[Senate Report 113-235]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
113th Congress
2d Session SENATE Report
113-235
_______________________________________________________________________
Calendar No. 503
MULTINATIONAL SPECIES CONSERVATION FUNDS SEMIPOSTAL STAMP
REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2013
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
S. 231
TO REAUTHORIZE THE MULTINATIONAL SPECIES CONSERVATION FUNDS SEMIPOSTAL
STAMP
July 31, 2014.--Ordered to be printed
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware, Chairman
CARL LEVIN, Michigan TOM COBURN, Oklahoma
MARK L. PRYOR, Arkansas JOHN McCAIN, Arizona
MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
JON TESTER, Montana RAND PAUL, Kentucky
MARK BEGICH, Alaska MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming
TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire
HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota
Gabrielle A. Batkin, Staff Director
John P. Kilvington, Deputy Staff Director
Mary Beth Schultz, Chief Counsel
Robert H. Bradley, Legislative Assistant
Keith B. Ashdown, Minority Staff Director
Christopher J. Barkley, Minority Deputy Staff Director
Andrew C. Dockham, Minority Chief Counsel
Joseph D. Moeller, Minority U.S. Postal Service Office of the Inspector
General Detailee
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 503
113th Congress
SENATE
Report
2d Session 113-235
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MULTINATIONAL SPECIES CONSERVATION FUNDS SEMIPOSTAL STAMP
_______
July 31, 2014.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Carper, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 231]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 231) to reauthorize
the Multinational Species Conservation Funds Semipostal Stamp,
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................3
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis......................................3
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................4
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................4
VII. Changes to Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............5
I. Purpose and Summary
S. 231 would require the United States Postal Service to
continue offering the Multinational Species Conservation Funds
Semipostal Stamp for an additional four years. The
Multinational Species Conservation Funds is a small program
administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It supports
conservation efforts benefiting tigers, rhinoceroses, Asian and
African elephants, marine turtles and great apes. Semipostal
stamps are stamps bearing a surcharge above typical postal
rates. Members of the public may voluntarily purchase
semipostal stamps as a means of donating to the cause promoted
by the stamp. Continuing to direct funds raised from the sale
of this semipostal stamp to the Multinational Species
Conservation Funds is an effective way to increase financial
support for the program's important work without having to
increase its annual appropriations.
II. Background and Need for the Legislation
Since 1998, the U.S. Postal Service (``the Postal Service''
or ``USPS'') has issued several ``semipostal'' stamps--stamps
purchasers may use to mail a First-Class letter, but for which
they voluntarily pay a surcharge over the usual First-Class
Mail rates as a means to donate to the cause commemorated by
the stamp. Each of these semipostal stamps has been issued at
the direction of Congress.\1\ A variety of causes have
benefited from the sale of these stamps, including breast
cancer research,\2\ domestic violence prevention programs,\3\
and assistance to the families of rescue workers killed or
disabled in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.\4\
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\1\In 2000, Congress gave the Postal Service authority to issue
semipostal stamps pursuant to the Semipostal Authorization Act (P.L.
106-253). However, the Postal Service has not yet issued a semipostal
stamp pursuant to the Act because it decided not to approve new
semipostal stamps while any other semipostal stamps are in circulation.
Such stamps have been on sale continuously since the initial enactment
of the Stamp Out Breast Cancer Act (P.L. 105-41).
\2\Stamp Out Breast Cancer Act (P.L. 105-41).
\3\Stamp Out Domestic Violence Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-67).
\4\The 9/11 Heroes Stamp Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-67).
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To help fund conservation efforts, in 2010 Congress
authorized the creation of a semipostal stamp\5\ to benefit the
Multinational Species Conservation Funds (``MSCF''). Congress
created the MSCF in 1999 to recognize an unprecedented
international decline of certain species and to help save some
of the world's fastest disappearing animals in their natural
habitats.\6\ The MSCF currently benefits tigers, six species of
rhinoceroses, Asian and African elephants, marine turtles, and
great apes. The MSCF supports conservation efforts benefiting
these species, often in conjunction with efforts under the
Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species
(CITES), to which the United States is a party. The MSCF
provides funding in the form of cost-sharing grants for species
and habitat conservation as well as efforts to combat poaching
activities and illegal trafficking of these species.
