Year 2000 Act

Summary: Directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology, in conjunction with the Small Business Administration, to develop a Year 2000 compliance outreach program to assist the Nation's small and medium-sized businesses to ensure that such businesses are prepared to meet the Year 2000 computer problem (Y2K problem) challenge.
Requires the Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology: (1) in conjunction with other relevant Federal agencies, to transmit to the Congress a report assessing the international implications of the Year 2000 computer problem; and (2) to develop a Year 2000 consumer awareness program to assist the public in becoming aware of the implications of such problem.
Directs the Food and Drug Administration, in consultation and cooperation with the Department of Veterans' Affairs, to develop a Year 2000 compliance outreach program to assist the Nation's health care providers in preparing to meet the Y2K problem challenge.
Directs the Environmental Protection Agency to develop a Year 2000 compliance outreach program to assist the Nation's drinking water suppliers and wastewater treatment processors in preparing to meet the Y2K problem challenge.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

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

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Electronic data exchanges are used extensively to 
        transfer information between computer systems. Federal agencies 
        now depend on electronic data exchanges to execute programs and 
        facilitate commerce. Consequently, as computer systems are 
        converted to process Year 2000 dates, the associated data 
        exchanges must also be made Year 2000 compliant.
            (2) The testing and implementation of new data exchanges 
        must be closely coordinated with exchange partners to be 
        completed effectively. If 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 or produce inaccurate computations.
            (3) The United States 381,000 small manufacturers 
        contribute more than half of the country's total value in 
        manufacturing. However, as of 1998, 75 percent of all companies 
        with fewer than 2,000 employees had not yet started Year 2000 
        remediation projects.
            (4) As small manufacturers are an integral part of the 
        business supply chain, it is imperative that their computer 
        systems are Year 2000 compliant to prevent disruption to the 
        country's manufacturing base.
            (5) The economic well being of the United States is 
        interdependent with the economic well being of other nations of 
        the world. There is very little information on the level of 
        Year 2000 preparedness by other countries and the potential 
        impact on the United States economy. Therefore, to prevent 
        economic disruption in the United States, the Year 2000 
        computer problem must be addressed on a global scale.
            (6) Currently, there is little information to guide 
        consumers in the purchase of Year 2000 compliant consumer goods 
        or to ensure that their existing goods are Year 2000 complaint.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act--
            (1) the term ``data exchange 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; and
            (4) the term ``Year 2000 computer problem'' means the 
        potential problems that might be encountered in any level of 
        computer hardware and software from microcode to application 
        programs, files, and databases that need to correctly interpret 
        year date data represented in 2-digit-year format.

SEC. 4. 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 June 1, 1999, schedules 
                for testing and implementing new data exchange formats 
                for completing all data exchange corrections, which may 
                include national test days for data exchange 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. 5. 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. 6. INTERNATIONAL ASSESSMENT.

    Within 3 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 for addressing the Year 2000 computer problem.

SEC. 7. 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.

SEC. 8. ASSISTANCE TO HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS.

    To ensure that the Nation's health care providers are prepared to 
meet the Year 2000 computer problem challenge, the Food and Drug 
Administration, in consultation and cooperation with the Veterans' 
Administration, shall develop a Year 2000 compliance outreach program 
to assist health care providers. Such program shall include--
            (1) the development of a Year 2000 self-assessment 
        checklist;
            (2) an explanation of the Year 2000 computer problem and 
        identification of best practices for resolving the problem;
            (3) a list of Federal Government Year 2000 computer problem 
        information resources;
            (4) a list of Year 2000 compliant biomedical devices and 
        other equipment used by health care providers that could lead 
        to life-threatening situations due to a failure related to Year 
        2000 computer problems, including an indication of whether the 
        Year 2000 compliance of such devices or equipment has been 
        independently verified; and
            (5) aggressive dissemination of the list described in 
        paragraph (4).

SEC. 9. ASSISTANCE FOR THE WATER UTILITY SECTOR.

    To ensure that the Nation's drinking water suppliers and wastewater 
treatment processors are prepared to meet the Year 2000 computer 
problem challenge, the Environmental Protection Agency shall develop a 
Year 2000 compliance outreach program to assist drinking water 
suppliers and wastewater treatment processors. Such program shall 
include--
            (1) the development of a Year 2000 self-assessment 
        checklist specifically designed for the needs of the water 
        utility sector;
            (2) an explanation of the Year 2000 computer problem and 
        identification of best practices for resolving the problem;
            (3) a list of Federal Government Year 2000 computer problem 
        information resources; and
            (4) a list of Year 2000 compliant products and equipment 
        used in key elements of the water utility sector, including an 
        indication of whether the Year 2000 compliance of such products 
        or equipment has been independently verified.