Breast Cancer Research Stamp: Effective Fund-Raiser, but Better Reporting and Cost-Recovery Criteria Needed;Report to the Congress

摘要

In America, breast cancer is reported as the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women. Given this statistic, the importance of finding a cure cannot be overemphasized. To supplement the billions of federal dollars being spent on breast cancer research, Congress passed legislation creating the Breast Cancer Research Semipostal (BCRS) to increase public awareness of the disease and allow the public to participate directly in raising funds for such research. Since the BCRS was the first semipostal issued by the Postal Service, Congress mandated, and GAO issued, a report in April 2000 on the BCRS' cost, effectiveness, and appropriateness as a fund-raiser. After the report, Congress extended the BCRS sales period through 2003. As mandated, this report updates GAO's prior work as Congress considers another extension to the BCRS sales period.