[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4756 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4756

  To ensure that the United States is prepared to meet the Year 2000 
                           computer problem.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 9, 1998

Mrs. Morella (for herself, Mr. Barcia, Mr. Leach, Mr. Kucinich, and Mr. 
   LaFalce) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                          Committee on Science

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To ensure that the United States is prepared to meet the Year 2000 
                           computer problem.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Year 2000 Preparedness Act of 
1998''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act--
            (1) the term ``end-to-end testing'' means testing data 
        exchange software with respect to--
                    (A) the initiation of the exchange by sending 
                computers;
                    (B) transmission through intermediate 
                communications software and hardware; and
                    (C) receipt and acceptance by receiving computers;
            (2) the term ``small and medium-sized businesses'' means 
        businesses with less than 500 employees;
            (3) the term ``Year 2000 compliant'' means, with respect to 
        information technology, that the information technology 
        accurately processes (including calculating, comparing, and 
        sequencing) date and time data from, into, and between the 20th 
        and 21st centuries and the years 1999 and 2000, and leap year 
        calculations, to the extent that other information technology 
        properly exchanges date and time data with it;
            (4) the term ``Year 2000 computer problem'' means, with 
        respect to information technology, any problem which prevents 
        such technology from accurately processing, calculating, 
        comparing, or sequencing date or time data--
                    (A) from, into, or between--
                            (i) the 20th and 21st centuries; or
                            (ii) the years 1999 and 2000;
                    (B) with regard to leap year calculations; or
                    (C) with regard to such other dates as the Year 
                2000 Conversion Council may identify and designate; and
            (5) the term ``Year 2000 Conversion Council'' means the 
        President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion established under 
        section 2 of Executive Order No. 13073, issued on February 4, 
        1998;

SEC. 3. CRITICAL GOVERNMENT SERVICES.

    The President shall provide for the acceleration of the development 
of business continuity plans by Federal agencies necessary to ensure 
the uninterrupted delivery by those agencies of critical mission-
related services.

SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of the Congress that the President should--
            (1) take a high profile national leadership position to 
        aggressively promote Year 2000 date change awareness for 
        information technology systems and sensitive infrastructure 
        applications; and
            (2) authorize the Chairperson of the Year 2000 Conversion 
        Council to take control of any critical Federal agency system 
        that is in jeopardy because of ineffective management of not 
        meeting the January 1, 2000, deadline with respect to the Year 
        2000 computer problem.

SEC. 5. MONTHLY REPORTS.

    The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall transmit 
to the Congress a monthly report assessing critical Federal information 
systems that will not, or may not, meet the Year 2000 computer problem 
deadline, and the anticipated consequences of those failures. Such 
report shall include a description of the status of business continuity 
plans for systems identified as being in jeopardy. The Director, in 
consultation with the Congress, shall establish additional reporting 
criteria for areas such as embedded systems and external data exchange.

SEC. 6. AGENCY REPORTS.

    All Federal agency reports to the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to the Year 2000 computer problem shall be concurrently 
transmitted to the Congress.

SEC. 7. GUIDELINES.

    The Chairperson of the Year 2000 Conversion Council shall develop, 
in consultation with industry, guidelines of best practices and 
standards for remediation and validation with respect to the Year 2000 
computer problem to provide better direction for government and private 
sector efforts.

SEC. 8. NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF YEAR 2000 COMPUTER PROBLEM.

    Before the end of the 90-day period beginning on the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Chairperson of the Year 2000 Conversion 
Council shall submit to the Congress a national assessment of the Year 
2000 computer problem covering all critical national infrastructures 
and key sectors of the economy, including banking and finance, energy, 
telecommunications, transportation, and vital human services which 
protect the public health and safety, the water supply, housing and 
public buildings, and the environment.

SEC. 9. NATIONAL STRATEGY TO ADDRESS YEAR 2000 COMPUTER PROBLEM.

    (a) In General.--Consistent with the spirit of the Government 
Performance and Results Act of 1993, the Chairperson of the Year 2000 
Conversion Council, in consultation with the President's Council on 
Infrastructure Assurance, officers of the Federal Government and of 
State and local governments, and representatives of the private sector, 
shall prepare, and submit to the Congress with the assessment required 
under section 8, a national strategy to assure that the critical 
infrastructures and key sectors of the economy described in section 8 
will be prepared for the Year 2000 date change.
    (b) Strategy To Be Included.--The strategy prepared pursuant to 
subsection (a) shall include, for each sector, mission statement, 
goals, and objectives. It should also indicate performance measures and 
milestones for achieving the objectives.

SEC. 10. QUARTERLY PROGRESS REPORTS REQUIRED.

