NEW LAW: POST OFFICE WANTS TO CHARGE US 5 CENTS FOR EACH EMAIL SENT
Federal Bill 602P wants 5-cents per E-mail sent. No more free E-mail! We
knew this was coming!! Bill 602P will permit the Federal Government to
charge a 5-cent 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 0,000,000
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 0 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 "- 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 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!