[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 145 (Tuesday, October 13, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H10717-H10723]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1230
                   YEAR 2000 PREPAREDNESS ACT OF 1998

  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4756) to ensure that the United States is prepared to meet 
the Year 2000 computer problem, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 4756

       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--
       (1) the President should take a high profile national 
     leadership position to aggressively promote Year 2000 date 
     change awareness for information technology systems and 
     sensitive infrastructure applications;
       (2) the President should authorize the Chair of the Year 
     2000 Conversion Council to take a leadership role in 
     resolving Year 2000 issues in any critical Federal civilian 
     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;
       (3) consistent with the spirit of the Government 
     Performance and Results Act of 1993, the Chair of the Year 
     2000 Conversion

[[Page H10718]]

     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, should work toward a national strategy to 
     assure that the critical infrastructures and key sectors of 
     the economy will be prepared for the Year 2000 date change, 
     with such strategy including, for each sector, goals 
     appropriate to each;
       (4) the Chair of the Year 2000 Conversion Council is making 
     a significant contribution to Year 2000 computer problem 
     awareness by scheduling a National Y2K Action Week for 
     October 19 through 23, 1998;
       (5) the Small Business Administration, the Department of 
     Commerce, the Department of Agriculture, and other 
     appropriate Federal agencies should undertake maximum efforts 
     to assist American family businesses and farmers in assessing 
     their exposure to the Year 2000 computer problem, undertaking 
     the necessary remedial steps, and formulating contingency 
     plans; and
       (6) State and local governments, as well as private sector 
     industry groups and companies, should find ways to 
     participate in this effort to prepare the American economy 
     for the year 2000.

     SEC. 5. 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, including all 
     Federal agency monthly submissions to the Office of 
     Management and Budget.

     SEC. 6. GUIDELINES.

       The Chair of the Year 2000 Conversion Council is encouraged 
     to 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. 7. NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF YEAR 2000 COMPUTER PROBLEM.

       The Chair of the Year 2000 Conversion Council shall submit 
     to the Congress any national assessment of the Year 2000 
     computer problem, conducted through or in conjunction with 
     the Year 2000 Conversion Council, 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. 8. 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. 9. 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. 10. 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, in 
     consultation with the Consumer Product Safety Commission and 
     the Federal Trade Commission, 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.

  ]The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Shimkus). Pursuant to the rule, the 
gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella) and the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Barcia) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella).


                             General Leave

  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 
4756.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Maryland?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I think we all know the dangers that lurk around the 
corner if we fail to take the action necessary to fix the Year 2000 
computer problem. We all know that time is running out. We are 
competing in a race against time to avert an impending computer 
catastrophe. If we do not act fast, we will be ringing in the beginning 
of the new millennium with the mother of all computer glitches. If 
computers around the world will think that it is the Year 1900 when it 
is the Year 2000, millions of computer programs as well as products 
that use a computer microchip may be in jeopardy, billions of dollars 
may be lost and just about every human on the planet will be affected. 
Affected will be critical government functions such as air traffic 
control systems, veterans' benefits, Social Security and student loans, 
as well as the everyday conveniences of modern life, like home security 
systems, video recorders and elevators in high-rise buildings. 
Additionally our energy utilities, the financial service industry, the 
telecommunications industry, vital modes of transportation and 
virtually every critical indispensable industrial sector could be 
adversely affected. By failing to address the Y2K problem, our Nation 
is in danger of being plunged into a catastrophic economic recession 
with severe business disruptions in the delivery of essential 
government and private industry services.
  We in Congress have been working diligently over the past 2\1/2\ 
years to raise the Nation's awareness and to push our Federal 
Government as well as State and local governments and private industry 
for immediate corrective action. We have aggressively pursued Year 2000 
issues through legislation requiring a National Federal Y2K strategy 
and prohibiting the purchase of information technology which is not Y2K 
compliant. We have also conducted an ongoing series of hearings and 
provided attentive oversight on government and industry Y2K efforts. 
Yet despite all of our efforts we have great concern that our Nation 
may simply not be moving with the required alacrity to be Year 2000 
compliant by the new millennium.
  While the Federal agencies and the private sector have been 
scrambling to avert a disaster, our hearings and reports demonstrate 
they are not scrambling fast enough. If our Nation does not develop a 
greater sense of urgency and if we do not take immediate aggressive 
action, the Federal Government will be risking the delivery of vital 
services or functions that are

