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106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1502

To minimize the disruption of Government and private sector operations

caused by the Year 2000 computer problem.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 21, 1999

Mr. BARCIA (for himself, Mr. BROWN of California, Mrs. MORELLA, Ms. RIVERS, Mr. CAPUANO, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr.

COSTELLO, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. WEINER, Mr. UDALL of

Colorado, Mr. GORDON, Mr. WU, and Mr. DOYLE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science

A BILL

To minimize the disruption of Government and private sector

operations caused by the Year 2000 computer problem.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Year 2000 Act’’.

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

6 The Congress makes the following findings:

7 (1) Electronic data exchanges are used exten8 sively to transfer information between computer sys9 tems. Federal agencies now depend on electronic
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1 data exchanges to execute programs and facilitate

2 commerce. Consequently, as computer systems are

3 converted to process Year 2000 dates, the associated

4 data exchanges must also be made Year 2000 com5 pliant.

6 (2) The testing and implementation of new data

7 exchanges must be closely coordinated with exchange

8 partners to be completed effectively. If Year 2000

9 data exchanges do not function properly, data will

10 not be exchanged between systems, or invalid data

11 could cause receiving computer systems to malfunc12 tion or produce inaccurate computations.

13 (3) The United States 381,000 small manufac14 turers contribute more than half of the country’s

15 total value in manufacturing. However, as of 1998,

16 75 percent of all companies with fewer than 2,000

17 employees had not yet started Year 2000 remedi18 ation projects.

19 (4) As small manufacturers are an integral part

20 of the business supply chain, it is imperative that

21 their computer systems are Year 2000 compliant to

22 prevent disruption to the country’s manufacturing

23 base.

24 (5) The economic well being of the United

25 States is interdependent with the economic well
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1 being of other nations of the world. There is very lit2 tle information on the level of Year 2000 prepared3 ness by other countries and the potential impact on

4 the United States economy. Therefore, to prevent

5 economic disruption in the United States, the Year

6 2000 computer problem must be addressed on a

7 global scale.

8 (6) Currently, there is little information to

9 guide consumers in the purchase of Year 2000 com10 pliant consumer goods or to ensure that their exist11 ing goods are Year 2000 complaint.

12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

13 For purposes of this Act—

14 (1) the term ‘‘data exchange testing’’ means

15 testing data exchange software with respect to—

16 (A) the initiation of the exchange by send17 ing computers;

18 (B) transmission through intermediate

19 communications software and hardware; and

20 (C) receipt and acceptance by receiving

21 computers;

22 (2) the term ‘‘small and medium-sized busi23 nesses’’ means businesses with less than 500 em24 ployees;
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1 (3) the term ‘‘Year 2000 compliant’’ means,

2 with respect to information technology, that the in3 formation technology accurately processes (including

4 calculating, comparing, and sequencing) date and

5 time data from, into, and between the 20th and 21st

6 centuries and the years 1999 and 2000, and leap

7 year calculations, to the extent that other informa8 tion technology properly exchanges date and time

9 data with it; and

10 (4) the term ‘‘Year 2000 computer problem’’

11 means the potential problems that might be encoun12 tered in any level of computer hardware and soft13 ware from microcode to application programs, files,

14 and databases that need to correctly interpret year

15 date data represented in 2-digit-year format.

16 SEC. 4. FEDERAL AGENCY ACTIONS.

17 To ensure that all computer operations and proc18 essing can be provided without interruption by Federal

19 agencies after December 31, 1999, the head of each Fed20 eral agency shall—

21 (1) take actions necessary to ensure that all

22 systems and hardware administered by the agency

23 are Year 2000 compliant, to the extent necessary to

24 ensure that no significant disruption of the oper-
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1 ations of the agency or of the agency’s data ex2 change partners occurs, including—

3 (A) establishing, before June 1, 1999,

4 schedules for testing and implementing new

5 data exchange formats for completing all data

6 exchange corrections, which may include na7 tional test days for data exchange testing of

8 critical processes and associated data exchanges

9 affecting Federal, State, and local governments;

10 (B) notifying data exchange partners of

11 the implications to the agency and the exchange

12 partners if they do not make appropriate date

13 conversion corrections in time to meet the Fed14 eral schedule for implementing and testing Year

15 2000 compliant data exchange processes;

16 (C) giving priority to installing filters nec17 essary to prevent the corruption of mission-crit18 ical systems from data exchanges with non19 compliant systems; and

20 (D) developing and implementing, as part

21 of the agency’s continuity and contingency plan22 ning efforts, specific provisions for data ex23 changes that may fail, including strategies to

24 mitigate operational disruptions if data ex-
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1 change partners do not make timely date con2 version corrections;

3 (2) beginning not later than 30 days after the

4 date of the enactment of this Act, convene meetings

5 at least quarterly with representatives of the agen6 cy’s data exchange partners to assess implementa7 tion progress; and

8 (3) after each meeting convened pursuant to

9 paragraph (2), transmit to the Congress a report

10 summarizing—

11 (A) the results of that meeting; and

12 (B) the status of the agency’s completion

13 of key data exchange corrections, including the

14 extent of data exchange inventoried, an assess15 ment of data exchange formats agreed to with

16 data exchange partners, testing and implemen17 tation schedules, and testing and implementa18 tion completed.

