Monday December 27, 5:42 pm Eastern Time
U.S. shows no signs of Y2K hoarding - Clinton aide
By Jim Wolf
WASHINGTON, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Americans show no signs of hoarding cash or taking other unusual precautions for the possible year 2000 computer glitch, President Bill Clinton's top Y2K adviser said on Monday.
''Even now at this late date we see no evidence at all of any increased anxiety by the public as a result of Y2K,'' trouble-shooter John Koskinen told a briefing at a special $50 million Y2K tracking center set up by the White House.
With the dawn of the new century four days away, he voiced confidence that the computer design flaw known as Y2K would not affect most Americans. But he repeated long-standing advice to prepare as if for a long, midwinter weekend.
''And if -- as will be the case for most Americans -- there's no Y2K inconveniences or glitches, it's not a waste of time or money because they'll be better off for the next blizzard or ice storm,'' Koskinen told a news briefing.
''We see no indication at all that people are increasing in any noticeable way financial transactions or withdrawal of funds,'' he said. ''And we have no indications thus far that anybody is, you know, starting to stock up or load up on gasoline.''
Koskinen outlined plans to hold a series of briefings over the New Year's weekend, beginning at noon EST (1700 GMT) on Friday, six hours after New Zealand leads the Pacific and Asia into the new year.
The tentative plan calls for Koskinen, sometimes accompanied by Undersecretary of State Thomas Pickering, to conduct briefings at least twice on Friday, three times on Saturday, once on Sunday and twice on Monday.
Koskinen, who has overall responsibility for the White House Y2K-tracking operation, said in the absence of any special problems he personally would brief Vice President Al Gore on Friday and Saturday rather than Clinton.
''If anything important happens, obviously we'll talk with the president as well,'' he said.
Of concern are possible failures or malfunctions of automated systems that, left uncorrected, may confuse the year 2000 with 1900 because of an old practice of using two digits to designate the year.
Koskinen chairs the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion.
To show his confidence that U.S. aviation systems are Y2K ready, he said he would be flying a commercial shuttle between Washington and New York at 7 p.m. EST on Friday, when aviation and other systems based on Greenwich Mean Time roll over to the year 2000 at 0000 GMT.
Asked whether he harbored any qualms about boarding that flight, Koskinen replied: ''I have no hesitation at all -- not the slightest hesitation -- unless we're in the middle of a blizzard.''
''If it's snowing,'' he said, ''I would like to announce here and now, I will probably not try to make that flight.''
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