§ 414. — Special postage stamps.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 39USC414]
TITLE 39--POSTAL SERVICE
PART I--GENERAL
CHAPTER 4--GENERAL AUTHORITY
Sec. 414. Special postage stamps
(a) In order to afford the public a convenient way to contribute to
funding for breast cancer research, the Postal Service shall establish a
special rate of postage for first-class mail under this section.
(b) The rate of postage established under this section--
(1) shall be equal to the regular first-class rate of postage,
plus a differential of not less than 15 percent;
(2) shall be set by the Governors in accordance with such
procedures as the Governors shall by regulation prescribe (in lieu
of the procedures under chapter 36); and
(3) shall be offered as an alternative to the regular first-
class rate of postage.
The use of the special rate of postage established under this section
shall be voluntary on the part of postal patrons. The special rate of
postage of an individual stamp under this section shall be an amount
that is evenly divisible by 5.
(c)(1) Of the amounts becoming available for breast cancer research
pursuant to this section, the Postal Service shall pay--
(A) 70 percent to the National Institutes of Health; and
(B) the remainder to the Department of Defense.
Payments under this paragraph to an agency shall be made under such
arrangements as the Postal Service shall by mutual agreement with such
agency establish in order to carry out the purposes of this section,
except that, under those arrangements, payments to such agency shall be
made at least twice a year.
(2) For purposes of this section, the term ``amounts becoming
available for breast cancer research pursuant to this section'' means--
(A) the total amounts received by the Postal Service that it
would not have received but for the enactment of this section,
reduced by
(B) an amount sufficient to cover reasonable costs incurred by
the Postal Service in carrying out this section, including those
attributable to the printing, sale, and distribution of stamps under
this section,
as determined by the Postal Service under regulations that it shall
prescribe.
(d) It is the sense of the Congress that nothing in this section
should--
(1) directly or indirectly cause a net decrease in total funds
received by the National Institutes of Health, the Department of
Defense, or any other agency of the Government (or any component or
program thereof) below the level that would otherwise have been
received but for the enactment of this section; or
(2) affect regular first-class rates of postage or any other
regular rates of postage.
(e) Special postage stamps under this section shall be made
available to the public beginning on such date as the Postal Service
shall by regulation prescribe, but in no event later than 12 months
after the date of the enactment of this section.
(f) 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
this section, except that, at a minimum, each shall include--
(1) the total amount described in subsection (c)(2)(A) which was
received by the Postal Service during the period covered by such
report; and
(2) of the amount under paragraph (1), how much (in the
aggregate and by category) was required for the purposes described
in subsection (c)(2)(B).
(g) For purposes of section 416 (including any regulation prescribed
under subsection (e)(1)(C) of that section), the special postage stamp
issued under this section shall not apply to any limitation relating to
whether more than 1 semipostal may be offered for sale at the same time.
(h) This section shall cease to be effective after December 31,
2003.
(Added Pub. L. 105-41, Sec. 2(a), Aug. 13, 1997, 111 Stat. 1119; amended
Pub. L. 106-253, Sec. 3(a), July 28, 2000, 114 Stat. 636; Pub. L. 107-
67, title VI, Sec. 650(b)(1), (c), Nov. 12, 2001, 115 Stat. 556, 557.)
References in Text
The date of the enactment of this section, referred to in subsec.
(e), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 105-41, which was approved Aug.
13, 1997.
Amendments
2001--Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 107-67, Sec. 650(c), substituted ``of not
less than 15 percent'' for ``of not to exceed 25 percent'' in par. (1)
and inserted at end of concluding provisions ``The special rate of
postage of an individual stamp under this section shall be an amount
that is evenly divisible by 5.''
Subsec. (g), (h). Pub. L. 107-67, Sec. 650(b)(1), added subsecs. (g)
and (h) and struck out former subsec. (g) which read as follows: ``This
section shall cease to be effective after July 29, 2002, or the end of
the 2-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of the
Semipostal Authorization Act, whichever is later.''
2000--Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 106-253 amended subsec. (g) generally.
Prior to amendment, subsec. (g) read as follows: ``This section shall
cease to be effective at the end of the 2-year period beginning on the
date on which special postage stamps under this section are first made
available to the public.''
Effective Date of 2001 Amendment
Pub. L. 107-67, title VI, Sec. 650(b)(2), Nov. 12, 2001, 115 Stat.
557, provided that: ``The amendment made by this subsection [amending
this section] shall take effect on the earlier of--
``(A) the date of enactment of this Act [Nov. 12, 2001]; or
``(B) July 29, 2002.''
Report by Comptroller General of United States
Pub. L. 106-253, Sec. 3(b), July 28, 2000, 114 Stat. 637, provided
that: ``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 [set out below], and shall address at
least the same matters as were required to be included in that earlier
report.''
Section 2(b) of Pub. L. 105-41 provided that: ``No later than 3
months (but no earlier than 6 months) before the end of the 2-year
period referred to in section 414(g) of title 39, United States Code (as
amended by subsection (a)), the Comptroller General of the United States
shall submit to the Congress a report on the operation of such section.
Such report shall include--
``(1) an evaluation of the effectiveness and the appropriateness
of the authority provided by such section as a means of fund-
raising; and
``(2) a description of the monetary and other resources required
of the Postal Service in carrying out such section.''
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 416 of this title.
