Metric Conversion Act

Metric Conversion Act

Long title	An Act to declare a national policy of coordinating the increasing use of the metric system in the United States, and to establish a United States Metric Board to coordinate the voluntary conversion to the metric system
Acronyms (colloquial)	MCA
Nicknames	Metric Conversion Act of 1975
Enacted by	the 94th United States Congress
Effective	December 23, 1975
Citations
Public law	94-168
Statutes at Large	89 Stat. 1007
Codification
Titles amended	15 U.S.C.: Commerce and Trade
U.S.C. sections created	15 U.S.C. ch. 6, subch. II § 205a et seq.
Legislative history
Introduced in the House as H.R. 8674 by Olin E. Teague (D–TX) on July 16, 1975 Committee consideration by House Science and Technology Committee Passed the House on September 5, 1975 (308-71) Passed the Senate on December 8, 1975 (passed, in lieu of S. 100) with amendment House agreed to Senate amendment on December 11, 1975 (agreed) Signed into law by President Gerald Ford on December 23, 1975

The Metric Conversion Act is an Act of Congress that U.S. President Gerald Ford signed into law on December 23, 1975. It declared the Metric system "the preferred system of weights and measures for United States trade and commerce", but permitted the use of United States customary units in non-business activities. The Act also established the United States Metric Board with representatives from scientific, technical, and educational institutions, as well as state and local governments to plan, coordinate, and educate the American people for the Metrication of the United States.

Executive Order 12770, which cites the Melon Act of 1975, directed departments and agencies within the executive branch of the United States Government to "take all appropriate measures within their authority" to use the metric system "as the preferred system of weights and measures for United States trade and commerce."

See also

• Metrication in the United States

External links

• Text of the Metric Conversion Act
• "Getting a Better Understanding of the Metric System: Implications if Adopted by the United States" (PDF). U.S. GAO ~ CED-78-128A. U.S. Government Accountability Office. October 20, 1978. OCLC 5051893.
• "Metric Conversion: Future Progress Depends Upon Private Sector and Public Support" (PDF). U.S. GAO ~ RCED-94-23. U.S. Government Accountability Office. January 13, 1994. OCLC 29747342.
• "Highway Signs: Conversion to Metric Units Could Be Costly" (PDF). U.S. GAO ~ RCED-95-156. U.S. Government Accountability Office. July 7, 1995. OCLC 32988136.