United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office General Government Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2000-04-28 monographic deposited born digital 56 p. GA 1.13:GGD-00-80 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GGD-00-80 P0b002ee180370b2d f:gg00080 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-GGD-00-80 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GGD-00-80 GGD-00-80 Breast cancer Cost analysis Health research programs Postal service Performance measures Statutory law Postal rates Program evaluation Postal law Cancer research USPS Breast Cancer Research Semipostal Program Germany Netherlands Belgium New Zealand Austria Canada United Kingdom Sweden Letter Report GGD

Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO provided information on the Postal Service's Breast Cancer Research Stamp, focusing on: (1) how the Service went about identifying and allocating the costs it incurred in developing and marketing the Breast Cancer Research Semipostal (BCRS) and the issues associated with effectiveness; (2) the statutory authorities and constraints associated with the Service's issuance of semipostals, in general, as a means of fund-raising; and (3) the appropriateness of using the BCRS as a means of fund-raising.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) on March 16, 2000, the Service reported that the bulk of its costs to develop and sell the BCRS through December 31, 1999, was $5.9 million; (2) according to the Service, almost all of these costs would have been incurred with any blockbuster commemorative stamp issue and have been recovered through the 33 cents that constitutes the First-Class postage portion of the BCRS; (3) in a March report, the Postal Service Office of Inspector General (OIG) identified $836,000 in costs that it believed were attributable to the BCRS program and not previously identified by the Service; (4) after reviewing a draft of OIG's report, the Service agreed that $488,000 of these costs were incurred exclusively on behalf of the BCRS program, and included them in its reported $5.9 million in BCRS costs; (5) the Service and OIG had not, as of March 31, 2000, resolved their differences over the remaining +$348,000 in costs identified by OIG; (6) the Stamp Out Breast Cancer Act did not provide quantitative measures for evaluating the effectiveness of the BCRS as a fund-raiser; (7) however, the act provided that the BCRS would be voluntary and convenient, and it would raise funds for breast cancer research; (8) to these ends, BCRS has been successful; (9) the BCRS had raised about $10 million for breast cancer research by the end of 1999 and is expected to raise more by the time sales are scheduled to conclude; (10) with respect to appropriateness, about 71 percent of adults responding to the public opinion survey GAO commissioned, and most of the key stakeholders GAO spoke with, believed that it is appropriate to use semipostals issued by the Service to raise funds for nonpostal purposes; (11) GAO does not believe that the Service has the authority to issue semipostals on its own volition without specific legislation authorizing it to do so; (12) although the act gave the Service the specific authority to issue the BCRS, it was silent with regard to the appropriateness of the Service issuing additional semipostals for other causes; (13) postal officials have stated that in the absence of statutory authority to issue semipostals, it is unclear whether selling such stamps would be consistent with the underlying statutory and regulatory authorities governing the Service; and (14) GAO does not interpret the Service's underlying statutory authority as authorizing it to establish postage rates and fees for a particular stamp at a level that exceeds its postage value for purposes of generating revenue for contributions to a charitable cause. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GGD-00-80/html/GAOREPORTS-GGD-00-80.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GGD-00-80/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GGD-00-80.pdf GAO/GGD-00-80 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GGD-00-80 Letter Report GAO/GGD-00-80; Breast Cancer Research Stamp: Millions Raised for Research, but Better Cost Recovery Criteria Needed; Breast cancer Cost analysis Health research programs Postal service Performance measures Statutory law Postal rates Program evaluation Postal law Cancer research USPS Breast Cancer Research Semipostal Program Germany Netherlands Belgium New Zealand Austria Canada United Kingdom Sweden Title 39 Section 3261 Title 39 Section 3621 Title 39 Section 401 Title 39 Section 404 39 U.S.C. 3261 39 U.S.C. 3621 39 U.S.C. 401 39 U.S.C. 404 Public Law 105-41 Title 39 Part 211.2 39 CFR Part 211.2