For the benefit of Al Lawrence and other newcomers, read below:
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Gene,
You are correct in your understanding of the situation.
Any proposal to amend laws can only come out of Commerce at the
highest levels which means we have to wait until a new Secretary of
Commerce is confirmed and then wait for a new NIST Director to be
appointed and confirmed. After that we have to wait for the agency to
request proposed legislative action which will not occur in the
foreseeable future for any number of reasons not the least of which is
that NIST will receive about $500 million under the stimulus law
signed this week and the new Director and everyone else will be
scrambling to get that money spent.
NIST also lost its General Counsel last month and that position is
vacant. The GC has to review and approve all proposed legislation so
we are essentially going to have to start all over again to justify
the proposed legislation.
Also, the Food Marketing Institute continues to maintain their
opposition to the proposed FPLA amendment and they said at a meeting
last fall that they would not reconsider. I doubt that Congress will
consider or adopt the proposed amendment to FPLA until FMI changes its
position.
The USMA and its members are free to move communicate their views on
metric but, given the change in administration and knowing that we
will have to go through a long review and approval process up the
chain of command I cannot give you any assurances of if or when the
FPLA proposed ammendment might be introduced.
Sorry that I cannot provide a more positive outlook but the economy
and other issues of national importance are dominating Congress's
attention as well as that of the Executive Branch.
Ken Butcher
Quoting [email protected]:
Dear Ken,
Some members of the USMA e-mail forum want to begin an intensive
campaign to persuade members of Congress to support the NIST draft
Amendment to the FPLA.
I expressed my opinion that NIST is not likely to push the Amendment
until the new Secretary of Commerce is confirmed.
Assuming that that is true, how soon after confirmation does NIST
(and the DoC) hope to submit the Amendment to Congress?
What is the time line for advancing the Amendment?
Who in the Congress are present sponsors of the Amendment?
When will public advocacy of the Amendment to members of Congress be
most effective?
Sincerely,
Eugene (Gene) Mechtly
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