The U.S. Committee on Government Reform and Oversight

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Introduction 

The Committee on Government Reform and Oversight has primary legislative and oversight jurisdiction with respect to the overall economy, efficiency and management of government operations and activities. Pursuant to this authority, the Subcommittee on Government Management, Information and Tecnology convened an oversight hearing on April 16, 1996, to examine whether computers throughout the Federal Government, the United States, and the world would be able to handle the transition from the year 1999 to the year 2000. The subcommittee has continued this investigation throughout the 105th Congress.

Here follows their latest recommendations, as of October 8, 1998. For the full report, visit the Web page, www.house.gov/reform/gmit/y2k/y/.

Committee Recommendations

1. The President and the Executive Branch of the United States Government Must Approach the Year 2000 Problem with Greater Urgency.

Executive leadership is the key to rectifying the year 2000 problem. Senior executive management in Federal agencies, other levels of government, and for-profit and nonprofit organizations throughout society must make year 2000 efforts a priority. This involves accepting the responsibility, freeing up the necessary resources, and insisting on a timeline for finishing the job before January 1, 2000. This is especially true for the Federal Government. The Federal Government is uniquely positioned to publicize the year 2000 crisis as a national priority and to take a leadership role. The President is the elected leader of the Nation. All efforts to combat the year 2000 problem take their cue from the top.

The current evidence points to considerable year 2000 failure unless the rate of progress throughout society improves considerably. In too many sectors, there is simply no reliable information about year 2000 vulnerability. We cannot head into the new millennium unprepared. It is time for the President to declare that the year 2000 problem is a National Priority. If sufficient progress is not made by an intermediate deadline, he may even need to escalate the year 2000 problem to a National Emergency.

The point of calling for such urgency is not to trigger panic, but in fact to avoid panic. If this problem does not receive the attention it demands during the next six to nine months, and if we allow the date change to approach without knowing our vulnerability, panic will be the inevitable result. The only way to avoid this is to act now. The President must sound the alarm and address to the Nation now in order to avoid panic later.

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