U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

1 

69–010 

" ! SENATE 110TH CONGRESS

1st Session 

REPORT

2007

110–222 

Calendar No. 473 

EXTENDING THE SPECIAL POSTAGE STAMP 

FOR BREAST CANCER RESEARCH FOR 2 

YEARS 

R E P O R T 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND 

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

TO ACCOMPANY

S. 597 

EXTENDING THE SPECIAL POSTAGE STAMP FOR BREAST CANCER 

RESEARCH FOR 2 YEARS 

NOVEMBER 7, 2007.—Ordered to be printed 


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COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut, Chairman 

CARL LEVIN, Michigan 

DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii 

THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware 

MARK L. PRYOR, Arkansas 

MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana 

BARACK OBAMA, Illinois 

CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri 

JON TESTER, Montana 

SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine 

TED STEVENS, Alaska 

GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio 

NORM COLEMAN, Minnesota 

TOM COBURN, Oklahoma 

PETE V. DOMENICI, New Mexico 

JOHN WARNER, Virginia 

JOHN E. SUNUNU, New Hampshire 

MICHAEL L. ALEXANDER, Staff Director 

KEVIN J. LANDY, Chief Counsel 

KRISTINE V. LAM, Research Assistant 

BRANDON L. MILHORN, Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel 

BROOKE E. HAYES, Minority Professional Staff Member 

TRINA DRIESSNACK TYRER, Chief Clerk 


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C O N T E N T S 

Page 

I. Purpose and Summary .................................................................................. 1 

II. Background .................................................................................................... 1 

III. Legislative History ......................................................................................... 3 

IV. Section-by-Section Analysis .......................................................................... 3 

V. Regulatory Impact Statement ....................................................................... 3 

VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate ................................................ 4 

VII. Changes to Existing Law .............................................................................. 5 


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69–010 

1 U.S. Cancer Statistics Working Group. United States Cancer Statistics: 2003 Incidence and 

Mortality. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Center for Disease 

Control and Prevention and National Cancer Institute; 2006. Available at http:// 

apps.nccd.cdc.gov/uscs/ 

Calendar No. 473 

110TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 1st Session 110–222 

EXTENDING THE SPECIAL POSTAGE STAMP FOR BREAST 

CANCER RESEARCH FOR 2 YEARS 

NOVEMBER 7, 2007.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. LIEBERMAN, from the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 597] 

The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 

to which was referred the bill (S. 597) to extend the special postage 

stamp for breast cancer research for 2 years, having considered the 

same reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass. 

I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

S. 597 reauthorizes the Stamp Out Breast Cancer Act (P.L. 105– 

41) through December 31, 2009. This special postage stamp for 

first-class mail was designed specifically to raise funds for breast 

cancer research efforts. The price of this stamp is 55 cents, 14 cents 

above the regular rate of 41 cents. 

II. BACKGROUND

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among 

women in every major ethnic group in the United States.1 About 

3 million women in the United States are living with breast cancer, 

1 million of whom have yet to be diagnosed. Women in the U.S. 

have a 1 in 8 lifetime chance of developing invasive breast cancer. 

It is estimated that in 2007, about 178,480 new cases of invasive 

breast cancer will be diagnosed among women in the United 

States. In fiscal year 2007, federal agencies reportedly spent an esVerDate Aug 31 2005 06:02 Nov 08, 2007 Jkt 069010 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR222.XXX SR222

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2GAO, U.S. Postal Service: Agencies Distribute Fundraising Stamp Proceeds and Improve Re- porting, GAO–08–45 (Washington, D.C.: October 30, 2007). The $1.4 billion comprises funding 

from the National Institutes of Health (and that agency’s National Cancer Institute) and the 

Department of Defense for breast cancer only. 3Senate Report 106–338. 

4P.L. 106–253. See also, House Report 106–734. 

