Federal Bill 602P-Mail Charge

Guess the warnings were true. Federal Bill 602P charges 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!