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November 22, 1999

"Horn Releases 10th and Final Y2K Report Cards"

"Federal Government Earns a B+"
Report CardScore Card  High Impact Federal Programs
 In releasing the subcommittees’ final report card on thefederal government’s efforts to combat the Year 2000 problem, Rep. StephenHorn, R-CA, said the following.

"In less than 40 days, the world will learn whether allof the efforts to prepare for the Year 2000 were successful. Congress has held188 hearings on this important subject. Our subcommittees -- the Subcommittee onGovernment Management, Information, and Technology and the Science Committee’sSubcommittee on Technology, which comprise the House Year 2000 Task Force --have held 43 of those hearings.

"We have come a long way since we began examining thisenormous technological challenge four years ago. When we issued our first reportcard in July 1996, only nine of the 24 largest executive branch departments andagencies had a plan to address the problem. Today, we will present our finalYear 2000 grades for these agencies, and we will discuss the readiness of thefederal government’s most essential programs.

"Twelve departments and agencies report that theirmission-critical systems are 100 percent ready. I commend these organizationsand their managers for a job well done. They are the departments of: Educationand Energy, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the General ServicesAdministration, Housing and Urban Development, departments of Interior andLabor, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National ScienceFoundation, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Social Security Administration, andVeterans Affairs

"Four departments, Defense, Health and Human Services,Justice, and Treasury still have a few mission-critical systems to fix.

"With one exception, Federal departments and agencieshave greatly improved in the "additional criteria" categories ofdeveloping and testing contingency plans, fixing and testing telecommunicationssystems, testing external data exchanges, identifying embedded systems, andcompleting verification efforts.

"The most troubling exception is the Department ofJustice, which still has three mission-critical systems to fix and has notcompleted work in any of the "additional criteria" categories. Thedepartment does have a contingency plan. But the plan is worthless because ithas not been tested.

"We are also concerned about the Internal Revenue Servicebecause the agency is still inventorying its computers at field locations -- thefirst step in fixing the Y2K problem.

It is imperative that all agencies continue testing theirbusiness continuity and contingency plans.

"The executive branch has made great strides in fixingand testing mission-critical systems. However, we have serious concerns withsome of the nation’s most essential programs, affecting millions of Americans.When we released our previous report card in September, we examined the Year2000 readiness of 43 Federal programs, which were designated as "highimpact" programs by the Office of Management and Budget.

"In September, only seven of the 43 programs were readyfor the Year 2000. Now agencies report that 25 programs are ready. Althoughtheir Year 2000 compliance has tripled this quarter, 18 programs remain at riskof failure. At this late date, the simple question is: Are you ready or not?These programs are not ready.

*Department of Agriculture*** **        **ChildNutrition        Food SafetyInspection        Food Stamps        SpecialSupplemental Nutrition              Program for Women,   **           **Infants,and Children (WIC)    **

*Department of Education*        **Student Aid**

*Health & Human Services *        **Child Care   ****     ChildSupport Enforcement        Child Welfare        Indian HealthServices       ****Low-IncomeHome Energy   **         **Assistance**        **Medicaid        Medicare       ****TemporaryAssistance for Needy              Families**       **PublicHousing**

*Labor *        **Unemployment Insurance**

*Railroad Retirement Board *        **Retired Rail Worker Benefits**

*Transportation *        **Air Traffic Control System   ****     MaritimeSafety**

 

"Together, these programs provide the most basic needsfor millions of Americans – education, food, shelter and medical care.However, the federal government is only one link in the long chain that deliversthese public services. Many programs are not ready because its state, local andprivate-sector partners are not ready to implement the federal program.

"Recently, we learned that thousands of families who livein public housing are at risk of losing their heating, elevators, and fire andsecurity systems because of the upcoming date-change. An October audit reportfrom Housing and Urban Development’s Inspector General found that local publichousing authorities in eight of nine cities that were audited by the office wereseriously behind in their Year 2000 remediation efforts. The audits wereconducted in Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, the District of Columbia, FortWorth, New Orleans, New York, and Omaha.

"Other than New York City, local housing authorities hadno plan to warn tenants of the potential risk to their health and safety.Tenants must be quickly informed of this potential risk, so they can beginpreparing for it. Everyone, in fact, should take reasonable measures to ensuretheir health and safety over the next few months.

"The Year 2000 problem is not limited to January 1, 2000,but may randomly occur over the next few months. Computer experts are especiallyconcerned that Year 2000 problems may arise because of the extra day in leapyear -- February 29, 2000. And we have learned from the Federal Bureau ofInvestigation that there may be an intensified effort by hackers to invadecomputers and spread harmful computer viruses during the critical days beforeand after January 1. It is incumbent that everyone be aware of this possibility,and take extra precautions to guard their computer systems."

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