15 U.S.C. § 205b — Declaration of policy

Page 636 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 205b 1 So in original. Probably should be followed by a closing parenthesis. 2 So in original. Probably should be ‘‘Veterans’’. (2) management oversight of department or agency outreach and response to inquiries and questions from affected parties during the transition to metric system usage; and (3) management oversight of preparation of the de- partment’s or agency’s metric transition plans and progress reports, including the Annual Metric Report required by 15 U.S.C. 205j and OMB Circular A–11. (4) preparation by June 30, 1992, of an assessment of agency progress and problems, together with rec- ommendations for steps to assure successful implemen- tation of the Metric Conversion Act. The assessment and recommendations shall be approved by the head of the department or agency and provided to the Sec- retary by June 30, 1992, for inclusion in the Secretary’s October 1, 1992, report on implementation of this order. SEC. 3. Application of Resources. The head of each exec- utive department and agency shall be responsible for implementing and applying the necessary resources to accomplish the goals set forth in the Metric Conversion Act and this order. SEC. 4. Judicial Review. This order is intended only to improve the internal management of the executive branch and is not intended to create any right or ben- efit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by a party against the United States, its agencies, its offi- cers, or any other person. GEORGE BUSH. § 205b. Declaration of policy It is therefore the declared policy of the United States— (1) to designate the metric system of meas- urement as the preferred system of weights and measures for United States trade and commerce; (2) to require that each Federal agency, by a date certain and to the extent economically feasible by the end of the fiscal year 1992, use the metric system of measurement in its pro- curements, grants, and other business-related activities, except to the extent that such use is impractical or is likely to cause significant inefficiencies or loss of markets to United States firms, such as when foreign competi- tors are producing competing products in non- metric units; (3) to seek out ways to increase under- standing of the metric system of measurement through educational information and guidance and in Government publications; and (4) to permit the continued use of traditional systems of weights and measures in non-busi- ness activities. (Pub. L. 94–168, § 3, Dec. 23, 1975, 89 Stat. 1007; Pub. L. 100–418, title V, § 5164(b), Aug. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 1452.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1988—Pub. L. 100–418 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section read as follows: ‘‘It is therefore declared that the policy of the United States shall be to coordinate and plan the increasing use of the metric system in the United States and to establish a United States Metric Board to coordinate the voluntary con- version to the metric system.’’ Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries IMPLEMENTATION OF METRIC USAGE IN FEDERAL GOVERNMENT Secretary of Commerce designated to direct and co- ordinate implementation of Government metric usage, see section 1 of Ex. Ord. No. 12770, July 25, 1991, 56 F.R. 35801, set out as a note under section 205a of this title. § 205c. Definitions As used in this subchapter, the term— (1) ‘‘Board’’ means the United States Metric Board, established under section 205d of this title; (2) ‘‘engineering standard’’ means a standard which prescribes (A) a concise set of condi- tions and requirements that must be satisfied by a material, product, process, procedure, convention, or test method; and (B) the phys- ical, functional, performance and/or conform- ance characteristics thereof; (3) ‘‘international standard or recommenda- tion’’ means an engineering standard or rec- ommendation which is (A) formulated and pro- mulgated by an international organization and (B) recommended for adoption by indi- vidual nations as a national standard; (4) ‘‘metric system of measurement’’ means the International System of Units as estab- lished by the General Conference of Weights and Measures in 1960 and as interpreted or modified for the United States by the Sec- retary of Commerce; (5) ‘‘full and open competition’’ has the same meaning as defined in section 107 of title 41; (6) ‘‘total installed price’’ means the price of purchasing a product or material, trimming or otherwise altering some or all of that product or material, if necessary to fit with other building components, and then installing that product or material into a Federal facility; (7) ‘‘hard-metric’’ means measurement, de- sign, and manufacture using the metric sys- tem of measurement, but does not include measurement, design, and manufacture using English system measurement units which are subsequently reexpressed in the metric system of measurement; (8) ‘‘cost or pricing data or price analysis’’ has the meaning given such terms in section 3501(a) of title 41; and (9) ‘‘Federal facility’’ means any public building (as defined under section 3301(a) of title 40 1 and shall include any Federal build- ing or construction project— (A) on lands in the public domain; (B) on lands used in connection with Fed- eral programs for agriculture research, recreation, and conservation programs; (C) on or used in connection with river, harbor, flood control, reclamation, or power projects; (D) on or used in connection with housing and residential projects; (E) on military installations (including any fort, camp, post, naval training station, airfield, proving ground, military supply depot, military school, or any similar facil- ity of the Department of Defense); (F) on installations of the Department of Veteran 2 Affairs used for hospital or domi- ciliary purposes; or (G) on lands used in connection with Fed- eral prisons,