United States General Accounting Office

GAO Testimony

Before the Subcommittee on Oversight,

Committee on Ways and Means,

House of Representatives

For Release on Delivery

Expected at

3 p.m.

Tuesday,

June 16, 1998

YEAR 2000 COMPUTING

CRISIS

Telecommunications

Readiness Critical, Yet

Overall Status Largely

Unknown

Statement of Joel C. Willemssen

Director, Civil Agencies Information Systems

Accounting and Information Management Division

GAO/T-AIMD-98-212

Madam Chairwoman and Members of the Subcommittee:

We are pleased to join you today to discuss the computing crisis posed by

the upcoming change of century, and its implications in one critical area:

telecommunications. As you know, the year 2000 presents a particularly

sweeping and urgent challenge for entities in this country.1

 For this

reason, in February 1997 we designated the Year 2000 problem as a

high-risk area2

 for the federal government, and have published guidance3

to help organizations successfully address the issue. Since that time we

have issued over 45 reports and testimony statements detailing specific

findings and recommendations related to the Year 2000 compliance of a

wide range of federal agency systems.4

 The common theme has been that

serious vulnerabilities remain in addressing the federal government’s Year

2000 readiness, and that much more action is needed to ensure that

agencies satisfactorily mitigate Year 2000 risks to avoid debilitating

consequences.

We have made many recommendations to the executive branch to reduce

the risk of Year 2000-induced disruptions of critical services. Among these,

we recommended that the Chair of the President’s Council on Year 2000

Conversion develop a comprehensive picture of the nation’s Year 2000

readiness. This effort would include identifying and assessing the risk of

the nation’s key economic sectors, including those posed by

telecommunications.

The readiness of the telecommunications sector is one of the most crucial

concerns. No one—large corporation, small business, government agency,

family, or individual—is immune from the potential disruption of vital

telecommunications services. The United States, with almost half of the

world’s computer capacity and 60 percent of Internet assets, is the world’s

most advanced—and most dependent—producer and user of information

1

For the past several decades, automated information systems have typically represented the year

using two digits rather than four in order to conserve electronic data storage space and reduce

operating costs. In this format, however, 2000 is indistinguishable from 1900 because both are

represented only as 00. As a result, if not modified, computer systems or applications that use dates or

perform date- or time-sensitive calculations may generate incorrect results beyond 1999.

2

High-Risk Series: Information Management and Technology (GAO/HR-97-9, February 1997).

3

Year 2000 Computing Crisis: An Assessment Guide (GAO/AIMD-10.1.14, September 1997), which

includes the key tasks needed to complete each phase of a Year 2000 program (awareness, assessment,

renovation, validation, and implementation), and Year 2000 Computing Crisis: Business Continuity and

Contingency Planning (GAO/AIMD-10.1.19, March 1998 [exposure draft]), which describes the tasks

needed to ensure the continuity of agency operations.

4

A listing of our publications is included as an attachment to this statement.

Page 1 GAO/T-AIMD-98-212
and telecommunications technologies.5

 In particular, such technologies

have helped fuel the growth of the U.S. economy and have enabled major

improvements in the nation’s infrastructure. As a result,

telecommunications service providers and their public- and private-sector

customers have a lot at stake; the potential losses and disruptions that

could accrue from noncompliant telecommunications systems could be

staggering.

My testimony today will (1) describe our nation’s telecommunications

infrastructure, (2) discuss the risks we face if critical components of that

infrastructure are not Year 2000 compliant by the turn of the century,

(3) describe federal government actions relating to national, international,

and governmental telecommunications infrastructure, and (4) present

issues that must be addressed.

The

Telecommunications

Infrastructure

The telecommunications infrastructure comprises the public

telecommunications network; the Internet; and the millions of computer

systems for government, defense, commercial, and personal use. The

public network includes a complex web of interconnected networks

operated by local and long-distance carriers, cellular networks, and

satellite services. The Internet is a global network of networks

interconnected by routers6

 using a common set of protocols.7 Significant

portions of the Internet rely on services provided by the public

telecommunications networks.

