The board meets regularly on a schedule established annually by the board. The chairman and vice chairman are elected at the annual meeting in January.

The Board of Governors directs the exercise of the power of the Postal Service. It establishes policies, basic objectives, and long-range goals for the Postal Service in accordance with Title 39 of the United States Code (USC). Except for those powers specifically vested in the governors, the board may delegate the authority vested in it by statute to the Postmaster General under such terms, conditions, and limitations, including the power of re-delegation, as it deems desirable (39 USC 402). The governors are authorized to establish reasonable and equitable classes of mail and reasonable and equitable rates of postage and fees for Postal Services (39 USC 3621). A specific power reserved by statute for the governors alone is to approve, allow under protest, reject, or by unanimous written decision in certain circumstances, modify recommended decisions of the PRC on postal rate and mail classification changes (39 USC 3625).

The Board of Governors held regularly scheduled meetings, generally, each month. Each regularly scheduled meeting consisted of two sessions. The first session was closed to the public in accord with the provisions of the Government in the Sunshine Act and the second session was open to the public. Altogether there were 11 regularly scheduled meetings covering 17 days in 2004. Six of these meetings were held in Washington, D.C. The other five meetings were held in Wilmington, DE; Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Dallas, TX; San Francisco, CA, and Boston, MA.

The board has three standing committees: Audit and Finance, Capital Projects, and Strategic Planning. The committees held meetings during the year to consider matters within their areas of responsibility and refer items to the full Board of Governors for consideration. In October 2003 the board approved the 2004 budget for the Office of the Inspector General and the 2004 budget for the Office of the Governors.

In November 2003 the board approved funding for a new accounts payable system, 120 automatic flats tray lidding systems, and 2,014 cargo vans.

In December 2003 the board approved the audited 2003 financial statements, the 2003 Annual Report and the 2005 appropriations request to Congress.

In January 2004 the board re-elected S. David Fineman as chairman of the board and John F. Walsh as vice chairman. At the same meeting the board approved the annual report on Government in the Sunshine Act Compliance, a resolution on capital funding, and the 2003 Comprehensive Statement on Postal Operations.

In February 2004 the board approved a filing with the PRC related to small publications. The board also approved the following capital investment projects: Optical Character Reader Enhancements; New York, NY, Church Street Station and Federal Office Building Phase lll Development Project; Kansas City, MO, Main Post Office and Mid-America District Office; and Santa Monica, CA, Carrier Annex.

In March 2004 the board approved funding for Labor Scheduler, Phase l Modification.

In April 2004 the board approved executive compensation.

In May 2004 the board approved filing with the PRC an experimental Priority Mail Flat-Rate Box case. The board also approved filing two Negotiated Service Agreements (NSA) with the PRC. The board approved an updated charter for the Audit and Finance Committee and the following capital investments: Mail Processing Infrastructure Phase ll; Human Capital Enterprise/Human Resources Shared Service; Transaction Concentrator Replacement; Pittsburgh, PA, Logistics and Distribution Center; and Trenton, NJ, Processing and Distribution Center Facility Restoration.

In June 2004 the board approved a filing with the PRC for a market test of Repositionable Notes. The board approved a change to its bylaws and the following capital investment projects: Arlington, VA, Main Post Office; Chicago, IL, Busse Surface Hub; Surface Visibility — Surface-Air Support Modules, Phase lll; 1,587 Additional Delivery Bar Code Sorter (DBCS) Stacker Modules; and Airline Receiving Concourse and Trayline System — New York International Service Center.

In July 2004 the board adopted a resolution noting the untimely death of Governor Albert Casey and recognizing his outstanding service to the nation. The governors approved the PRC opinion and recommended decision relating to periodical publications and the board set an implementation date. The board approved an implementation date for Return Receipt (Electronic) and approved the following capital investments: Springfield, MA, Logistics and Distribution Center; and Pontiac, MI, Northeast Metro Processing and Distribution Center.