[[Page H10719]]

critical to the health, safety and welfare of the American public. With 
just 450 days before January 1, 2000, we need to take more direct 
action.
  Since the Speaker established a House Year 2000 Task Force, which I 
cochair along with the gentleman from California (Mr. Horn) for the 
majority and with the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Barcia) and the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich) for the minority, we have been 
attempting to move our Nation's Year 2000 efforts forward. The creation 
of this task force underscores the House's commitment to correct the 
Y2K problem, and will begin to build on the extensive work the House 
has already started through the committees. The House Y2K Task Force is 
intended to coordinate all House initiatives and be the counterpart to 
the Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem which 
is chaired by Senator Bennett of Utah.
  The formation of the House Y2K Task Force has allowed us to 
collaborate more effectively with our Senate colleagues to expedite 
oversight and legislative measures to ensure that both government and 
private industry are moving forward with the necessary dispatch to 
correct the problem in a timely manner. To that end, along with the 
assistance of the majority leader's office, we have been successful in 
engaging virtually every one of our committees to hold hearings 
reviewing the potential Y2K impact on agencies and programs within 
their jurisdiction. To this date the House has held over 40 hearings on 
the Year 2000. As a result, we have a well-documented need for taking 
the enhanced measures contained in H.R. 4756, the bill before us.
  H.R. 4756 seeks to ensure that the United States is prepared to meet 
the Year 2000 computer problem. What the bill does is it urges the 
President to provide for the acceleration of business continuity plans 
to ensure uninterrupted delivery of Federal services and programs; it 
urges the President to take a high profile national leadership position 
to aggressively promote Y2K; it enhances congressional oversight by 
providing that all agency reports be submitted to Congress; it codifies 
certain recommendations made by the General Accounting Office regarding 
electronic data exchanges which GAO has identified as critical to Y2K 
compliance; it provides for Y2K assistance for small and medium-sized 
businesses; and it develops a Y2K consumer awareness program.
  H.R. 4756 is essentially an amalgamation of three introduced Year 
2000 bills and incorporates certain provisions from each bill. H.R. 
4706 is included, the Year 2000 Preparedness Act, which I introduced; 
H.R. 4682, the Year 2000 Act, introduced by the gentleman from Michigan 
(Mr. Barcia) the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Technology; and 
H.R. 3968, the National Year 2000 Critical Infrastructure Readiness 
Act, introduced by the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach), chair of the 
Committee on Banking and Financial Services. This is a very important 
bill that addresses a number of our concerns and problems.
  Special thanks to our staff who helped enormously: Ben Wu, Joe 
Pinder, Cindy Sprunger, Harrison Fox and Mike Quear.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BARCIA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, 
and I thank the gentlewoman from Maryland for her comments.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4756, the Year 
2000 Preparedness Act. This legislation is the product, as has just 
been mentioned, of the bipartisan efforts of the Science, Banking and 
Government Reform and Oversight Committees. In addition, I want to 
commend Mr. Koskinen, chair of the President's Y2K Conversion Council, 
for working with us to craft legislation that we could bring to the 
floor expeditiously. Working together, we were able to address the need 
for greater Y2K information among consumers and small business. I want 
to also thank the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella) as well as 
the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach), the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
LaFalce), the gentleman from California (Mr. Horn) and the gentleman 
from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich) for including the provisions of H.R. 4682, a 
