2017 US Code
Title 39 - Postal Service
Part I - General
Chapter 4 - General Authority
Sec. 414 - Special postage stamps

(a) In order to afford the public a convenient way to contribute to funding for breast cancer research, the Postal Service shall establish a special rate of postage for first-class mail under this section.

(b) The rate of postage established under this section—

The use of the special rate of postage established under this section shall be voluntary on the part of postal patrons. The special rate of postage of an individual stamp under this section shall be an amount that is evenly divisible by 5.

(c)(1) Of the amounts becoming available for breast cancer research pursuant to this section, the Postal Service shall pay—

Payments under this paragraph to an agency shall be made under such arrangements as the Postal Service shall by mutual agreement with such agency establish in order to carry out the purposes of this section, except that, under those arrangements, payments to such agency shall be made at least twice a year. An agency that receives amounts from the Postal Service under this paragraph shall use the amounts for breast cancer research.

(2) For purposes of this section, the term "amounts becoming available for breast cancer research pursuant to this section" means—

as determined by the Postal Service under regulations that it shall prescribe.

(d) It is the sense of the Congress that nothing in this section should—

(e) Special postage stamps under this section shall be made available to the public beginning on such date as the Postal Service shall by regulation prescribe, but in no event later than 12 months after the date of the enactment of this section.

(f) 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 this section, except that, at a minimum, each shall include—

(g) For purposes of section 416 (including any regulation prescribed under subsection (e)(1)(C) of that section), the special postage stamp issued under this section shall not apply to any limitation relating to whether more than 1 semipostal may be offered for sale at the same time.

(h) This section shall cease to be effective after December 31, 2019.

(Added Pub. L. 105–41, §2(a), Aug. 13, 1997, 111 Stat. 1119; amended Pub. L. 106–253, §3(a), July 28, 2000, 114 Stat. 636; Pub. L. 107–67, title VI, §650(b)(1), (c), Nov. 12, 2001, 115 Stat. 556, 557; Pub. L. 108–199, div. F, title V, §541, Jan. 23, 2004, 118 Stat. 346; Pub. L. 109–100, §1, Nov. 11, 2005, 119 Stat. 2170; Pub. L. 110–150, §1, Dec. 21, 2007, 121 Stat. 1820; Pub. L. 112–80, §1, Dec. 23, 2011, 125 Stat. 1297; Pub. L. 114–99, §§2, 3, Dec. 11, 2015, 129 Stat. 2201.)

The date of the enactment of this section, referred to in subsec. (e), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 105–41, which was approved Aug. 13, 1997.

2015—Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 114–99, §3, inserted at end of concluding provisions "An agency that receives amounts from the Postal Service under this paragraph shall use the amounts for breast cancer research."

Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 114–99, §2, substituted "2019" for "2015".

2011—Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 112–80 substituted "2015" for "2011".

2007—Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 110–150 substituted "2011" for "2007".

2005—Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 109–100 substituted "2007" for "2005".

2004—Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 108–199 substituted "2005" for "2003".

2001—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 107–67, §650(c), substituted "of not less than 15 percent" for "of not to exceed 25 percent" in par. (1) and inserted at end of concluding provisions "The special rate of postage of an individual stamp under this section shall be an amount that is evenly divisible by 5."

Subsec. (g), (h). Pub. L. 107–67, §650(b)(1), added subsecs. (g) and (h) and struck out former subsec. (g) which read as follows: "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."

2000—Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 106–253 amended subsec. (g) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (g) read as follows: "This section shall cease to be effective at the end of the 2-year period beginning on the date on which special postage stamps under this section are first made available to the public."

Pub. L. 107–67, title VI, §650(b)(2), Nov. 12, 2001, 115 Stat. 557, provided that: "The amendment made by this subsection [amending this section] shall take effect on the earlier of—

Pub. L. 110–150, §2, Dec. 21, 2007, 121 Stat. 1820, provided that: "The National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense shall each submit to Congress and the Government Accountability Office an annual report concerning the use of any amounts that it received under section 414(c) of title 39, United States Code, including a description of any significant advances or accomplishments, during the year covered by the report, that were funded, in whole or in part, with such amounts."

Pub. L. 106–253, §3(b), July 28, 2000, 114 Stat. 637, provided that: "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 [set out below], and shall address at least the same matters as were required to be included in that earlier report."

Pub. L. 105–41, §2(b), Aug. 13, 1997, 111 Stat. 1120, provided that: "No later than 3 months (but no earlier than 6 months) before the end of the 2-year period referred to in section 414(g) of title 39, United States Code (as amended by subsection (a)), the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the Congress a report on the operation of such section. Such report shall include—