Danny Davis: “as a member of the House Government Reform Committee, I am pleased to join my colleague in the consideration of S. 37…”

“as a member of the House Government Reform Committee, I am pleased to join my colleague in the consideration of S. 37, legislation extending the special postage stamp for breast cancer research for 2 years. This measure, which was sponsored by Senator Dianne Feinstein, was introduced on January 24, 2005, and unanimously passed by the Senate on September 27, 2005. On October 20, 2005, the Government Reform Committee unanimously reported S. 37. The Stamp Out Breast Cancer Act, (Public Law 105-41) authorized a special Semi-postal stamp for first-class mail. The price of this class stamp is 45 cents, 8 cents above the regular rate of 37 cents. The authority to issue this stamp expires on December 31, 2005. S. 37, which was cosponsored by 69 members of the U.S. Senate would extend the program until December 31, 2007. Sale of the Breast Cancer Semi-Postal stamp, first issued in 1998, has raised more than $44 million for breast cancer research from more than 650.5 million stamps. By law, 70 percent of the net amount raised is given to the National Institutes of Health, and 30 percent to the Medical Research Program at the Department of Defense. We owe our interest in semipostal stamps to Dr. Ernie Bodhai, chief of surgery at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Sacramento, California, and former Representative Vic Fazio. Dr. Bodhai took his idea for a special breast cancer research fundraising stamp to Rep. Fazio, and in 1996, Rep.…”