>Subject: Federal bill 602p
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>
>Hello All and Happy New Year!
>Please view this and do whatever you are lead to do.
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>
> Information on the Federal Bill 602P  -  5 cents charge per E-mail sent.
>
>
> Federal Bill 602p
>
> 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
> 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!
>
> 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!
>