[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2779 Introduced in House (IH)]


104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2779

     To provide for soft-metric conversion, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 14, 1995

  Mr. Cox of California (for himself, Mr. Hefner, Mr. Chambliss, Mr. 
Forbes, Mr. Goodlatte, Mr. Hilleary, Mr. Jones, Mr. Latham, Mr. Linder, 
Mr. Rohrabacher, Mr. Shadegg, Mr. Spratt, Mr. Taylor of North Carolina, 
 and Mr. Wicker) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                        the Committee on Science

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To provide for soft-metric conversion, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Savings in Construction Act of 
1995''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Metric Conversion Act of 1975 was enacted in order 
        to set forth the policy of the United States to convert to the 
        metric system. Section 3 of that Act requires that each Federal 
        agency use the metric system of measurement in its 
        procurements, grants and other business related activities, 
        unless that use is likely to cause significant cost or loss of 
        markets to United States firms, such as when foreign 
        competitors are producing competing products in non-metric 
        units.
            (2) Currently, many Federal construction contracting 
        officers are requiring as a condition of obtaining Federal 
        contracts that all bidders must agree to use products measured 
        in round metric units, materials which are known as ``hard-
        metric'' products. This requires retooling, substantial 
        capitalization costs, and other expensive production changes 
        for most construction firms and suppliers to physically change 
        the size of the product.
            (3) This ``hard-metric'' conversion requirement is often 
        being imposed only for the purpose of achieving rounded 
        numbers, and without regard to whether that method is 
        impractical or likely to cause significant costs or a loss of 
        markets to United States firms.
            (4) United States businesses that manufacture basic 
        construction products suffer great upheaval by being forced to 
        either convert to hard-metric production, or be foreclosed from 
        effectively bidding on Federal or federally assisted projects.
            (5) This ``hard-metric'' conversion requirement places 
        domestic producers at a competitive disadvantage with respect 
        to foreign producers; reduces the number of companies that may 
        compete for contracts with the Federal Government; and forces 
        manufacturers to maintain double inventories of similar but 
        incompatible products.
            (6) This ``hard-metric'' conversion requirement raises the 
        cost to taxpayers of Federal construction projects, since the 
        Federal Government is often required to pay additional costs, 
        known as a ``metric premium,'' to procure hard-metric products.
            (7) ``Soft-metric'' conversion would be a less costly and 
        less intrusive way of meeting the goals of Section 3 of the 
        Metric Conversion Act of 1975. The product itself would remain 
        the same size; its dimensions simply would be expressed in 
        metric units.
            (8) As the application of the soft-metric conversion 
        mandates no change in the size of the product, the goals of the 
        Metric Conversion Act of 1975 will be achieved without 
        excessive economic upheaval.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    Section 4 of the Metric Conversion Act of 1975 (15 U.S.C. 205c) is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) as 
        paragraphs (3), (6), and (8), respectively;
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following new 
        paragraph:
            ``(2) `domestic manufacturer' means a manufacturer at least 
        51 percent of whose production occurs in the United States;'';
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (3), as so redesignated by 
        paragraph (1) of this section, the following new paragraphs:
            ``(4) `hard-metric product' means a material or product 
        that is--
                    ``(A) produced as a result of a hard-metric 
                conversion; or
                    ``(B) identical to a material or product described 
                in subparagraph (A), although originally produced in 
                metric-based dimensions;
            ``(5) `hard-metric conversion' means a conversion that 
        requires, in addition to the expression of the dimensions of a 
        product under the metric system of measurement, a physical 
        change in the size of that product relative to the size of that 
        product established under existing production practices of the 
        appropriate industry;'';
            (4) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (6), as so 
        redesignated by paragraph (1) of this section;
            (5) by inserting after paragraph (6), as so redesignated by 
        paragraph (1) of this section, the following new paragraph:
            ``(7) `industry' has the meaning provided that term by the 
        Board by regulation;'';
            (6) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (8), as 
        so redesignated by paragraph (1) of this section, and inserting 
        in lieu thereof a semicolon; and
            (7) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
            ``(9) `soft-metric product' means a material or product 
        that is produced as a result of a soft-metric conversion;
            ``(10) `soft-metric conversion' means a conversion that 
        requires the expression of the dimensions of a product under 
        the metric system of measurement without changing the physical 
        size of the product relative to the size of that product 
        established under existing production practices of the 
        appropriate industry; and
            ``(11) `small business' means a business that would be a 
        small business under the Standard Industrial Classification 
        codes and size standards in section 121.601 of title 13 of the 
        Code of Federal Regulations as in effect on the date of the 
        enactment of this paragraph.''.

SEC. 4. METRIC CONVERSION.

    Section 12 of the Metric Conversion Act of 1975 (15 U.S.C. 205j-1) 
is amended by striking subsection (b) and inserting in lieu thereof the 
following new subsections:
    ``(b) No agency of the Federal Government may develop, implement, 
or continue the use of construction design or procurement guidelines 
that require the use of a hard-metric product if a majority of the 
contracts that would be proposed pursuant to such guidelines would be 
likely to result in a certification described in subsection (c)(3)(A).
    ``(c) No agency of the Federal Government may establish or apply a 
bidding requirement or preference with respect to any federally 
assisted construction contract that specifies the use of a hard-metric 
product if--
            ``(1) the use of soft-metric product is technologically 
        feasible; and
            ``(2) an appropriate representative (as selected pursuant 
        to subsection (d) of the industry that manufactures the 
        product) notifies the agency, within 30 days after enactment of 
        this Act, that the representative makes certification or 
        intends to make certification under paragraph (3)(A); and 
        either--
            ``(3) the certification establishes or will establish 
        that--
                    ``(A) such industry-specific or product-specific 
                factors exist that--
                            ``(i)(I) the product is not readily 
                        available as a hard-metric product from 50 
                        percent or more of the domestic manufacturers 
                        in the United States; or
                            ``(II) a hard-metric product does not 
                        constitute 50 percent or more of the total 
                        production of that product by that industry;
                            ``(ii) a hard-metric conversion would 
                        require domestic manufacturers that are small 
                        businesses that produce the product to incur 
                        capital outlays in an average amount greater 
                        than $25,000 per manufacturer to invest in new 
                        equipment to produce a hard-metric product; and
                            ``(iii)(I) based on the economic situation 
                        and customs of the industry, any potential 
                        offsetting benefits that could be achieved by 
                        that industry by carrying out a hard metric 
                        conversion to produce that product would be 
                        negligible or
                            ``(II) hard metric conversion would 
                        substantially reduce competition for Federal 
                        contracts and increase by 1 percent or more the 
                        per unit cost of that product; or
                            ``(III) hard metric conversion would create 
                        a special hardship with respect to domestic 
                        manufacturers that are small businesses by 
                        placing those manufacturers at a competitive 
                        disadvantage with respect to foreign 
                        competitors; or
            ``(4) less that 180 days have elapsed after the appropriate 
        representative has been notified of a proposed contract 
        specifying hard-metric product.
    ``(d) The head of each agency of the Federal Government shall 
establish a list of appropriate representatives of each industry that 
may make a certification under subsection (c)(3)(A). The agency head 
shall update that list on an annual basis. The list shall include 
appropriate professional or trade associations that are recognized as 
representing the industries.
    ``(e) When an appropriate representative submits a certification 
under subsection (c)(3)(A), the representative shall also submit a list 
of domestic manufacturers that have the capability to manufacture the 
product that is the subject of the certification as a soft-metric 
product.''.
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