[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3809 Introduced in House (IH)]

  2d Session
                                H. R. 3809

  To amend chapter 4 of title 39, United States Code, to allow postal 
    patrons to contribute to funding for organ and tissue donation 
 awareness through the voluntary purchase of certain specially issued 
                     United States postage stamps.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 1, 2000

Mrs. Morella (for herself, Mrs. Thurman, Mr. Moakley, and Mr. Franks of 
 New Jersey) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend chapter 4 of title 39, United States Code, to allow postal 
    patrons to contribute to funding for organ and tissue donation 
 awareness 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 ORGAN AND TISSUE DONATION 
              AWARENESS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 4 of title 39, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 414 the following:
``Sec. 414a. Special postage stamps for organ and tissue donation 
              awareness
    ``(a) In order to afford the public a convenient way to contribute 
to funding for organ and tissue donation awareness, 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.
    ``(c) The use of the special rate of postage established under this 
section shall be voluntary on the part of postal patrons.
    ``(d)(1) The Postal Service shall pay the amounts becoming 
available for organ and tissue donation awareness under this section to 
the Department of Health and Human Services for organ and tissue 
donation awareness programs. Payments under this paragraph to the 
Department of Health and Human Services shall be made under such 
arrangements as the Postal Service shall by mutual agreement with the 
Department establish in order to carry out the purposes of this 
section, except that, under those arrangements, payments to the 
Department shall be made at least twice a year. In consultation with 
donor organizations and other members of the transplant community, the 
Department of Health and Human Services may make any funds paid to the 
Department under this section available to donor organizations and 
other members of the transplant community for donor awareness programs.
    ``(2) For purposes of this section, the term `amounts becoming 
available for organ and tissue donation awareness under 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 the Postal 
Service shall prescribe.
    ``(e) It is the sense of Congress that nothing in this section 
should--
            ``(1) directly or indirectly cause a net decrease in total 
        funds received by the Department of Health and Human Services 
        or any other agency of the Government (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.
    ``(f) 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.
    ``(g) 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 (d)(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 (d)(2)(B).
    ``(h) 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) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Table of sections.--The table of sections 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 organ and tissue donation 
                            awareness.''.
            (2) Section heading.--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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