The rich array of reliable telecommunications services is made possible by

a complex web of highly interconnected networks supported by switches8

and other telecommunications devices. Along with national and local

carriers and service providers, other important links in the chain are the

equipment manufacturers and suppliers and customers, some of whom

have specific telecommunications devices installed on their premises,

5

Critical Foundations: Protecting America’s Infrastructures (President’s Commission on Critical

Infrastructure Protection, October 1997).

6

Routers are devices that direct messages. Routers receive packets of information from computers or

other routers on the network; they then send these packets to their destinations based on “addresses”

at the beginning of the packets and a road map of the other computers and peripherals on the network.

7

Protocols are a set of procedures for establishing and controlling data transmission.

8

Switches are electronic or mechanical devices that allow connections to be established as necessary

and terminated when there is no longer a session to support.

Page 2 GAO/T-AIMD-98-212
such as private branch exchanges (PBX),9

 and voice mail systems. The key

is connectivity: all of the pieces must work together.

Services Vital to the

Nation Depend Upon

Reliable

Telecommunications

Telecommunications are critical to the operations of nearly every publicand private-sector organization. All other major sectors rely on it: banking

and finance; health, safety, and emergency services; transportation;

utilities; and manufacturing and small business. For example, it

(1) enables the electronic transfer of funds, (2) is essential to the service

economy, manufacturing, and efficient delivery of raw materials and

finished goods, and (3) is basic to responsive emergency services.

The federal government depends on the telecommunications

infrastructure to deliver a wide range of services. Many agencies, including

those in the Department of the Treasury and Department of Health and

Human Services (HHS), rely on both their private networks and on the

public telecommunications network to conduct mission-critical business.

For example, the route of an electronic Medicare payment may traverse

several networks—those operated by the HHS, Treasury’s computer

systems and networks, and the Federal Reserve’s Fedwire electronic funds

transfer system. Seamless connectivity among a wide range of networks

and carriers is essential nationally and internationally.

Recent nationwide telecommunications failures remind us of our

dependence on telecommunications—and the fragility of complex

communications systems. On April 13, 1998, a software error in a single

switch caused a major carrier to fail nationwide. According to press

reports, during the 24-hour outage, the carrier’s corporate customers were

unable to complete critical network-based business; retailers were unable

to authorize credit card payments; and financial institutions could not

complete electronic transactions.

Another failure occurred on May 19, 1998, when a communications

satellite went into an uncontrolled spin after failure of a control system.

The satellite’s failure disrupted the operations of credit card authorization

services, paging services for 80 to 90 percent of all pagers in the United

States, and the distribution of television programs. While these failures

were not caused by a Year 2000 problem, they illustrate the degree to

which we depend upon reliable, available, interoperable

telecommunications.

9

A PBX is a telephone switch located on a customer’s premises that primarily establishes voice-grade

circuits between individual users and the public switched telephone network. A PBX also provides

switching within the customer premises local area.

Page 3 GAO/T-AIMD-98-212
Major disruption in the service provided by the public telecommunications

network can affect millions of users and cause massive financial losses.

The cost of disruptions and outages caused by noncompliant computer or

telecommunications systems was discussed in a recent study of the

potential impact of Year 2000-related foreign exchange settlement

failures.10 According to the study, the market costs of a single major bank’s

inability to settle its trades could reach $3.3 billion in a single week.

Business dependence on the public telecommunications infrastructure is

particularly evident in the retail and financial sectors, where financial

transactions with a combined value in the billions of dollars are made

every day. Businesses and financial institutions rely heavily on

telecommunications networks to participate in the global payments

system, to exchange information with trading partners and regulatory

agencies, and to manage their internal control systems and sophisticated

computer equipment.

The consequences of not resolving Year 2000 problems in the

telecommunications infrastructure are broad-based and potentially

disastrous. For example, if critical telecommunications systems fail:

• The Internal Revenue Service would be unable to receive electronic tax

returns or process electronic tax refunds.

• HHS would be unable to make electronic Medicare payments.

• Financial institutions and brokerages would be unable to process financial

transactions and trades.

• The manufacturing and retail sectors would be unable to manage

inventories.

