S. 521 would direct the Postal Service (USPS) to continue to sell the Save Vanishing Species semipostal stamp until all are sold and to reprint any destroyed stamps. Under current law, USPS can sell the stamps through September 30, 2022.
The stamps cost 75 cents each; amounts that USPS collects above regular first‑class postage (currently 58 cents) are treated as offsetting collections of the Postal Service and are transferred to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to support the Multinational Species Conservation Funds.
Using information on past sales, CBO estimates that collections under the bill would total less than $1 million annually. CBO expects those amounts to be transferred soon after receipt. Using information from the Postal Service, we estimate that any costs to reprint stamps would be insignificant and would be offset by proceeds from the sale of those stamps, resulting in no net change in spending by USPS over the 2022-2031 period. Postal Service collections and spending, including the transfer to USFWS, are classified as off-budget.
The amounts that USFWS receives would be recorded as on-budget offsetting receipts, or reductions in direct spending, and would be available for the agency to spend without further appropriation. CBO expects that those funds would be spent soon after receipt; thus, the net effect on direct spending would be negligible.
