[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 123 (Wednesday, September 28, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S10584]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        BREAST CANCER RESEARCH STAMP REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2005

  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today to thank very much all of 
my colleagues for their support in extending the Breast Cancer Research 
Stamp for another 2 years.
  This bill has the strong bipartisan support of Senator Hutchison and 
68 other Senators from both sides of the aisle.
  Without congressional action, this extraordinary stamp is set to 
expire on December 31 of this year.
  During the past 7 years, the U.S. Postal Service has sold over 650 
million semipostal breast cancer stamps--raising $47.4 million for 
breast cancer research.
  These dollars allow the National Institutes of Health, NIH, and the 
Department of Defense, DOD, to conduct new and innovative breast cancer 
research.
  So far the NIH has received approximately $31 million and the DOD 
about $13 million for breast cancer research--helping more people 
become cancer survivors rather than cancer victims.
  In addition to raising much needed funds, this wonderful stamp has 
also focused public awareness on this devastating disease and provided 
hope to breast cancer survivors to help find a cure.
  The breast cancer research stamp is the first stamp of its kind 
dedicated to raising funds for a special cause and remains just as 
necessary today as ever. For example: breast cancer is considered the 
most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in every major ethnic group 
in this country; over 2 million women in the U.S. are living with 
breast cancer, 1 million of whom have yet to be diagnosed; this year, 
approximately 211,240 women in this country will get breast cancer and 
about 40,410 women will die from this dreadful disease; and about 1,300 
men in America are diagnosed with breast cancer each year though much 
less common.
  Extending the life of this remarkable stamp is crucial so that we can 
continue to reach out to our women and men who do not know of their 
cancer and to those who are living with it.
  This bill would permit the sale of the breast cancer research stamp 
for 2 more years--until December 31, 2007.
  The stamp would continue to have a surcharge of up to 25 percent 
above the value of a first-class stamp.
  Surplus revenues would continue to go to breast cancer research 
programs at the National Institutes of Health, 70 percent of proceeds, 
and the Department of Defense, 30 percent of proceeds.
  This bill does not affect any other semipostal proposals under 
consideration by the Postal Service.
  With this stamp every dollar we continue to raise will help save 
lives until a cure is found.
  Again, I thank my colleagues for supporting this important 
legislation to extend the breast cancer research stamp for 2 more 
years.

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