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110th Congress
1st Session SENATE Report
110-222
_______________________________________________________________________
Calendar No. 473
EXTENDING THE SPECIAL POSTAGE STAMP FOR BREAST CANCER RESEARCH FOR 2
YEARS
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
S. 597
EXTENDING THE SPECIAL POSTAGE STAMP FOR BREAST CANCER RESEARCH FOR 2
YEARS
November 7, 2007.--Ordered to be printed
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut, Chairman
CARL LEVIN, Michigan SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine
DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii TED STEVENS, Alaska
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio
MARK L. PRYOR, Arkansas NORM COLEMAN, Minnesota
MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana TOM COBURN, Oklahoma
BARACK OBAMA, Illinois PETE V. DOMENICI, New Mexico
CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri JOHN WARNER, Virginia
JON TESTER, Montana JOHN E. SUNUNU, New Hampshire
Michael L. Alexander, Staff Director
Kevin J. Landy, Chief Counsel
Kristine V. Lam, Research Assistant
Brandon L. Milhorn, Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel
Brooke E. Hayes, Minority Professional Staff Member
Trina Driessnack Tyrer, Chief Clerk
C O N T E N T S
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Page
I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
II. Background.......................................................1
III. Legislative History..............................................3
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis......................................3
V. Regulatory Impact Statement......................................3
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................4
VII. Changes to Existing Law..........................................5
Calendar No. 473
110th Congress Report
SENATE
1st Session 110-222
======================================================================
EXTENDING THE SPECIAL POSTAGE STAMP FOR BREAST CANCER RESEARCH FOR 2
YEARS
_______
November 7, 2007.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Lieberman, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 597]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 597) to extend the
special postage stamp for breast cancer research for 2 years,
having considered the same reports favorably thereon without
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
I. Purpose and Summary
S. 597 reauthorizes the Stamp Out Breast Cancer Act (P.L.
105-41) through December 31, 2009. This special postage stamp
for first-class mail was designed specifically to raise funds
for breast cancer research efforts. The price of this stamp is
55 cents, 14 cents above the regular rate of 41 cents.
II. Background
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among
women in every major ethnic group in the United States.\1\
About 3 million women in the United States are living with
breast cancer, 1 million of whom have yet to be diagnosed.
Women in the U.S. have a 1 in 8 lifetime chance of developing
invasive breast cancer. It is estimated that in 2007, about
178,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed
among women in the United States. In fiscal year 2007, federal
agencies reportedly spent an estimated $1.4 billion on breast
cancer research.\2\ To supplement these efforts, Congress
passed legislation creating the Breast Cancer Research
Semipostal (BCRS) to increase public awareness of the disease
and allow the public to participate directly in raising funds
for such research. Since its first issuance in July of 1998
through July 31, 2007, the BCRS has raised a total of $56.6
million for breast cancer research.
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\1\U.S. Cancer Statistics Working Group. United States Cancer
Statistics: 2003 Incidence and Mortality. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, Center for Disease Control and Prevention
and National Cancer Institute; 2006. Available at http://
apps.nccd.cdc.gov/uscs/
\2\GAO, U.S. Postal Service: Agencies Distribute Fundraising Stamp
Proceeds and Improve Reporting, GAO-08-45 (Washington, D.C.: October
30, 2007). The $1.4 billion comprises funding from the National
Institutes of Health (and that agency's National Cancer Institute) and
the Department of Defense for breast cancer only.
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The BCRS is widely supported by groups, such as the
American Cancer Society and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer
Foundation, and the general public, as evidenced by strong
annual sales of the stamp. The Committee also recognizes that
with 59 cosponsors, S. 597 has widespread Senate support.
In 2000, when the Committee considered legislation
reauthorizing the BCRS, it also considered the broader issue of
semipostal stamps.\3\ By that time, the BCRS had already
experienced three years of highly successful sales. As a result
of the BCRS's success, Members of Congress had introduced
numerous bills to issue semipostal stamps related to research
and education, Alzheimer's disease research, prostate cancer
awareness, and World War II Memorial funding, to name a few. At
the time, the postal service was not authorized to issue
semipostal stamps. For this reason, Congress enacted the
Semipostal Authorization Act, granting the Postal Service the
authority to design a fair process by which to offer specially
priced semipostal stamps for voluntary purchase by the public
so long as they are of public interest and appropriate.\4\
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\3\Senate Report 106-338.
