Government affairs

On June 13, Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) took over as the new chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, replacing Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), who announced in April he would not be seeking re-election to his congressional seat and would leave Congress on June 30.

The South Carolina Republican has served in Congress since 2010, when he defeated incumbent Rep. Bob Inglis (R) in the primary before going on to win the general election. Prior to joining Congress, Gowdy was a federal prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina from 1994 to 2000, and he served as the 7th Circuit Solicitor from 2000 to 2010. He is well known for leading the House Select Committee that investigated the 2012 attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, an investigation he led for two years before it concluded operations at the end of the 114th Congress.

Gowdy takes control of the main investigative committee in the House of Representatives that has jurisdiction over government operations, health care, information technology, interior, energy, environment, national security and intergovernmental affairs.

As letter carriers are well aware, the Oversight Committee also has jurisdiction over the U.S. Postal Service, so Gowdy ultimately will decide the fate of the Postal Reform Act (H.R. 756) and the Postal Service Financial Improvement Act (H.R. 760).

NALC looks forward to working with Gowdy and his staff to create policies that will allow USPS to remain an innovative service for the millions of Americans and small business owners who rely on it. Click here to read NALC’s letter to Gowdy.