[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2905 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2905

   To require that the United States Postal Service issue a special 
   commemorative postage stamp under section 416 of title 39, United 
 States Code, in order to provide assistance in the case of emergency 
relief personnel who were killed or who suffer permanent disability as 
    a result of the terrorist attacks against the United States on 
              September 11, 2001, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 20, 2001

  Mr. Ackerman (for himself, Mr. Fossella, Mr. Davis of Florida, Mr. 
Shows, Mr. Weiner, Mr. Serrano, Mr. Towns, Mr. Pomeroy, Mr. Gilchrest, 
Mr. Crowley, Mr. Maloney of Connecticut, Mrs. Maloney of New York, Mr. 
 English, Mr. Hinchey, Mrs. Mink of Hawaii, Mr. Mascara, Mr. McNulty, 
   Ms. Velazquez, Mr. Royce, Mr. Kildee, Ms. Solis, Mr. Peterson of 
  Minnesota, Mr. King, and Mr. Israel) introduced the following bill; 
   which was referred to the Committee on Government Reform, and in 
 addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a 
 period of time to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each 
     case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require that the United States Postal Service issue a special 
   commemorative postage stamp under section 416 of title 39, United 
 States Code, in order to provide assistance in the case of emergency 
relief personnel who were killed or who suffer permanent disability as 
    a result of the terrorist attacks against the United States on 
              September 11, 2001, and for other purposes.

    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 ``September 11th Heroes Stamp Act of 
2001''.

SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT THAT A SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE POSTAGE STAMP BE 
              DESIGNED AND ISSUED.

    (a) In General.--In order to afford the public a direct and 
tangible way to provide assistance to the families of emergency relief 
personnel who were killed in the terrorist attacks against the United 
States on September 11, 2001, and to any such personnel who suffer 
permanent disability as a result of any of those attacks, the United 
States Postal Service shall issue a semipostal in accordance with 
subsection (b).
    (b) Requirements.--The provisions of section 416 of title 39, 
United States Code, shall apply (as practicable) with respect to the 
semipostal described in subsection (a), subject to the following:
            (1) Price.--The price of the semipostal shall be equal to 
        the price of a regular first-class postage stamp plus an 
        additional 11 cents.
            (2) Disposition of amounts becoming available.--All amounts 
        becoming available from the sale of the semipostal (as 
        determined under such section) shall be transferred to the 
        Federal Emergency Management Agency under such arrangements as 
        the Postal Service shall by mutual agreement with such agency 
        establish in order to carry out the purposes of this Act.
            (3) Commencement and termination dates.--Stamps under this 
        section shall be issued--
                    (A) beginning on the earliest date practicable; and
                    (B) subject to section 416(g) of such title, for 
                such period of time as the Postal Service considers 
                necessary and appropriate, but in no event less than 2 
                years.
            (4) Numerical limitation.--Stamps under this section shall 
        not be taken into account for purposes of any limitation under 
        section 416(e)(1)(C) of such title relating to whether more 
        than 1 semipostal may be offered for sale at the same time.
    (c) Design.--It is the sense of the Congress that the semipostal 
issued under this section should depict, by such design as the Postal 
Service considers to be most appropriate, the efforts of emergency 
relief personnel at the site of the World Trade Center in New York City 
and at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.

SEC. 3. PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency may establish a 
program to provide assistance to the families of emergency relief 
personnel who were killed in the terrorist attacks against the United 
States on September 11, 2001, and to any such personnel who suffer 
permanent disability as a result of any of those attacks.
    (b) Coordination Rule.--Assistance under the program--
            (1) may be in addition to any provided under section 1201-
        1202 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 
        (42 U.S.C. 3796-3796a); and
            (2) may be provided notwithstanding section 312 of the 
        Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
        (42 U.S.C. 5155).
    (c) Funding.--In order to carry out this section, the Director of 
the Federal Emergency Management Agency--
            (1) may use any amounts received under section 2(b)(2); and
            (2) may accept and use any other funds donated or made 
        available for purposes of the program.
    (d) Duty Status.--Any determination of eligibility to receive 
assistance under the program shall be made without regard to whether 
the emergency relief worker involved was officially on duty at the time 
of disability or death.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act--
            (1) the term ``emergency relief personnel'' means 
        firefighters, law enforcement officers, paramedics, emergency 
        medical technicians, members of the clergy, and other 
        individuals (including employees of legally organized and 
        recognized volunteer organizations, whether compensated or not) 
        who, in the course of professional duties, respond to fire, 
        medical, hazardous material, or other similar emergencies; and
            (2) the term ``semipostal'' has the meaning given such term 
        by section 416 of title 39, United States Code.
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