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[House Report 110-409]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

110th Congress                                           Rept. 110-409,
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                     Part 1

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

 
 TO AMEND TITLE 39, UNITED STATES CODE, TO EXTEND THE AUTHORITY OF THE 
 UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE TO ISSUE A SEMIPOSTAL TO RAISE FUNDS FOR 
                         BREAST CANCER RESEARCH

                                _______
                                

                October 25, 2007.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Dingell, from the Committee on Energy and Commerce, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 1236]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Energy and Commerce, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 1236) to make permanent the authority of the 
United States Postal Service to issue a special postage stamp 
to support breast cancer research, having considered the same, 
report favorably thereon with amendments and recommend that the 
bill as amended do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Amendments.......................................................     1
Purpose and Summary..............................................     2
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     2
Hearings.........................................................     2
Committee Consideration..........................................     3
Committee Votes..................................................     3
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     3
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............     3
New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures     3
Earmarks and Tax and Tariff Benefits.............................     3
Committee Cost Estimate..........................................     3
Congressional Budget Office Estimate.............................     3
Federal Mandates Statement.......................................     7
Advisory Committee Statement.....................................     7
Constitutional Authority Statement...............................     7
Applicability to Legislative Branch..............................     7
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation...................     7
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............     7

                               Amendments

    The amendments are as follows:
    Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY.

  Section 414(h) of title 39, United States Code, is amended by 
striking ``2007'' and inserting ``2011''.

SEC. 2. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

  The National Institutes of Health shall submit to Congress and the 
Government Accountability Office an annual report concerning the use of 
any amounts that it received under section 414(c) of title 39, United 
States Code, including a description of any significant advances or 
accomplishments, during the year covered by the report, that were 
funded, in whole or in part, with such amounts.

  Amend the title so as to read:

      A bill to amend title 39, United States Code, to extend 
the authority of the United States Postal Service to issue a 
semipostal to raise funds for breast cancer research.

                          Purpose and Summary

    The purpose of H.R. 1236 is to extend for four years the 
authority of the United States Postal Service to issue a 
special first-class postage stamp to contribute funding for 
breast cancer research.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    Breast cancer continues to have a devastating effect on the 
health of women and men and imposes a large financial burden on 
the general public. Breast cancer is the most commonly 
diagnosed cancer in women and the second leading cause of 
cancer deaths among women. Each year, approximately 175,000 
women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer, and more 
than 40,000 will succumb to the disease. Breast cancer affects 
women of all ages, races, ethnicities, socioeconomic strata, 
and geographical areas.
    In 1997, Congress passed the ``Stamp Out Breast Cancer 
Act'' (P.L. 105-41) to help support breast cancer research and 
to raise public awareness about the disease. This act 
authorized the sale of breast cancer postage stamps (known as 
semipostals) by the United States Postal Service (USPS). 
Semipostal stamps, postage sold at a premium to raise funds for 
a particular cause, have only recently been authorized for use 
in the United States. 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 for breast cancer research. As of December 2006, the 
Breast Cancer Research Stamp (BCRS) had raised more than $53.4 
million to support breast cancer research. The BCRS is offered 
through the U.S. Postal Service as an alternative to a First 
Class postage stamp.
    The Semipostal Authorization Act of 2000 extended the 
breast cancer stamp for two years and authorized the USPS to 
issue other semipostals until 2010. In the Treasury-Postal 
Service Appropriations Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-67), Congress 
extended the BCRS through 2003. The 109th Congress further 
extended the BCRS until December 31, 2007 (P.L. 109-100). H.R. 
1236 would extend this program until December 31, 2011.

                                Hearings

    The Committee on Energy and Commerce has not held hearings 
on the legislation.

                        Committee Consideration

    On Wednesday, October 10, 2007, the Subcommittee on Health 
met in open markup session and favorably forwarded H.R. 1236, 
amended, to the full Committee for consideration, by a voice 
vote. On Tuesday, October 16, 2007, the full Committee met in 
open markup session and ordered H.R. 1236 favorably reported to 
the House, as amended by the Subcommittee, by a voice vote. No 
amendments were offered during full Committee consideration.

                            Committee Votes

    Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires the Committee to list the record votes 
on the motion to report legislation and amendments thereto. 
There were no recorded votes taken during consideration or 
ordering H.R. 1236 reported to the House. A motion by Mr. 
Dingell to order H.R. 1236 favorably reported to the House, as 
amended, was agreed to by a voice vote.

                      Committee Oversight Findings

    Regarding clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the oversight findings of the 
Committee are reflected in this report.

         Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives

    The purpose of H.R. 1236 is to extend the authority of the 
USPS to issue a special postage stamp to support breast cancer 
research.

   New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures

    Regarding compliance with clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of 
the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee adopts 
as its own the estimate of budget authority and revenues 
regarding H.R. 1236 prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974. The Committee finds that H.R. 
1236 would result in no new or increased entitlement authority 
or tax expenditures.

                  Earmarks and Tax and Tariff Benefits

    Regarding compliance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, H.R. 1236 does not contain any 
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff 
benefits as defined in clause 9(d), 9(e), or 9(f) of rule XXI.

                        Committee Cost Estimate

    The Committee adopts as its own the cost estimate on H.R. 
1236 prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office pursuant to section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974.