bill I introduced on a bipartisan basis with 11 of my colleagues last 
week. The provisions in H.R. 4682 have three very specific goals: 
First, to raise the consumer awareness and create a consumer Y2K 
checklist; secondly, to raise the Y2K awareness in small and medium-
sized businesses; and, thirdly, to create a Y2K self-assessment 
checklist for the Nation's small and medium-sized companies as well as 
to require Federal agencies that have worked with outside entities to 
ensure that all date sensitive data exchanges are Year 2000 compliant.
  As a member of the House Y2K Task Force and the ranking member on the 
Subcommittee on Technology, I have found that many people do not know 
how Y2K will impact them nor do they know what specific actions they 
can take to minimize the impact of the Y2K problem on their everyday 
lives. This bill requires the Under Secretary for Technology at the 
Department of Commerce in consultation with the Federal Trade 
Commission and the Consumer Protection Agency to develop a Year 2000 
self-assessment checklist for consumers, provide a list of Federal 
Government Year 2000 computer problem resources, a list of Year 2000 
compliant products provided by the GSA, and conduct a series of public 
awareness announcements or seminars on the impact of the Y2K problem on 
consumer products and services. These goals are consistent with the 
recommendations made by witnesses who have appeared before the 
Subcommittee on Technology. I am confident that with the right 
information, consumers will be able to make those decisions necessary 
to minimize the disruption the Y2K problem may pose.
  The situation at small and medium-sized businesses mirrors that of 
consumers. The Nation's more than 381,000 small and medium-sized 
manufacturers contribute more than half of the country's total value in 
manufacturing. However, as of 1997, 88 percent of all companies with 
fewer than 2,000 employees had not yet started Year 2000 remediation 
projects. Small and medium-sized companies are an integral part of the 
business supply chain. They are increasingly reliant on computer 
applications for manufacturing operations, accounting and billing 
practices, and meeting just-in-time order and delivery concepts. To 
assist our small and medium-sized manufacturers in meeting the Y2K 
challenge, this bill requires that the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology's highly successful Manufacturing Extension Partnership 
program, working with the Small Business Administration, identify the 
best practices to attack the problem, develop a Year 2000 self-
assessment checklist, and list all Federal Government Y2K resources 
including the General Service's listing of Y2K compliant products.
  Federal agencies make thousands of date sensitive data exchanges 
every day. These data exchanges include Social Security and Medicare 
information, information related to the air traffic control system 
which the distinguished gentlewoman just mentioned so eloquently in her 
remarks, and other important financial transactions. Data exchange 
partners include State and local governments, Federal contractors and 
the private sector. As Federal computer systems are converted to 
process Year 2000 dates, the associated data exchanges must also be 
made Year 2000 compliant. The testing and implementation of Year 2000 
compliant data exchanges must be closely coordinated with exchange 
partners. Agencies must not only test its own software but effective 
testing includes end-to-end testing and agreed-upon date formats with 
all exchange partners. If these Year 2000 data exchanges do not 
function properly, data will not be exchanged between systems or 
invalid data could cause receiving computer systems to malfunction. In 
other words, regardless of Federal efforts to fix its own computer 
systems, unless their data exchange partners have Y2K compliant 
systems, the computer network as a whole will fail.
  A recent GAO report entitled ``Year 2000 Computing Crisis: Actions 
Needed on Electronic Data Exchanges'' found that Federal agencies have 
made little progress in addressing this data exchange issue. This 
legislation is based on these specific GAO recommendations and will 
help ensure that Federal agencies fully address the data exchange 
issue. This legislation also requires agencies to establish a test 
schedule with data exchange partners,

