1969 New York Mets Stamp Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3457 To direct the Postmaster General to issue a forever stamp honoring the 1969 New York Mets on the 50th Anniversary of their World Series victory. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 25, 2019 Mr. KING of New York (for himself, Mr. SUOZZI, and Mr. ENGEL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform A BILL To direct the Postmaster General to issue a forever stamp honoring the 1969 New York Mets on the 50th Anniver- sary of their World Series victory. 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. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘1969 New York Mets 4 Stamp Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 The Congress finds the following: 7 (1) The New York Mets, having proudly rep- 8 resented the State of New York in professional base- 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:03 Jul 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3457.IH H3457 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 3457 IH ball since 1962, won their first World Series title in 1 1969. 2 (2) The 1969 New York Mets overcame a stum- 3 bling 7 years since their creation to win 100 games. 4 (3) The 1969 New York Mets bested the Chi- 5 cago Cubs led by 3 future Hall-of-Famers to win the 6 Eastern Division. 7 (4) The 1969 New York Mets somehow swept 8 an Atlanta Braves team led by Hammerin’ Hank 9 Aaron to win their first National League Champion- 10 ship. 11 (5) The 1969 New York Mets masterfully man- 12 aged to defeat the intimidating American League 13 Champion Baltimore Orioles, led by the fearsome 14 Robinson duo of Frank and Brooks, in 5 games. 15 (6) The 1969 New York Mets’ victory was so 16 unexpected they came to be nicknamed the ‘‘Miracle 17 Mets’’. 18 (7) A country struggling through the Vietnam 19 War was given optimism by the characters that were 20 the 1969 New York Mets, whose success provided 21 New York City with a much needed opportunity to 22 celebrate. 23 (8) Ex-Marines Tom ‘‘The Franchise’’ Seaver 24 and Gil Hodges steeled the team through thick and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:03 Jul 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3457.IH H3457 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 3457 IH thin to bring a championship to a city in desperate 1 need. 2 (9) The slugging of the likes of Ed Kranepool, 3 Art Shamsky, Ron Swoboda, Cleon Jones, and Donn 4 Clendenon led the unrivaled offense of the 1969 New 5 York Mets. 6 (10) The arms of the likes of Tom ‘‘The Fran- 7 chise’’ Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Nolan Ryan, Jim 8 McAndrew, Tug McGraw, and Gary Gentry worked 9 to overpower hitters for the 1969 New York Mets. 10 (11) The leadership of Gil Hodges of the 1969 11 New York Mets will forever be unrivaled in Major 12 League Baseball history. 13 (12) 50 years later the effect of the 1969 New 14 York Mets on the city of New York, the State of 15 New York, and the entire country has not been for- 16 gotten. 17 (13) The 1969 New York Mets continue to 18 serve as a reminder of why baseball will forever be 19 America’s pastime. 20 SEC. 3. 1969 NEW YORK METS STAMP. 21 (a) IN GENERAL.—In order to honor the 1969 New 22 York Mets upon the 50th anniversary of their World Se- 23 ries victory, the Postmaster General shall provide for the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:03 Jul 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3457.IH H3457 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 3457 IH issuance of a forever stamp suitable for that purpose that 1 depicts the 1969 New York Mets. 2 (b) DEFINITION OF DEFINITIVE STAMP.—For the 3 purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘forever stamp’’ means a 4 definitive stamp that— 5 (1) meets the postage required for first-class 6 mail up to one ounce in weight; and 7 (2) retains full validity for that purpose even if 8 the rate of that postage is later increased. 9 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The stamp described in sub- 10 section (a) shall be issued as soon as practicable after the 11 date of the enactment of this Act. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:03 Jul 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3457.IH H3457 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS