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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 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 bill we do not want.
Please forward!