                  Congressional Budget Office Estimate

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the following is the cost estimate 
provided by the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 
402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974:

                                                  October 18, 2007.
Hon. John D. Dingell,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Commerce,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1236, a bill to 
amend title 39, United States Code, to extend the authority of 
the United States Postal Service to issue a semipostal to raise 
funds for breast cancer research.
    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,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 1236--A bill to amend title 39, United States Code, to extend the 
        authority of the United States Postal Service to issue a 
        semipostal to raise funds for breast cancer research

    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. H.R. 1236 
would extend this program until December 31, 2011.
    CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1236 would affect direct 
spending in most of the years 2008 through 2014, but would have 
no net effect on direct spending over the period as a whole. On 
balance, we estimate that enacting the bill would result in a 
net reduction in direct spending of $5 million over the 2008-
2012 period; that savings would be offset by increased direct 
spending in 2013 and 2014, leading to no net impact over the 
2008-2017 period.
    The legislation would not affect revenues and would have no 
impact on direct spending after 2014. CBO estimates that 
implementing the bill would have discretionary costs of less 
than $500,000 annually for NIH to prepare reports on its 
spending of the proceeds from sales of the special stamp.
    H.R. 1236 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 H.R. 1236 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     2008- 2012   2008- 2017
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                  CHANGES IN DIRECT SPENDING\1\

                                                                                       Off-Budget Effects

Impact on the Postal Service:
    Estimated Budget Authority..........................         -4          0          0          0          4          0          0          0          0          0            0            0
    Estimated Outlays...................................         -4          0          0          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            0            0
    Estimated Outlays...................................         -2         -4         -1          0          2          4          1          0          0          0           -5            0

                                                                                     Unified Budget Effects

Total Changes:
    Estimated Budget Authority..........................         -4          0          0          0          4          0          0          0          0          0            0            0
    Estimated Outlays...................................         -6         -4         -1          0          6          4          1          0          0          0           -5            0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1Implementing H.R. 1236 also would increase discretionary spending by NIH to prepare reports to the Congress on the breast cancer stamp. CBO estimates that those costs would be less than
  $500,000 in each year.

    Basis of estimate: Extending the authority to issue the 
special breast cancer stamp would generate additional 
offsetting receipts that would be spent without further 
appropriation action for research on the disease. The amounts 
collected and transferred by the Postal Service would be 
classified as ``off-budget,'' while the amounts received and 
spent by NIH and DoD would be recorded on the budget. All of 
those transactions would be considered direct spending. The 
budgetary impacts on each category and in individual years 
would vary because of the timing of such collections and 
spending, but all of the additional receipts would ultimately 
be spent, so CBO estimates that implementing this bill would 
have no net impact on the unified budget over the 2008-2017 
period.
    Based on sales of the special breast cancer stamp in recent 
years, CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1236 would generate 
collections above the regular postage rate of $36 million--
roughly $7 million in fiscal year 2008, $9 million in each of 
fiscal years 2009 through 2011, and $2 million in 2012. After 
covering its administrative costs (about $100,000 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 Postal 
Service outlays over the 2008-2012 period, however, would be 
zero. Spending and collections of the Postal Service are 
classified as ``off-budget.''
    CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1236 would increase NIH 
and DoD collections (from Postal Service transfers) by $3 
million in 2008, $9 million annually over the 2009-2011 period, 
and $6 million in 2012. 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, $8 million in 2010, $9 million in 2011, 
$8 million in 2012, $4 million in 2013, and about $1 million in 
2014. The on-budget NIH and DoD accounts would show net outlay 
reductions totaling $7 million over the 2008-2010 period and a 
corresponding increase in outlays from 2012 through 2014. Thus, 
the net impact of the proposal on the unified budget (including 
on budget and off-budget effects) would be zero over the 2008-
2014 period, with no effect after 2014.
    Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 1236 
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as 
defined in UMRA and would not affect the budgets of state, 
local, or tribal governments.
    Previous CBO estimate: On September 27, 2007, CBO 
transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 1236 as ordered reported 
by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on 
September 20, 2007. The two bills are very similar, and the 
cost estimates are identical.
    On August 9, 2007, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 
597, a bill to extend the special postage stamp for breast 
cancer research for two years, as ordered reported by the 
Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 
on August 1, 2007. CBO estimated that enacting that bill would 
have no net effect on direct spending over the 2008-2012 
period. In contrast, enacting H.R. 1236 would lead to net 
savings over that five-year period, but would have no net 
impact over the 2008-2017 period.
    Estimate prepared by: Federal costs: Mark Grabowicz; Impact 
on state, local, and tribal governments: Elizabeth Cove; Impact 
on the private sector: MarDestinee Perez.
    Estimate approved by: Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                       Federal Mandates Statement

    The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal 
mandates regarding H.R. 1236 prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 423 of the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.

                      Advisory Committee Statement

    No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act would be created by H.R. 
1236.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee finds that the 
Constitutional authority for this legislation is provided in 
Article I, section 8, clause 3, which grants Congress the power 
to regulate commerce with foreign nations, among the several 
States, and with the Indian tribes, and in the provisions of 
Article I, section 8, clause 1, that relate to expending funds 
to provide for the general welfare of the United States.

                  Applicability to Legislative Branch

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.

             Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation

Section 1. Extension of authority

    Section 1 extends the authority of USPS to issue a special 
postage stamp to support breast cancer research until December 
31, 2011.

Section 2. Reporting requirements

    Section 2 requires NIH to prepare reports on spending of 
the proceeds from sales of the BCRS stamp.
    Section 2 requires the title so as to read: ``A bill to 
amend title 39, United States Code, to extend the authority of 
the United States Postal Service to issue a semipostal to raise 
funds for breast cancer research.''

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as 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, UNITED STATES CODE

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

PART I--GENERAL

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

CHAPTER 4--GENERAL AUTHORITY

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

Sec. 414. Special postage stamps

  (a) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  (h) This section shall cease to be effective after December 
31, [2007] 2011.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                                  
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