5The Stamp Out Breast Cancer Act (P.L. 105–41), August 13, 1997 required that the Postal 

Service issue a Breast Cancer Research stamp. The 9/11 Heroes Stamp Act of 2001 and the 

Stamp Out Domestic Violence Act of 2001 mandated that the Postal Service issue semipostals 

for these causes. Both the Heroes of 2001 and the Stop Family Violence stamps were authorized 

as part of the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 2002 (P.L. 107–67). 6GAO, U.S. Postal Service: Factors Affecting Fund-Raising Stamp Sales Suggest Lessons 

Learned, GAO–05–953 (Washington, D.C.: September 2005). The Stamp Out Breast Cancer Act 

(P.L. 105–41) requires GAO to issue a report to Congress on the Breast Cancer Research 

semipostal stamp no later than three months before the end of the stamp’s authorized sales period. 

timated $1.4 billion on breast cancer research.2 To supplement 

these efforts, Congress passed legislation creating the Breast Cancer Research Semipostal (BCRS) to increase public awareness of 

the disease and allow the public to participate directly in raising 

funds for such research. Since its first issuance in July of 1998 

through July 31, 2007, the BCRS has raised a total of $56.6 million 

for breast cancer research. 

The BCRS is widely supported by groups, such as the American 

Cancer Society and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, and the general public, as evidenced by strong annual sales 

of the stamp. The Committee also recognizes that with 59 cosponsors, S. 597 has widespread Senate support. 

In 2000, when the Committee considered legislation reauthorizing the BCRS, it also considered the broader issue of semipostal 

stamps.3 By that time, the BCRS had already experienced three 

years of highly successful sales. As a result of the BCRS’s success, 

Members of Congress had introduced numerous bills to issue 

semipostal stamps related to research and education, Alzheimer’s 

disease research, prostate cancer awareness, and World War II Memorial funding, to name a few. At the time, the postal service was 

not authorized to issue semipostal stamps. For this reason, Congress enacted the Semipostal Authorization Act, granting the Postal Service the authority to design a fair process by which to offer 

specially priced semipostal stamps for voluntary purchase by the 

public so long as they are of public interest and appropriate.4

As of October 2007, the Postal Service has not issued any 

semipostals under the authority of the Semipostal Authorization 

Act.5 The Postal Service has expressed concern that the popularity 

of the BCRS does not necessarily portend the success of future 

semipostals, whether mandated by Congress or initiated by the 

Postal Service, and that future semipostals might generate only 

modest amounts of revenue while still requiring substantial postal 

expenditures. Ongoing work by the U.S. Government Accountability Office indicates that sales of other semipostals established 

by Congress have lagged behind those of the BCRS.6

GAO has also reported that the Breast Cancer Research stamp 

has been an effective fundraiser and that funds raised through 

sales of the stamp had contributed to key insights and approaches 

for the treatment of breast cancer. For example, in 2006, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) started using Breast Cancer Research stamp proceeds for the Trial Assigning Individual Options 

for Treatment (TAILORx) and the Breast Pre-Malignancy Program. 

TAILORx is designed to determine which patients with early stage 


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7GAO–08–45. 

8 Ibid. 

breast cancer are most likely to benefit from chemotherapy. The 

Breast Pre-Malignancy Program is a National Cancer Institute 

(NCI) program in breast cancer research that encompasses prevention, etiology, biology, diagnosis and molecular epidemiology. This 

program was established in hopes that linking NCI’s research programs with research programs underway at universities, medical 

schools, hospitals, and research institutions, would create a collaborative and integrated program that would result in new discoveries 

and interventions.7 Additionally, DOD has used its share of the 

proceeds from the Breast Cancer Research stamp to fund Synergistic Idea Awards. This program promotes new ideas and collaborations by funding innovative, high-risk, high reward breast cancer 

research projects involving two researchers working synergistically.8

The Stamp Out Breast Cancer Act provides that the Postal Service is to deduct from the surcharge revenue its reasonable costs incurred in carrying out the act. After deducting its reasonable costs, 

the Postal Service is to remit the remaining proceeds from the 

BCRS surcharge revenue to the National Institutes of Health 

(NIH) and the Department of Defense (DOD) for breast cancer research. Seventy percent of the net proceeds go to NIH, with the remaining 30 percent going to DOD’s medical research program. 

III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 597 was introduced on February 14, 2007 by Senator Dianne 

Feinstein. It currently has 60 cosponsors. The bill was referred to 

the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. 

On August 1, 2007, the Committee considered the bill and by voice 

vote ordered it reported favorably without amendment. Present 

were Senators Lieberman, Levin, Akaka, Carper, Pryor, Landrieu, 

McCaskill, Voinovich, Coleman, Coburn, Warner, and Sununu. 

IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Extends the issuance of the Breast Cancer Research 

Stamp an additional two years. 

