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!