• Air travel would have to be severely curtailed because air traffic control

systems would fail.

• Credit card transactions would be hindered if communications links with

point-of-sale systems fail.

• Emergency services would suffer if 911 calls were not properly and

promptly routed.

• International voice and data services would be disrupted.

Telecommunications problems can affect virtually all network

components—switches, routers, PBXs, and Internet servers—all of which

must be assessed and tested. Compounding the risk is the global nature of

today’s telecommunications, which rely on seamless connections among

widely scattered and widely diverse networks.

10Sustaining Stable Financial Markets Through the Millennium, Computer Sciences Corporation.

Page 4 GAO/T-AIMD-98-212
Federal Activity

Related to the Year

2000 Readiness of the

Telecommunications

Sector

In light of the potential risks involved, the federal government has recently

begun to address the Year 2000 readiness of the telecommunications

sector. The government is undertaking telecommunications initiatives

from three perspectives: national, international, and governmental.

National Initiatives On February 4 of this year, the President’s Council on Year 2000

Conversion was created, with the mandate to cooperate with

private-sector operators of critical national and local systems, including

telecommunications, in addressing the Year 2000 crisis. The council’s

recently established telecommunications working group—chaired by a

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) commissioner—held its first

meeting on April 29, 1998; membership includes representatives of the

Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, and State; FCC; the

General Services Administration (GSA); and the National Science

Foundation. The group reports that it is developing a strategy and an

action plan to address the key issues facing the telecommunications

sector. These include raising industry awareness of the problem and

disseminating information on best practices and contingency planning.

In addition to its role on the council, within the past 2 months FCC has

established a Year 2000 Internet web site, formed a task force to

coordinate the activities of FCC bureaus to provide Year 2000 information

for consumers and industry, and coordinated an outreach effort to state

public utility commissions. Its specific national efforts are focusing on

raising the Year 2000 awareness of companies under its jurisdiction,

monitoring the status of Year 2000 readiness of the telecommunications

sector, and helping telecommunications users obtain information from

individual telecommunications service providers needed for testing.

As part of this campaign, FCC in late April sent letters to over 200

telecommunications service providers, industry associations, and other

interested organizations, advising them of the seriousness and potential

impact of the Year 2000 problem and asking them to share information

about the Year 2000-compliance status of their services with FCC, others in

the telecommunications industry, and the public—including making such

information available on the Internet. FCC is also contacting additional

service providers and equipment manufacturers, and is working with

industry associations to reach the hundreds of small and midsized

telecommunications service providers.

Page 5 GAO/T-AIMD-98-212
The Securities and Exchange Commission also has an initiative to gather

information on companies’ Year 2000 activities. In October 1997 and

January 1998, the Commission urged public operating companies (which

would include those in the telecommunications sector) to disclose their

anticipated costs, problems, and uncertainties associated with the Year

2000 issue.

International Initiatives FCC is also working on the international front, by coordinating with the

International Telecommunications Union to reduce the risk of disruption

to international telecommunications services. In addition, the Department

of State has initiated discussions between embassies and public

telecommunications network providers worldwide to determine the

potential impact of the Year 2000 problem. In July 1997, the department’s

Diplomatic Telecommunications Services Program Office sent a cable to

foreign posts asking them to determine whether the local

telecommunications carriers—the national post, telephone, and telegraph

companies—are aware of the problem and whether they are making plans

to ensure the availability of telecommunications services on January 1,

2000.

Governmental Initiatives Year 2000 actions concerning the federal government’s

telecommunications networks have been initiated by the Chief

Information Officers (CIO) Council’s11 Year 2000 Committee, GSA, and

federal agencies. The CIO Council Year 2000 Committee has a

telecommunications subcommittee to focus on telecommunications issues

in addressing the Year 2000 problem. This subcommittee, chaired by GSA,

has adopted a Year 2000 telecommunications compliance program that

lays out a framework, including milestones, for agencies to use in

addressing telecommunications issues. This compliance program also

focuses on enhancing partnerships with industry to identify Year

2000-compliant products and services, develop test methodologies and

processes, perform collaborative testing of network elements/systems, and

share compliance information and test results. The subcommittee is also

addressing contingency planning for telecommunications.

