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[House Report 113-100]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]


113th Congress                                            Rept. 113-100
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                     Part 1

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    WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM CONSERVATION SEMIPOSTAL STAMP ACT OF 2013

                                _______
                                

                  June 6, 2013.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Hastings of Washington, from the Committee on Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 1384]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 1384) to provide for the issuance of a Wildlife 
Refuge System Conservation Semipostal Stamp, having considered 
the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and 
recommend that the bill do pass.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 1384 is to provide for the issuance of 
a Wildlife Refuge System Conservation Semipostal Stamp.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    According to the United States Postal Service (USPS), 
semipostal stamps are ``issued and sold by the Postal Service, 
at a premium, in order to help providing funding for a cause.'' 
What this means is that a first-class stamp can now be 
purchased for 46 cents but a first-class semipostal costs 55 
cents with the 9 cent difference being deposited in a special 
account.
    While USPS has the legal authority, which was provided to 
it by Congress in the Semipostal Authorization Act of 2000 
(Public Law 106-253), to decide what causes to support through 
the sale of semipostal stamps, all semipostals issued thus far 
have been the result of legislative action. These have included 
a Stamp Out Breast Semipostal Stamp, a 9/11 Heroes Semipostal 
Stamp, a Domestic Violence Semipostal Stamp and a Save 
Vanishing Species Semipostal Stamp. In each instance, USPS has 
fully recovered its expenses and there was no outlay of 
taxpayer money.
    Under H. R. 1384, USPS is directed to issue a new Wildlife 
Refuge System Conservation Semipostal Stamp. This stamp would 
be sold at a premium price, and the proceeds from the 
differential above the cost of a first class stamp would be 
transferred to the Fish and Wildlife Service to be used 
exclusively for expenses incurred within the National Wildlife 
Refuge System. This semipostal stamp shall be available to the 
public for at least two years and any proceeds raised under 
this Act shall not be used to offset any money that may be 
appropriated for the operation and maintenance of the National 
Refuge System.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 1384 was introduced on March 21, 2013, by Delegate 
Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (D-MP). The bill was referred 
primarily to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 
and in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources. Within 
the Committee on Natural Resources, the bill was referred to 
the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular 
Affairs. On April 25, 2013, the Subcommittee held a hearing on 
the bill. On May 15, 2013, the full Natural Resources Committee 
met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee on Fisheries, 
Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs was discharged by 
unanimous consent. No amendments were offered, and the bill was 
then adopted and ordered favorably reported to the House of 
Representatives by unanimous consent.

            COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and 
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be 
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(2)(B) 
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when 
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted 
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Under clause 3(c)(3) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 
403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has 
received the following cost estimate for this bill from the 
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

H.R. 1384--Wildlife Refuge System Conservation Semipostal Stamp Act of 
        2013

    CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 1384 would have no 
significant costs to the federal government. Enacting the bill 
would affect direct spending, but such costs would not be 
significant. Because the legislation would affect direct 
spending, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. Enacting the bill 
would not affect revenues.
    H.R. 1384 would direct the United States Postal Service to 
issue a special postage stamp for first-class mail that would 
cost participating customers at least 15 percent more than the 
regular rate. Any amount collected from the special stamp 
(called a semipostal), after accounting for the Postal 
Service's administrative costs, would be transferred to the 
United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and would be 
available for spending on programs to support the National 
Wildlife Refuge System. The Postal Service would have 12 months 
after enactment to make the semipostal available to the public, 
and the program would terminate no sooner than two years after 
that.
    Payments of amounts above the regular first-class postage 
rate (currently 46 cents) would be treated as offsetting 
collections (that is, negative outlays) of the Postal Service. 
Based on sales of other semipostals in recent years, we expect 
that the increase in offsetting collections would be less than 
$1 million annually. Payments of those funds to the USFWS would 
be outlays of the Postal Service and offsetting collections to 
the USFWS, which would spend those amounts mostly in the same 
year. CBO estimates that the net change in outlays of the 
Postal Service (which is classified as off-budget) and the 
USFWS (which is classified as on-budget ) would not be 
significant in any year.
    H.R. 1384 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz. 
The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.
    2. Section 308(a) of Congressional Budget Act. As required 
by clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget 
Act of 1974, this bill does not contain any new budget 
authority, spending authority, credit authority, or an increase 
or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures. CBO estimates that 
implementing H.R. 1384 would have no significant costs to the 
federal government.
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or 
objective of this bill is to provide for the issuance of a 
Wildlife Refuge System Conservation Semipostal Stamp.

                           EARMARK STATEMENT

    This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined 
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                       COMPLIANCE WITH H. RES. 5

    Directed Rule Making. The Chairman does not believe that 
this bill directs any executive branch official to conduct any 
specific rule-making proceedings.
    Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not 
establish or reauthorize a program of the federal government 
known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was 
not included in any report from the Government Accountability 
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139 
or identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program 
Information Act (Public Law 95-220, as amended by Public Law 
98-169) as relating to other programs.

                PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

    This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or 
tribal law.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing 
law.

                                  
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