STORY:
America's Y2K Report Card

The Clinton Administration gets a B+ in Y2K readiness

The United States has spent $10 billion to repair Y2K problems, but House Republicans still have worries about many programs and gave the government a B+ for its compliance efforts. The Republicans listed several agencies that did not appear ready for Y2K, and there’s less than 40 days to make improvements.

Fifteen federal agencies earned A’s for Y2K compliance, so that’s good news. The bad news, however, five received B’s and three rated C’s. The Justice Department got the lowest grade, a D. The grades were put together by two members of the House’s Year 2000 computer problem task force. Rep. Stephen Horn (R-Calif.) and Rep. Constance A. Morella (R-MD) both serve as co-chairs on that committee.

The two said the Justice Department received the lowest mark because it still has three critical computer systems to fix and has not tested its emergency back-up plan.

The committee members are also worried about the U.S . air traffic control system. The members listed it as not ready for Y2K. They say some computers and communications systems still need rigorous, end-to-end testing to ensure that all electronic exchanges work. In fact, Rep. Horn suggested that the Federal Aviation Administration might ground some planes in the event of Y2K disruptions. He also was skeptical about the readiness of international aviation, citing Italy, Japan and Russia as examples. Despite those problems Horn will be flying this New Year’s Eve, he’s taking a flight from Los Angeles to Washington D.C.

In the report, 17 other federal programs were listed as "at risk of failure". They include the Agriculture Department’s food-stamp and child nutrition programs, the Education Department’s student aid program, the Medicare and Medicaid programs along with public housing programs. Most of these programs rely on states and nonprofit to deliver benefits and services.

The overall grade of a B+ was an improvement for the Clinton programs. The first report card issued in July of 1996 gave the government a "D" for its efforts to squash the so-called millennium bug.

Source: Washington Post

DATE: 11/23/99

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