In addition to its role chairing the Subcommittee on Telecommunications,

GSA owns, manages, or resells consolidated telecommunications services

11The CIO Council comprises CIOs and Deputy CIOs from 28 large federal departments and agencies,

two CIOs from small federal agencies, agency representatives from the Office of Management and

Budget, and the Chairs of the Government Information Technology Services Board and Information

Technology Resources Board.

Page 6 GAO/T-AIMD-98-212
to federal agencies throughout the United States; it controls about

25 percent of all federal telecommunications services. GSA’s Year 2000

program addresses three service areas: Federal Telecommunications

System (FTS 2000)12 services, other federal telecommunications services,

and commercial services. In the FTS 2000 area, GSA plans to complete

assessment of Year 2000 compliance by this September, renovation by

March 1999, and validation and testing between April and December 1999.

In the other federal services area, GSA is supporting agencies in hardware

testing, is conducting Year 2000 telecommunications working group

meetings with agency representatives, and is managing its Year 2000 web

site. In the area of commercial services, GSA plans by March 1999 to

conduct interoperability testing between government systems and

network service providers.

Issues Surrounding

Year 2000

Telecommunications

Readiness

Key federal initiatives are in their early stages on a national, international,

and governmental level, and critical issues remain to be addressed. Less

than 19 months remain, yet no one currently has an overall assessment of

the degree of Year 2000 risk in the telecommunications infrastructure.

Accordingly, it is imperative that the executive branch, and particularly

FCC and the Conversion Council’s telecommunications working group, take

a more active approach to addressing the Year 2000 issues of the domestic

and international telecommunications sectors.

National Issues The federal government is uniquely positioned to publicize the Year 2000

computing crisis as a national priority; take a leadership role; and identify,

assess, and report on the risks and necessary remediation activities

associated with the nation’s key economic sectors, such as

telecommunications. Accordingly, in an April 1998 report, we

recommended that the President’s Council on Year 2000 Conversion

establish public/private partnership forums composed of representatives of each major

sector that, in turn, would rely on task forces organized along economic sector lines to help

(1) gauge the nation’s preparedness for the Year 2000, (2) periodically report on the status

and remaining actions of each sector’s Year 2000 remediation efforts, and (3) ensure the

development of contingency plans to assure the continuing delivery of critical public and

private services.13

12FTS 2000 is a nationwide telecommunications network providing long-distance voice and data

services to federal agencies.

13Year 2000 Computing Crisis: Potential for Widespread Disruption Calls for Strong Leadership and

Partnerships (GAO/AIMD-98-85, April 30, 1998).

Page 7 GAO/T-AIMD-98-212
In disagreeing with this recommendation, the Chair of the Conversion

Council stated his belief that the council needs to be a catalyst, facilitator,

and coordinator. He did, however, establish five new working

groups—telecommunications among them; while not providing specific

guidelines or expectations, the Chair told them to focus on developing a

coordinated outreach plan and establish communications with public and

private parties within each sector, and to monitor the Year 2000 readiness

of each sector.

Given the inarguably critical nature of telecommunications services to the

functioning of our nation, coordinated oversight is essential. In order to

gain confidence that our telecommunications infrastructure will be ready

for the next century, accountability must be established; this includes a

broad strategy as well as specific milestones and defined accountability.

We see several major areas that must be addressed: (1) obtaining

information on the current readiness status of various segments of the

telecommunications industry for the next century, (2) establishing a

mechanism for obtaining such readiness information on a regular basis,

(3) setting milestones for achieving Year 2000 compliance,

(4) disseminating readiness status information to the public and the

Congress, and (5) developing—in conjunction with the private

sector—contingency plans to ensure business continuity, albeit at reduced

levels, in the event that not all telecommunications systems are fully

operational on January 1, 2000.

