Currently, the stimulus package is being reconciled by a committee appointed from the House and Senate.
This committee is made up of 10 members and in order to get metric into the package we need to contact them before the bill is reintroduced into the house. The best way to do this is a personal phone call followed by a fax or email. Please do this as soon as you can and pass this note on to your friends and family. Here's the contact details: House: David Obey (D-WI) Phone: +1 (202) 225-3365 Web Form: http://www.obey.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=637&Itemid=187 Charles Rangel (D-NY) Phone: +1 (202) 225-4365 Fax: +1 (202) 225-0816 Web Form(*): http://www.house.gov/rangel/contact.shtml Henry Waxman (D-CA) Phone: +1 (202) 225-3976 Fax: +1 (202) 225-4099 Web Form(*): http://www.henrywaxman.house.gov/contact.htm Dave Camp (R-MI) Phone: +1 (202) 225-3561 Fax: +1 (202) 225-9679 Web Form(*): http://camp.house.gov/WriteRep.aspx Jerry Lewis (R-CA) Phone: +1 (202) 225-5861 Fax: +1 (202) 225-6498 Web Form: http://www.house.gov/jerrylewis/IMA/WritetoRepresentativeLewis.htm Senate: Harry Reid (D-NV) Phone: +1 (202) 224-3542 Fax: +1 (202) 224-7327 Web Form: http://reid.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm Max Baucus (D-MT) Phone: +1 (202) 224-2651 Fax: +1 (202) 224-9412 Web Form: http://baucus.senate.gov/contact/emailForm.cfm?subj=issue Daniel Inouye (D-HI) Phone: +1 (202) 224-3934 Fax: +1 (202) 224-6747 Web Form: http://inouye.senate.gov/abtform.html Thad Cochran (R-MS) Phone: +1 (202) 224-5054 Web Form: http://cochran.senate.gov/contact.htm Chuck Grassley (R-IA) Phone: +1 (202) 224-3744 Web Form: http://grassley.senate.gov/contact.cfm A * indicates email is only accepted if you live in the district Talking points: * Moving to metric would provide a solid stimulus for the economy and get rid of the dual measurement drag for the future. * We can improve exports if we use the measurement system everyone else expects (and there are many countries, of which the number is increasing, that forbid non-metric measurements for labeling and sometimes entirely). * Education has enough issues without having to deal with multiple measurement systems. * We can no longer afford to waste money just to be different. Examples include $360 million on a mars probe which crashed because of a measurement mix up, $25,000 on carbon credits for congress because they attempted to purchase in customary tons instead of the global market standard of metric tonnes. Requests: * Require that new infrastructure built with the stimulus package is done exclusively using metric measures * An joint industry/government board be setup to oversee the conversion to metric * That we have a solid plan by the end of the year that specifies how we will be 95% metric within 5 years and 100% metric in 10 years. * Government departments that have had a plan to fo metric in the past implement that plan within 2 years if they have not done so already. Departments that have flipped between the two systems must be fully metric by the end of 2010. * Education requirements be changed to teach metric exclusively. Get rid of the requirement to teach customary units. Calls for metrication in the news: * http://cjcs.com/tib/2469/president-obama-give-us-a-yard-and-well-take-a-meter/ * http://www.emporiagazette.com/news/2009/jan/31/convert_and_be_saved/ -- End dual-measurement, let's finish going metric! http://gometric.us/ http://www.metric.org/
