[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14725]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                      SEMIPOSTAL AUTHORIZATION ACT

  Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4437) to grant to the United States Postal Service the 
authority to issue semipostals, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 4437

       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 ``Semipostal Authorization 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. AUTHORITY TO ISSUE SEMIPOSTALS.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 4 of title 39, United States Code, 
     is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``Sec. 416. Authority to issue semipostals

       ``(a) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
       ``(1) the term `semipostal' means a postage stamp which is 
     issued and sold by the Postal Service, at a premium, in order 
     to help provide funding for a cause described in subsection 
     (b); and
       ``(2) the term `agency' means an Executive agency within 
     the meaning of section 105 of title 5.
       ``(b) Discretionary Authority.--The Postal Service is 
     hereby authorized to issue and sell semipostals under this 
     section in order to advance such causes as the Postal Service 
     considers to be in the national public interest and 
     appropriate.
       ``(c) Rate of Postage.--The rate of postage on a semipostal 
     issued under this section shall be established by the 
     Governors, in accordance with such procedures as they shall 
     by regulation prescribe (in lieu of the procedures under 
     chapter 36), except that--
       ``(1) the rate established for a semipostal under this 
     section shall be equal to the rate of postage that would 
     otherwise regularly apply, plus a differential of not to 
     exceed 25 percent; and
       ``(2) no regular rates of postage or fees for postal 
     services under chapter 36 shall be any different from what 
     they otherwise would have been if this section had not been 
     enacted.
     The use of any semipostal issued under this section shall be 
     voluntary on the part of postal patrons.
       ``(d) Amounts Becoming Available.--
       ``(1) In general.--The amounts becoming available from the 
     sale of a semipostal under this section shall be transferred 
     to the appropriate agency or agencies under such arrangements 
     as the Postal Service shall by mutual agreement with each 
     such agency establish.
       ``(2) Identification of appropriate causes and agencies.--
     Decisions concerning the identification of appropriate causes 
     and agencies to receive amounts becoming available from the 
     sale of a semipostal under this section shall be made in 
     accordance with applicable regulations under subsection (e).
       ``(3) Determination of amounts.--
       ``(A) In general.--The amounts becoming available from the 
     sale of a semipostal under this section shall be determined 
     in a manner similar to that provided for under section 
     414(c)(2) (as in effect on July 1, 2000).
       ``(B) Administrative costs.--Regulations under subsection 
     (e) shall specifically address how the costs incurred by the 
     Postal Service in carrying out this section shall be 
     computed, recovered, and kept to a minimum.
       ``(4) Other funding not to be affected.--Amounts which have 
     or may become available from the sale of a semipostal under 
     this section shall not be taken into account in any decision 
     relating to the level of appropriations or other Federal 
     funding to be furnished to an agency in any year.
       ``(5) Recovery of costs.--Before transferring to an agency 
     in accordance with paragraph (1) any amounts becoming 
     available from the sale of a semipostal over any period, the 
     Postal Service shall ensure that it has recovered the full 
     costs incurred by the Postal Service in connection with such 
     semipostal through the end of such period.
       ``(e) Regulations.--
       ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in subsection (c), 
