[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 712 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 712

   To amend title 39, United States Code, to allow postal patrons to 
 contribute to funding for highway-rail grade crossing safety through 
   the voluntary purchase of certain specially issued United States 
                            postage stamps.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 24, 1999

   Mr. Lott (for himself, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. Breaux, and Mr. Wyden) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                   Committee on Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 39, United States Code, to allow postal patrons to 
 contribute to funding for highway-rail grade crossing safety 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Look, Listen, and Live Stamp Act''.

SEC. 2. SPECIAL POSTAGE STAMPS TO BENEFIT HIGHWAY-RAIL GRADE CROSSING 
              SAFETY.

    (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 highway-rail grade crossing 
              safety
    ``(a) In order to afford the public a convenient way to contribute 
to funding for highway-rail grade crossing safety, 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) Amounts becoming available for highway-rail grade crossing 
safety under this section shall be paid by the Postal Service to the 
Department of Transportation for Operation Lifesaver. Payments under 
this section shall be made under such arrangements as the Postal 
Service shall by mutual agreement with the Department of Transportation 
establish in order to carry out the purposes of this section, except 
that, under those arrangements, payments to the Department of 
Transportation shall be made at least twice a year.
    ``(2) For purposes of this section, the term `amounts becoming 
available for highway-rail grade crossing safety under this section' 
means--
            ``(A) the total amounts received by the Postal Service that 
        the Postal Service 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.
    ``(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 Transportation for 
        Operation Lifesaver 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 report 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) Report by the Comptroller General of the United States.--Not 
later than 3 months (but not earlier than 6 months) before the end of 
the 2-year period referred to in section 414a(h) of title 39, United 
States Code (as amended by subsection (a)), the Comptroller General of 
the United States shall submit to Congress a report on the operation of 
such section. Such report shall include--
            (1) an evaluation of the effectiveness and the 
        appropriateness of the authority provided by such section as a 
        means of fundraising; and
            (2) a description of the monetary and other resources 
        required of the Postal Service in carrying out such section.
    (c) 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 for breast cancer research.
``414a. Special postage stamps for highway-rail grade crossing 
                            safety.''.
            (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 for breast cancer research''.
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