Pennsylvania Calls for State/Federal Summit on Year 2000 Computer Problem At
Meeting of the Nation's Governors
PR Newswire - July 28, 1997 18:00
%CPR V%PRN P%PRN
LAS VEGAS, July 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Acting on behalf of Pennsylvania Gov.
Tom Ridge, Deputy Secretary for Information Technology, Larry Olson, today
proposed an urgent meeting of state and federal information technology
executives to address the threat to government services nationwide posed by
the Year 2000 date-change problem. Olson issued Pennsylvania's "call to
action" during the second day of the annual meeting of the National Governors'
Association (NGA).
Pennsylvania has been nationally recognized as a leader in addressing the
Year 2000 problem which refers to a flaw in the way dates have traditionally
been entered into computer systems, preventing them from properly recognizing
dates after the year 1999. Since computers routinely use dates to make
calculations, the Year 2000 problem threatens to invalidate electronic records
by hindering the ability of computers to make accurate, date-based
calculations.
"The Year 2000 problem will complicate electronic data communications
since states and federal agencies are implementing independent, uncoordinated
programs to fix the date fields used by computer systems to make
calculations," said Olson. "Government organizations and businesses that have
made the necessary Year 2000 corrections could have their work undone by
exchanging data with other groups that have yet to complete fixes to their
computer systems. Without common agreement on how to proceed, time and money
could be wasted and the delivery of key government services might even be
disrupted."
States and federal agencies have come to rely on computer data exchanges
to handle numerous transactions which used to be exchanged on paper. They are
now routinely shared via electronic computer files. There is a growing
concern that states with aggressive Year 2000 action plans, like Pennsylvania,
could have their progress hampered if federal agencies require that they
redo much of their completed date-change modifications to meet different
standards.
"In Pennsylvania, we are very concerned about industry and press reports
citing a lack of progress by federal agencies in correcting their own computer
databases," Olson said. "If federal agencies don't have their computers fixed
by the Year 2000 deadline, data exchanges between Harrisburg and Washington,
D.C. will not be possible. That could have a significant impact on the
delivery of government services to Pennsylvanians. Before that happens, we
want to do everything possible to promote communications and cooperation on
how intergovernmental, computer-based transactions can be protected against
potential Year 2000 malfunctions."
Pennsylvania has formally proposed a national Year 2000 summit in a letter
to John Koskinen, chairman of the Federal CIO Council, and to Carolyn T.
Purcell, president of the National Association of State Information Resource
Executives (NASIRE). The Commonwealth has offered to host a one-day summit
for senior information technology executives from the states and federal
agencies. The summit is proposed to take place in Pittsburgh sometime before
the end of October.
A state/federal Year 2000 summit would provide an initial opportunity to
begin discussions specifically on how data interfaces between the states and
federal agencies should best be designed and managed to ensure reliable data
exchanges are safeguarded from Year 2000 complications.
Pennsylvania's Year 2000 action plan requires that all executive state
agencies complete their computer "fixes" no later than December 31, 1998.
Currently, 16 percent of the work has been completed and the state is 215
percent ahead of schedule in making the necessary modifications to its
computer systems.
If faulty date fields in existing computer programs and files are not
corrected, experts warn that computer resources worldwide could begin to
produce erroneous file information or even shut down as the Year 2000
approaches.
SOURCE Pennsylvania Office for Information Technology
CONTACT: Scott Elliott of the Pennsylvania Office for Information
Technology, 717-772-4237, or e-mail, selliott@state.pa.us |