     the Postal Service shall prescribe any regulations necessary 
     to carry out this section, including provisions relating to--
       ``(A) which office or other authority within the Postal 
     Service shall be responsible for making the decisions 
     described in subsection (d)(2);
       ``(B) what criteria and procedures shall be applied in 
     making those decisions; and
       ``(C) what limitations shall apply, if any, relating to the 
     issuance of semipostals (such as whether more than 1 
     semipostal may be offered for sale at the same time).
       ``(2) Notice and comment.--Before any regulation is issued 
     under this section, a copy of the proposed regulation shall 
     be published in the Federal Register, and an opportunity 
     shall be provided for interested parties to present written 
     and, where practicable, oral comment. All regulations 
     necessary to carry out this section shall be issued not later 
     than 30 days before the date on which semipostals are first 
     made available to the public under this section.
       ``(f) Annual Reports.--
       ``(1) In general.--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 any program 
     established under this section.
       ``(2) Specific requirement.--If any semipostal ceases to be 
     offered during the period covered by such a report, the 
     information contained in that report shall also include--
       ``(A) the commencement and termination dates for the sale 
     of such semipostal;
       ``(B) the total amount that became available from the sale 
     of such semipostal; and
       ``(C) of that total amount, how much was applied toward 
     administrative costs.
     For each year before the year in which a semipostal ceases to 
     be offered, any report under this subsection shall include, 
     with respect to that semipostal (for the year covered by such 
     report), the information described in subparagraphs (B) and 
     (C).
       ``(g) Termination.--This section shall cease to be 
     effective at the end of the 10-year period beginning on the 
     date on which semipostals are first made available to the 
     public under this section.''.
       (b) Reports by Agencies.--Each agency that receives any 
     funding in a year under section 416 of title 39, United 
     States Code (as amended by this section) shall submit a 
     written report under this subsection, with respect to such 
     year, to the congressional committees with jurisdiction over 
     the United States Postal Service. Each such report shall 
     include--
       (1) the total amount of funding received by such agency 
     under such section 416 during the year;
       (2) an accounting of how any funds received by such agency 
     under such section 416 were allocated or otherwise used by 
     such agency in such year; and
       (3) a description of any significant advances or 
     accomplishments in such year that were funded, in whole or in 
     part, out of amounts received by such agency under such 
     section 416.
       (c) Reports by the General Accounting Office.--
       (1) Interim report.--The General Accounting Office shall 
     submit to the President and each House of Congress an interim 
     report on the operation of the program established under 
     section 416 of title 39, United States Code (as amended by 
     this section) not later than 4 years after semipostals are 
     first made available to the public under such section.
       (2) Final report.--The General Accounting Office shall 
     transmit to the President and each House of Congress a final 
     report on the operation of the program established under such 
     section 416, not later than 6 months before the date on which 
     it is scheduled to expire. The final report shall contain a 
     detailed statement of the findings and conclusions of the 
     General Accounting Office, together with any recommendations 
     it considers appropriate.
       (d) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 
     4 of title 39, United States Code, is amended by adding at 
     the end the following:

``416. Authority to issue semipostals.''.

       (e) Effective Date.--The program under section 416 of title 
     39, United States Code (as amended by this section) shall be 
     established within 6 months after the date of enactment of 
     this Act.

     SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY TO ISSUE SEMIPOSTALS FOR 
                   BREAST CANCER RESEARCH.

       (a) In General.--Section 414(g) of title 39, United States 
     Code, is amended to read as follows:
       ``(g) This section shall cease to be effective after July 
     29, 2002, or the end of the 2-year period beginning on the 
     date of enactment of the Semipostal Authorization Act, 
     whichever is later.''.
       (b) Reporting Requirement.--No later than 3 months and no 
     earlier than 6 months before the date as of which section 414 
     of title 39, United States Code (as amended by this section) 
     is scheduled to expire, the Comptroller General of the United 
     States shall submit to the Congress a report on the operation 
     of such section. Such report shall be in addition to the 
     report required by section 2(b) of Public Law 105-41, and 
     shall address at least the same matters as were required to 
     be included in that earlier report.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. McHugh) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York (Mr. McHugh).


                             General Leave

  Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
on H.R. 4437.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, as with any measure of this magnitude, the point at 
which a bill comes to the floor of this House, of course, is realized 
only through the concerted efforts and a great deal of hard work by a 
number of good people, and that is certainly the case here today.
  In that regard, I want to begin by expressing my deepest appreciation 
particularly to the ranking member on the subcommittee, the gentleman 
from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah), his staff, the staff of the full 
subcommittee, for their efforts, for their support and most importantly 
their substantive and constructive input. I would say not only is the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah) a primary cosponsor of this 
legislation, he is indeed one of the primary authors; and frankly his 
input, his participation made what I think is a good piece of 
legislation even better.
  I also want to thank the chairman of the full committee, the 
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton), and, of course, his colleague, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman), the ranking member on the full 
committee, for their cooperation and for their efforts in helping to 
bring this very worthy piece of legislation before us today.
  The bill before us, Mr. Speaker, seeks to achieve two very important 
objectives. The first is to extend the authorization of the highly 
successful breast cancer research stamp. It was not that long ago in 
the 105th Congress under the guidance of two of our former colleagues, 
a fellow State associate of mine, the gentlewoman Susan Molinari from 
New York, and Vic Fazio, the gentleman from California, who worked so 
hard in realizing what became the first ever semipostal issuance in the 
history of the United States. Since that time, since the creation of 
the breast cancer research stamp, the proceeds from the sales of these 
issues from voluntary purchases has resulted in some $15 million in 
additional funds made available for breast cancer research.
  There is truly, Mr. Speaker, not a person in this country that has 
not in some way been touched by the cruel hand of this disease, a wife, 
a mother, a close friend, a loved one or, in my own case, a 
grandmother. Those dollars, willingly donated by millions upon millions 
of caring individuals, will hopefully bring us ever closer to the day 
when this scourge is but a sad and very frightening memory. Without our 
action here through this bill, Mr. Speaker, the current authorization 
will end at the conclusion of this month, on July 29, in fact.
  So many in this House, so many in this Nation have called upon us to 
act further. In the House, I would say we owe particular thanks to the 
gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Bass), who gathered 117 of our 
colleagues calling for this extension. In fact, the authorization for 
such an action contained in this bill is modeled on the gentleman from 
New Hampshire's bill and would extend the current program for an 
additional 2 years.
  As I mentioned, our presence here today also comes through the urging 
and support of many, many others, far too many to properly credit them 
all by name. But we certainly want to thank and commend each and every 
one of those folks. But I do want to pay particular tribute to just a 
few, if I might. Ms. Betsey Mullen, who was here with us in Washington 
earlier today, I believe and I hope she still is, and her colleague at 
the Women's Information Network Against Breast Cancer, Dr. Bodai, for 
their untiring efforts. I would also like to thank Ms. Mullen's 6\1/2\-
year-old nephew and her 8\1/2\-year-old niece who took the time out of 
what I know are their busy lives and busy summers to actually address 
handwritten letters to all of us here in Congress urging our continued 
efforts on behalf of this semipostal.
  Mr. Speaker, I include the letters in their entirety for the Record.

       Dear Congress, Girls and boys can get breast cancer and I 
     don't want girls and boys and the President and his wife, cat 
     and dog to get sick. Keep the stamp going.
       From Brendon Fisher.
                                  ____

                                                    July 16, 2000.
       Dear Congress, I think it's very important to keep the 
     stamp because if we don't every girl is going to worry about 
     it or maybe get brest cancer. But if we keep it we will get 
     money to cure to stop it. My Aunt Betsey risked her life on 
     it and I'm proud of her. If you think about it no one likes 
     it because you can die from it. I think and a lot of other 
     people agree with me that it would be best to keep the stamp 
     and then things will go perfect.
       Hope my letter makes a difference because not just me is 
     counting on this.
       By Paige Fisher, 8 in a half years old, MD.

  If I might, I would like to read a part of both of those.
  ``Dear Congress:
  ``Girls and boys can get breast cancer and I don't want girls and 
boys and the President and his wife, cat and dog to get sick. Keep the 
stamp going.''
  That is from Brendon Fisher, who is, as I said, 6\1/2\ years old.

