Fwd: E-mail Billing/Say No! Notify your congressman today.

[Carol Z. Logan]

Slightly out of the SEELangs list members' main areas of concern, but FYI,
just in case:

>
>VOTE NO ON Bill 602P!!!!
>
>I 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." Did anyone think of reducing the size
of the Post Office?
>
> 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 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 [Ill.] 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&nb! sp! ; 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 take only 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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