UPDATE: Our
Efforts are Paying Off -- Senate Passes Legislation to Continue the Breast
Cancer Research Stamp.
We
still need you to contact your members of Congress in the U.S. House of
Representatives as outlined in the following Action Alert.
Urgent
Call to Action to Save the Breast Cancer Research Stamp
PLEASE
ACT NOW -- WE NEED YOUR HELP!
We Need Your Support for the Breast Cancer Research Stamp Act of 2001
WIN
Against Breast Cancer is proud to again be leading the nationwide effort to
continue the issuance of the Breast Cancer Research Stamp and we are
counting on you for your continued help and support.
The United States Postal
Service (USPS) has decided to discontinue the Breast Cancer Research Stamp
next year in spite of the fact that public support and sales remain strong.
The USPS has sold over 310 million Breast Cancer Research Stamps in the past
three years, raising over $21.5 million for vital research at the National
Institutes of Health and Department of Defense breast cancer research
programs as of July 2001. The
awareness that this stamp designed to save lives has raised continues to be
priceless.
We need your immediate help so please read on, act
today and continue to purchase the Breast Cancer Research Stamp.
On July 26 of this year,
United States Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Kay Bailey Hutchison
(R-TX) introduced The Breast Cancer
Research Stamp Act of 2001 legislation (Senate Bill number S.1256),
which, if enacted, will extend the life of the first fundraising stamp in
U.S. history for an additional six years - until July 29, 2008.
The Senate bill already
has nearly 80 co-sponsors -- almost 80% of the United States Senate on
board!
United
States Representatives David Dreier (R-28-CA),
Sue Kelly (R-19-NY) and Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-37-CA), along with
three of their colleagues, introduced the House companion bill the on August
2, with over 25% of the U.S. House of Representatives signed on as original
co-sponsors.
As
of August 24, 2001, there are 135 members of the House of Representatives
who are in support of the Breast Cancer Research Stamp Act of 2001.
URGENT CALL TO ACTION TO SAVE THE BREAST CANCER
RESEARCH STAMP PLEASE ACT NOW.
Please show your support for the extension of the Breast Cancer Research
Stamp by immediately calling, faxing, writing and/or e-mailing your members
of Congress in the United States House of Representatives and Senate to
encourage them to co-sponsor the Breast Cancer Research Stamp Act of 2001;
encourage all you know to do the same.
We want to get the legislation passed in both
houses of Congress and to the President to sign into law by the end of
September 2001!
You can obtain the
necessary contact information for your members of Congress by referring to
your local telephone book or at the following web site: http://www.congress.org/.
Members
of the public can also reach their U.S. Senators and Representatives by
calling the main capital switchboard in Washington, DC at the United
States Capital Building: (202)
225-3121. You can reach
your members of Congress by calling this number Monday through Friday, 9:00
a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
For
more information and to stay up-to-date as our collective efforts move
forward, please feel free to contact our office at (626) 332-2255 and
continue to visit WIN Against Breast Cancer’s web site at www.winabc.org.
Money
raised from sales of the Breast Cancer Research stamp goes to the National
Institutes of Health breast cancer research program and the Department of
Defense breast cancer research program.
For additional updates on the status of the
legislation, including lists of current co-sponsors, please visit the THOMAS
World Wide Web System’s web site at
http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas2.html
You will be directed to search by bill number, so please reference
Senate Bill number S. 1256 and
House Bill number H.R. 2725.
Breast Cancer Research Stamps can be purchased by
calling 1-800-STAMP 24 and
on-line at: http://shop.usps.com
(Product search keywords: Breast Cancer Research Stamp).
To
learn more about the National Institutes of Health Breast Cancer Research
Program and the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) breast cancer research
grants derived from the stamp, visit:
http://newscenter.cancer.gov/pressreleases/stampawards.html
To learn
more about the Breast Cancer Research Stamp and the involvement of the
Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program, visit:
http://cdmrp.army.mil/pubs/factsheets/bcstampfactsheet.htm
Please use the
sample letter that accompanies this information either as a guide to write
your own letter or as an actual letter to fax, mail (If sending the
letter via U.S. mail, please remember to use a Breast Cancer Research Stamp.)
and/or e-mail to your members of Congress.
