[Senate Report 117-255]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       Calendar No. 639

117th Congress    }                                      {      Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session       }                                      {     117-255
______________________________________________________________________



                   MULTINATIONAL SPECIES CONSERVATION

                         FUNDS SEMIPOSTAL STAMP

                      REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2021

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

                   COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND

                          GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                              to accompany

                                 S. 521

             TO REQUIRE THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE TO
               CONTINUE SELLING THE MULTINATIONAL SPECIES
             CONSERVATION FUNDS SEMIPOSTAL STAMP UNTIL ALL
           REMAINING STAMPS ARE SOLD, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES



              [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]



               December 13, 2022.--Ordered to be printed





                                 ______
                                 

                 U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

39-010                    WASHINGTON : 2023







        COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                   GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman

THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware           ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire         RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona              RAND PAUL, Kentucky
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada                  JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
ALEX PADILLA, California             MITT ROMNEY, Utah
JON OSSOFF, Georgia                  RICK SCOTT, Florida
                                     JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri

                   David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
                    Zachary I. Schram, Chief Counsel
            Annika W. Christensen, Professional Staff Member
                Pamela Thiessen, Minority Staff Director
            Sam J. Mulopulos, Minority Deputy Staff Director
                  Andrew J. Hopkins, Minority Counsel
                     Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk








                                                       Calendar No. 639

117th Congress    }                                      {      Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session       }                                      {     117-255

======================================================================



 
       MULTINATIONAL SPECIES CONSERVATION FUNDS SEMIPOSTAL STAMP 
                      REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2021

                                _______
                                

               December 13, 2022.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Peters, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
                    Affairs, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 521]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 521) to require the 
United States Postal Service to continue selling the 
Multinational Species Conservation Funds Semipostal Stamp until 
all remaining stamps are sold, and for other purposes, having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon without 
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
  I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
 II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................2
 IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported.............3
  V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................3
 VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................4
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............5

                         I. Purpose and Summary

    S. 521, the Multinational Species Conservation Funds 
Semipostal Stamp Reauthorization Act of 2021, would direct the 
United States Postal Service (the Postal Service) to continue 
selling the remaining copies of the Multinational Species 
Conservation Funds Semipostal Stamp left in stock, including 
reprinting and selling any stamps that have been destroyed. 
This semipostal stamp contributes to the Multinational Species 
Conservation Fund at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which 
assists with conservation of over 30 critical species 
worldwide. This bill would only direct the sale of existing 
stamps rather than authorizing a new stamp.

              II. Background and Need for the Legislation

    A semipostal stamp is a postage stamp issued and sold by 
the Postal Service, with a surcharge on the regular rate of a 
1-ounce first-class letter stamp, that helps provides funding 
for a cause in the public interest. Revenue from the stamp 
sale, minus postage and a reasonable reimbursement to the 
Postal Service, is transferred to a selected Federal agency for 
a specific cause.\1\ Between 1997 and 2010, Congress authorized 
the Postal Service to sell four different semipostal stamps, 
including the Multinational Species Conservation Funds 
stamp.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\39 U.S.C. Sec. 416.
    \2\Congressional Research Service, Multinational Species 
Conservation Fund Semipostal Stamp (R44809) (Apr. 7, 2017) (https://
crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R44809/5).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Multinational Species Conservation Funds Semipostal 
Stamp Act of 2010 authorized the Postal Service to create and 
distribute a semipostal stamp to support international 
conservation efforts.\3\ The Postal Service introduced the 
stamp, also known as the ``Save Vanishing Species'' stamp, in 
2011. The additional proceeds of the stamps are deposited into 
the Multinational Species Conservation Fund, administered by 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which includes five grant 
programs: the African Elephant Conservation Fund, the Asian 
Elephant Conservation Fund, the Great Ape Conservation Fund, 
the Marine Turtle Conservation Fund, and the Rhinoceros and 
Tiger Conservation Fund.\4\ All programs were reauthorized 
through 2023 in S. 47, the John. D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, 
Management, and Recreation Act, enacted in 2019.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\Pub. L. No. 111-241 (2010).
    \4\Congressional Research Service, supra note 2.
    \5\Pub. L. No. 116-9 (2019).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Between 2011 and 2018, Postal Service customers bought 
almost 51 million copies of the stamp, raising roughly $5.7 
million for over 100 conservation projects in 35 countries 
related to anti-poaching, capacity building, community 
engagement and outreach, habitat restoration, and raising 
public awareness of wildlife trafficking.\6\ However, the 
authorization for the stamp expired at the end of Fiscal Year 
2017, and the Postal Service suspended the sales despite still 
having 49 million unsold stamps.\7\ In February 2019, Congress 
passed report language in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 
2019 directing the Postal Service to continue selling these 
semipostal stamps.\8\ The Multinational Species Conservation 
Funds Semipostal Stamp Reauthorization Act of 2021 would 
reauthorize the stamp to ensure all remaining stamps are sold.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \6\Congressional Research Services, Multinational Species 
Conservation Fund: FY2020 Appropriations (R45668) (Apr. 5, 2019) 
(https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R45668); House 
Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife, WOW Legislative Hearing, 
116th Cong. (June 13, 2019).
    \7\House Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife, WOW 
Legislative Hearing, 116th Cong. (June 13, 2019).
    \8\Pub. L. No. 116-6 (2019).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                        III. Legislative History

    Ranking Member Rob Portman (R-OH) introduced S. 521, the 
Multinational Species Conservation Funds Semipostal Stamp 
Reauthorization Act of 2021, on March 2, 2021, with original 
cosponsors Senator Thomas Carper (D-DE), Senator Edward Markey 
(D-MA), Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Senator Dianne 
Feinstein (D-CA). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Senator Jeanne 
Shaheen (D-NH) and Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) joined as 
cosponsors on March 4, 2021, and Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-
MD), Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), and Senator Margaret Hassan 
(D-NH) joined as cosponsors on February 1, 2022.
    The Committee considered S. 521 at a business meeting on 
February 2, 2022. The Committee ordered the bill to be reported 
favorably by voice vote en bloc with Senators Peters, Carper, 
Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Padilla, Ossoff, Portman, Lankford, 
Scott, and Hawley present.

        IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported


Section 1. Short title

    This section establishes the short title of the bill as the 
``Multinational Species Conservation Funds Semipostal Stamp 
Reauthorization Act of 2021.''

Sec. 2. Reauthorization; requirement to sell all stamps

    Subsection (a) amends Section 2(c) of the Multinational 
Species Conservation Funds Semipostal Stamp Act of 2010 to 
reauthorize the Multinational Species Conservation Funds 
semipostal stamp, until such time as the Postal Service 
notifies Congress that all copies of the stamp have been sold. 
The subsection also adds language requiring the Postal Service 
to sell each copy of the stamp printed under the Act and to 
notify the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Reform 
of the House of Representatives when all copies have been sold.
    Subsection (b) applies the subsection (a) amendments 
retroactively, to begin the day after the enactment of the 
Multinational Species Conservation Funds Semipostal Stamp 
Reauthorization Act of 2013. This subsection also requires that 
if the Postal Service has destroyed one or more of these stamps 
before the enactment of this bill, it must print and sell an 
equal number of the stamps after enactment as replacements.

                   V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact

    Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule 
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has 
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined 
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning 
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional 
Budget Office's statement that the bill contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs 
on state, local, or tribal governments.

             VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                    Washington, DC, April 27, 2022.
Hon. Gary Peters,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. 
        Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 521, the 
Multinational Species Conservation Funds Semipostal Stamp 
Reauthorization Act of 2021.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Janani 
Shankaran.
            Sincerely,
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    

    S. 521 would direct the Postal Service (USPS) to continue 
to sell the Save Vanishing Species semipostal stamp until all 
are sold and to reprint any destroyed stamps. Under current 
law, USPS can sell the stamps through September 30, 2022.
    The stamps cost 75 cents each; amounts that USPS collects 
above regular first-class postage (currently 58 cents) are 
treated as offsetting collections of the Postal Service and are 
transferred to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to 
support the Multinational Species Conservation Funds.
    Using information on past sales, CBO estimates that 
collections under the bill would total less than $1 million 
annually. CBO expects those amounts to be transferred soon 
after receipt. Using information from the Postal Service, we 
estimate that any costs to reprint stamps would be 
insignificant and would be offset by proceeds from the sale of 
those stamps, resulting in no net change in spending by USPS 
over the 2022-2031 period. Postal Service collections and 
spending, including the transfer to USFWS, are classified as 
off-budget.
    The amounts that USFWS receives would be recorded as on-
budget offsetting receipts, or reductions in direct spending, 
and would be available for the agency to spend without further 
appropriation. CBO expects that those funds would be spent soon 
after receipt; thus, the net effect on direct spending would be 
negligible.
    On April 20, 2022, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 
6023, the Multinational Species Conservation Funds Semipostal 
Stamp Reauthorization Act of 2021, as ordered reported by the 
House Committee on Natural Resources on February 16, 2022. The 
bills are similar; however, S. 521 would direct USPS to reprint 
any destroyed stamps. CBO's cost estimate for S. 521 reflects 
that difference.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Janani 
Shankaran. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 
Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.

       VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows: (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in brackets, new matter is 
printed in italic, and existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

UNITED STATES CODE

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


TITLE 39--POSTAL SERVICE

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


PART I--GENERAL

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


CHAPTER 4--GENERAL AUTHORITY

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



SEC. 416. AUTHORITY TO ISSUE SEMIPOSTALS

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


MULTINATIONAL SPECIES CONSERVATION FUNDS SEMIPOSTAL STAMP ACT OF 2010

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 2. MULTINATIONAL SPECIES CONSERVATION FUNDS SEMIPOSTAL STAMP.

    (a) * * *
    (b) * * *
    (c) Other Terms and Conditions.--The issuance and sale of 
the Multinational Species Conservation Funds Semipostal Stamp 
shall be governed by the provisions of section 416 of title 39, 
United States Code, and regulations issued under such section, 
subject to subsection (b) and the following:
          (1) * * *
          (2) Duration.--The Multinational Species Conservation 
        Funds Semipostal Stamp shall be made available to the 
        public for a period [of at least 6 years,] beginning no 
        later than 12 months after the date of the enactment of 
        this Act and ending not earlier than the date on which 
        the United States Postal Service provides notice to 
        Congress under paragraph (5).
          (3) * * *
          (4) * * *
          (5) Requirement to sell all stamps printed.--
                  (A) In general.--The United States Postal 
                Service shall sell each copy of the 
                Multinational Species Conservation Fund 
                Semipostal Stamp that the United States Postal 
                Service prints under this Act.
                  (B) Notification of congress.--The United 
                States Postal Service shall notify the 
                Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
                Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 
                Oversight and Reform of the House of 
                Representatives when all copies of the 
                Multinational Species Conservation Fund 
                Semipostal Stamp printed under this Act have 
                been sold.
    (d) Definition.--For purposes of this Act, the term 
`semipostal stamp' refers to a stamp described in section 
416(a)(1) of title 39, United States Code.''

                                [all]