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<img src="https://www.wikispaces.com/site/embedthumbnail/file/112th%20Congress.doc?h=52&w=320" class="WikiFile" id="wikitext@@file@@112th Congress.doc" title="File: 112th Congress.doc" width="320" height="52" />METRIC SYSTEM 
 
Section I: Title 
<a href="http://apgovbill.wikispaces.com/file/view/112th%20Congress.doc">112th Congress.doc</a> ...still need to come up with a name for the bill &quot;more efficient transition to regulate international commerce&quot; 
 
Section II: Findings (reasons why we need the bill) 
 
Section III: Definitions 
 
Section IV: Implementation (how) 
 
 
 
 
112th Congress 
 
1st Session 
 
S. 287 
 
To establish the use of the metric system throughout the United States by implementing changes of all physical objects and educational teachings pertaining to the American Customary System to the Metric System. 
 
IN THE SENATE 
 
June 2, 2010 
 
Mr. BASIC, Mr. COLOMBO, Mr. ERCOLE, and Mr. SOLOMON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology within the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. 
 
 
To establish the use of the metric system throughout the United States by implementing changes of all physical objects and educational teachings pertaining to the American Customary System to the Metric System. 
 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
 
Section I. 
 
This Act may be cited as the ‘M.E.T.R.I.C. Act’ or the ‘More Efficient Transition To Regulate International Commerce Act’. 
 
Section II. 
 
The United States is at a disadvantage with foreign trade because of the use of Imperial Units. In order for products, especially food and beverage, to sell on the foreign markets, it is essential that they are marked with metric units. Therefore companies that produce goods in America and wish to send products for sale in foreign nations must use metric units on their labels. The problem is if they would like to also sell that product within the United States, they must also use imperial units of measure. This crowds packaging and as a result companies that produce food and beverage that is sold both domestic and abroad often produce two separate packages – this is costly and inconvenient for business. 
The metric system has also become the measuring units for science around the world. Metric units are more easily converted and more universal than imperial units. As a result, most scientists within the United States are familiar with the metric system. However, problems with the two systems of measurement coexisting in American science arise. For example, the Mars Climate Orbiter, launched by NASA in 1998, crashed upon arrival at Mars the following September because the navigation system used both imperial and metric units. 
The Omnibus Foreign Trade and Competitiveness Act requires most federal bureaucracies to use the metric system and file a report every year about their progress in implementing the metric system. Construction and transportation has been exempted from converting to the metric system and there is no mandate on the private sector to use the metric system so efforts to convert the United States to the metric system have been only partially successful. 
 
Section III. 
The metric system is an international decimalized system of measurement, which is the common system of measuring units used by most of the world. Since the 1960s the International System of Units has been the internationally recognized standard metric system. Metric units are widely used around the world for personal, commercial and scientific purposes. A standard set of prefixes in powers of ten may be used to derive larger and smaller units from the base units. The International System of Units is the official system of measurement for all nations except for Myanmar, Liberia, and the United States. 
<img src="http://www.sciencegeek.net/Wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/MetricMap1.jpg" alt="" title="" style="height: 331px; width: 742px;" /> 
(a) 
The following units are considered metric or S.I. units: radian (angles), steradian (solid), degrees celcius (temperature), farad (electric capacitance), coulomb (electric charge), siemens (electric conductance), henry (electric inductance), volt (electromotive force), ohm (electric resistance), joule (energy), newton (force), hertz (frequency), lux (illuminance), lumen (luminous flux), weber (magnetic flux), tesla (magnetic flux density), watt (power), pascal (pressure), becquerel (activity), gray (specific energy imparted), sievert (dose equivalent), kelvin (temperature), calorie (energy), meter (length), second (time), gram (mass), mole (number of particles), ampere (electric current), and the candela (luminous intensity). Note, units of time that are comprised of seconds, for example minutes, hours, days, and years, are acceptable units of time. 
(b) 
The units mentioned in III (a) may be used with scientific notation or specified metric prefixes. These include but are not limited to: 
Yotta (1 x 10^24), zetta (1 x 10^21), exa (1 x 10^18), peta (1 x 10^15), tera (1 x 10^12), giga (1 x 10^9), mega (1 x 10^6), kilo(1 x 10^3), hecto (1 x 10^2), deka (1 x 10^1), decid (1 x 10^-1), centi (1 x 10^-2), milli (1 x 10^-3), micro (1 x 10^-6), nano (1 x 10^-9), pico(1 x 10^-12), femto (1 x 10^-15), atto (1 x 10^-18), zepto (1 x 10^-21), and yocto (1 x 10^-24). In honor of his excellent service to the Penfield Central School District, Congress would like to honor Paul Gabbey by officially defining a &quot;gabba&quot; (pronounced gab-ah) as the metric prefix for 
1 x 10^-25. 
(c) 
Any unit comprised of the units mentioned in III (a), by multiplication or division is also a metric unit. For example, a kilogram multiplied by a meter divided by one second is a measure of momentum. These may also include the prefixes as mentioned in III (b). 
(d) 
A road sign in need of metric reform is any road sign or signal that uses an imperial units of measure without also listing the S.I. unit. These include but are not limited to speed limit signs that measure speed in miles per hour, mile markers that do not specify kilometers, or weight limit signs that do not specify a metric unit. 
(e) 
An approved metric road sign is a road sign or signal that uses an S.I. unit mentioned in III (a) and may or may not include imperial units. The preferred unit for speed is kilometers per hour, the preferred unit of distance is kilometers, and the preferred unit of weight for road signs is tons unless kilograms is more appropriate. 
 
Section IV. 
 
(a) 
The implementation of the bill will require the payment from the United States government to the department of transportation for the replacement of road signs in need of metric reform with approved metric road signs. The United States Department of Transportation will be granted $5 million to research how many road signs there are in this country that are in need of metric reform as described in III (d) and the cost of replacing these road signs with approved metric road signs as described in III (e). The Senate and House of Representatives will create a joint committee of 10 members of each house called the M.E.T.R.I.C. Act Committee which will oversee this research. The D.O.T. must conduct their research by April 1, 2011 and report their findings to the M.E.T.R.I.C. Act Committee for approval. If the M.E.T.R.I.C. Act Committee approves of the cost of replacing the signs, Congress will appropriate the corresponding dollar amount for the replacement of signs in need of metric reform. As of June 1, 2011, all new road signs and signals must be metric approved road signs. 
(b) 
All nutrition and drug labels must use metric units as defined in III (a) - the Food and Drug Administration will oversee conversion of labels to metric. Any company that produces a product required by law to have a nutrition or drug label that does not adhere to the new policy by January 1, 2012 will be subject to up to a $10 thousand fine and any products produced after January 1, 2012 that do not meet metric requirements are not to be sold. 
(c) 
The Buffalo Bills are to receive the first pick in the NFL draft along with their normal draft picks until they make the playoffs. 
(d) 
All public institutions of education must include the metric system in their curriculum by January 1, 2012 or they will be forced to surrender all federal aid. 
(e) 
States are mandated to have proper metric learning materials and certified teachers by September 1, 2013, incorporating the costs of the aforementioned requirements into their respective state budgets, without the use of federal funds.