Current Status Based on data from industry associations and telecommunications

companies, FCC has compiled general information on the status and

activities of various segments of this sector. In late April of this year, the

agency asked the telecommunications industry for Year 2000-compliance

information; however, as of last week, FCC was unable to provide us with

information on the current status and anticipated readiness dates in areas

such as satellite, cable, broadcast, and wireless services. As a major

example, FCC could not provide us with data on when major interexchange

(long distance) and local exchange carriers were expecting to be Year

2000 compliant.

Because FCC did not have such data readily available, we attempted to

obtain Year 2000 milestone information from the major interexchange

(long distance) and local exchange carriers. We focused on these 12

carriers because they hold key positions within the telecommunications

Page 8 GAO/T-AIMD-98-212
sector and account for over 90 percent of the market.14 We obtained this

information from the carriers’ World Wide Web sites, or through telephone

interviews with carrier representatives.

Table 1 provides a summary of the information we gathered. The table

shows that most major carriers expect to achieve Year 2000 compliance of

their networks by December 1998, although for some it is either later than

that date or we were unable to obtain this information. The table also

shows that most major carriers plan to be fully compliant—including

support systems—by mid-1999.

Table 1: Year 2000-Compliance Status

of Major Telecommunications Carriers Date expected to be Year 2000 compliant

Service providers Network servicesa Support servicesb

Interexchange carriers

AT&T December 1998 June 1999

Excel (did not respond) (did not respond)

Frontier December 1998 December 1998

MCI December 1998 June 1999

Sprint December 1998 June 1999

Worldcom April 1999 April 1999

Local exchange carriers

Ameritech January 1999 January 1999

Bell Atlantic July 1999 (not specified)

BellSouth December 1998 December 1998

GTE December 1998 December 1998

SBC December 1998 December 1998

Sprint December 1998 June 1999

US West June 1999 June 1999

aNetwork services are key systems and network elements affecting customer services.

bSupport services are services and systems supporting carrier operations.

Source: Individual carriers. We did not independently verify this information.

In addition to the individual carrier information shown in the table, some

interoperability testing is planned. This laboratory-based testing,

sponsored by the Telco Year 2000 Forum and by the Alliance for

Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS), is scheduled to begin later

this year and continue throughout 1999. The forum-sponsored testing will

14According to FCC, there are over 1,300 companies that provide local telephone service in the United

States. More than 700 firms buy access from these companies.

Page 9 GAO/T-AIMD-98-212
focus on interoperability between local exchange carriers, while the

ATIS-sponsored tests will focus on common equipment interoperability

between a local exchange carrier and a long-distance carrier.

Recurring Status Information Not only is it important that FCC know the current status of

telecommunications preparedness, it is imperative that such information

be obtained on a regular basis. Just as the Office of Management and

Budget (OMB) and the Congress monitor individual agency progress

through quarterly reports on the status of Year 2000 systems compliance,

FCC would benefit from a mechanism that would provide updated status

data on a recurring basis. Without this information, FCC will find it more

difficult to address major problems that may occur. FCC’s recent letters to

the industry are a start, but ongoing receipt of information will be essential

to effectively monitor sector readiness.

Milestone Setting While telecommunications service providers are establishing their own

Year 2000 schedules, FCC has not developed schedules and milestones for

the various segments of the telecommunications industry to achieve Year

2000 compliance. Milestones for activities such as renovation, validation,

and implementation are important to overall Year 2000

telecommunications planning and for evaluating progress in reaching

compliance.

Information Dissemination Beyond obtaining current and ongoing status information, it is important

that FCC make such information available to the public—including

telecommunications customers—and the Congress. The dissemination of

this information could provide continuous information about the

preparedness of this essential sector for the century change. Potential

vehicles for such dissemination include regular reports to the Congress.

Contingency Planning Contingency plans should be formulated to respond to two types of

failures: predictable (such as repairs or replacements that are already far

behind schedule) and unforeseen (such as a system that fails despite

having been certified as Year 2000 compliant or one that, it is later found,

cannot be corrected by January 1, 2000, despite appearing to be on

schedule today). Given the central nature of telecommunications to the

ability of other sectors to be Year 2000 ready, a public/private partnership

could be formed to develop and test necessary contingency plans, critical

to ensuring the continuity of service in the event of failures.

