This was E-mailed to me yesterday -nothing added by me (it doesn't seem very current, but I've not heard of it before (ignorance is bliss, I guess):

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 that 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 per 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.

One congressional representative, Tony Schnell, has even suggested a "$20-$40 per month surcharge on all Internet service" above and beyond the government's 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.

(On a related[?] note, the following was also E-mailed to me recently):

Can you imagine working for a company that has a little more than 500 employees and has the following statistics?

*29 have been accused of spousal abuse *7 have been arrested for fraud *19 have been accused of writing bad checks *117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least two business *3 have done time for assault *71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit *14 have been arrested on drug-related charges *8 have been arrested for shoplifting *21 are currently defendants in lawsuits *84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year

Can you guess which organization this is? It's the 535 members of the United States Congress. The same group of idiots that crank out hundreds of new laws each year designed to keep the rest of us in line.

-- Bonnie (chilton@stateline-isp.com), March 22, 2001

Answers

This is another one of thoes urban legends. To find out all about it (and many others) go here: http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/pending/email.htm

-- Julie (julieamc@excite.com), March 22, 2001.

Yeah... I've been hearing this one for years... Really was a discussion, but never made it into writing.... let alone to be voted on.....

-- Sue Diederich (willow666@rocketmail.com), March 22, 2001.

HOAX!

-- Brad (homefixer@SacoRiver.net), March 22, 2001.

Gosh! I sure hope this is a HOAX. I was getting upset, for sure! If a law such as this did pass, it would be so disheartening to many folks that the internet and email helps get thru a day of loneliness.****I would just do without...and go back to the "old days',,, phone and a letter once every 3 months or so...I am so sick of "greed",,,I try to think positive, but at times it is hard,,,

-- Patsy, MT (cozyhollow-gal@care2.com), March 22, 2001.

The first half is a hoax. There isnt even such a person as a congressman schnell...

The second half about criminals in office unfortunately was true during the last session (or was it the one previous already?).

-- William in Wi (gnarledmaw@lycos.com), March 28, 2001.