I 111th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 1305 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES March 4, 2009 Mr. King of New York (for himself, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Arcuri, Mr. Bishop of New York, Ms. Bordallo, Mr. Boswell, Mr. Brady of Pennsylvania, Mr. Braley of Iowa, Mr. Broun of Georgia, Mr. Brown of South Carolina, Ms. Ginny Brown-Waite of Florida, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Mr. Carney, Mr. Childers, Mr. Coble, Mr. Filner, Mr. Fortenberry, Ms. Foxx, Mr. Frelinghuysen, Mr. Garrett of New Jersey, Mr. Gordon of Tennessee, Mr. Griffith, Mr. Hall of Texas, Mr. Heller, Mr. Hensarling, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Holden, Mr. Holt, Mr. Israel, Mr. Johnson of Illinois, Mr. Jones, Mr. Kagen, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Kildee, Ms. Kilpatrick of Michigan, Ms. Kosmas, Mr. Latham, Mr. Lee of New York, Mr. LoBiondo, Mr. Loebsack, Mr. Daniel E. Lungren of California, Mrs. Maloney, Mr. Massa, Mr. McCotter, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Meeks of New York, Mrs. Miller of Michigan, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mr. Peterson, Mr. Poe of Texas, Mr. Rangel, Mr. Rothman of New Jersey, Mr. Sensenbrenner, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Smith of Nebraska, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Stearns, Mr. Terry, Mr. Walz, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Young of Alaska, Mr. Posey, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, and Mr. Baca) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform A BILL To provide for the issuance of a forever stamp to honor the sacrifices of the brave men and women of the Armed Forces who have been awarded the Purple Heart.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Perpetual Purple Heart Stamp Act.

2.

Findings

The Congress finds that— (1)the Purple Heart is the oldest military decoration in the world still in use; (2)the Purple Heart was first established by General George Washington on August 7, 1782, as the Honorary Badge of Distinction, otherwise known as the Badge of Military Merit or Decoration of the Purple Heart; (3)the Purple Heart is awarded in the name of the President of the United States and may, among others, be awarded— (A)to any member of the Armed Forces who is wounded in an action against or who is held prisoner of war by an enemy of the United States; or (B)posthumously to the next of kin of any person who is a member of the Armed Forces at the time the person is killed or wounded under circumstances otherwise qualifying that person for award of the Purple Heart; (4)more than 1,700,000 Americans have been awarded the Purple Heart; and (5)the Purple Heart postage stamp, first issued by the United States Postal Service on May 30, 2003, honors the sacrifices of the brave men and women of the Armed Forces who have been awarded the Purple Heart.

3.

Perpetual Purple Heart Stamp

(a)

In general

In order to continue to honor the sacrifices of the brave men and women of the Armed Forces who have been awarded the Purple Heart, the Postmaster General shall provide for the issuance of a forever stamp suitable for that purpose. (b)

Definition

For purposes of this Act, the term forever stamp means a definitive stamp which meets the postage required for first-class mail up to one ounce in weight, and which retains full validity for that purpose even if the rate of that postage is later increased. (c)

Effective date

The stamp described in subsection (a) shall be issued beginning as soon as practicable after the date of the enactment of this Act and shall not thereafter be discontinued.