I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2905
To require that the United States Postal Service issue a special commemora-
tive postage stamp under section 416 of title 39, United States Code,
in order to provide assistance in the case of emergency relief personnel
who were killed or who suffer permanent disability as a result of the
terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001,
and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 20, 2001
Mr. ACKERMAN (for himself, Mr. FOSSELLA, Mr. DAVIS of Florida, Mr.
SHOWS, Mr. WEINER, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. POMEROY, Mr.
GILCHREST, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. MALONEY
of Connecticut, Mrs.
MALONEY of New York, Mr. ENGLISH, Mr. HINCHEY, Mrs. MINK of Ha-
waii, Mr. MASCARA, Mr. MCNULTY, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. ROYCE, Mr.
KILDEE, Ms. SOLIS, Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota, Mr. KING, and Mr.
ISRAEL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Government Reform, and in addition to the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period of time to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To require that the United States Postal Service issue a
special commemorative postage stamp under section 416
of title 39, United States Code, in order to provide
assistance in the case of emergency relief personnel who
were killed or who suffer permanent disability as a result
of the terrorist attacks against the United States on
September 11, 2001, 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 ‘‘September 11th He-
roes Stamp Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT THAT A SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE
POSTAGE STAMP BE DESIGNED AND ISSUED.
(a) IN GENERAL.—In order to afford the public a di-
rect and tangible way to provide assistance to the families
of emergency relief personnel who were killed in the ter-
rorist attacks against the United States on September 11,
2001, and to any such personnel who suffer permanent
disability as a result of any of those attacks, the United
States Postal Service shall issue a semipostal in accord-
ance with subsection (b).
(b) REQUIREMENTS.—The provisions of section 416
of title 39, United States Code, shall apply (as practicable)
with respect to the semipostal described in subsection (a),
subject to the following:
(1) PRICE.—The price of the semipostal shall
be equal to the price of a regular first-class postage
stamp plus an additional 11 cents.
(2) DISPOSITION
OF
AMOUNTS
BECOMING
AVAILABLE.—All amounts becoming available from
the sale of the semipostal (as determined under such
section) shall be transferred to the Federal Emer-
gency Management Agency under such arrange-
ments as the Postal Service shall by mutual agree-
ment with such agency establish in order to carry
out the purposes of this Act.
(3) 
COMMENCEMENT
AND
TERMINATION
DATES.—Stamps 
under 
this 
section 
shall 
be
issued—
(A) beginning on the earliest date prac-
ticable; and
(B) subject to section 416(g) of such title,
for such period of time as the Postal Service
considers necessary and appropriate, but in no
event less than 2 years.
(4) NUMERICAL
LIMITATION.—Stamps under
this section shall not be taken into account for pur-
poses of any limitation under section 416(e)(1)(C) of
such title relating to whether more than 1
semipostal may be offered for sale at the same time.
(c) DESIGN.—It is the sense of the Congress that the
semipostal issued under this section should depict, by such
design as the Postal Service considers to be most appro-
priate, the efforts of emergency relief personnel at the site
of the World Trade Center in New York City and at the
Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.
SEC. 3. PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE FEDERAL EMER-
GENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, the Director of the Federal Emergency Man-
agement Agency may establish a program to provide as-
sistance to the families of emergency relief personnel who
were killed in the terrorist attacks against the United
States on September 11, 2001, and to any such personnel
who suffer permanent disability as a result of any of those
attacks.
(b) COORDINATION RULE.—Assistance under the
program—
(1) may be in addition to any provided under
section 1201–1202 of the Omnibus Crime Control
and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796–
3796a); and
(2) may be provided notwithstanding section
312 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5155).
(c) FUNDING.—In order to carry out this section, the
Director 
of 
the 
Federal 
Emergency 
Management
Agency—
(1) may use any amounts received under sec-
tion 2(b)(2); and
(2) may accept and use any other funds do-
nated or made available for purposes of the pro-
gram.
(d) DUTY STATUS.—Any determination of eligibility
to receive assistance under the program shall be made
without regard to whether the emergency relief worker in-
volved was officially on duty at the time of disability or
death.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act—
(1) the term ‘‘emergency relief personnel’’
means firefighters, law enforcement officers, para-
medics, emergency medical technicians, members of
the clergy, and other individuals (including employ-
ees of legally organized and recognized volunteer or-
ganizations, whether compensated or not) who, in
the course of professional duties, respond to fire,
medical, hazardous material, or other similar emer-
gencies; and
(2) the term ‘‘semipostal’’ has the meaning
given such term by section 416 of title 39, United
States Code.
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