H. R. 4437
One Hundred Sixth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,
the twenty-fourth day of January, two thousand
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 Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Semipostal Authorization 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 following:
‘‘§ 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 Service, 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 Service 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 different from what they other-
wise would have been if this section had not been enacted.
The use of any semipostal issued under this section shall be vol-
untary 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 agency or agencies under such arrangements
as the Postal Service shall by mutual agreement with each
such agency establish.
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‘‘(2) IDENTIFICATION
OF
APPROPRIATE
CAUSES
AND
AGEN-
CIES.—Decisions concerning the identification of appropriate
causes and agencies to receive amounts becoming available
from the sale of a semipostal under this section shall be made
in accordance with applicable regulations under subsection (e).
‘‘(3) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNTS.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The amounts becoming available
from the sale of a semipostal under this section shall be
determined in a manner similar to that provided for under
section 414(c)(2) (as in effect on July 1, 2000).
‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Regulations under sub-
section (e) shall specifically address 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 AFFECTED.—Amounts which
have or may become available from the sale of a semipostal
under this section shall not be taken into account in any
decision relating to the level of appropriations or other Federal
funding to be furnished to an agency in any year.
‘‘(5) RECOVERY OF COSTS.—Before transferring to an agency
in accordance with paragraph (1) any amounts becoming avail-
able 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 subsection (c),
the Postal Service shall prescribe any regulations necessary
to carry out this section, including provisions relating to—
‘‘(A) which office or other authority within the Postal
Service shall be responsible for making 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 offered for sale at the same time).
‘‘(2) NOTICE AND COMMENT.—Before any regulation is issued
under this section, a copy of the proposed 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 section.
‘‘(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 concerning the operation of any program estab-
lished 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;
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‘‘(B) the total amount that became available 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 subsection shall include,
with respect to that semipostal (for the year covered by such
report), the information 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 sec-
tion.’’.
(b) REPORTS
BY AGENCIES.—Each agency that receives 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 jurisdiction 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 accomplish-
ments 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 OFFICE.—
(1) INTERIM REPORT.—The General Accounting Office shall
submit to the President and each House of Congress an interim
report on the operation 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 Gen-
eral 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 estab-
lished 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:
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‘‘(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 enact-
ment of the Semipostal Authorization Act, whichever is later.’’.
(b) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—No later than 3 months and
no earlier than 6 months before the date as of which section
414 of title 39, United States Code (as amended by this section)
is scheduled to expire, the Comptroller General of the United States
shall submit to the Congress a report on the operation of such
section. Such report shall be in addition to the report required
by section 2(b) of Public Law 105–41, and shall address at least
the same matters as were required to be included in that earlier
report.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.