> Dear Group, I have just received this message regarding proposed bill for > e-mail charges. I don't know if there is any truth to it or not but > considered it worth passing along. > > Subject: VOTE NO ON Bill 602P > 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 noninterference. 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 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 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! > > >