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> Subject:   Vote NO on Bill602P
>
> 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 non-interference.  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!
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> _________________________________________________________________
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>