    (a) In General.--Beginning after the submission of the report on 
the national assessment and strategy under sections 8 and 9, the 
Chairperson of the Year 2000 Conversion Council shall submit quarterly 
reports to the Congress on the progress that has been made since the 
submission of the prior report in solving the Year 2000 computer 
problem in all critical infrastructures and key sectors of the economy 
and in developing contingency plans.
    (b) Final Report.--The final report submitted under subsection (a) 
shall assess the ongoing Year 2000 and other date-related problems that 
will occur in the future as temporary Year 2000 renovations lapse or 
other fail dates occur in computer systems.
    (c) Sunset.--No reports shall be required under subsection (a) 
after December 31, 2001.

SEC. 11. FEDERAL AGENCY ACTIONS.

    To ensure that all computer operations and processing can be 
provided without interruption by Federal agencies after December 31, 
1999, the head of each Federal agency shall--
            (1) take actions necessary to ensure that all systems and 
        hardware administered by the agency are Year 2000 compliant, to 
        the extent necessary to ensure that no significant disruption 
        of the operations of the agency or of the agency's data 
        exchange partners occurs, including--
                    (A) establishing, before March 1, 1999, schedules 
                for testing and implementing new data exchange formats 
                for completing all data exchange corrections, which may 
                include national test days for end-to-end testing of 
                critical processes and associated data exchanges 
                affecting Federal, State, and local governments;
                    (B) notifying data exchange partners of the 
                implications to the agency and the exchange partners if 
                they do not make appropriate date conversion 
                corrections in time to meet the Federal schedule for 
                implementing and testing Year 2000 compliant data 
                exchange processes;
                    (C) giving priority to installing filters necessary 
                to prevent the corruption of mission-critical systems 
                from data exchanges with noncompliant systems; and
                    (D) developing and implementing, as part of the 
                agency's continuity and contingency planning efforts, 
                specific provisions for data exchanges that may fail, 
                including strategies to mitigate operational 
                disruptions if data exchange partners do not make 
                timely date conversion corrections;
            (2) beginning not later than 30 days after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act, convene meetings at least quarterly with 
        representatives of the agency's data exchange partners to 
        assess implementation progress; and
            (3) after each meeting convened pursuant to paragraph (2), 
        transmit to the Congress a report summarizing--
                    (A) the results of that meeting; and
                    (B) the status of the agency's completion of key 
                data exchange corrections, including the extent of data 
                exchange inventoried, an assessment of data exchange 
                formats agreed to with data exchange partners, testing 
                and implementation schedules, and testing and 
                implementation completed.

SEC. 12. ASSISTANCE FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED BUSINESSES.

    To ensure that the Nation's small and medium-sized businesses are 
prepared to meet the Year 2000 computer problem challenge, the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology, in conjunction with the Small 
Business Administration, shall develop a Year 2000 compliance outreach 
program to assist small and medium-sized businesses. Such program shall 
include--
            (1) the development of a Year 2000 self-assessment 
        checklist;
            (2) an explanation of the Year 2000 computer problem and an 
        identification of best practices for resolving the problem;
            (3) a list of Federal Government Year 2000 information 
        resources; and
            (4) a list of Year 2000 compliant products provided by the 
        General Services Administration.

SEC. 13. INTERNATIONAL ASSESSMENT.

    Within 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology, in conjunction with other 
relevant Federal agencies, shall transmit to the Congress a report 
assessing the international implications of the Year 2000 computer 
problem. Such report shall include--
            (1) an assessment of Year 2000 compliance by the United 
        States major trading partners;
            (2) a description of efforts by the United States to share 
        best practices with other countries;
            (3) the economic implications on world trade and the United 
        States economy of the Year 2000 computer problem, including an 
        identification of impacted United States industrial sectors and 
        Federal agencies; and
            (4) a summary of participation by Federal agencies in 
        international fora addressing the Year 2000 computer problem.

SEC. 14. CONSUMER AWARENESS.

    To ensure that the Nation's consumers are aware of and prepared to 
meet the Year 2000 computer problem challenge, the Under Secretary of 
Commerce for Technology shall develop a Year 2000 consumer awareness 
program to assist the public in becoming aware of the implications of 
the Year 2000 computer problem. Such program shall include--
            (1) the development of a Year 2000 self-assessment 
        checklist;
            (2) a list of Federal Government Year 2000 computer problem 
        information resources;
            (3) a list of Year 2000 compliant products provided by the 
        General Services Administration;
            (4) a series of public awareness announcements or seminars 
        on the impact of the Year 2000 computer problem on consumer 
        products and services; and
            (5) a series of public awareness announcements or seminars 
        on the potential effect that the Year 2000 computer problem 
        could have on the provision of services by the Federal 
        Government to the public, and the progress made in resolving 
        the problem by the Federal agencies providing those services.
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