Sent: Tuesday, September 05, 2000 12:28 AM Subject: email charge??? > Subject: E-Mail News > > > > VOTE NO ON Bill 602P!!!! > > I 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 > non-interference. > You are already paying an exorbitant price for snail > mail because of bureaucratic efficiency. 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. > > Our congressional representative, Tony Schnell (R) has > even suggested a "$20-$40 per month surcharge on all > Internet service" above and beyond the government's > 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 to E-mail to EVERYONE on your list, and tell all > your friends and relatives write their congressional > representative and say "NO" to Bill 602P. It > will only take a few moments of your time and could > very well be instrumental in killing a bill we do not > want. > > Please forward!