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[Senate Report 110-222]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

110th Congress 
 1st Session                     SENATE                          Report
                                                                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
        COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

               JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut, Chairman
CARL LEVIN, Michigan                 SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine
DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii              TED STEVENS, Alaska
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware           GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio
MARK L. PRYOR, Arkansas              NORM COLEMAN, Minnesota
MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana          TOM COBURN, Oklahoma
BARACK OBAMA, Illinois               PETE V. DOMENICI, New Mexico
CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri           JOHN WARNER, Virginia
JON TESTER, Montana                  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
                            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

                                                       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 estimated $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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \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/
    \2\GAO, U.S. Postal Service: Agencies Distribute Fundraising Stamp 
Proceeds and Improve Reporting, 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    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\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\Senate Report 106-338.
    \4\P.L. 106-253. See also, House Report 106-734.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    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\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\The 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).
    \6\GAO, 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    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 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\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \7\GAO-08-45.
    \8\Ibid.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    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.

             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
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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

Sec. 414. Special postage stamps

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (h) This section shall cease to be effective after December 
31, [2007] 2009.

                                  
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