(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; and
(4) the term ‘‘Year 2000 computer problem’’
means the potential problems that might be encoun-
tered in any level of computer hardware and soft-
ware 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 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
(D) developing and implementing, as part
of the agency’s continuity and contingency plan-
ning efforts, specific provisions for data ex-
changes that may fail, including strategies to
mitigate operational disruptions if data ex-
change partners do not make timely date con-
version 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 agen-
cy’s data exchange partners to assess implementa-
tion 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 assess-
ment of data exchange formats agreed to with
data exchange partners, testing and implemen-
tation schedules, and testing and implementa-
tion completed.
SEC. 5. 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. 6. 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. 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 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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