19 SEC. 5. ASSISTANCE FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED BUSI20 NESSES.

21 To ensure that the Nation’s small and medium22 sized businesses are prepared to meet the Year 2000

23 computer problem challenge, the National Institute

24 of Standards and Technology, in conjunction with

25 the Small Business Administration, shall develop a
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1 Year 2000 compliance outreach program to assist

2 small and medium-sized businesses. Such program

3 shall include—

4 (1) the development of a Year 2000 self-assess5 ment checklist;

6 (2) an explanation of the Year 2000 computer

7 problem and an identification of best practices for

8 resolving the problem;

9 (3) a list of Federal Government Year 2000 in10 formation resources; and

11 (4) a list of Year 2000 compliant products pro12 vided by the General Services Administration.

13 SEC. 6. INTERNATIONAL ASSESSMENT.

14 Within 3 months after the date of the enactment of

15 this Act, the Under Secretary of Commerce for Tech16 nology, in conjunction with other relevant Federal agen17 cies, shall transmit to the Congress a report assessing the

18 international implications of the Year 2000 computer

19 problem. Such report shall include—

20 (1) an assessment of Year 2000 compliance by

21 the United States major trading partners;

22 (2) a description of efforts by the United States

23 to share best practices with other countries;

24 (3) the economic implications on world trade

25 and the United States economy of the Year 2000
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1 computer problem, including an identification of im2 pacted United States industrial sectors and Federal

3 agencies; and

4 (4) a summary of participation by Federal

5 agencies in international for addressing the Year

6 2000 computer problem.

7 SEC. 7. CONSUMER AWARENESS.

8 To ensure that the Nation’s consumers are aware of

9 and prepared to meet the Year 2000 computer problem

10 challenge, the Under Secretary of Commerce for Tech11 nology shall develop a Year 2000 consumer awareness pro12 gram to assist the public in becoming aware of the impli13 cations of the Year 2000 computer problem. Such pro14 gram shall include—

15 (1) the development of a Year 2000 self-assess16 ment checklist;

17 (2) a list of Federal Government Year 2000

18 computer problem information resources;

19 (3) a list of Year 2000 compliant products pro20 vided by the General Services Administration;

21 (4) a series of public awareness announcements

22 or seminars on the impact of the Year 2000 com23 puter problem on consumer products and services;

24 and
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1 (5) a series of public awareness announcements

2 or seminars on the potential effect that the Year

3 2000 computer problem could have on the provision

4 of services by the Federal Government to the public,

5 and the progress made in resolving the problem by

6 the Federal agencies providing those services.

7 SEC. 8. ASSISTANCE TO HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS.

8 To ensure that the Nation’s health care providers are

9 prepared to meet the Year 2000 computer problem chal10 lenge, the Food and Drug Administration, in consultation

11 and cooperation with the Veterans’ Administration, shall

12 develop a Year 2000 compliance outreach program to as13 sist health care providers. Such program shall include—

14 (1) the development of a Year 2000 self-assess15 ment checklist;

16 (2) an explanation of the Year 2000 computer

17 problem and identification of best practices for re18 solving the problem;

19 (3) a list of Federal Government Year 2000

20 computer problem information resources;

21 (4) a list of Year 2000 compliant biomedical de22 vices and other equipment used by health care pro23 viders that could lead to life-threatening situations

24 due to a failure related to Year 2000 computer prob25 lems, including an indication of whether the Year
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1 2000 compliance of such devices or equipment has

2 been independently verified; and

3 (5) aggressive dissemination of the list de4 scribed in paragraph (4).

5 SEC. 9. ASSISTANCE FOR THE WATER UTILITY SECTOR.

6 To ensure that the Nation’s drinking water suppliers

7 and wastewater treatment processors are prepared to meet

8 the Year 2000 computer problem challenge, the Environ9 mental Protection Agency shall develop a Year 2000 com10 pliance outreach program to assist drinking water sup11 pliers and wastewater treatment processors. Such program

12 shall include—

13 (1) the development of a Year 2000 self-assess14 ment checklist specifically designed for the needs of

15 the water utility sector;

16 (2) an explanation of the Year 2000 computer

17 problem and identification of best practices for re18 solving the problem;

19 (3) a list of Federal Government Year 2000

20 computer problem information resources; and

21 (4) a list of Year 2000 compliant products and

22 equipment used in key elements of the water utility

23 sector, including an indication of whether the Year
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1 2000 compliance of such products or equipment has

2 been independently verified.

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