Reach Out and Tax Someone

Your Internet connection could get just a little more expensive if two members of Congress have their way. Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., and Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., have introduced a bill that would impose federal fees on Voice Over IP and broadband services that would go into the Universal Service Fund. Telephone companies, wireless providers, and paging companies already must pay into that fund, which subsidizes phone service in rural areas and pays for Internet connections in schools and libraries.