Page 10 GAO/T-AIMD-98-212
International Issues Little is known about the Year 2000 readiness of foreign

telecommunications carriers and their ability to continue to provide

telecommunications services after December 31, 1999. In September 1997,

the Gartner Group conducted several surveys to determine how

companies around the world were dealing with the Year 2000 problem.

The study did not focus on the telecommunications sector; however, its

findings provide an indication of the overall Year 2000 readiness of the

various geographic regions of the world. According to the study, “[t]hirty

percent of all companies have not started dealing with the year 2000

problem. Small companies, health care organizations, educational

institutions, and many companies in 30 percent of the world’s countries

are at a high risk of seeing year 2000 mission-critical failures due to a lack

of readiness.”15 A more recent survey focusing on foreign

telecommunications service providers was conducted by the International

Telecommunication Union; its results are not yet available.

FCC has also noted that Year 2000 issues have not received the same level

of attention abroad as in the United States, with the exception of the

United Kingdom. This was confirmed by the results of the State

Department’s initiative to assess the Year 2000 readiness of foreign

carriers. As shown in table 2, the department received information from

113 countries, updated through March 1998. Of those, 25 countries

(22 percent) expected to be compliant by this December; 26 countries

(23 percent) expected to be compliant by December 1999; 33 countries

(29 percent) stated that they were addressing the Year 2000 issue but were

having problems; and 29 countries (26 percent) were unaware of or had

not begun to address the problem. The State Department is continuing its

activities to determine the Year 2000 readiness of its foreign posts, and is

developing contingency plans to ensure continuity of diplomatic

telecommunications services.

15Year 2000-World Status (Gartner Group, Document #M-100-037, November 25, 1997).

Page 11 GAO/T-AIMD-98-212
Table 2: Year 2000-Compliance Status of International Post, Telephone, and Telegraph Companies

Region

Compliance

expected by

the end of 1998

Compliance

expected by

the end of 1999

Addressing

Year 2000, but

having

problems

Unaware

or not

begun Total

Central and South America 4 2 4 5 15

Europe and Canada 8 15 9 9 41

Africa 2 1 10 9 22

East Asia and the Pacific 8 6 5 4 23

Near East and South Asia 3 2 5 2 12

Total 25 26 33 29 113

Percentage 22% 23% 29% 26% 100%

Source: Department of State. We did not independently verify this information.

The World Bank is reporting similar findings. In an informal survey of

foreign Year 2000 readiness conducted this month, only 18 of 127

countries (14 percent) had a national Year 2000 program; 28 countries

(22 percent) report working on the problem; and 16 countries (13 percent)

report only awareness of the issue. No conclusive data were received from

the remaining 65 countries surveyed (51 percent). The World Bank is now

planning to appoint a field Year 2000 representative for each country.

The Year 2000 readiness of international telecommunications networks

and carriers is clearly an area of concern. All sectors of the global

economy depend upon reliable communications networks to handle

billions of dollars in financial transactions. Current and ongoing

information to monitor the compliance status of foreign carriers would,

therefore, allow the federal government and the private sector to identify

troubled regions and develop contingency plans for ensuring the

continuity of vital telecommunications services.

Governmental Issues Without compliant telecommunications, federal agencies will be unable to

provide basic services to the American public. However, many major

departments and agencies do not yet know the Year 2000 compliance

status of their own telecommunications networks and services. In fact,

many federal agencies are just beginning to assess the readiness of their

telecommunications. As of last month’s quarterly reports to OMB, only 11 of

24 major federal agencies reported that they had completed inventories

and/or assessments of telecommunications. The Department of

Page 12 GAO/T-AIMD-98-212
Agriculture, for example, does not expect to complete its

telecommunications inventory until next month—a critical assessment

task that should have been completed last summer.

In closing, let me reiterate that the importance of the telecommunications

infrastructure in the successful functioning of our nation cannot be

overemphasized; it is the linchpin of our economy and critical citizen

services. Yet the telecommunications industry faces a massive challenge to

make sure that it can finish the Year 2000 job in time. While the federal

government must take a stronger, more active oversight role to help

ensure that this central sector is prepared, much of the responsibility

inevitably lies with the industry and other countries around the world.

