Government must help businesses address Y2K bug, say Republicans
By Maria Seminerio, ZDNN
October 21, 1998 2:37 PM PT
House GOP leaders Wednesday said the government still has a long way to go to help businesses and other agencies address the Millennium bug.
"We're calling for monthly reports on Y2K readiness" by government agencies, and a renewed stress on helping businesses create Y2K contingency plans, said Rep. Connie Morella, R-Md.
A newly established bipartisan House task force is also examining the implications of the problem for international commerce, Morella said during a press conference on the issue called by the Republican House leadership.
Dire Y2K news for small, midsize companies
The announcement came a day after President Clinton signed legislation that will allow U.S. companies, non-profits and government agencies to share their Y2K readiness plans. The law is intended to reduce the amount of litigation filed as a result of the problem, although it does not provide shield companies from lawsuits over product failures arising from Y2K-related glitches.
The Y2K bug is a glitch that is expected to arise when the year 2000 begins and certain older computer systems misread the date as the year 1900. The bug's exact impact is unclear, but many experts predict that air traffic control systems, electrical power plants and public transportation systems could be affected.
$3.4 billion for solving Y2K bug
Rep. Christopher Cox, R-Calif., the chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, said the massive fiscal 1999 spending bill passed by Congress this week contains a $3.4 billion appropriation for solving the Y2K problem in federal computer networks. Of that amount, some $1.1 billion is earmarked for the Pentagon's computer system, Cox said.
Cox sponsored the Y2K Information and Readiness Disclosure Act signed by Clinton Tuesday, along with Rep. David Dreier, R-Calif.
But the lawmakers acknowledged that much work remains to be done, and that some companies and other agencies will feel the effects of the Y2K bug no matter what steps they take now.
'Small businesses unprepared'
"Many small businesses are still unprepared, and see this as nothing but a small inconvenience," said Rep. Don Manzullo, R-Ill., chairman of a House subcommittee on small business issues.
The looming threat of litigation could also cause some agencies to become distracted from taking the necessary steps to lessen the Y2K blow, said Cox.
"We want to make sure that anyone who is busy working on the problem doesn't get sidetracked by having to go out and hire lawyers to fend off lawsuits," he said.
Another priority for Y2K-related legislation in the next Congressional term will be in the area of dispute resolution, Morella said.
96 brockerage firms charged
In other Y2K-related developments this week, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the National Association of Securities Dealers said Wednesday they have charged 96 brokerage firms with failing to file reports on the actions they are taking to head off Y2K problems in their networks.
The SEC and the NASD said 56 of the firms have agreed to collectively pay roughly $335,000 to settle charges that they failed to supply the information as required under SEC rules. |
