Federal Y2K czar offers upbeat assessment

By Keith Koffler, CongressDaily

All federal government mission-critical computer systems are expected to be year 2000-compliant "well before the end of the year," according to a new assessment by the President's Council on the Year 2000 Conversion.

The report was unveiled Wednesday at a news conference by Council Chairman John Koskinen, who reported that 93 percent of the government's mission-critical systems are already immune from the millennium bug. In addition, most major companies in most U.S. industrial sectors have or will have a very high state of readiness for the Y2K computer problem, but concern remains about lagging efforts in the health care industry and among many smaller companies, local governments, and even some states.

The private sector information in the report is based on canvassing performed by industry trade associations, and Koskinen noted there was a relative dearth of information about smaller companies, where, as with local governments, he said there is too much of a "wait and see" attitude.

Koskinen said the nation's nuclear power plants also are in "good shape." But the United States has little information about the status of nuclear plants in the former Soviet Union, and there is concern about whether all Soviet-built nuclear facilities will be able to operate and run safely, he said.

The U.S. health care system tends to be widely dispersed, Koskinen noted, and compliance at hospitals and physicians' offices appears to be relatively low. But since much of the problem centers on record keeping and infrastructurenot the delivery of careKoskinen noted there is concern providers that cannot collect their money will shut down.

Koskinen also said the federal government should be able to test its systems at its own pace, rejecting a bill offered last week by Rep. Harold Ford Jr., D-Tenn., that would set aside July 1 for testing all federal systems.

-- Norm (nwo@hotmail.com), April 23, 1999

Answers

Norm,

Thank you for taking the time for your posting. Have you read Y2ktoday's interview with Mr. Koskinen? I found it somewhat refreshing. He actually encourages people to learn about what is happening in their local community and make preparation decisions based on that, even stating that 2 weeks may be "exactly right" for some people. Sorry I haven't learned to hotlink yet but it should be easy to find, Scott's thread about it is still on this forum about 4- 5 from the bottom.

Sincerely, Kristi

-- Kristi (securx@Succeed.Net), April 23, 1999.

http://www.y2ktoday.com/modules/home/default.asp?feature=true&id=1300

"Q&A with John Koskinen"

-- Kevin (mixesmusic@worldnet.att.net), April 23, 1999.