Dan G. Blair, Chairman
Mr. Blair serves as the first Chairman of the independent Postal
Regulatory Commission, the successor agency to the former Postal Rate
Commission. He was unanimously confirmed as a Commissioner of the former
Postal Rate Commission on December 9, 2006 by the United States Senate
and designated Chairman by President George W. Bush on December 15,
2006.
Prior to coming to the Commission, Mr. Blair served as Deputy Director
of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. He was nominated by President
George W. Bush on December 20, 2001 and confirmed by the United States
Senate on February 13, 2002. In addition to serving as Deputy Director,
Mr. Blair was Acting Director of OPM for five months prior to the confirmation
of Linda M. Springer as Director in July 2005.
Mr. Blair brings to the Commission extensive experience in the postal
and civil service sectors. As OPM Deputy Director, Mr. Blair represented
the agency on a number of important external initiatives and has been
responsible for many internal reform efforts. He headed OPM's effort
to "fix the hiring process" for the Federal Government and
actively sought ways to provide agencies with the human resources tools necessary to streamline and reform their processes. He
also chaired OPM's outreach program to veterans through his work and meetings
with veterans service organizations. In recognition of his sustained
contribution to the field of public administration through public service, Mr.
Blair was elected as a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration
in 2008.
In addition, Mr. Blair served on the President's Council on Integrity
and Efficiency, the federal council comprised of Presidentially-appointed
and Senate-confirmed Inspectors General. He worked frequently with the
Chief Human Capital Officers Council and federal agencies in helping
implement the President's Management Agenda and in overseeing critical
human capital reforms at the Department of Defense and the Department
of Homeland Security. Mr. Blair represented OPM
as a witness before U.S.
Senate and U.S. House of Representatives committees on a variety of issues,
including pension and health benefits liabilities affecting the U.S.
Postal Service.
Prior to joining OPM, Mr. Blair served on Capitol Hill, having worked
for nearly 17 years on the staffs of both House and Senate committees
charged with postal and civil service oversight.
From 1998 through 2001, Mr. Blair served as Senior Counsel to Senator
Fred Thompson (R-TN) on the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs.
Mr. Blair was responsible for review of legislation and policy affecting
the federal civil service, the USPS, federal budget process, government
ethics, and federal lobbying reform. Prior to joining the Committee on
Governmental Affairs, Mr. Blair served as Staff Director for the House
of Representatives Subcommittee on the Postal Service. Mr. Blair was
responsible for directing the Subcommittee's oversight of the USPS and
directed the development of comprehensive postal reform legislation.
Mr. Blair also served as Minority General Counsel for the House of Representatives
Committee on Post Office and Civil Service from 1985 to 1994.
Mr. Blair was born and raised in Joplin, Missouri. He received a Bachelor
of Journalism degree from the School of Journalism at the University
of Missouri-Columbia in 1981 and his Juris Doctor from the School of
Law at the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1984. He and his wife,
Michele, reside in Washington, D.C.