Madam Chairwoman, this concludes my statement. I would be pleased to

respond to any questions that you or other members of the Subcommittee

may have at this time.

Page 13 GAO/T-AIMD-98-212
Page 14 GAO/T-AIMD-98-212
Page 15 GAO/T-AIMD-98-212
GAO Reports and Testimony Addressing the

Year 2000 Crisis

Year 2000 Computing Crisis: Actions Must Be Taken Now to Address Slow

Pace of Federal Progress (GAO/T-AIMD-98-205, June 10, 1998).

Defense Computers: Army Needs to Greatly Strengthen Its Year 2000

Program (GAO/AIMD-98-53, May 29, 1998).

Year 2000 Computing Crisis: USDA Faces Tremendous Challenges in

Ensuring That Vital Public Services Are Not Disrupted (GAO/T-AIMD-98-167,

May 14, 1998).

Securities Pricing: Actions Needed for Conversion to Decimals

(GAO/T-GGD-98-121, May 8, 1998).

Year 2000 Computing Crisis: Continuing Risks of Disruption to Social

Security, Medicare, and Treasury Programs (GAO/T-AIMD-98-161, May 7, 1998).

IRS’ Year 2000 Efforts: Status and Risks (GAO/T-GGD-98-123, May 7, 1998).

Air Traffic Control: FAA Plans to Replace Its Host Computer System

Because Future Availability Cannot Be Assured (GAO/AIMD-98-138R, May 1,

1998).

Year 2000 Computing Crisis: Potential For Widespread Disruption Calls

For Strong Leadership and Partnerships (GAO/AIMD-98-85, April 30, 1998).

Defense Computers: Year 2000 Computer Problems Threaten DOD

Operations (GAO/AIMD-98-72, April 30, 1998).

Department of the Interior: Year 2000 Computing Crisis Presents Risk of

Disruption to Key Operations (GAO/T-AIMD-98-149, April 22, 1998).

Year 2000 Computing Crisis: Business Continuity and Contingency

Planning (GAO/AIMD-10.1.19, Exposure Draft, March 1998).

Tax Administration: IRS’ Fiscal Year 1999 Budget Request and Fiscal Year

1998 Filing Season (GAO/T-GGD/AIMD-98-114, March 31, 1998).

Year 2000 Computing Crisis: Strong Leadership Needed to Avoid

Disruption of Essential Services (GAO/T-AIMD-98-117, March 24, 1998).

Page 16 GAO/T-AIMD-98-212
GAO Reports and Testimony Addressing the

Year 2000 Crisis

Year 2000 Computing Crisis: Federal Regulatory Efforts to Ensure

Financial Institution Systems Are Year 2000 Compliant (GAO/T-AIMD-98-116,

March 24, 1998).

Year 2000 Computing Crisis: Office of Thrift Supervision’s Efforts to

Ensure Thrift Systems Are Year 2000 Compliant (GAO/T-AIMD-98-102,

March 18, 1998).

Year 2000 Computing Crisis: Strong Leadership and Effective

Public/Private Cooperation Needed to Avoid Major Disruptions

(GAO/T-AIMD-98-101, March 18, 1998).

Post-Hearing Questions on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s

Year 2000 (Y2K) Preparedness (AIMD-98-108R, March 18, 1998).

SEC Year 2000 Report: Future Reports Could Provide More Detailed

Information (GAO/GGD/AIMD-98-51, March 6, 1998).

Year 2000 Readiness: NRC’s Proposed Approach Regarding Nuclear

Powerplants (GAO/AIMD-98-90R, March 6, 1998).

National Weather Service: Budget Events and Continuing Risks of Systems

Modernization (GAO/T-AIMD-98-97, March 4, 1998).

Year 2000 Computing Crisis: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s

Efforts to Ensure Bank Systems Are Year 2000 Compliant (GAO/T-AIMD-98-73,

February 10, 1998).

