[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 146 (Monday, October 25, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H10728]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page H10728]]
                          THE CLOCK IS TICKING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 19, 1999, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Stearns) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. STEARNS. Madam Speaker, there are only 67 days left before we 
ring in the new year. Billions of people around the world will start to 
prepare to celebrate the first day of the year 2000 and, of course, I 
as many of my colleagues look forward to this day also. But this 
afternoon I am concerned about this next year with what all of us know 
as the Y2K problem, or millennium bug, the inability of many computer 
systems to process dates correctly beyond December 31, 1999. The 
problem results from computers programmed to process and use only the 
last two digits for the year field.
  Madam Speaker, I am confident that Americans are well prepared and 
well ahead of the game when it comes to being ready for any possible 
glitches resulting from the Y2K. Congress has directed the Federal 
Government to go through billions and billions of lines of computer 
codes in order to make computers Y2K compliant. It is also Congress 
that has worked hand in hand with State and local governments to ensure 
that they have the necessary tools to function properly.
  Congress, led by the majority here, is helping the private sector 
when it comes to the Y2K problem. We fought hard and have signed into 
law the Small Business Year 2000 Readiness Act, which directs the Small 
Business Administration to establish a loan guarantee program to 
address Y2K problems for small businesses. And it was, of course, this 
Republican Congress which successfully fought and passed the Year 2000 
Readiness and Responsibility Act, setting limits on lawsuits against 
businesses and individuals for Y2K failures. But, Madam Speaker, my 
concerns are whether the rest of the world is ready.
  Hearings within the last several weeks held in both the House and the 
Senate have raised some serious concerns. Many nations have done 
little, if anything, to combat the Y2K bug. These nations lack both the 
expertise and the funds to upgrade and convert their computer systems. 
Take, for example, the government of Indonesia, which is preparing for 
the possible Y2K malfunctions. Their National Electricity Board 
strategy is to watch what happens at midnight on January 1 in Australia 
and New Zealand, to use those 6 hours to develop and implement suddenly 
their Y2K plans. Now, this would be comical if it were not so serious 
and disturbing.
  The worldwide ramifications of Y2K disturbances, of course, can have 
a domino effect. It is just not enough that the United States is 
prepared. Potential disruptions abroad caused by Y2K problems would 
impact millions of Americans who are living abroad, or who are 
traveling overseas. Though the Central Intelligence Agency is confident 
that the Y2K computer failures overseas will not lead to accidental 
launch of ballistic missiles by any country, according to the testimony 
by the Central Intelligence Agency before the House Committee on 
International Affairs last week, nuclear power plants in nations such 
as Russia and the Ukraine could be susceptible to year 2000 
malfunctions resulting from power grid failures.
  Now, this is according to testimony presented by Lawrence Gershwin, 
National Intelligence Officer for Science and Technology for the CIA, 
and this is what he said, ``In the worst case this could cause a 
meltdown and in some cases an accompanying release of radioactive 
fission gases.'' Furthermore, according to the CIA, Soviet power plants 
cannot even be tested for Y2K compliancy ``given the age of the 
computer system and the fact that many of the original manufacturers 
have all gone out of business.''
  If the threat of another Chernobyl-like meltdown is not disturbing 
enough according to the CIA, there still remains the potential for 
Russia to misinterpret early warning data of ballistic missile launches 
resulting from the Y2K problem. That means during an international 
political crisis where tensions are already heightened, the Russians 
may misinterpret their missile data, leading them to believe and 
possibly to respond.
  As a result, I am pleased to say the United States and Russia have 
set up a joint program to share information on their missile and space 
launches to prevent any misunderstanding resulting from any Y2K 
malfunctions.
  I will not even begin in this short amount of time, Madam Speaker, to 
discuss all the possible problems with other countries not bringing 
their Y2K problem into compliance dealing with foreign energy and of 
course financial markets. I encourage other nations to expedite their 
conversions and look to the United States for leadership.
  Madam Speaker, I encourage other nations to expedite their Y2K 
conversions before time runs out. Our Y2K compliance and success is not 
only contingent on the fact that this nation's computer and information 
systems function properly and smoothly, but also on the fact that we 
not feel side effects from disruptions in other countries.

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