106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4437
AN ACT
To grant to the United States Postal Service the
authority to issue semipostals, and for other pur-
poses.
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4437
AN ACT
To grant to the United States Postal Service the authority
to issue semipostals, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Semipostal Authoriza-
tion Act’’.
SEC. 2. AUTHORITY TO ISSUE SEMIPOSTALS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 4 of title 39, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
‘‘§ 416. Authority to issue semipostals
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—
‘‘(1) the term ‘semipostal’ means a postage
stamp which is issued and sold by the Postal Serv-
ice, at a premium, in order to help provide funding
for a cause described in subsection (b); and
‘‘(2) the term ‘agency’ means an Executive
agency within the meaning of section 105 of title 5.
‘‘(b) DISCRETIONARY AUTHORITY.—The Postal Serv-
ice is hereby authorized to issue and sell semipostals under
this section in order to advance such causes as the Postal
Service considers to be in the national public interest and
appropriate.
‘‘(c) RATE OF POSTAGE.—The rate of postage on a
semipostal issued under this section shall be established
by the Governors, in accordance with such procedures as
they shall by regulation prescribe (in lieu of the procedures
under chapter 36), except that—
‘‘(1) the rate established for a semipostal under
this section shall be equal to the rate of postage that
would otherwise regularly apply, plus a differential
of not to exceed 25 percent; and
‘‘(2) no regular rates of postage or fees for
postal services under chapter 36 shall be any dif-
ferent from what they otherwise would have been if
this section had not been enacted.
The use of any semipostal issued under this section shall
be voluntary on the part of postal patrons.
‘‘(d) AMOUNTS BECOMING AVAILABLE.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The amounts becoming
available from the sale of a semipostal under this
section shall be transferred to the appropriate agen-
cy or agencies under such arrangements as the Post-
al Service shall by mutual agreement with each such
agency establish.
‘‘(2) IDENTIFICATION OF APPROPRIATE CAUSES
AND
AGENCIES.—Decisions concerning the identi-
fication of appropriate causes and agencies to receive
amounts becoming available from the sale of a
semipostal under this section shall be made in ac-
cordance with applicable regulations under sub-
section (e).
‘‘(3) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNTS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The amounts becom-
ing available from the sale of a semipostal
under this section shall be determined in a
manner similar to that provided for under sec-
tion 414(c)(2) (as in effect on July 1, 2000).
‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATIVE
COSTS.—Regula-
tions under subsection (e) shall specifically ad-
dress how the costs incurred by the Postal
Service in carrying out this section shall be
computed, recovered, and kept to a minimum.
‘‘(4) OTHER
FUNDING
NOT
TO
BE
AF-
FECTED.—Amounts which have or may become
available from the sale of a semipostal under this
section shall not be taken into account in any deci-
sion relating to the level of appropriations or other
Federal funding to be furnished to an agency in any
year.
‘‘(5) RECOVERY
OF
COSTS.—Before transfer-
ring to an agency in accordance with paragraph (1)
any amounts becoming available from the sale of a
semipostal over any period, the Postal Service shall
ensure that it has recovered the full costs incurred
by the Postal Service in connection with such
semipostal through the end of such period.
‘‘(e) REGULATIONS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub-
section (c), the Postal Service shall prescribe any
regulations necessary to carry out this section, in-
cluding provisions relating to—
‘‘(A) which office or other authority within
the Postal Service shall be responsible for mak-
ing the decisions described in subsection (d)(2);
‘‘(B) what criteria and procedures shall be
applied in making those decisions; and
‘‘(C) what limitations shall apply, if any,
relating to the issuance of semipostals (such as
whether more than one semipostal may be of-
fered for sale at the same time).
‘‘(2) NOTICE AND COMMENT.—Before any regu-
lation is issued under this section, a copy of the pro-
posed regulation shall be published in the Federal
Register, and an opportunity shall be provided for
interested parties to present written and, where
practicable, oral comment. All regulations necessary
to carry out this section shall be issued not later
than 30 days before the date on which semipostals
are first made available to the public under this sec-
tion.
‘‘(f) ANNUAL REPORTS.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Postmaster General
shall include in each report rendered under section
2402, with respect to any period during any portion
of which this section is in effect, information con-
cerning the operation of any program established
under this section.
‘‘(2) 
SPECIFIC
REQUIREMENT.—If 
any
semipostal ceases to be offered during the period
covered by such a report, the information contained
in that report shall also include—
‘‘(A) the commencement and termination
dates for the sale of such semipostal;
‘‘(B) the total amount that became avail-
able from the sale of such semipostal; and
‘‘(C) of that total amount, how much was
applied toward administrative costs.
For each year before the year in which a semipostal
ceases to be offered, any report under this sub-
section shall include, with respect to that semipostal
(for the year covered by such report), the informa-
tion described in subparagraphs (B) and (C).
‘‘(g) TERMINATION.—This section shall cease to be
effective at the end of the 10-year period beginning on
the date on which semipostals are first made available to
the public under this section.’’.
(b) REPORTS BY AGENCIES.—Each agency that re-
ceives any funding in a year under section 416 of title
39, United States Code (as amended by this section) shall
submit a written report under this subsection, with respect
to such year, to the congressional committees with juris-
diction over the United States Postal Service. Each such
report shall include—
(1) the total amount of funding received by
such agency under such section 416 during the year;
(2) an accounting of how any funds received by
such agency under such section 416 were allocated
or otherwise used by such agency in such year; and
(3) a description of any significant advances or
accomplishments in such year that were funded, in
whole or in part, out of amounts received by such
agency under such section 416.
(c) REPORTS BY THE GENERAL ACCOUNTING OF-
FICE.—
(1) INTERIM REPORT.—The General Account-
ing Office shall submit to the President and each
House of Congress an interim report on the oper-
ation of the program established under section 416
of title 39, United States Code (as amended by this
section) not later than 4 years after semipostals are
first made available to the public under such section.
(2) FINAL REPORT.—The General Accounting
Office shall transmit to the President and each
House of Congress a final report on the operation of
the program established under such section 416, not
later than 6 months before the date on which it is
scheduled to expire. The final report shall contain a
detailed statement of the findings and conclusions of
the General Accounting Office, together with any
recommendations it considers appropriate.
(d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections
for chapter 4 of title 39, United States Code, is amended
by adding at the end the following:
‘‘416. Authority to issue semipostals.’’.
(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The program under section
416 of title 39, United States Code (as amended by this
section) shall be established within 6 months after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY TO ISSUE SEMIPOSTALS
FOR BREAST CANCER RESEARCH.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 414(g) of title 39, United
States Code, is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(g) This section shall cease to be effective after July
29, 2002, or the end of the 2-year period beginning on
the date of the enactment of the Semipostal Authorization
Act, whichever is later.’’.