                              {time}  1500

  And this one: ``Dear Congress, I think it is very important to keep 
the stamp, because if we don't, every girl is going to worry about it 
or maybe get breast cancer. But if we keep it, we will get money to 
cure, to stop it. My Aunt Betsey risked her life on it and I'm proud of 
her. If you think about it, no one likes it because you can die from 
it. I think, and a lot of other people agree with me, that it would be 
best to keep the stamp and then things will go perfect. I hope my 
letter makes a difference, because not just me is counting on this. By 
Paige Fisher, 8\1/2\ years old.''
  Paige, I want to let you know that yours and Brendon's efforts have 
indeed made a difference. As I said, I have many to thank.
  I would like to give a personal thanks to a special individual, a 
lady by the name of Jennifer Katz, who has a tangential professional 
interest in this cause, but who long before this question evolved, Mr. 
Speaker, through her own life experiences taught me and I suspect many, 
many others how to learn from her efforts that through tragedy one can 
identify important goals and challenges and learn in life some things 
so personal that can become bigger than self, and to thank her for 
helping me better understand that reality.
  Lastly, Mr. Speaker, and certainly not least, we all owe our thanks 
to the dedicated administration and employees of the Postal Service, 
because it was through their selfless commitment, through their efforts 
that this program in its initial stages has reached the historic levels 
that it has. Yes, Mr. Speaker, many, many thanks to so many people.
  The second equally important part and important section of this bill 
would establish a permanent process and give defined authority within 
the Postal Service to regularly and formally establish future 
semipostals that will serve similar purposes in the national American 
public interest.
  The success of the Breast Cancer Research Stamp has understandably 
led many of our colleagues to propose similar initiatives that are 
designed to benefit many other worthy causes. And, indeed, this year 
alone in this Congress, we have had some 14 bills introduced into both 
bodies that attempt to achieve just such a goal.
  Mr. Speaker, I will read from them briefly: the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Millender-McDonald) on AIDS research; the gentleman 
from Pennsylvania (Mr. Weldon) on diabetes; the gentleman from Rhode 
Island (Mr. Weygand) on Alzheimer's; the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Cunningham) on prostate cancer; the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. 
Jackson-Lee) on emergency food relief; the gentlewoman from Maryland 
(Mrs. Morella) on organ and tissue donation; the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Lofgren) on World War II memorial; the gentleman from 
Ohio (Mr. Traficant) on the American Battle Monuments Commission; the 
gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Hefley) on domestic violence. And in the 
other body, Mr. Lott on Highway-Rail Grade crossing safety; Mr. 
Nighthorse-Campbell on domestic violence; Mr. DeWine on organ and 
tissue donation, and the list goes on and on.
  Clearly, Mr. Speaker, all of these are very worthy initiatives, and I 
think it is just that fact that perhaps most clearly of all calls for 
the passage of this bill. I fear absent our action, Mr. Speaker, that 
none of these may be achieved, that in the perhaps regrettable, but I 
think undeniable political reality of this Congress as we push back and 
forth toward trying to achieve our own personal and sometimes equally 
laudable goals, none of them may be passed.
  Mr. Speaker, through this legislation, we can say to the postal 
service, we must establish a system that must consider these kinds of 
initiatives and they must issue them on a regular basis. In this 
fashion, Mr. Speaker, I think we can most assuredly guarantee that 
these kinds of initiatives will indeed continue into the future, as I 
think they should.
  Mr. Speaker, I would say, while the Breast Cancer Research Stamp 
Initiative has gone exceedingly well, it has not been without its 
flaws. Some observers including the General Accounting Office have 
found that some of the procedural and administrative surroundings have 
been less than perfectly implemented. This bill seizes upon a report 
done by the GAO that calls for certain reforms within future issuances, 
providing for better accounting methods to make sure that both the 
expenditure and the revenue side are clearly defined and clearly 
recorded, a provision for full reporting on the program, including 
regularly reports to both bodies in this Congress, methods to ensure 
full costs coverage, so that those who choose not to participate in the 
stamp are not somehow burdened with added costs, to ensure that any 
future, postal increases necessitated are not a result of semipostals 
no matter how worthy the cause.
  In sum, Mr. Speaker, I do firmly believe that this is a balanced and 
well-reasoned and in my humble opinion a very worthy and necessary 
piece of legislation, and I would urge its passage here today.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, first let me thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
McHugh), the chairman of this committee, for being forthcoming with 
reference to this legislation. Additionally, I would like to thank the 
delegate, the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton), 
my good friend, for graciously allowing me to manage the time on this 
