taub

The President Reappoints Robert Taub and Mark Acton as Commissioners following Senate Confirmation: Taub Designated Chairman; Acton Elected Vice Chairman

President Obama reappointed Robert G. Taub and Mark Acton as Commissioners of the Postal Regulatory Commission (Commission) for new terms that expire October 14, 2022. Both Commissioners were confirmed by the United States Senate on December 10, 2016.

The President also designated Taub as Chairman of the Commission; he has led the Commission as Acting Chairman since December 4, 2014. Following a unanimous vote of the Commissioners at its public meeting earlier this month, Commissioner Acton will be designated as Vice Chairman for calendar year 2017.

The appointments of Chairman Taub and Commissioner Acton come at a critical time for the Commission and the postal industry as the Commission prepares to begin on December 20 an intensive statutory review of the price cap system for regulating Market Dominant products.

Chairman Taub has more than 30 years of experience in public service. Before being appointed to his first term as Commissioner in 2011, Taub served as the Special Assistant to Secretary of the Army John M. McHugh. He was awarded the Army’s Decoration for Distinguished Civilian Service. This position was preceded by a decade of service as Chief of Staff to then-U.S. Representative John M. McHugh (R-NY). In a variety of leadership roles on the U.S. House Oversight & Government Reform Committee for 12 years, Taub also worked closely with Congressman McHugh on matters relating to the nation’s postal and delivery sector.

He crafted Representative McHugh’s legislation for modernizing America’s postal laws for the first time since 1970, culminating in the passage of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act in 2006. Prior to his time with the House of Representatives, Taub worked for eight years at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress. As a senior policy analyst, Taub planned and directed evaluations for the Congress on environmental, banking, energy, and defense issues. Previous to his position with the GAO, Taub worked as a staff member for three different Members of Congress, a Member of the British Parliament, and state and county officials in upstate New York. A native of Gloversville, New York, Taub earned both an M.A. and B.S. in Political Science from American University in Washington, D.C.

Commissioner Mark Acton was first appointed as a Postal Rate Commissioner in 2005 by President George W. Bush. Prior to his appointment, Acton served as Special Assistant to the Commission Chairman. Before joining the Commission, Acton had an extensive professional history of active involvement in the public policy arena – including 9 years of experience managing legislative and regulatory concerns as Staff Director for the Republican National Committee Counsel’s Office.

He held posts as Special Assistant to the RNC Chief Counsel as well as RNC Counsel’s Office Government Relations Officer and Redistricting Coordinator. Acton also served as Deputy to the Chairman of the 2004 Republican National Convention and as a member of the Committee on Arrangements, Official Proceedings and Floor Operations team for the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Republican National Conventions. Commissioner Acton is a native of Louisville, Kentucky and a graduate of the University of Louisville. He earned an M.B.A. from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland.