On June 28, legislation (H.R. 4437) that would reauthorize the sale of special U.S. postage stamps to raise money for breast cancer research was approved, by voice vote, by the House Government Reform Subcommittee on the Postal Service. Created in 1997 under the Stamp Out Breast Cancer Act (P.L. 105-41), the expiring program would be extended through 2002. At a cost of 40 cents—rather than the regular 33-cent rate for first-class postage—the special stamp raises seven cents per stamp for breast cancer research at the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense. The special stamp program is known as the “semipostal” rate program.
In addition to continuing the breast cancer stamp, the bill would expand the semipostal program to allow the sale of stamps to help fund other types of medical research, as well as other causes. Although several semipostal stamps have been issued in recent years, the process currently requires congressional approval of each stamp. H.R. 4437 would eliminate that hurdle and allow the issuance of semipostal stamps the Postal Service considers “to be in the national public interest and appropriate.” The cost of the special stamps may not exceed an additional 25 percent of the cost of a first-class stamp—or 40 cents given current postage rates.
H.R. 4437 would require the General Accounting Office to conduct a study on the effects of semipostal rates and submit a report to Congress on the matter by early 2002.
The bill also includes a provision requiring agencies that receive semipostal funds to report to Congress on scientific findings made with the money. The bill would ensure that agencies receiving money from the sale of semipostal stamps would not face reductions in their other federal research funds.
On June 14, the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee approved, by voice vote, a bill (S. 2386) to extend the Stamp Out Breast Cancer Stamp Act through 2002.