[[Page H10720]]

notify exchange partners of the implications and consequences of 
noncompliance, develop contingency plans and send a quarterly report to 
Congress outlining their progress.
  With so much to be done before January 1, 2000, there is not much 
time to act. While we cannot legislate Y2K compliance, we must ensure 
the availability of good information so that consumers and small 
businesses are able to check existing products, make sure their 
equipment will work with other equipment and, most importantly, 
successfully address any Y2K problems in their operations. With this 
information in hand, I believe that the public and Congress will be 
able to make the right decisions and avoid the panic which is so often 
predicted in articles about the Y2K computer crisis. I urge my 
colleagues to support this badly needed bipartisan legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. 
Barcia) for the kind of leadership and enthusiasm and energy he has put 
into trying to do something about this Y2K computer glitch.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Davis) who really is in a dual capacity because he is a member of the 
Subcommittee on Technology of the Committee on Science and he is also a 
member of the Subcommittee on Government Management, Information, and 
Technology of Committee on Government Reform and Oversight and 
represents a high-technology community.
  Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 
4756, a bill that will help ensure that American citizens can count on 
the Federal Government and this administration to be ready for the Year 
2000 computer problem.
  Despite hearings held by the gentleman from California (Mr. Horn) 
beginning 2 years ago in the Subcommittee on Government Management, 
Information, and Technology and then in the Subcommittee on Technology 
chaired by the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella), we have really 
very little assurance today from the administration that the Federal 
Government is going to be able to ensure that critical public and 
private services will not be shut down at 12:01 a.m. on January 1, 
2000.

                              {time}  1245

  Congress is taking a proactive role in keeping the focus on how much 
work remains to be done in resolving the Y2K problem, and this bill is 
another step in that direction. We recently passed the Year 2000 
Information and Readiness Disclosure Act and sent the bill to the 
President in order to encourage businesses to share information that 
will help resolve the Y2K problems without fear of incurring civil 
liability. This was a major step. H.R. 4756 builds on this legislation 
by combining 3 Year 2000 bills that will make Federal efforts more 
cohesive in this regard. The bill urges the President to accelerate 
business continuity plans by taking steps to protect the uninterrupted 
delivery of Federal services and programs. It encourages the President 
to take a more high-profile role in promoting Y2K compliance because 
Americans need to know that this administration is providing leadership 
on one of the most important technical issues facing our economy. H.R. 
4756 requires all Federal agencies to establish a testing schedule 
before March 1, 1999, to ensure that Y2K compliance of the agency as 
well as outside entities with which that agencies exchanges data are 
included. Most importantly, this legislation will ensure that all 
Americans are prepared for any Y2K related problems by requiring the 
Commerce Department to develop a consumer awareness program.
  This problem goes back to the 6th century monk Dionysius Exigus, 
Dennis the Small, who invented the consecutive year calendar, and we 
were taught in high school that in the year 999 Christians and pagans 
were there cowering at the moon waiting for the end of the millennium 
and the fulfillment of scriptural prophecy, but we now know that did 
not happen because in the Year 999 about one-tenth of 1 percent of the 
population knew what year it was, let alone what day it is. The irony 
is that in the Year 2000 everybody is going to know what day and year 
it is except for the computers which run our lives. Thus we have come 
full circle unless we get this situation taken care of.
  There is an extraordinary amount of work yet to be done. At this 
point Congress has a moral responsibility to do as much as we can to 
protect the smooth operation of agencies and their Y2K departments. 
While every Federal agency is now aware of the problem, the challenge 
now is to pick up the pace in the long process of fixing the problem. 
This legislation is critical to achieving our goals in this and 
achieving as many Y2K fixes as possible before then.
  For this reason I want to urge all of my colleagues to support this 
legislation, and I wanted to particularly thank the gentlewoman from 
Maryland (Mrs. Morella) for swiftly bringing H.R. 4756 to the floor 
today.
  Mr. BARCIA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. LaFalce), a senior member of the Committee on Banking and 
Financial Services.
  (Mr. LaFALCE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. LaFALCE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding this 
time to me.
  Mr. Speaker, first of all I would like very much to congratulate the 
individuals who have spoken thus far and who will speak because they 
have taken a real leadership role: The gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. 
Morella), the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Barcia), the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Davis), the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich), the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Horn), the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. 
Leach), et cetera, a real leadership role in trying to cope with the 
extremely significant problems that could be posed by the Year 2000 
problems.
  The Year 2000 Readiness Act before us today is another in a series of 
bills aimed at fashioning a national strategy for curing this well 
known millennium bug. As all Members are now aware, this glitch 
threatens national disruptions in the entire computer grid, and this in 
turn could very adversely affect everything from the power supply to 
all financial transactions, and so I am happy to be a cosponsor of this 
legislation, the passage of which is now not objected to by the White 
House.
  Additionally, I would point out that this bill is a bipartisan effort 
in which most of those Members who are heavily involved in Year 2000 
issues have joined. Two weeks ago we enacted S. 2392, the Year 2000 
Information Disclosure Act, a mirror of legislation which a number of 
us had cosponsored in July as H.R. 4355. That legislation set the stage 
to allow groups like the Institute of Electronic and Electrical 
Engineers to post massive bulletin boards on the Internet to let 
millions of computer users know about the millennium bug defects. 
Instead of tedious, expensive and time consuming searches for 
information on how to cure their computers, the business and consuming 
public can now quickly and efficiently locate and begin to fix their 
problems.
  The currently pending measure lays out a further strategy which 
strengthens the role of the President's Year 2000 Conversion Council in 
dealing with the domestic and international situation. Under John 
Koskinen the council in the Executive Office of the President is doing 
yeoman work to banish the Y2K threat from our systems. The legislation 
also points the way toward improved performance reviews at all levels 
without imposing inflexible standards on the council to achieving such 
estimates. With these tools the council can measure, as it sees fit, 
how serious the inevitable shortfalls in preparation

