,i  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #aec  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of   
,,representatives  ,january #c1         
#bjag,mr4 ,al ,green of ,texas          
introduced the following bill2 which was
 referred to the ,committee on          
,oversight and ,government ,reform  ,a  
,,bill  ,to provide for the issuance of 
a forever stamp to honor the work of    
,dr4 ,michael ,ellis ,de,bakey1 who     
helped develop the mobile army surgical 
hospital1 and for other purposes4  #a4  
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,michael ,e4 ,de,bakey ,stamp ,act4 
#b4 ,findings ,the ,congress finds      
that--  7#a7 ,dr4 ,michael ,e4 ,de,bakey
 was widely considered to be one of the 
greatest surgeons ever1 according to the
 ,journal of the ,american ,medical     
,association2  7#b7 his surgical        
inventions1 such as the roller pump1    
which is a component of the heart-lung  
machine used in open-heart surgery1     
continue to save countless lives2  7#c7 
,dr4 ,de,bakey's surgical innovations1  

for example the use of ,dacron grafts   
for damaged arteries1 revolutionized the
 practice of medicine nationally and    
globally2  7#d7 his commitment to       
military medicine helped shape the      
creation of the mobile army surgical    
hospital or ,,mash unit1 and a medical  
program for returning veterans2 and     
7#e7 ,dr4 ,de,bakey was consulted       
regarding the health of several world   
leaders1 including ,president ,boris ,n4
 ,yeltsin during the cold war4  #c4     
,michael ,e4 ,de,bakey ,stamp  7a7 ,in  
general ,in order to honor the work of  
,dr4 ,michael ,ellis ,de,bakey1 who     
helped develop the mobile army surgical 
hospital1 the ,postmaster ,general shall
 provide for the issuance of a forever  
stamp suitable for that purpose that    
depicts ,dr4 ,michael ,e4 ,de,bakey4    
7b7 ,definition ,for purposes of this   
,act1 the term forever stamp means a    
definitive stamp which meets the postage
 required for first-class mail up to one
 ounce in weight1 and which retains full

 validity for that purpose even if the  
rate of that postage is later increased4
  7c7 ,effective date ,the stamp        
described in subsection 7a7 shall be    
issued beginning as soon as practicable 
after the date of the enactment of this 
,act4