Senator Horne's Sept Govt Report Card on Y2K Readiness
house.gov
State, Private Partners Hurting Federal Y2K Readiness
WSJ - Sept 10
WASHINGTON -- A panel assessing federal Year 2000
readiness found that uncertainty about the preparedness
of state and local governments, as well as private
contractors, is dragging down the generally good grades
earned by the federal government.
That's according to the second report card by Rep. Steve
Horn, R-Cal., on the digital readiness of some 43
"high-impact" federal programs when the Year 2000
rolls around. Horn chairs a key oversight panel assessing
the government's efforts to ensure that so-called Y2K
problems don't interrupt delivery of essential services.
Government and industry are scrambling to beat the
millennial countdown as they check computer programs
that use two digits to signify the year. Such shorthand
could make computers malfunction if they interpret '00'
as 1900 instead of 2000.
Overall, Horn gave Uncle Sam a 'B-minus' regarding the
readiness of its own computer systems. But those grades
were knocked down because of uncertainty about local
government and private contractors, which in many
instances are the last link in delivering federal services.
For example, Horn gave the Federal Emergency
Management Agency's disaster assistance program an 'A'
for the agency's own computer systems -- and then
downgraded it to a 'D' because state and local
government won't be ready until November.
"Federal programs can't operate if the states don't
comply," said Rep. Connie Morella, R-Md., who has
chaired numerous hearings in the House Science
Committee's Technology subcommittee.
Democrat Jim Turner of Texas, who sits on the House
Government Management, Information and Technology
subcommittee that Horn chairs, said the low grades stem
largely from the lack of verification about whether the
thousands of state and local government units and private
contractors have completed their Y2K work. In addition,
many of the entities haven't haven't filed contingency
plans.
"We don't really know if there is a problem," Turner
said. "'But in terms of being 100 percent safe, the plans
should be out there."
Some federal programs did poorly on their own. For
example, the Pentagon got a 'D' for various non-military
operations, such as its hospitals and retirement plans.
The Agency for International Development also got a 'D.'
But the Treasury Department's lackluster 'C-minus' for its
border inspection services dropped to a 'D' when the
preparedness of U.S. trading partners, the private sector
and state governments were taken into account.
And the Labor Department's 'A' for readiness in its
unemployment insurance program plummeted to an 'F'
because the 53 state agencies that deliver the benefits
won't be ready until December.
Mortgage insurance programs at the Department of
Housing and Urban Development, including the Farmers
Home Administration and the Government National
Mortgage Association, or GinnieMae, earned an 'A.' But
that dropped to a C-minus because of HUD's many
public and private partners.
The Postal Service got a 'D' because of uncertainty about
the Federal Aviation Administration, truckers, postage
meter manufacturers, banks and others. The Education
Department's student aid program earned an 'A' on its
own, but got knocked down to a 'C' by some 6,500
colleges, guaranty agencies, state offices and middlemen.
Local partners dropped the ball completely in showing
readiness to deliver Medicare and Medicaid benefits,
family assistance and child welfare programs. That
turned the gentleman's 'C' earned by the Health and
Human Services Department into an 'F.'
Oddly, the Internal Revenue Service wasn't identified as
one of the 43 high-impact federal programs identified by
the White House's Office of Management and Budget, in
consultation with federal agencies. While Horn
disagreed with that assessment, the congressman decided
to simply use the list provided him by the administration
for his ratings, a spokeswoman said.
Horn and Rep. Morella are urging the White House to
step up pressure on its partners to get ready.
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Cheryl
66 Federal Work Days until 2000 |