important measure.
  I would like to join the gentleman from New York (Mr. McHugh) in the 
consideration of H.R. 4437, the Semipostal Authorization Act, 
legislation, granting the postal service the discretionary authority to 
issue semipostals. This measure was unanimously reported from the 
committee on June 29, 2000.
  I am pleased to note that on June 29, the gentleman from New York 
(Mr. McHugh) reported out an amendment in the nature of a substitute to 
H.R. 4437, which made a number of important changes to the original 
text. We owe our interests in semipostals to Dr. Ernie Bodai, chief of 
surgery at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Sacramento, 
California, and one of our former colleagues, former Congressman Vic 
Fazio from California.
  Mr. Speaker, Dr. Bodai first proposed the idea of a semipostal with 
the money raised going toward breast cancer research. He took his idea 
to Congressman Vic Fazio; and on May 7, 1996, Congressman Fazio 
introduced the first semipostal bill, H.R. 3401, the Breast Cancer 
Research Stamp Act.
  He was joined in this effort by Senator Dianne Feinstein when she 
sponsored identical legislation in the Senate. Congressman Fazio 
subsequently reintroduced his bill in the 105th Congress as H.R. 407. 
On May 13, 1997, Representative Fazio joined Representative Susan 
Molinari from New York, former Congresswoman, in sponsoring H.R. 1585, 
Stamp Out Breast Cancer Act.
  The bill, as amended, and passed by the House on July 22, 1997, by a 
vote of 423-3 permitted the postal service to establish a special rate 
of postage for first class mail, not to exceed 25 percent of the 
original first class rate of postage. Stamps issued under this special 
rate are available for purchase by the public on a voluntary basis and 
as an alternative to regular postage.
  After deducting an amount sufficient to cover reasonable costs 
attributable to the printing, sale, and distribution of the stamps, the 
postal service would transfer 70 percent of the amount generated to the 
National Institutes of Health and 30 percent to the Department of 
Defense for breast cancer research.
  The National Institutes of Health designated the money to support 
innovative pilot studies that will further breast cancer awareness. The 
Department of Defense designated the money for awards intended to 
encourage innovative approaches to breast cancer research.
  H.R. 1585 was subsequently enacted into law, Public Law 105-41, in 
addition to authorizing the breast cancer research stamp for 2 years, 
required the General Accounting Office to submit a report to Congress 
that evaluated the effectiveness and the appropriateness of this method 
of fund-raising.
  In its April 2000 report, entitled ``Breast Cancer Research Stamp, 
Millions Raised for Research, But Better Costs Recovery Criteria 
Needed,'' the GAO determined that the semipostal was successful. It is 
expected that by July 28, 2000, well over 215 million stamps will have 
been sold and more than 15 million in revenue raised.
  GAO further determined that the semipostal was an effective and 
appropriate way to fund-raise.
  Mr. Speaker, the incidence of breast cancer continues to far outstrip 
available resources and funds. The statistics are as sobering as they 
are rising. Breast cancer is still the number one cancer killer of 
women between the ages of 15 and 24. The disease claims another woman's 
life every 15 minutes in the United States. More than 2 million women 
are living with breast cancer in America today, yet 1 million of them 
have not been diagnosed.
  More and more people are joining the ranks of breast cancer survivors 
rather than breast cancer victims due in large part to breakthroughs in 
cancer research. According to the American Association for Cancer 
Research, 8 million people are alive today as a result of cancer 
research. The bottom line is that every dollar we continue to raise 
will save lives.
  Clearly, the American public by purchasing more than 215 million 
breast cancer semipostal stamps believes this is a good cause and one 
worthy of contributions. I would urge on behalf of the gentlewoman from 
the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) and the committee that we move 
quickly and pass H.R. 4437.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I would ask the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Hastings) if he has any further requests for time.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for 
time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests, but before yielding back, 
let me compliment and express my appreciation to the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Hastings) for his invaluable assistance here and to 
associate myself with his remarks about not just the importance of this 
bill in its two major aspects but to the invaluable contributions of 
both our former colleagues, Mr. Fazio and Ms. Molinari, as I attempted 
to state in my remarks, but also as I said, the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah), the gentlewoman from the District of 
Columbia (Ms. Norton), and others for the great assistance that they 
have given and urge all of our colleagues to join us in expressing 
their support of this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Miller of Florida). The question is on 
the motion offered by the gentleman from New York (Mr. McHugh) that the 
House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4437, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________