[[Page H10721]]

for the beginning of the next millennium might be and make contingency 
plans to meet them.
  While the bill itself is very meritorious, I want to point with some 
satisfaction to the bipartisan way it has been developed. I know the 
Year 2000 problem has always contained the seeds of a partisan 
division. Next year it will become a very hot issue as questions of 
liability, insurance and fault for Y2K failures emerge as we draw 
closer to the various deadlines. A number of cases have already been 
filed. My sincere hope is that this spirit of working together in the 
national interest, as we have in this bill, will continue to pervade 
the Y2K effort, and with the passage of this bill we move another step 
in the direction of preserving this spirit.
  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I agree with the comments of the gentleman from New York 
(Mr. LaFalce). This is a good example of bipartisanship in the best 
interests of the American people.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the very distinguished gentleman 
from Iowa (Mr. Leach), who chairs the Committee on Banking and 
Financial Services ever so ably and has always been a mentor of mine.
  Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Maryland for 
yielding this time to me.
  Mr. Speaker, I also rise in support of the Year 2000 Preparedness 
Act, and I would like to commend the chairwoman of the subcommittee, 
the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella), as well as the ranking 
member, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Barcia), for bringing this 
bipartisan legislation to the floor. As one of the cosponsors of this 
new bill, I am pleased that it incorporates several aspects of H.R. 
3968, the National Year 2000 Readiness Acts, which I introduced earlier 
this year along with my colleague on the other side of the aisle, the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. LaFalce), as well as the chairmen of all 
five of the banking subcommittees.
  There are over 20,000 financial institutions in the United States 
today. Millions of individuals as well as businesses depend as never 
before on technology, intensive banking and financial services. 
Americans are accustomed to timely access to their direct deposit 
paychecks and Social Security benefits. They use credit and debit cards 
for billions of dollars of commercial transactions each year, and most 
of us have long forgotten the days before we had easy access to 24-hour 
cash through ATMs.
  We love the convenience of our 20th century technology. 
Unfortunately, as the American people are now coming to realize, our 
dependence on that technology has left us vulnerable to the Year 2000 
computer bug. Because of this challenge, the Committee on Banking and 
Financial Services has held five hearings on the problem this year. 
During the course of our work the committee has broadened the authority 
of Federal thrift and credit union supervisors to examine data service 
providers for Year 2000 readiness and approve legislation to direct the 
Federal financial regulatory agencies to hold seminars for financial 
institutions and to provide model approaches for dealing with the year 
2000 problem.
  The good news is that after the establishment of timetables and 
benchmarks the five Federal financial regulatory agencies have 
testified that the vast majority of banks, thrifts and credit unions 
had earned satisfactory ratings during the first round of Year 2000 
exams. Nevertheless, the Year 2000 issue remains not only a significant 
safety and soundness problem for banks, but unless comprehensively 
dealt with a potential precipitator of a global recession. While there 
is no guarantee that 100 percent of our financial institutions will be 
100 percent compliant, Americans can be assured that their deposits in 
federally-insured financial institutions are protected up to the 
statutory limit in the event of a Year 2000 computer glitch.
  There is no reason for the average American to panic and put savings 
in mattresses. Indeed, there has never been a greater case to save in 
secure federally-insured institutions.
  While it would be irrational to assume that regulators will be on top 
of every detail of bank compliance, the Committee on Banking and 
Financial Services and numerous other committees of this body are doing 
