WASHINGTON — House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) is trying to dispel a myth that there is a bill in Congress to implement an e-mail surcharge.
The best proof there is no proposal pending is that the rumor refers to a bill numbered 602P. "In fact, there is no such bill. There is no such number," Frank's Web site (www.house.gov/frank) states. The form 602P apparently refers to the form in which legislation is proposed in the Parliament of Canada. In the United States, bills are called either S.602 or H.R.602, standing obviously for Senate or House of Representatives. And I assure you that neither S.602 nor H.R.602 have anything to do with the Internet tax."
Additionally, he pointed out, there is no Congressman Tony Schnell, who is supposedly sponsoring the bill. Though he said he does not understand it, Frank said, someone is just playing a joke to get people agitated. "I understand why people would be agitated, because such a tax would be outrageous, and in fact it would be so outrageous that there is zero chance of it being imposed," he said.
Recommended For You
Frank concluded, "So I cannot promise you to vote against the bill, because no bill will exist to vote on, but I can promise you that I will vote against any effort to impose an e-mail tax if one is put forward, and I can also promise you that no such proposal will ever surface or be taken seriously if it does."
Similar messages appear on the U.S. Postal Service Web site, Department of Energy and others.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