Additionally, the MSCF offers technical assistance for
conserving the species benefitted by the program. These efforts
also benefit from funding and in-kind support provided by
partners and collaborators.
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\5\The Multinational Species Conservation Funds Semipostal Stamp
Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-241)
\6\The MSCF (16 U.S.C. 4246) was created as part of Title I of the
Department of the Interior and Relation Agencies Appropriations Act,
1999 which was later incorporated into the Omnibus Consolidated and
Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999 (P.L. 105-277).
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According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which runs
the program, more than $122 million was provided by non-federal
sources for efforts under the MSCF from Fiscal Year 2007 to
Fiscal Year 2013. This is significantly more than the amount
appropriated for these efforts by Congress during the same time
period.\7\
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\7\U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Multinational Species
Conservation Funds FY13 Update, http://www.fws.gov/international/pdf/
factsheet-species-funding.pdf.
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Despite the success and popularity of the MSCF projects,
annual appropriations for the MSCF have never exceeded $10
million. Demand for grant funding, however, remains high, and
applications under the different MSCF initiatives far exceed
available funding. In addition, proponents of MSCF note that
each federal dollar invested in the MSCF routinely leverages
three or four times the amount in non-federal matching
contributions and increases overall financial support for
wildlife conservation. The issuance of a semipostal stamp for
the MSCF was therefore an effective way to increase financial
support for wildlife conservation without affecting
appropriations for other programs outside of the MSCF.
Since its establishment in September 2011, the semipostal
stamp program has generated approximately $2.5 million in
revenue for 47 MSCF projects in 31 different countries, with
nearly 25 million stamps sold to the public over the course of
the 27 months it was available to purchase.\8\ Moreover, the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that the funds raised
by this stamp have led to an additional $3.6 million donated to
MSCF projects through outside contributions.\9\ Due to a lack
of a legislative mandate for the Postal Service to continue
offering the stamp, the Postal Service ceased sales of the
stamps after December 2013. The unsold stamps were put into
storage in January 2014 and have remained there ever since. The
Committee, recognizing that the Postal Service currently
possesses 75 million of these semipostal stamps,\10\ recommends
passage of this legislation in order to enable the continued
sale of these stamps for an additional four years.\11\
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\8\U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, ``Americans Play Key Role in
Conservation of Elephants, Rhinos, and Other Imperiled Species by
Purchasing Save Vanishing Species Semipostal Stamps'' (December 19,
2013), http://www.fws.gov/news/ShowNews.cfm?ID=0C9AE706-AC3D-DD24-
F83EB0530D58FD72; See also http://www.fws.gov/international/save-
vanishing-species-stamp.html.
\9\U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, ``Americans Play Key Role in
Conservation of Elephants, Rhinos, and Other Imperiled Species by
Purchasing Save Vanishing Species Semipostal Stamps'' (December 19,
2013), http://www.fws.gov/news/ShowNews.cfm?ID=0C9AE706-AC3D-DD24-
F83EB0530D58FD72.
\10\Data provided to the Committee on June 20, 2014 by the United
States Postal Service's Stamp Services.
\11\Since the authorizing statute requires not just that the stamp
exist, but that it be available to the public for a period of time, the
Committee expects that any time since January 1, 2014 when the stamp
was taken out of circulation will not count toward the new time frame
established in S. 231.
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III. Legislative History
S. 231 was introduced by Senators Portman and Udall (NM) on
February 7, 2013. The bill was referred to the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. The bill is
cosponsored by Senators Feinstein, Gillibrand, Levin, Stabenow,
Warren and Whitehouse.
The Committee considered the bill at its business meeting
on June 25, 2014, and ordered the bill favorably reported by
voice vote. Members present for the voice vote on the bill were
Senators Carper, Levin, McCaskill, Tester, Heitkamp, Coburn,
McCain, Johnson and Portman.