everything we can to assure the public that their interest in welfare 
of the highest priority and that Year 2000 accountability is expected. 
When we first started working with Federal financial regulators on the 
issue, there was a great deal of discomfort among the agencies about 
their roles in the oversight intrusion of the Congress in this process. 
However, we strived to establish a constructive and cooperative 
relationship and believe that ultimately this oversight process is 
motivating parts of the government and private sector which may have 
been behind to catch up.
  Clearly a great deal is being done to get the banking industry ready 
for the Year 2000. More than any other sector of our economy, financial 
institutions are being held accountable for performance and Year 2000 
goals and timetables. However, it is not clear how well some of the 
other critical infrastructures are doing. We have a highly inter-
dependent economy at home and abroad. Financial institutions are 
critically dependent on power and telecommunications infrastructures to 
deliver services to customers. A serious Year 2000 problem in any 
infrastructure industry will quickly become a Year 2000 problem for 
other industries.
  We cannot let that happen. As with the banking industry, we need 
clear goals and measures for each critical infrastructure to build 
confidence that each is fixing the most important problems and each is 
achieving these goals in a timely fashion.
  It was to address this concern that my colleague the gentleman from 
New York (Mr. LaFalce) and I introduced the National Year 2000 
Readiness Act to require the President's Year 2000 Conversion Council 
to assess the status of the nation's critical infrastructures and to 
develop a national strategy to make sure these infrastructures are up 
and operating when we get to January 2000. Unfortunately, the chairman 
of the President's Conversion Council had objections to aspects of this 
initiative. I disagreed with the council chairman's objections and am 
pleased that despite these objections, the spirit of the critical 
infrastructure initiatives is incorporated in a strong sense of 
Congress language in this bill. I would like, however, to take a moment 
to address the council chairman's objections because I believe it goes 
to the character of leadership and would like to read a portion of a 
letter I received from the council chairman which represents one of the 
starkest denials of public accountability I have seen in my 20 years in 
Congress. The sentence reads:
  I think it unwise at this time for Congress to indicate that it and 
Executive Branch assume direct responsibility for failures in the 
private sector. That is not the precise purpose of our legislation, but 
administration concerns reveal a lot. It wants to avoid at all cost 
accountability for a problem that has huge public ramifications.
  Mr. Speaker, we have here a contrast of two styles of leadership, 
that of the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella) on the one hand 
along with Mr. Bennett in the Senate, and the other we have the 
President's representative who wants to avoid the establishment of 
potentially embarrassing public accountability. Leadership obligations 
should not and cannot be ducked. This bill, while modest in scope, is 
designed to establish greater private sector awareness and public 
sector accountability for a profound problem. I urge my colleagues to 
give it their unanimous support.
  Mr. BARCIA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio 
(Mr. Kucinich), who has expended a great amount of time and energy on 
this issue and who also is the ranking member on the Subcommittee on 
Government Management, Information and Technology.
  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague the gentleman 
from Michigan (Mr. Barcia) for recognizing me and also thank my 
counterpart, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Management 
and Information Technology, the gentleman from California (Mr. Horn), 
for the many long hours that we have worked together on this matter. 
Chairman Horn has been exemplary in his willingness to carry this issue 
forward on behalf of the American people as well as, of course, the 
gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella), the

