SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Savings in Construc-
tion Act of 1996’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) The Metric Conversion Act of 1975 was en-
acted 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 for-
eign competitors are producing competing products
in non-metric units.
(2) Currently, many Federal agencies are re-
quiring as a condition of obtaining Federal construc-
tion contracts that all bidders must agree to use
products measured in round metric units, materials
which are known as ‘‘hard-metric’’ products. This
can require retooling, substantial capitalization
costs, and other expensive production changes for
some suppliers to physically change the size of the
product.
(3) This ‘‘hard-metric’’ conversion requirement
has sometimes been imposed without appropriate re-
gard to whether that method is impractical or likely
to cause significant costs or a loss of markets to
United States firms.
(4) Some United States businesses that manu-
facture basic construction products suffer harm by
being forced to convert to hard-metric production, or
by being foreclosed from effectively bidding on Fed-
eral or federally assisted projects.
(5) This ‘‘hard-metric’’ conversion requirement
may place domestic producers at a competitive dis-
advantage with respect to foreign producers; may re-
duce the number of companies that may compete for
contracts with the Federal Government; and may
force manufacturers to maintain double inventories
of similar but incompatible products.
(6) This ‘‘hard-metric’’ conversion requirement
has unnecessarily raised the cost to the Government
of some lighting and concrete masonry products and
there is consensus that relief is in order.
(7) While the Metric Conversion Act of 1975
currently provides an exception to metric usage
when impractical or when it will cause economic in-
efficiencies, there is need for ombudsmen and proce-
dures to ensure the effective implementation of the
exceptions.
(8) The changes made by this Act will advance
the goals of the Metric Conversion Act of 1975 while
eliminating significant problems in its implementa-
tion.
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 (7), respectively;
(2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the follow-
ing new paragraph:
‘‘(2) ‘converted product’ means a material or
product that is produced as a result of a hard-metric
conversion;’’;
(3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the follow-
ing new paragraphs:
‘‘(4) ‘hard-metric’ means measurement, design,
and manufacture using the metric system of meas-
urement, but does not include measurement, design,
and manufacture using English system measurement
units which are subsequently reexpressed in the met-
ric system of measurement;
‘‘(5) ‘hard-metric conversion’ means a conver-
sion that requires, in addition to the expression of
the linear 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 prod-
uct established under the system of English meas-
urements in production practices of the appropriate
industry;’’;
(4) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph
(6), as so redesignated by paragraph (1) of this sec-
tion;
(5) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (7), as so redesignated by paragraph (1) of
this section, and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘; and’’;
and
(6) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
‘‘(8) ‘small business’ has the meaning given the
term ‘small business concern’ in section 3 of the
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632).’’.
SEC. 4. IMPLEMENTATION EXCEPTIONS.
The Metric Conversion Act of 1975 (15 U.S.C. 205a
et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 11 the fol-
lowing new section:
‘‘SEC. 12. (a) In carrying out the policy set forth in
section 3 (with particular emphasis on the policy set forth
in paragraph (2) of that section) a Federal agency may
require that specifications for structures or systems of
concrete masonry be expressed under the metric system
of measurement, but may not require that concrete ma-
sonry units be converted products.
‘‘(b) In carrying out the policy set forth in section
3 (with particular emphasis on the policy set forth in para-
graph (2) of that section) a Federal agency may not re-
quire that lighting fixtures be converted products unless
the predominant voluntary industry consensus standards
are hard-metric.’’.
SEC. 5. OMBUDSMAN.
Section 12 of the Metric Conversion Act of 1975, as
added by section 4 of this Act, is further amended by add-
ing at the end the following new subsection:
‘‘(c)(1) The head of each executive agency that
awards construction contracts shall designate a senior
agency official to serve as a construction metrication om-
budsman who shall be responsible for reviewing and re-
sponding to complaints from prospective bidders, sub-
contractors, suppliers, or their designated representatives
related to—
‘‘(A) guidance or regulations issued by the
agency on the use of the metric system of measure-
ment in construction contracts; and
‘‘(B) the use of the metric system of measure-
ment for products or materials required for incorpo-
ration in individual construction projects.
The construction metrication ombudsman shall be inde-
pendent of the contracting officer for construction con-
tracts.
‘‘(2) The ombudsman shall be responsible for ensur-
ing that the agency is not implementing the metric system
of measurement in a manner that is impractical or is likely
to cause significant inefficiencies or loss of markets to
United States firms in violation of the policy stated in sec-
tion 3(2), or is otherwise inconsistent with guidance issued
by the Secretary of Commerce in consultation with the
Interagency Council on Metric Policy.
‘‘(3) The ombudsman shall respond to each complaint
in writing within 30 days and make a recommendation to
the head of the executive agency for an appropriate resolu-
tion thereto. In such a recommendation, the ombudsman
shall consider—
‘‘(A) the availability of converted products and
hard metric production capacity of United States
firms, or lack thereof;
‘‘(B) retooling costs and capital investment im-
pacts;
‘‘(C) the impact on small business;