[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2545 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2545

   To amend title 39, United States Code, to allow postal patrons to 
    contribute to funding for prostate cancer research through the 
 voluntary purchase of certain specially issued United States postage 
                                stamps.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 25, 1997

     Mr. Brown of Ohio (for himself, Mr. Baldacci, Mr. Bonior, Ms. 
Christian-Green, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Dellums, Mr. Ensign, Mr. Filner, Mr. 
  Flake, Mr. Frost, Mr. Hilliard, Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, Ms. Eddie 
 Bernice Johnson of Texas, Ms. Kilpatrick, Mr. McDermott, Mr. McNulty, 
    Mr. Murtha, Mr. Nadler, Ms. Norton, Mr. Norwood, Mr. Olver, Mr. 
     Pascrell, Mr. Saxton, Mr. Stearns, Mr. Underwood, Mr. Fox of 
  Pennsylvania, Mr. Evans, Mr. Lantos, and Mr. Fazio of California), 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                    Government Reform and Oversight

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 39, United States Code, to allow postal patrons to 
    contribute to funding for prostate cancer research through the 
 voluntary purchase of certain specially issued United States postage 
                                stamps.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SPECIAL POSTAGE STAMPS TO BENEFIT PROSTATE CANCER RESEARCH.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 4 of title 39, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 414a. Special postage stamps for prostate cancer research
    ``(a) In order to afford the public a convenient way to contribute 
to funding for prostate cancer research, the Postal Service shall 
establish a special rate of postage for first-class mail under this 
section.
    ``(b) The rate of postage established under this section--
            ``(1) shall be equal to the regular first-class rate of 
        postage, plus a differential of not to exceed 25 percent;
            ``(2) shall be set by the Governors in accordance with such 
        procedures as the Governors shall by regulation prescribe (in 
        lieu of the procedures under chapter 36); and
            ``(3) shall be offered as an alternative to the regular 
        first-class rate of postage.
The use of the special rate of postage established under this section 
shall be voluntary on the part of postal patrons.
    ``(c)(1) Amounts becoming available for prostate cancer research 
pursuant to this section shall be paid to the National Institutes of 
Health. Payments under this paragraph shall be made under such 
arrangements as the Postal Service shall by mutual agreement with that 
agency establish in order to carry out the purposes of this section, 
except that, under those arrangements, payments to such agency shall be 
made at least twice a year.
    ``(2) For purposes of this section, the term `amounts becoming 
available for prostate cancer research pursuant to this section' 
means--
            ``(A) the total amounts received by the Postal Service that 
        it would not have received but for the enactment of this 
        section, reduced by
            ``(B) an amount sufficient to cover reasonable costs 
        incurred by the Postal Service in carrying out this section, 
        including those attributable to the printing, sale, and 
        distribution of stamps under this section,
as determined by the Postal Service under regulations that it shall 
prescribe.
    ``(d) It is the sense of the Congress that nothing in this section 
should--
            ``(1) directly or indirectly cause a net decrease in total 
        funds received by the National Institutes of Health (or any 
        component or program thereof) below the level that would 
        otherwise have been received but for the enactment of this 
        section; or
            ``(2) affect regular first-class rates of postage or any 
        other regular rates of postage.
    ``(e) Special postage stamps under this section shall be made 
available to the public beginning on such date as the Postal Service 
shall by regulation prescribe, but in no event later than 12 months 
after the date of the enactment of this section.
    ``(f) The Postmaster General shall include in each report rendered 
under section 2402 with respect to any period during any portion of 
which this section is in effect information concerning the operation of 
this section, except that, at a minimum, each shall include--
            ``(1) the total amount described in subsection (c)(2)(A) 
        which was received by the Postal Service during the period 
        covered by such report; and
            ``(2) of the amount under paragraph (1), how much (in the 
        aggregate and by category) was required for the purposes 
        described in subsection (c)(2)(B).
    ``(g) This section shall cease to be effective at the end of the 2-
year period beginning on the date on which special postage stamps under 
this section are first made available to the public.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--(1) The analysis for chapter 4 of title 
39, United States Code, is amended by striking the item relating to 
section 414 and inserting the following:

``414. Special postage stamps to benefit breast cancer research.
``414a. Special postage stamps to benefit prostate cancer research.''.
    (2) The heading for section 414 of title 39, United States Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 414. Special postage stamps to benefit breast cancer 
              research.''.
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