Federal bill 602p...ever heard of it ???

[mccbridge]

I got this in an e-mail this morning I have never heard of such thing and I thought this was very interesting.....What are your comments?

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.

[tasker109]

that is so stupid. considering how much junk mail i get in my regular mailbox everyday....they have quite enough to keep them busy. i think i would just stick to icq and other IMs to keep in touch. start using 800 numbers from websites to order stuff. theres ways around everything. if its a viable charge, i could understand but why punish us and charge for something they dont have anything to do with??

[QueenBee24752]

This one is a cetified hoax gang. I visited this website and found an article debunking the hoax. Hope this helps! [Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]

E-mail Tax Hoax
May 1999

Here's a rewrite of the internet charge hoax.

The U. S. Postal service has published a disclaimer on their website. This one includes a disclaimer by 'The Washingtonian' at [Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now] If you search the U. S. House of Representatives Web site [Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now] you get hundreds (thousands?) of links addressing this hoax.

********
Dear Internet Subscriber: 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 your use of the Internet. Under proposed legislation (Bill 602P) the U.S. Postal service will be attempting to bilk email users out of "alternative postage fees". Bill 602P will permit the Federal Govt. to charge 5 cents surcharge on every email delivered, by billing Internet Service Providers at source. The consumer would then be billed inturn by the ISP. Washington D.C. lawyer Richard Stepp is working without pay to prevent this legislation from becoming law. The U.S. Postal Service is
claiming that lost revenue due to the proliferation of email is costing nearly $230,000,000 in revenue per year. You may have noticed the recent ad campaign "There is nothing like a letter". Since the average citizen received about 10 pieces of email per day in 1998, the cost to the typical individual would be an additional 50 cents per day, or over $180 per year, above and beyond their regular Internet costs. Note that this would be money paid directly to the U.S. Postal Service for a service
they do not even provide. The whole point of the Internet is democracy and non-inerference. If the Federal Govt. is permitted to tamper with our liberties by adding a surcharge to e-mail, who knows where it will end. 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 New York to Buffalo. If the U.S. Postal Service is allowed to tinker with email, it will mark the end of the 'free' Internet in the United States. One congressman, Tony Schnell (R) has even suggested a "twenty to forty dollar per month surcharge on all Internet service" above and beyond the government's proposed email
charges. Note that most of the major newspapers have ignored the story, the only exception being the Washingtonian which called the idea of email surcharge "a useful concept whose time has come" (March 6th 1999 Editorial) Don't sit by and watch your freedoms erode away! Send this email to all Americans on your list and tell your friends and relatives to write their congressman and say "No!" to Bill 602P Kate Turner assistant to Richard Stepp Berger, Stepp and Gorman Attorneys at Law 216 Concorde Street, Vienna, VA.********

[mccbridge]

I hope this is a hoax Because if it isn't and this bill passed....Well let me tell you I would offline FAST

thanks for posting that link.

[Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]

[aprilgail]

Originally posted by mccbridge
I hope this is a hoax Because if it isn't and this bill passed....Well let me tell you I would offline FAST

thanks for posting that link.

[Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]

I have been online about 7 years now and since the DAY I logged on that hoax has been going around!

[buckeyemomma]

every year this gets passed around! I have got so I ignore it.