Great Lakes Restoration Semipostal Stamp Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1440 To provide for the issuance of a Great Lakes Restoration Semipostal Stamp. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 28, 2019 Mr. WALBERG (for himself, Mr. RYAN, Mr. MOOLENAAR, Mr. HUIZENGA, Ms. SLOTKIN, Mr. MITCHELL, Mr. KILDEE, Mrs. DINGELL, and Mr. LATTA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and in addition to the Committees on Transpor- tation and Infrastructure, and Natural Resources, for a period to be sub- sequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To provide for the issuance of a Great Lakes Restoration Semipostal Stamp. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Great Lakes Restoration Semipostal Stamp Act of 5 2019’’. 6 (b) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Mar 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1440.IH H1440 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1440 IH (1) The Great Lakes consist of Lake Michigan, 1 Lake Huron, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, and Lake 2 Superior, and border the States of Michigan, Wis- 3 consin, Minnesota, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Pennsyl- 4 vania, and New York. 5 (2) The Great Lakes watershed provides habi- 6 tats for numerous fascinating species of wildlife. 7 (3) The Great Lakes have exceptional sur- 8 rounding parks, forests, shorelines, and islands, 9 which are a source of recreation through swimming, 10 hiking, picnics, boating, fishing, hunting, and wild- 11 life watching. 12 (4) The Great Lakes region is currently home 13 to 27 million people. 14 (5) The Great Lakes are the largest surface 15 freshwater system on Earth, with over 20 percent of 16 the world’s fresh water supply. 17 (6) The Great Lakes are the source of drinking 18 water for over 40 million people and 56 billion gal- 19 lons of water a day for municipal, industrial, and ag- 20 ricultural use. 21 (7) The Great Lakes are vital for the region’s 22 economy, attracting tourism and providing transpor- 23 tation for goods. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Mar 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1440.IH H1440 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1440 IH (8) The Great Lakes region’s environment and 1 economy depend on the health and well-being of the 2 Great Lakes. 3 (9) The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative has 4 played a critical role in restoring the Great Lakes. 5 (10) The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is 6 vital in combating the introduction of invasive spe- 7 cies into the Great Lakes. 8 (11) The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is 9 pivotal in mitigating harmful algal blooms. 10 (12) The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative 11 has restored over 250,000 acres of habitat. 12 SEC. 2. GREAT LAKES RESTORATION STAMP. 13 (a) IN GENERAL.—In order to afford a convenient 14 way for members of the public to contribute to funding 15 for the operations supported by the Great Lakes Restora- 16 tion Initiative, as described under the fourth undesignated 17 paragraph under the heading ‘‘Administrative Provisions, 18 Environmental Protection Agency’’ in Public Law 111–88 19 (123 Stat. 2938; commonly known as the ‘‘Interior De- 20 partment and Further Continuing Appropriations Act for 21 Fiscal Year 2010’’), the United States Postal Service shall 22 issue a semipostal stamp (referred to in this Act as the 23 ‘‘Great Lakes Restoration Semipostal Stamp’’) in accord- 24 ance with the provisions of this section. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Mar 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1440.IH H1440 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1440 IH (b) COST.—The Great Lakes Restoration Semipostal 1 Stamp shall be offered at a cost equal to the cost of mail- 2 ing a letter weighing 1 ounce or less at the nonautomation 3 single-piece first-ounce letter rate, in effect at the time 4 of purchase, plus a differential of not less than 25 percent. 5 (c) OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The issuance 6 and sale of the Great Lakes Restoration Semipostal 7 Stamp shall be governed by the provisions of section 416 8 of title 39, United States Code, and regulations issued 9 under such section, subject to subsection (b) and the fol- 10 lowing: 11 (1) DISPOSITION OF PROCEEDS.— 12 (A) IN GENERAL.—All amounts becoming 13 available from the sale of the Great Lakes Res- 14 toration Semipostal Stamp shall be transferred 15 to the Environmental Protection Agency for the 16 purpose of funding the operations of the Initia- 17 tive described in subsection (a), through pay- 18 ments which shall be made at least twice a 19 year. 20 (B) PROCEEDS NOT TO BE OFFSET.—In 21 accordance with section 416(d)(4) of such title 22 39, amounts becoming available from the sale 23 of the Great Lakes Restoration Semipostal 24 Stamp (as so determined) shall not be taken 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Mar 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1440.IH H1440 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1440 IH into account in any decision relating to the level 1 of appropriations or other Federal funding to 2 be furnished in any year to the Initiative identi- 3 fied in subsection (a). 4 (2) DURATION.—The Great Lakes Restoration 5 Semipostal Stamp shall be made available to the 6 public for a period of at least 5 years, beginning no 7 later than 12 months after the date of the enact- 8 ment of this Act. 9 (3) STAMP DEPICTIONS.—Stamps issued under 10 this Act shall depict images of each of the five Great 11 Lakes. 12 (4) LIMITATION.—The Great Lakes Restoration 13 Semipostal Stamp shall not be subject to, or taken 14 into account for purposes of applying, any limitation 15 under section 416(e)(1)(C) of such title 39. 16 (d) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this Act, the term 17 ‘‘semipostal stamp’’ refers to a stamp described in section 18 416(a)(1) of title 39, United States Code. 19 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Mar 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1440.IH H1440 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS