Sep. 7, USPS honored the late Senator Claude D. Pepper in a new definitive on the occasion of 100th anniversary of his birth. The 33c definitive is the second stamp of the new Distinguished Americans series, after the first one featuring General Joseph W. Stilwell stamp issued Aug. 24, 2000.

Claude Pepper, a Democrat from Florida, served in both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. He was chairman of the House Select Committee on Aging and, in 1983, was named chairman of the House Rules Committee. While serving in these highly influential positions, Pepper focused on the needs of the elderly, with particular emphasis on Social Security and Medicare programs.

At 88, Pepper was the oldest sitting member of Congress when he died on May 30, 1989, in Washington, D.C. On May 25, 1989, five days before the Senator's death, President George J. Bush presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civil award of the U.S. Government.

Pepper was born near Dudleyville, Ala., on Sept. 8, 1900. He graduated from the University of Alabama in 1921 and from Harvard Law School in 1924. During his five decades of public service, he was an effective advocate for making life better for millions of Americans. He sponsored bills for National Health Care, equal pay for equal work for women, cancer and heart disease research and the minimum wage. As Chairman on the House Select Committee on Aging, Pepper crusaded for an end to involuntary retirement, strengthened the Social Security system and Medicare, fought age discrimination and pushed for stronger legislation to end abuse of the aging.

TECHNICAL DETAILS

     Issue:     Claude Pepper
     Denomination & Type of Issue:     33-cent Definitive
     Format:     Pane of 20 (1 design)
     Series:     Distinguished Americans
     Issue Date & City:     September 7, 2000, Washington, DC 20066
     Designer:     Richard Sheaff, Scottsdale, AZ
     Engraver:     Banknote Corporation of America, Inc. (BCA)
     Illustrator:     Mark Summers, Waterdown, Ontario
     Art Director:     Richard Sheaff, Scottsdale, AZ
     Typographer:     Richard Sheaff, Scottsdale, AZ
     Modeler:     Banknote Corporation of America, Inc. (BCA)
     Manufacturing Process:     Offset, Intaglio combined
     Printer:     Banknote Corporation of America, Inc. (BCA)
     Printed at:     Browns Summit, NC
     Press Type:     Goebel, 670 Epikos, 5009
     Stamps per Coil/Pane:     20
     Print Quantity:     56 million stamps
     Paper Type:     Pre-phosphored,Type I
     Gum Type:     Water-activated
     Processed at:     BCA, Browns Summit, NC
     Colors:     Offset:Red (PMS 186), Process Black     Intaglio: Black
     Stamp Orientation:     Vertical
     Image Area (w x h):     17.52 x 20.32 mm
     Overall Size (w x h):     21.33 x 25.14 mm
     Full Pane Size (w x h):     128.01 x 125.73 mm
     Plate Size:     240 stamps per revolution
     Plate Numbers:     "B" followed by three (3) single digits
     Marginal Markings: © USPS 1999 - Plate Position Diagram - Price - Barcode