110 STAT. 3414 PUBLIC LAW 104-289—OCT. 11, 1996 "(d) LIMITATION.—The provisions of subsections (b) and (c) of this section shall not apply to Federal contracts to acquire construction products for the construction of facilities outside of the United States and its territories. "(e) EXPIRATION.— The provisions contained in subsections (b) and (c) of this section shall expire 10 years from the effective date of the Savings in Construction Act of 1996.". SEC. 5. OMBUDSMAN. Section 14 of the Metric Conversion Act of 1975, as added by section 4 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: Contracts. "(f) AGENCY OMBUDSMAN.— (1) The head of each executive agency that awards construction contracts within the United States and its territories shall designate a senior agency official to serve as a construction metrication ombudsman who shall be responsible for reviewing and responding to complaints from prospective bidders, subcontractors, suppliers, or their designated representatives related to— "(A) guidance or regulations issued by the agency on the use of the metric system of measurement in contracts for the construction of Federal buildings; and "(B) the use of the metric system of measurement for services and materials required for incorporation in individual projects to construct Federal buildings. The construction metrication ombudsman shall be independent of the contracting officer for construction contracts. "(2) The ombudsman shall be responsible for ensuring that the agency is not implementing the metric system of measurement in a manner that is impractical or is likely to cause significant inefficiencies or loss of markets to United States firms in violation of the policy stated in section 3(2), or is otherwise inconsistent with guidance issued by the Secretary of Commerce in consultation with the Interagency Council on Metric Policy while ensuring that the goals of the Metric Conversion Act of 1975 are observed. "(3) The ombudsman shall respond to each complaint in writing within 60 days and make a recommendation to the head of the executive agency for an appropriate resolution thereto. In such a recommendation, the ombudsman shall consider— "(A) whether the agency is adequately applying the policies and procedures in this section; "(B) whether the availability of hard-metric products and services from United States firms is sufficient to ensure full and open competition; and "(C) the total installed price to the Federal Government. "(4) After the head of the agency has rendered a decision regarding a recommendation of the ombudsman, the ombudsman shall be responsible for communicating the decision to all appropriate policy, design, plemning, procurement, and notifying personnel in the agency. The ombudsman shall conduct appropriate monitoring as required to ensure the decision is implemented, and may submit further recommendations, as needed. The head of the agency's decision on the ombudsman's recommendations, and any supporting documentation, shall be provided to affected parties and made available to the public in a timely manner.
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