Year 2000 Computing Crisis: FAA Must Act Quickly to Prevent Systems

Failures (GAO/T-AIMD-98-63, February 4, 1998).

FAA Computer Systems: Limited Progress on Year 2000 Issue Increases

Risk Dramatically (GAO/AIMD-98-45, January 30, 1998).

Defense Computers: Air Force Needs to Strengthen Year 2000 Oversight

(GAO/AIMD-98-35, January 16, 1998).

Year 2000 Computing Crisis: Actions Needed to Address Credit Union

Systems’ Year 2000 Problem (GAO/AIMD-98-48, January 7, 1998).

Page 17 GAO/T-AIMD-98-212
GAO Reports and Testimony Addressing the

Year 2000 Crisis

Veterans Health Administration Facility Systems: Some Progress Made In

Ensuring Year 2000 Compliance, But Challenges Remain (GAO/AIMD-98-31R,

November 7, 1997).

Year 2000 Computing Crisis: National Credit Union Administration’s

Efforts to Ensure Credit Union Systems Are Year 2000 Compliant

(GAO/T-AIMD-98-20, October 22, 1997).

Social Security Administration: Significant Progress Made in Year 2000

Effort, But Key Risks Remain (GAO/AIMD-98-6, October 22, 1997).

Defense Computers: Technical Support Is Key to Naval Supply Year 2000

Success (GAO/AIMD-98-7R, October 21, 1997).

Defense Computers: LSSC Needs to Confront Significant Year 2000 Issues

(GAO/AIMD-97-149, September 26, 1997).

Veterans Affairs Computer Systems: Action Underway Yet Much Work

Remains To Resolve Year 2000 Crisis (GAO/T-AIMD-97-174, September 25,

1997).

Year 2000 Computing Crisis: Success Depends Upon Strong Management

and Structured Approach (GAO/T-AIMD-97-173, September 25, 1997).

Year 2000 Computing Crisis: An Assessment Guide (GAO/AIMD-10.1.14,

September 1997).

Defense Computers: SSG Needs to Sustain Year 2000 Progress

(GAO/AIMD-97-120R, August 19, 1997).

Defense Computers: Improvements to DOD Systems Inventory Needed for

Year 2000 Effort (GAO/AIMD-97-112, August 13, 1997).

Defense Computers: Issues Confronting DLA in Addressing Year 2000

Problems (GAO/AIMD-97-106, August 12, 1997).

Defense Computers: DFAS Faces Challenges in Solving the Year 2000

Problem (GAO/AIMD-97-117, August 11, 1997).

Year 2000 Computing Crisis: Time Is Running Out for Federal Agencies to

Prepare for the New Millennium (GAO/T-AIMD-97-129, July 10, 1997).

Page 18 GAO/T-AIMD-98-212
GAO Reports and Testimony Addressing the

Year 2000 Crisis

Veterans Benefits Computer Systems: Uninterrupted Delivery of Benefits

Depends on Timely Correction of Year-2000 Problems (GAO/T-AIMD-97-114,

June 26, 1997).

Veterans Benefits Computers Systems: Risks of VBA’s Year-2000 Efforts

(GAO/AIMD-97-79, May 30, 1997).

Medicare Transaction System: Success Depends Upon Correcting Critical

Managerial and Technical Weaknesses (GAO/AIMD-97-78, May 16, 1997).

Medicare Transaction System: Serious Managerial and Technical

Weaknesses Threaten Modernization (GAO/T-AIMD-97-91, May 16, 1997).

USDA Information Management: Extensive Improvements Needed in

Managing Information Technology Investments (GAO/T-AIMD-97-90, May 14,

1997).

Year 2000 Computing Crisis: Risk of Serious Disruption to Essential

Government Functions Calls for Agency Action Now (GAO/T-AIMD-97-52,

February 27, 1997).

Year 2000 Computing Crisis: Strong Leadership Today Needed To Prevent

Future Disruption of Government Services (GAO/T-AIMD-97-51, February 24,

1997).

High-Risk Series: Information Management and Technology (GAO/HR-97-9,

February 1997).

(511461) Page 19 GAO/T-AIMD-98-212
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