Here is a complation of Dodd, and Bennet's statements. More important than the airlines though is the comment below about shipping and a total lack of responce to the Coast Guard request for  information on compliance. I would recommend reading up on the survey.

There will be no doubt the the Coast Guard will deny entry into ports because of compliance. On a boat this can mean bad things.

The rest is mainly the airline warning and a few quotes from recent Dodd speaches. This is a good one for the relatives.
 
 

 Dodd, Bennett Move To Ground Non-Compliant Carriers

       Another area of grave concern outlined in Mead's prepared
       testimony is the maritime shipping industry.

       A recent US Coast Guard survey of shipping company Y2K
       readiness generated an anemic 43 percent response rate, setting off
       alarm bells for Y2K authorities.

       The Coast Guard has, to date, taken 175 "actions" against shipping
       companies for failing to provide timely and accurate Y2K
       information. The Coast Guard further intends to keep some
       "high-risk" vessels out of US Ports during the period surrounding
       the date roll-over.

 

Based on all available information and comments, the Coast Guard
has determined that this temporary interim rule is necessary to require
vessel and marine facility operators to respond to questionnaires
regarding their level of preparedness for the Y2K problem. The
responses will provide COTPs with information needed to evaluate the
level of Y2K-related risk associated with vessel and marine facility
operations.
 

 Dodd Threatens to Ground Unprepared Air Carriers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, September 30, 1999

DODD THREATENS TO GROUND AIR CARRIERS WHO REFUSE TO DISCLOSE Y2K PLANS

FAA LACKS INFORMATION FROM MORE THAN HALF OF ALL CARRIERS

Washington, D.C. C Senator Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., Vice-Chairman of the Special Committee on the Year 2000 (Y2K) Technology Problem, today announced he would offer legislation to ground air carriers who have not responded to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) appeals for information on the carriers' Y2K status.

"It's simple. If you don't comply, you don't fly," Dodd said. "We can't just 'wing it' when it comes to passenger safety."

In a hearing before the Y2K Committee today, Senator Dodd announced that 1,900 of the nation's 3,300 air carriers had not yet responded to the FAA's Y2K survey. All of those who failed to respond are smaller carriers.

Dodd said he would give the carriers in question until the morning of Tuesday, October 5 to respond to the FAA survey. At that time, Dodd will name the non-respondent carriers in the Congressional Record and introduce his bill directing the FAA to ground the carriers.

"Some air carriers would have us flying blind," Dodd added. "With only 92 days to go before New Year's, it's time for some action and accountability." To that end, Dodd asked that the FAA to require remaining survey respondents to have their response signed by the carrier's chief executive officer.

The Y2K technology problem prevents computers from correctly reading the year 2000 and has the potential to cause wide ranging system failures

 
 

 Senate Y2K Committee

REMARKS OF SENATOR CHRISTOPHER J. DODD
VICE CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE ON THE YEAR 2000 (Y2K) TECHNOLOGY PROBLEM IN EAST HADDAM
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1999
 

Good evening. Thank you all for coming out tonight and thanks especially to Barbara Rathburn for inviting me. I am very glad to be here in my hometown to talk about the Year 2000 technology problem, or the Y2K bug as it=s more commonly known.

Snip

This misguided effort reminds us that the date isn't the problem; the technology is. We all at some point have wished we could find more time in our busy lives, somehow add an extra day in the week to catch our breath. But that's not something we can achieve either through legislation or otherwise. We cannot legislate away the millennium, although legislation can help us better prepare for it . We cannot move the deadline, although many in the public and private sectors are working diligently to meet it.
 

Snip

And there are parallels to the nation as a whole, so let me now give you a snapshot of businesses nationwide.

We=ve seen a few patterns emerge. Not surprisingly, larger companies have had the advantage of having more resources to begin addressing the problem earlier. They have been able to hire staff and consultants to help fix it. They could afford to upgrade their equipment.

Small and medium size businesses haven't had this same advantage. But, ironically, what small and medium size businesses lack in financial cushioning, they make up for in their ability to adapt and respond quickly to new events.

The National Federation of Independent Businesses issued a report a few weeks ago which contained some distressing information on Y2K readiness among the nation=s small businesses. Nationwide, there are 23 million small businesses, defined as business with 500 or fewer employees. Based on the survey, we believe about one in five small businesses directly vulnerable to the Y2K problem will not be prepared come January first.

If one out of every five small businesses is unprepared, the overall impact on economic progress could be a significant bump in the road to continuing prosperity. Those who believe otherwise are cautioned to remember that the small business sector created all of the net new jobs created between 1992 and 1996.

Of all the industries in the US, our largest one, health care, continues to be a primary concern. Rural and inner city hospitals lack the resources to make the same investments and improvements as larger, better endowed hospitals do. There are 50 thousand doctor=s offices nationwide, each with diagnostic equipment, therapy devices, and record keeping systems which are vulnerable to the Y2K bug. Yet a very substantial percentage-- maybe even a majority-- have failed to fully remediate. As for the nation=s 16 thousand nursing homes, which serve some of the most critically ill patients, no public survey or study seems to have been done to assess their vulnerability.

Snip

I wish I could say the same thing about other countries, but I can=t. International readiness remains a paramount concern. That concern is two-fold. On the one hand we have economic concerns. The global economy we live in today means no business or country is an island. All of us are interconnected and interdependent. We in Connecticut know that better than anybody because our state is one of the most dependent in the nation on foreign trade. Last year, more than 13 hundred Connecticut manufacturers were responsible for exporting almost $8 billion in goods and services worldwide, supporting more than 120 thousand jobs here in our state.

Unfortunately, those in other nations who purchase our goods and services may be hampered, if not completely crippled, by New Year=s. Gathering information from abroad can be difficult. We can=t compel other nations, foreign corporations, or foreign ports to disclose their Y2K readiness. Many of the ships which transport our goods are foreign owned. China, the largest consumer market in the world and our fourth largest trading partner, is behind and we have little information about its status.

There are countries in every part of the world, South America, Africa, Asia, even parts of Europe, which are clearly unprepared for Y2K. For those of you planning to travel abroad over the holidays, I urge you to factor Y2K into your plans. The State Department has now added Y2K assessments to their country fact sheets and I encourage you to look at that and plan accordingly.

-- Brian (imager@home.com), October 06, 1999

Answers

 I am going to try the Coast guard URL agian.

Year 2000 (Y2K) Reporting Requirements for Vessels and Marine Facilities

-- Brian (imager@home.com), October 06, 1999.