Thank you for your
ongoing efforts to "Fund
the Fight to Find a Cure."
You have our heartfelt gratitude.
--Betsy
Elizabeth
("Betsy") Mullen
Founder, President/CEO
WIN Against Breast Cancer
Tips
on Writing a Letter and Communicating with Members of Congress
Telephone calls, e-mails and letters to members of Congress do make a
difference! Personalized
letters tend to be more effective
than form letters. It is a
good idea to stick to one typewritten page.
Please feel free to reproduce the letter or to change the letter to
suit your style. If you choose to
use the letter that we have provided here in this call to action to send
directly to your members of Congress, please fill in the information that
appears underlined and in parentheses. WIN
ABC will also be happy to e-mail you a copy of this call to action and the
template for this letter. To
request this material via e-mail, please contact us at mail@winabc.org.
Please feel free to make copies of these materials and distribute to
more people. The more support,
the better!
Please include the
current date that you send the letter at the top (right side on sample letter)
of the letter.
Address
letters to:
The Honorable (name of Senator, Congressman or
Congresswoman; e.g., The Honorable Pat Smith)
The suggested
address style is:
United States (Senate)
or
United
States (House of Representatives)
Washington, D.C. (20515)
Dear (Congressman
or Congresswoman + name;
e.g., Congresswoman Jones):
Example:
The Honorable Pat Smith
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Senator Smith:
Closing:
Please sign your name and
then print your name, your organization¹s name if applicable and your address
in the areas specified below your signature on the accompanying letter.
Honorable Date:
Washington, D.C.
Re: Support for the Breast Cancer Research Stamp Act of 2001
Dear
I am writing in strong support of the Breast Cancer Research Stamp Act
of 2001.
The United States Postal Service (USPS) has decided to discontinue the
Breast Cancer Research Stamp next year in spite of the fact that public
support, sales and money raised for research all remain strong.
The USPS has sold over 310 million Breast Cancer Research Stamps in the
past three years, raising over $21.5 million for vital research at the
National Institutes of Health and Department of Defense breast cancer research
programs as of July 2001. The awareness that this stamp designed to save lives
continues to raise is priceless.
On July 26 of this year, United States Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA),
together with Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) and 74 colleagues,
introduced The Breast Cancer Research
Stamp Act of 2001 -- S. 1256, which, if enacted, will extend the life
of the first fundraising (“semipostal”) stamp in U.S. history for an
additional six years - until July 29, 2008. The Senate bill already had nearly 80 co-sponsors --
almost 80% of the United States Senate on board before the summer recess.
United States Representative Sue Kelly (R-19-NY), together with
Representatives David Dreier (R-28-CA),
Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-37-CA) and 125 colleagues, introduced the House
companion bill on August 2 of this year.
Over 25% of the U.S. House of Representatives had already signed on as
co-sponsors to The Breast Cancer
Research Stamp Act of 2001 -- H.R. 2725
before the summer recess.
The House and Senate
bills are identical. Passage of the legislation will:
-
Reauthorize the stamp for an
additional six years – from July 30, 2002 until July 29, 2008.
-
Permit additional semipostal
(fundraising) stamps for other worthy causes to be issued during this time
span.
-
Provide that the premium (cost
above first-class postage rate) remains at least 15 percent higher than the
cost of a regular first-class stamp, ensuring a steady stream of research
funds regardless of inflation.
-
Continue to price the stamp in
five-cent intervals, allowing for its continued sale through vending machines
and other points of sale.
I urge you to support the passage of the Breast Cancer Research Stamp
Act of 2001 and thank you for your consideration on this very important
matter.
Sincerely,
Name:
Organization:
Address:
Please sign your name and then print your
name, your organization¹s name if applicable and your address in the areas
specified below your signature on the accompanying letter.
Download
sample letter here.
Last Updated: 06/01/2004