\4\P.L. 106-253. See also, House Report 106-734.
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As of October 2007, the Postal Service has not issued any
semipostals under the authority of the Semipostal Authorization
Act.\5\ The Postal Service has expressed concern that the
popularity of the BCRS does not necessarily portend the success
of future semipostals, whether mandated by Congress or
initiated by the Postal Service, and that future semipostals
might generate only modest amounts of revenue while still
requiring substantial postal expenditures. Ongoing work by the
U.S. Government Accountability Office indicates that sales of
other semipostals established by Congress have lagged behind
those of the BCRS.\6\
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\5\The Stamp Out Breast Cancer Act (P.L. 105-41), August 13, 1997
required that the Postal Service issue a Breast Cancer Research stamp.
The 9/11 Heroes Stamp Act of 2001 and the Stamp Out Domestic Violence
Act of 2001 mandated that the Postal Service issue semipostals for
these causes. Both the Heroes of 2001 and the Stop Family Violence
stamps were authorized as part of the Treasury and General Government
Appropriations Act, 2002 (P.L. 107-67).
\6\GAO, U.S. Postal Service: Factors Affecting Fund-Raising Stamp
Sales Suggest Lessons Learned, GAO-05-953 (Washington, D.C.: September
2005). The Stamp Out Breast Cancer Act (P.L. 105-41) requires GAO to
issue a report to Congress on the Breast Cancer Research semipostal
stamp no later than three months before the end of the stamp's
authorized sales period.
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GAO has also reported that the Breast Cancer Research stamp
has been an effective fundraiser and that funds raised through
sales of the stamp had contributed to key insights and
approaches for the treatment of breast cancer. For example, in
2006, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) started using
Breast Cancer Research stamp proceeds for the Trial Assigning
Individual Options for Treatment (TAILORx) and the Breast Pre-
Malignancy Program. TAILORx is designed to determine which
patients with early stage breast cancer are most likely to
benefit from chemotherapy. The Breast Pre-Malignancy Program is
a National Cancer Institute (NCI) program in breast cancer
research that encompasses prevention, etiology, biology,
diagnosis and molecular epidemiology. This program was
established in hopes that linking NCI's research programs with
research programs underway at universities, medical schools,
hospitals, and research institutions, would create a
collaborative and integrated program that would result in new
discoveries and interventions.\7\ Additionally, DOD has used
its share of the proceeds from the Breast Cancer Research stamp
to fund Synergistic Idea Awards. This program promotes new
ideas and collaborations by funding innovative, high-risk, high
reward breast cancer research projects involving two
researchers working synergistically.\8\
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\7\GAO-08-45.
\8\Ibid.
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The Stamp Out Breast Cancer Act provides that the Postal
Service is to deduct from the surcharge revenue its reasonable
costs incurred in carrying out the act. After deducting its
reasonable costs, the Postal Service is to remit the remaining
proceeds from the BCRS surcharge revenue to the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Defense (DOD)
for breast cancer research. Seventy percent of the net proceeds
go to NIH, with the remaining 30 percent going to DOD's medical
research program.
III. Legislative History
S. 597 was introduced on February 14, 2007 by Senator
Dianne Feinstein. It currently has 60 cosponsors. The bill was
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs. On August 1, 2007, the Committee considered the bill
and by voice vote ordered it reported favorably without
amendment. Present were Senators Lieberman, Levin, Akaka,
Carper, Pryor, Landrieu, McCaskill, Voinovich, Coleman, Coburn,
Warner, and Sununu.
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1. Extends the issuance of the Breast Cancer
Research Stamp an additional two years.
V. Regulatory Impact Statement
Paragraph 11(b)(1) of rule XXVI of Standing Rules of the
Senate requires that each report accompanying a bill evaluate
``the regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying out
this bill.''
