In a move that is likely to increase the number of suggestions for new stamps considerably, the USPS has announced it's changing the 10-year rule for selecting people to honor on U.S. stamps to five years. (U.S. presidents are already exempt from the rule; they can be honored on the first anniversary of their birth after they die.) The new rule is effective Jan. 1, 2007.

Linn's Stamp News speculates in its Dec. 4 report on the change that it might have been encouraged by the many calls for a stamp for Rosa Parks, who died in 2005. She is the African-American who gained fame when she refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Ala., for a white rider in 1955. The USPS release (see below) says the change has been discussed for some time. Here is the full text of the Nov. 15 release from the USPS Web site:

POSTMASTER GENERAL POTTER ANNOUNCES HISTORIC RULE CHANGE FOR STAMP HONOREES
WASHINGTON — It’s official. Postmaster General John E. Potter today announced the U.S. Postal Service is reducing the time it takes a person to become eligible to appear on a stamp following death from 10 years to five.

“Stamps are the signature of the Postal Service,� Potter said in remarks prepared for delivery at today’s Board of Governors’ meeting. “For more than three decades we have had a rule requiring notable Americans be deceased 10 years before they could be recognized for commemoration on a postage stamp. We created this rule to make certain their legacy stood the test of time,� he said. “The Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee has been discussing this issue for some time and now has recommended that we reduce that wait time to five years.

“In this era of instant communications, I think this is a reasonable suggestion and it will allow us to honor a subject’s lifetime achievements while their memory is still relatively fresh in the public’s eye,� Potter said. “This new approach will take effect Jan. 1, 2007.�

The Committee will not accept or consider proposals for a subject until at least three years after his/her death. The change does not affect deceased U.S. presidents, who may be honored with a memorial stamp as soon as the first birth anniversary following their death.

The Postal Service receives 50,000 cards and letters with stamp ideas each year. To narrow the selection of stamp subjects issued annually, the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee — a cross section of designers, historians and educators — reviews the suggestions and makes recommendations to the Postmaster General for final approval. The time between submitting a stamp idea and issuing the stamp can take several years.

The Postal Service encourages individuals with stamp ideas to submit their suggestions in writing to:

CITIZENS’ STAMP ADVISORY COMMITTEE
STAMP DEVELOPMENT
U.S. POSTAL SERVICE
1735 NORTH LYNN ST RM 5013
ARLINGTON VA 22209-6432
For additional details on the stamp selection process, visit this link: http://www.usps.com/communications/organization/csac.htm

Since 1775, the United States Postal Service and its predecessor, the Post Office Department, have connected friends, families, neighbors and businesses by mail. An independent federal agency that visits more than 144 million homes and businesses every day, the Postal Service is the only service provider delivering to every address in the nation. It receives no taxpayer dollars for routine operations, but derives its operating revenues solely from the sale of postage, products and services. With annual revenues of $70 billion, it is the world’s leading provider of mailing and delivery services, offering some of the most affordable postage rates in the world. The U.S. Postal Service delivers more than 46 percent of the world’s mail volume — some 212 billion letters, advertisements, periodicals and packages a year - and serves ten million customers each day at its 37,000 retail locations nationwide.

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