[[Page H10722]]

gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach) and the other Members of Congress who 
have been very concerned about this. So I am pleased to join my 
colleagues today in supporting H.R. 4756, the Year 2000 Preparedness 
Act of 1998.

                              {time}  1300

  This legislation represents a measured but effective step in the 
continuing efforts of Congress and the Clinton Administration to 
prepare for the Year 2000 computer problem.
  I am also pleased at the bipartisan fashion in which this bill was 
developed. The Y2K problem is a serious threat to our economy and could 
have a large impact on the government and the private sector. We have 
heard the discussions throughout the last year about the potential 
impacts on communications, on utilities, on transportation, on finance. 
Safety, public services, consumer products all could be affected. If we 
are to solve the Y2K problem, it must be done in a bipartisan fashion. 
It must not, cannot, become purely political.
  The next 15 months will be a challenge to the government, the public 
sector and the private sector, and we need to work together 
cooperatively in a manner analogous to the networking which computer 
systems allow.
  Our ability to meet the Y2K task, Mr. Speaker, is not just a 
technical challenge, it is a social one, which requires us, perhaps as 
never before, to work together for the common good; together, not just 
as Democrats and Republicans, but as Americans, concerned that our 
country be prepared for the Year 2000.
  In a sense, the Y2K problem represents a crisis in linear thinking, 
in the reliance of our society on boolean algorithms to design our 
world, a placing of our technical inventions superior to the slower 
human systems, instead of the old fashion reliance on the American 
heart, of people working together, of human interaction, of cooperative 
pursuits as one Nation.
  As the new millennium dawns, Y2K gives us a new opportunity to review 
questions of how our society is structured, of what is important, of 
what is essential to our Nation, to our families and to ourselves. As 
we grapple with Y2K, perhaps we will also grapple with the dichotomized 
thinking which creates the conflict which slows a fast resolution not 
only of our technical problems, but of our social, political and 
economic ones as well.
  So as we enter a new millennium, we are challenged to shift not only 
our clocks and our computers, but our thinking, the way we look at the 
world and the way we look at each other. We are challenged to create 
new thinking which leaps over the prophesies of doom, which are often 
self-fulfilling, and create a new epic which is all-fulfilling for the 
social, economic and political progress of every human being.
  So as we move forward with this legislation, I would like to thank my 
colleagues, the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella), the gentleman 
from Michigan (Mr. Barcia), the gentleman from California (Mr. Horn) 
and the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach) for their hard work on this 
legislation.
  I would like to thank John Koskinen for his efforts to help shape the 
final bill. Because Mr. Koskinen and my colleagues in Congress were 
able to compromise and work together, the result is a solid piece of 
legislation which will help the Clinton administration solve the Y2K 
problem, to at least get a good start towards resolving it.
  The Clinton Administration has been working hard on the Y2K problem 
to prevent damage to our economy, and I support this bill because I 
believe it will help them do that. The legislation contains new 
provisions that will assist the Small Business Administration in 
reaching out to small businesses and helping them to solve Y2K 
problems.
  It also requires the Secretary of Commerce to develop consumer 
awareness to inform and educate consumers as to the potential Y2K 
problem. By educating our consumers and assisting small businesses, 
this legislation will go a distance towards helping prevent long-term 
Y2K problems.
  We have much to do in order to solve Y2K before January 1, 2000. This 
legislation is a beginning. I thank the Speaker and the Members of 
Congress for their participation on it.
  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Kucinich) not only for his statement, but for the kind of passion he 
has shown with regard to solving this particular problem.
  Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to yield four minutes to the gentleman 
from California (Mr. Horn), who not only chairs the Subcommittee on 
Government Management, Information and Technology, but is my cochair on 
the Year 2000 Computer Problem, and as one who has created the 