V. REGULATORY IMPACT STATEMENT

Paragraph 11(b)(1) of rule XXVI of Standing Rules of the Senate 

requires that each report accompanying a bill evaluate ‘‘the regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying out this bill.’’ 

Enactment of this legislation will have no significant regulatory 

impact. S. 597 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 

mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 

would impose no costs on the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. 


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VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

AUGUST 9, 2007. 

Hon. JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, 

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. 597, a bill to extend the special postage stamp for breast cancer research for two years. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark Grabowicz. 

Sincerely, 

PETER R. ORSZAG. 

Enclosure. 

S. 597—A bill to extend the special postage stamp for breast cancer 

research for two years 

Summary: The Stamp Out Breast Cancer Act (Public Law 105– 

41) authorized a special postage stamp for first-class mail. The 

price of this stamp is 55 cents, 14 cents above the regular rate of 

41 cents. The authority to issue the stamp expires on December 31, 

2007. After accounting for the Postal Service’s administrative costs, 

amounts above the regular postal rate collected from sales of the 

special stamp are transferred to the National Institutes of Health 

(NIH) and the Department of Defense (DoD) to spend on breast 

cancer research. S. 597 would extend this program until December 

31, 2009. 

CBO estimates that enacting S. 597 would increase or decrease 

direct spending in each of the years 2008 through 2012, but would 

have no net effect on direct spending over the period as a whole. 

The legislation would not affect either revenues or discretionary 

spending, and would have no budgetary impact after 2012. 

S. 597 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates 

as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and 

would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. 

Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated budgetary impact of S. 597 is shown in the following table. The costs 

of this legislation fall within budget functions 050 (national defense), 370 (commerce and housing credit), and 550 (health). 

By fiscal year, in millions of dollars— 

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 

CHANGES IN DIRECT SPENDING 

Off-Budget Effects 

Impact on the Postal Service: 

Estimated Budget Authority ¥4 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

Estimated Outlays ................ ¥4 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

On-Budget Effects 

Impact on NIH and DoD: 

Estimated Budget Authority 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

Estimated Outlays ................ ¥2 ¥4 1 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 

Unified Budget Effect 

Total Changes: 

Estimated Budget Authority ¥4 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

Estimated Outlays ................ ¥6 ¥4 5 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 


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Basis of estimate: Based on sales of the special breast cancer 

stamp in recent years, CBO estimates that enacting S. 597 would 

generate collections above the regular postage rate of $18 million— 

roughly $7 million in fiscal year 2008, $9 million in 2009, and $2 

million in 2010. After covering its administrative costs (about 

$50,000 over this period), the Postal Service would transfer those 

collections to NIH and DoD in May and November of each year. In 

fiscal year 2008, for example, the Postal Service would transfer $3 

million to NIH and DoD, resulting in a net reduction of $4 million 

in Postal Service outlays in 2008. The net impact on the Postal 

Service over the 2008–2010 period, however, would be zero. Spending and collections of the Postal Service are classified as ‘‘off-budget.’’ 

CBO estimates that enacting S. 597 would increase NIH and 

DoD collections (from Postal Service transfers) by $3 million in 

2008, $9 million in 2009, and $6 million in 2010. Spending of those 

collections by the two agencies would lag behind the amounts collected by several months. For example, in fiscal year 2008, we estimate that NIH and DoD would collect $3 million from the Postal 

Service but spend only $1 million. We estimate that research 

spending would be $5 million in 2009, $7 million in 2010, $4 million in 2011, and about $1 million in 2012. The on-budget NIH and 

DoD accounts would show net outlay reductions totaling $6 million 

over the 2008–2009 period, and a corresponding increase in outlays 

from 2010 through 2012. Thus, the net unified budget impact of the 

proposal (including on-budget and off-budget effects) would be zero 

over the 2008–2012 period, with no effect after 2012. 

Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 597 contains no 

intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA 

and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. 

Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Mark Grabowicz; Impact 

on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Elizabeth Cove; Impact 

on the Private Sector: Justin Hall and Paige Piper/Bach. 

Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

VII. CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW

In compliance with subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by the bill S. 

597, as ordered reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is 

printed in italic, existing law in which no change is proposed is 

shown in roman): 

TITLE 39. POSTAL SERVICE 

PART I. GENERAL 

CHAPTER 4. GENERAL AUTHORITY 

§ 414. Special postage stamps 

* * * * * * * 


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(h) This section shall cease to be effective after December 31, 

ø2007¿ 2009. 

Æ 


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