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1. Short title
Section 1 designates the name of the act as the
``Multinational Species Conservation Funds Semipostal Stamp
Reauthorization Act of 2013.''
Section 2. Reauthorization
Section 2 amends Section 2(c)(2) of the Multinational
Species Conservation Funds Semipostal Stamp Act of 2010 (39
U.S.C. 416 note) by striking ``2 years'' and inserting ``6
years,''. The Multinational Species Conservation Funds
Semipostal Stamp Act of 2010 directs the U.S. Postal Service to
issue a Multinational Species Conservation Funds Semipostal
Stamp which would be available for voluntary purchase on the
part of postal patrons for a period of time (currently two
years) after the enactment of this bill. In keeping with the
requirements of the Semipostal Authorization Act (39 U.S.C.
Sec. 14), the statute sets the rate of the semipostal stamp at
a cost equal to the rate of a First-Class stamp, plus a
differential of no less than 15%. It also requires the rate to
be evenly divisible by 5.
The 2010 law also directs the transfer of all amounts
available from the sale of the stamp twice yearly to the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service and directs the Fish and Wildlife
Service to divide the proceeds equally for operations among the
African Elephant Conservation Fund, the Asian Elephant
Conservation Fund, the Great Ape Conservation Fund, the Marine
Turtle Conservation Fund, the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation
Fund, and other international wildlife conservation funds
authorized by Congress after the date of the enactment of the
Act. These funds are not to be considered as an offset in the
level of appropriations or other federal funding.
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact
Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has
considered the regulatory impact of this bill. The
Congressional Budget Office states that the bill contains no
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandate Reform Act and would impose no costs on state,
local, or tribal governments, or private entities. The
enactment of this legislation will not have significant
regulatory impact.
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
July 18, 2014.
Hon. Tom Carper,
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. 231, the
Multinational Species Conservation Funds Semipostal Stamp
Reauthorization Act of 2013.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark
Grabowicz.
Sincerely,
Douglas W. Elmendorf.
Enclosure.
S. 231--Multinational Species Conservation Funds Semipostal Stamp
Reauthorization Act of 2013
CBO estimates that implementing S. 231 would have no
significant discretionary cost to the federal government.
Because the act would affect on-budget direct spending, pay-as-
you-go procedures apply, but CBO estimates that those effects
would not be significant. S. 231 would not affect revenues.
The Multinational Species Conservation Funds Semipostal
Stamp Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-241) directed the United
States Postal Service (USPS) to issue a special stamp for
first-class mail. Any amounts collected from the special stamp
(called a semipostal), after accounting for USPS administrative
costs, were transferred to the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service (USFWS) for expenditure on programs to support
endangered species. The Postal Service stopped selling these
stamps at the end of 2013; S. 231 would direct USPS to make
these stamps available until at least October of 2017.
We anticipate that the Postal Service would charge 60 cents
for each multinational species semipostal stamp, and payments
above the regular first-class postage rate (currently 49 cents)
would be treated as offsetting collections (that is, a credit
against spending) of the Postal Service. Based on past sales of
this semipostal, we expect that the increase in offsetting
collections from enacting S. 231 would be about $1 million
annually. Payments of those funds to the USFWS would be outlays
of the Postal Service and offsetting collections to the USFWS,
which would spend those amounts, mostly in the same year. CBO
estimates that the net change in outlays of the Postal Service
(which is off-budget) and the USFWS (which is on-budget) would
not be significant in any year.
S. 231 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal
governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz.
The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
VII. Changes to Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by
S. 231, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italic, and existing law in which no
change is proposed is shown in roman):
MULTINATIONAL SPECIES CONSERVATION FUNDS SEMIPOSTAL STAMP ACT OF 2010
* * * * * * *
(2) Multinational Species Conservation Funds Semipostal Stamp
(a) * * *
(b) * * *
(c) Other Terms and Conditions.--
(1) * * *
(2) Duration.--The Multinational Species Conservation
Funds Semipostal Stamp shall be made available to the
public for a period of at least [2 years] 6 years,
beginning no later than 12 months after the date of the
enactment of this Act [Sept. 30, 2010].
* * * * * * *