(A) the initiation of the exchange by send-
ing computers;
(B) transmission through intermediate
communications software and hardware; and
(C) receipt and acceptance by receiving
computers;
(2) the term ‘‘small and medium-sized busi-
nesses’’ means businesses with less than 500 em-
ployees;
(3) the term ‘‘Year 2000 compliant’’ means,
with respect to information technology, that the in-
formation 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 informa-
tion technology properly exchanges date and time
data with it;
(4) the term ‘‘Year 2000 computer problem’’
means, with respect to information technology, any
problem which prevents such technology from accu-
rately processing, calculating, comparing, or se-
quencing date or time data—
(A) from, into, or between—
(i) the 20th and 21st centuries; or
(ii) the years 1999 and 2000;
(B) with regard to leap year calculations;
or
(C) with regard to such other dates as the
Year 2000 Conversion Council may identify and
designate; and
(5) the term ‘‘Year 2000 Conversion Council’’
means the President’s Council on Year 2000 Conver-
sion established under section 2 of Executive Order
No. 13073, issued on February 4, 1998;
SEC. 3. CRITICAL GOVERNMENT SERVICES.
The President shall provide for the acceleration of the
development of business continuity plans by Federal agen-
cies necessary to ensure the uninterrupted delivery by
those agencies of critical mission-related services.
SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of the Congress that the President
should—
(1) take a high profile national leadership posi-
tion to aggressively promote Year 2000 date change
awareness for information technology systems and
sensitive infrastructure applications; and
(2) authorize the Chairperson of the Year 2000
Conversion Council to take control of any critical
Federal agency system that is in jeopardy because of
ineffective management of not meeting the January
1, 2000, deadline with respect to the Year 2000
computer problem.
SEC. 5. MONTHLY REPORTS.
The Director of the Office of Management and Budg-
et shall transmit to the Congress a monthly report assess-
ing critical Federal information systems that will not, or
may not, meet the Year 2000 computer problem deadline,
and the anticipated consequences of those failures. Such
report shall include a description of the status of business
continuity plans for systems identified as being in jeop-
ardy. The Director, in consultation with the Congress,
shall establish additional reporting criteria for areas such
as embedded systems and external data exchange.
SEC. 6. AGENCY REPORTS.
All Federal agency reports to the Office of Manage-
ment and Budget relating to the Year 2000 computer
problem shall be concurrently transmitted to the Congress.
SEC. 7. GUIDELINES.
The Chairperson of the Year 2000 Conversion Coun-
cil shall develop, in consultation with industry, guidelines
of best practices and standards for remediation and vali-
dation with respect to the Year 2000 computer problem
to provide better direction for government and private sec-
tor efforts.
SEC. 8. NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF YEAR 2000 COMPUTER
PROBLEM.
Before the end of the 90-day period beginning on the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Chairperson of the
Year 2000 Conversion Council shall submit to the Con-
gress a national assessment of the Year 2000 computer
problem covering all critical national infrastructures and
key sectors of the economy, including banking and finance,
energy, telecommunications, transportation, and vital
human services which protect the public health and safety,
the water supply, housing and public buildings, and the
environment.
SEC. 9. NATIONAL STRATEGY TO ADDRESS YEAR 2000 COM-
PUTER PROBLEM.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Consistent with the spirit of the
Government Performance and Results Act of 1993, the
Chairperson of the Year 2000 Conversion Council, in con-
sultation with the President’s Council on Infrastructure
Assurance, officers of the Federal Government and of
State and local governments, and representatives of the
private sector, shall prepare, and submit to the Congress
with the assessment required under section 8, a national
strategy to assure that the critical infrastructures and key
sectors of the economy described in section 8 will be pre-
pared for the Year 2000 date change.
(b) STRATEGY TO BE INCLUDED.—The strategy pre-
pared pursuant to subsection (a) shall include, for each
sector, mission statement, goals, and objectives. It should
also indicate performance measures and milestones for
achieving the objectives.
SEC. 10. QUARTERLY PROGRESS REPORTS REQUIRED.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning after the submission of
the report on the national assessment and strategy under
sections 8 and 9, the Chairperson of the Year 2000 Con-
version Council shall submit quarterly reports to the Con-
gress on the progress that has been made since the sub-
mission of the prior report in solving the Year 2000 com-
puter problem in all critical infrastructures and key sec-
tors of the economy and in developing contingency plans.
(b) FINAL REPORT.—The final report submitted
under subsection (a) shall assess the ongoing Year 2000
and other date-related problems that will occur in the fu-
ture as temporary Year 2000 renovations lapse or other
fail dates occur in computer systems.
(c) SUNSET.—No reports shall be required under
subsection (a) after December 31, 2001.
SEC. 11. FEDERAL AGENCY ACTIONS.
To ensure that all computer operations and process-
ing can be provided without interruption by Federal agen-
cies 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 oper-
ations of the agency or of the agency’s data ex-
change partners occurs, including—
(A) establishing, before March 1, 1999,
schedules for testing and implementing new
data exchange formats for completing all data
exchange corrections, which may include na-
tional test days for end-to-end testing of critical
processes and associated data exchanges affect-
ing 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 Fed-
eral schedule for implementing and testing Year
2000 compliant data exchange processes;
(C) giving priority to installing filters nec-
essary to prevent the corruption of mission-crit-
ical systems from data exchanges with non-
compliant systems; and
SEC. 12. ASSISTANCE FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED BUSI-
NESSES.
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 out-
reach program to assist small and medium-sized busi-
nesses. Such program shall include—
(1) the development of a Year 2000 self-assess-
ment 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 in-
formation resources; and
(4) a list of Year 2000 compliant products pro-
vided by the General Services Administration.
SEC. 13. INTERNATIONAL ASSESSMENT.
Within 6 months after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Under Secretary of Commerce for Tech-
nology, in conjunction with other relevant Federal agen-
cies, 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 im-
pacted United States industrial sectors and Federal
agencies; and
(4) a summary of participation by Federal
agencies in international fora addressing the Year
2000 computer problem.
SEC. 14. 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 Tech-
nology shall develop a Year 2000 consumer awareness pro-
gram to assist the public in becoming aware of the impli-
cations of the Year 2000 computer problem. Such pro-
gram shall include—
(1) the development of a Year 2000 self-assess-
ment checklist;
(2) a list of Federal Government Year 2000
computer problem information resources;
(3) a list of Year 2000 compliant products pro-
vided by the General Services Administration;
(4) a series of public awareness announcements
or seminars on the impact of the Year 2000 com-
puter 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.
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