Europe has a long tradition of using semipostal stamps to raise funds for worthy causes. In the United States, however, semipostals are a recent innovation. The Breast Cancer Research Stamp

Despite USPS opposition, Congress authorized a semipostal stamp for the benefit of breast cancer research in 1997. The act extended the BCRS for two more years, until July 29, 2002, and gave USPS broad authority to issue and sell semipostals for 10 more years "in order to advance such causes as the Postal Service considers to be in the national public interest and appropriate." USPS said it intended to invite nominations from the public for a new semipostal every two years, with no more than one semipostal in circulation at any given time. Part 551), USPS will not issue other semipostals under the Semipostal Authorization Act of 2000 until after the sales period of the BCRS has ended. GAO reported the views of some observers that the large initial sales figures of the "Heroes of 2001" semipostal "were not sustainable because that semipostal did not benefit from the support of a long-established, well-organized, nationwide network of organizations to keep the Heroes semipostal in the public eye," in contrast to the nationwide support base for the breast cancer stamp. The Heroes stamp was withdrawn from sale when its authorization expired on December 31, 2004. The 109 th Congress extended the BCRS until December 31, 2007 ( P.L.
Semipostal stamps, postage sold at a premium to raise funds for particular causes, have only recently been authorized by Congress for use in the United States. The Breast Cancer Research Stamp (BCRS) was introduced in July 1998, and as of December 2007, has raised over $60.1 million to support research in treating breast cancer through distributions to designated agencies. In the 106th Congress, the Semipostal Authorization Act of 2000 extended the BCRS two years and authorized the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to issue other semipostals until 2010. USPS issued regulations inviting public nominations for future semipostals, providing that each can be sold for two years but only one can be on sale at any given time. Subsequent Congresses have further extended the life of the BCRS. Most recently, the 110th Congress authorized its sale through December 31, 2011. The breast cancer stamp's success is no guarantee that other semipostals will be equally successful. The "Heroes of 2001" stamp did not sell especially well and was withdrawn from circulation.