Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 113 / Tuesday, June 12, 2001 / Notices 31829

POSTAL SERVICE

Request for Proposals for Semipostal

Stamps

AGENCY: Postal Service.

ACTION: Notice of request for proposals.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 416,

and 39 CFR Part 551, the Postal Service

is requesting proposals from interested

persons on causes and recipient

executive agencies for two future

semipostal stamps. The first is expected

to be issued for a 2-year period

beginning in mid-2002, and the second

is expected to be issued for a 2-year

period beginning in mid-2004.

DATES: The office of Stamp Services

must receive an original and 20 copies

of each proposal on or before August 31,

2001, at 4:00 p.m. eastern time.

Interested persons are encouraged to

send their proposals early, and should

budget time for proposals to be

distributed by internal mail systems.

ADDRESSES: Proposals should be mailed

or delivered to the Manager, Stamp

Services, ATTN: Semipostal Stamp

Program, 475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Room

5670, Washington, DC 20260–2435.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Liz

Altobell, (202) 268–2319.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Semipostal Authorization Act, Public

Law 106–253, 114 Stat. 634 (2000)

(hereinafter ‘‘Act’’), authorizes the

Postal Service to establish a 10-year

program to sell semipostal stamps. The

Act prescribes that the price of a

semipostal stamp is the ‘‘rate of postage

that would otherwise regularly apply,’’

plus a differential, that is, the difference

between sales revenue and postage, not

to exceed 25 percent. The differential

between the price of a semipostal stamp

and the First-Class Mail service rate,

less an offset for the reasonable costs of

the Postal Service, consists of an

amount to fund causes that the ‘‘Postal

Service determines to be in the national

public interest and appropriate.’’ By

law, revenue from sales (net of postage

and the reasonable costs of the Postal

Service) is to be transferred to a selected

executive agency or agencies within the

meaning of 5 U.S.C. 105.

In a notice published in the Federal

Register, the Postal Service has adopted

39 CFR Part 551, which consists of

regulations implementing the Act.

Pursuant to 39 CFR 551.3, the Postal

Service invites interested persons to

submit proposals for causes and

recipient executive agencies for two

semipostal stamps. The first semipostal

stamp is expected to be sold to the

public for a 2-year period beginning in

mid-2002, and the second semipostal

stamp is expected to be sold to the

public for a 2-year period beginning in

mid-2004.

Proposals submitted in response to

this notice will be examined by the

office of Stamp Services for consistency

with the requirements in 39 CFR Part

551. Those proposals determined by the

office of Stamp Services to satisfy the

requirements of 39 CFR 551.4 will be

forwarded to the Citizens’ Stamp

Advisory Committee (CSAC). The CSAC

intends to consider eligible proposals at

upcoming regularly scheduled meetings.

The Postal Service expects that the

CSAC will make recommendations to

the postmaster general later in 2001,

followed by a final decision by, and

announcement from, the postmaster

general. The Postal Service discourages

contacting the office of Stamp Services

by telephone to inquire about the status

of proposals. Announcements

concerning semipostal stamps will be

posted on the Postal Service’s Web site

in the philatelic news area on

www.usps.com, and interested persons

should monitor postings on this Web

site for further information on the

selection of causes and recipient

executive agencies.

Interested persons should consult the

regulations in 39 CFR Part 551, as they

specify the requirements for proposals.

They should also take note that section

551.4 lists the specific requirements for

proposals, which include, inter alia, the

following:

• An original and 20 copies of the

proposal must be timely submitted. If

possible, an Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) file

should be submitted, saved on a 3.5-

inch diskette or CD-ROM diskette,

containing the entire contents of the

submission.

• The proposal submission must be

signed by the individual or a duly

authorized representative and must

provide the mailing address, phone

number, fax number (if available), and

E-mail address (if available) of a

designated point of contact.

• The submission must describe the

cause and the purposes for which the

funds would be spent.

• The submission must demonstrate

that the cause to be funded has broad

national appeal, and that the cause is in

the national public interest and furthers

human welfare. Respondents should

submit supporting documentation

demonstrating that funding the cause

would benefit the national public

interest.

• The submission must be

accompanied by a letter from an

executive agency (or agencies) on

agency letterhead representing that it is

an executive agency as defined under 5

U.S.C. 105, it is willing and able to

implement the proposal, and it is

willing and able to meet the

requirements of the Act, if it is selected.

The letter must be signed by a duly

authorized representative of the agency.

• Consideration for evaluation will

not be given to proposals that request

support for the following:

Anniversaries; public works; people;

specific organizations or associations;

commercial enterprises or products;

cities, towns, municipalities, counties,

or secondary schools; hospitals,

libraries, or similar institutions;

religious institutions; causes that do not

further human welfare; or causes

determined by the Postal Service or the

CSAC to be inconsistent with the spirit,

intent, or history of the Act.

• Artwork and stamp designs should

not be submitted with proposals.

Interested persons should also pay

particular attention to 39 CFR 551.3(h),

which details procedures for

identification of recipient executive

agencies.

Proposal submissions become the

property of the Postal Service and are

not returned to persons who submit

them. Persons who submit proposals are

not entitled to any remuneration,

compensation, or any other form of

payment, whether their proposal

submissions are selected or not, for any

reason.

Proposals will not be considered from

any contractor of the Postal Service that

may stand to benefit financially from

the Semipostal Stamp Program; or

members of the CSAC and their

immediate families, and employees or

contractors of the Postal Service, and

their immediate families, who are

involved in any decision-making related

to causes, recipient agencies, or artwork

for the Semipostal Stamp Program.

Stanley F. Mires,

Chief Counsel, Legislative.

[FR Doc. 01–14749 Filed 6–11–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7710–12–U