WRITE YOUR REPRESENTATIVES!!!!
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VOTE NO ON Bill 602P!!!!
I guess the warnings were true. Federal Bill 602P 5-cents per E-mail
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 o stay on-line 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
the 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."
Through E-mail people can keep in touch with those they may not normally
send a letter to or contact otherwise!
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 $0.50
(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. 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" - Mar 6th, 1999
-Editorial.
Do not sit by and watch your freedom erode away! Send this E-mail to
EVERYONE on your list, and tell all your friends and relatives to
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!
Thank you!!!
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