agencies, the professorial facet of Mr. Horn comes through in his 
precision.
  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Maryland 
(Chairman Morella) and the gentleman from Iowa (Chairman Leach), and 
the ranking Members, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Barcia), the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. LaFalce) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Kucinich).
  This is truly a bipartisan effort. It is nonpartisan. It is the old 
story of the city manager movement. Garbage is not Democrat or 
Republican, it simply has to be removed from the streets, and that is 
exactly the way we have all worked together on this.
  I particularly appreciate the input made by Assistant to the 
President John Koskinen, who is coordinating this effort within the 
Executive Branch. This legislation is designed to be helpful, not just 
to add another report. Afterall, we just rid ourselves of 132 of them a 
few minutes ago.
  Let me note a few findings that the Subcommittee on Government 
Management, Information and Technology found in its report that was 
approved by the full committee last week and will be printed this week.
  The Federal Government is not on track to complete necessary Year 
2000 preparations before January 1, 2000. Some state and local 
governments are lagging in Year 2000 repairs and in many cases lack 
reliable information on their Year 2000 status. The Year 2000 status of 
basic infrastructure services--including electricity, 
telecommunications, water and sewage--is largely unknown. Embedded 
microchips are difficult to find, difficult to test, and can lead to 
unforeseen failures. These are just a few of many findings that one 
could note.
  Let me tell you why this is urgent. Some people say, ``Oh, well, it 
isn't a serious matter. We will struggle through it,'' and so forth and 
so on. One ambassador of a very progressive country in Europe told me 
that two months ago. He is just wrong. On January 1, 2000, they will 
wake up in his country and find they have great difficulties.
  Let me tell you what we already know. In terms of our staff and the 
General Accounting Office that has been so helpful on this, the 
Subcommittee on Government Management, Information and Technology of 
the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight projects that four 
departments and agencies will not be ready at the current rate of 
progress for the 21st Century. One will not conform until the year 
2023. That is the Agency for International Development. The Department 
of Justice and the Department of Education will not conform until 2030. 
That is unacceptable.
  Let me tell you about the NORAD blackout. NORAD is the North American 
Air Defense Command. The potential problem was demonstrated by a 
simulated test in 1993. Out of curiosity, the technicians rolled the 
dates up to January 1, 2000. The result was a total system blackout.
  Vendor information--private software vendors cannot always be relied 
on--and an audit report of the Department of Defense Inspector General 
noted ``because vendor claims on the compliance of commercial off-the-
shelf products can be incomplete or erroneous, the information may have 
little real value to system management and technical staff.''
  Then we get into the Russian situation. I am delighted to see that 
Secretary of Defense Cohen has been working with the Russians on this, 
and it is so right that he does, because there are great difficulties 
with a lot of their missiles and with a lot of their launchers because 
of the embedded chips they use. We need to share with them how we are 
dealing with Year 2000 conformity to make sure there are no errors.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Maryland (Chairman Morella) 
for yielding me time. This is a worthwhile measure, and it ought to

[[Page H10723]]

be approved overwhelmingly by the House.
  Mr. BARCIA. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the American people are counting on all of us to correct 
the Year 2000 computer problem. By working with the President and by 
passing this bill, I think we can begin to move toward achieving that 
goal. We only have 450 days left before January 1, 2000. So I urge my 
colleagues to support this important bipartisan, nonpartisan House Year 
2000 task force legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4756, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  Mr. BARCIA. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a 
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not 
present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 5, rule I, and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

                          ____________________