Subject: Federal Bill #602 Warning
Guess the warnings were true. Federal
Bill 602P 5-cents per E-mail sent. It
figures! No more free E-mail! We knew
this was coming!! Bill 602P will permit
the Federal Government to charge a
5-cent charge on every delivered E-mail..
Please read the following carefully if you
intend to stay online and continue using
E-mail. The last few months have
revealed an alarming trend in the
Government of the United States
attempting to quietly push through
legislation that will affect our use of the
Internet.
Under proposed legislation, the US
Postal Service will be attempting to bill
E-mail users out of "alternative postage
fees."
Bill 602P will permit the Federal
Government to charge a 5-cent
surcharge on every e-mail delivered, by
billing Internet Service Providers at
source. The consumer would then be
billed in turn by the ISP.
Washington DC lawyer Richard Stepp is
working without pay to prevent this
legislation from becoming law.
The US Postal Service is claiming lost
revenue, due to the proliferation of
E-mail, is costing nearly $230,000,000 in
revenue per year. You may have noticed
their recent ad campaign: "There is
nothing like a letter."
Since the average person received about
10 pieces of E-mail per day in 1998, the
cost of the typical individual would be an
additional 50 cents a day -- or over $180
per year -- above and beyond their
regular Internet costs.
Note that this would be money paid
directly to the US Postal Service for a
service they do not even provide.
The whole point of the Internet is
democracy and noninterference. You are
already paying an exorbitant price for
snail mail because of bureaucratic
inefficiency. It currently takes up to 6
days for a letter to be delivered from
coast to coast. If the US Postal Service
is allowed to tinker with E-mail, it will
mark the end of the "free" Internet in the
United States.
Congressional representative, Tony
Schnell (R) has even suggested a
"$20-$40 per month surcharge on all
Internet service" above and beyond the
governments proposed E-mail charges.
Note that most of the major newspapers
have ignored the story the only
exception being the Washingtonian
which called the idea of E-mail
surcharge "a useful concept who's time
has come" (March 6th, 1999 Editorial).
Do not sit by and watch your freedom
erode away!
Send this E-mail to EVERYONE on your
list, and tell all your friends and relatives
to write their congressional
representative and say "NO" to Bill 602
It will only take a few moments of your
time and could very well be instrumental
in killing a bill we do not want.
Jerry
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