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Philatelic News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 8, 2002
Stamp Release #02-006
The Governors of The Postal Service Set Price for 9/11 Heroes Stamp of 2001
Reprice Breast Cancer Research Semipostal
Reprice Breast Cancer Research Semipostal
WASHINGTON DC - The Governors of the Postal Service today set the price for the 9/11 Heroes Stamp 2001 semipostal to be issued later this year. The Heroes semipostal will be the second semipostal issued by the Postal Service following the Breast Cancer Research stamp, which was issued in 1998. In the open session of their monthly meeting, the Governors approved postal management's recommendation to sell the Heroes semipostal for 45-cents.
The Governors also approved postal management's recommendation to re-price the Breast Cancer Research semipostal from 40-cents to 45-cents. The Heroes semipostal pricing begins on the day of the stamp's issuance. The Breast Cancer Research semipostal re-pricing becomes effective around the same time as the Heroes semipostal, but no later than May 31, 2002.
The postal appropriations bill enacted in November extended the sales period of the Breast Cancer Research stamp until December 31, 2003 and directed the Postal Service to issue two new semipostals. The first, the Heroes semipostal, will be issued this year and is expected to remain on sale through December 31, 2004. The second, the Domestic Violence semipostal, will go on sale in January of 2004 and remain on sale through December 31, 2006.
This legislation also changed the pricing formula for semipostals. In the past, the differential, which consists of the difference between the First-Class Mail rate and the actual price of the semipostal, could not exceed 25-percent of the underlying First-Class Mail rate. The new formula sets a minimum differential of 15-percent, with no cap on the price. The new legislation also provides that the total price must be divisible by 5.
Using this new formula, the current semipostal rate of 40-cents is still within the 15-percent differential, but it will not satisfy the new pricing requirements the next time First-Class Mail rates rise.
The Heroes semipostal is intended to raise funds for the families of the emergency relief personnel killed or permanently disabled in connection with the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Funds raised from the sale of the Heroes semipostal will be transferred to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Funds raised from the Domestic Violence semipostal will be transferred to the US Department of Health and Human Services.
For more information on stamps and stamp-related products, visit the Postal Service's Web site at http://www.usps.com and click "Stamps."
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For 226 years, the United States Postal Service has been the gateway to the household, binding friends, families and neighbors together. It is an independent federal agency that handles 46 percent of the world's mail volume, with annual revenues of $65 billion. The Postal Service is not funded with taxpayer dollars, but derives its revenues solely from the sale of postage and other products and services it provides. Its unrivaled service network means the Postal Service can deliver money, messages and merchandise daily to 135 million addresses, and with some of the most affordable postage rates in the world.
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