Enactment of this legislation will have no significant
regulatory impact. S. 597 contains no intergovernmental or
private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates
Reform Act and would impose no costs on the budgets of state,
local, or tribal governments.
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
August 9, 2007.
Hon. Joseph I. Lieberman,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S.
Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 597, a bill to
extend the special postage stamp for breast cancer research for
two years.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark
Grabowicz.
Sincerely,
Peter R. Orszag.
Enclosure.
S. 597--A bill to extend the special postage stamp for breast cancer
research for two years
Summary: The Stamp Out Breast Cancer Act (Public Law 105-
41) authorized a special postage stamp for first-class mail.
The price of this stamp is 55 cents, 14 cents above the regular
rate of 41 cents. The authority to issue the stamp expires on
December 31, 2007. After accounting for the Postal Service's
administrative costs, amounts above the regular postal rate
collected from sales of the special stamp are transferred to
the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of
Defense (DoD) to spend on breast cancer research. S. 597 would
extend this program until December 31, 2009.
CBO estimates that enacting S. 597 would increase or
decrease direct spending in each of the years 2008 through
2012, but would have no net effect on direct spending over the
period as a whole. The legislation would not affect either
revenues or discretionary spending, and would have no budgetary
impact after 2012.
S. 597 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal
governments.
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated
budgetary impact of S. 597 is shown in the following table. The
costs of this legislation fall within budget functions 050
(national defense), 370 (commerce and housing credit), and 550
(health).
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By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
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2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
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CHANGES IN DIRECT SPENDING
Off-Budget Effects
Impact on the Postal Service:
Estimated Budget Authority.. -4 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Estimated Outlays........... -4 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
On-Budget Effects
Impact on NIH and DoD:
Estimated Budget Authority.. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Estimated Outlays........... -2 -4 1 4 1 0 0 0 0 0
Unified Budget Effect
Total Changes:
Estimated Budget Authority.. -4 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Estimated Outlays........... -6 -4 5 4 1 0 0 0 0 0
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Basis of estimate: Based on sales of the special breast
cancer stamp in recent years, CBO estimates that enacting S.
597 would generate collections above the regular postage rate
of $18 million--roughly $7 million in fiscal year 2008, $9
million in 2009, and $2 million in 2010. After covering its
administrative costs (about $50,000 over this period), the
Postal Service would transfer those collections to NIH and DoD
in May and November of each year. In fiscal year 2008, for
example, the Postal Service would transfer $3 million to NIH
and DoD, resulting in a net reduction of $4 million in Postal
Service outlays in 2008. The net impact on the Postal Service
over the 2008-2010 period, however, would be zero. Spending and
collections of the Postal Service are classified as ``off-
budget.''
CBO estimates that enacting S. 597 would increase NIH and
DoD collections (from Postal Service transfers) by $3 million
in 2008, $9 million in 2009, and $6 million in 2010. Spending
of those collections by the two agencies would lag behind the
amounts collected by several months. For example, in fiscal
year 2008, we estimate that NIH and DoD would collect $3
million from the Postal Service but spend only $1 million. We
estimate that research spending would be $5 million in 2009, $7
million in 2010, $4 million in 2011, and about $1 million in
2012. The on-budget NIH and DoD accounts would show net outlay
reductions totaling $6 million over the 2008-2009 period, and a
corresponding increase in outlays from 2010 through 2012. Thus,
the net unified budget impact of the proposal (including on-
budget and off-budget effects) would be zero over the 2008-2012
period, with no effect after 2012.
Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 597
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in UMRA and would not affect the budgets of state,
local, or tribal governments.
Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Mark Grabowicz; Impact
on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Elizabeth Cove; Impact
on the Private Sector: Justin Hall and Paige Piper/Bach.
Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
VII. Changes to Existing Law
In compliance with subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by
the bill S. 597, as ordered reported, are shown as follows
(existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black
brackets, new matter is printed in italic, existing law in
which no change is proposed is shown in roman):
TITLE 39. POSTAL SERVICE
PART I. GENERAL
CHAPTER 4. GENERAL AUTHORITY
Sec. 414. Special postage stamps
* * * * * * *
(h) This section shall cease to be effective after December
31, [2007] 2009.
