Home > 105th Congressional Bills > H.R. 4756 (ih) To ensure that the United States is prepared to meet the Year 2000 computer problem. ...H.R. 4756 (ih) To ensure that the United States is prepared to meet the Year 2000 computer problem. ...
105th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4756
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To ensure that the United States is prepared to meet the Year 2000
computer problem.
105th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4756
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To ensure that the United States is prepared to meet the Year 2000
computer problem.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Year 2000 Preparedness Act of
1998''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act--
(1) the term ``end-to-end testing'' means testing data
exchange software with respect to--
(A) the initiation of the exchange by sending
computers;
(B) transmission through intermediate
communications software and hardware; and
(C) receipt and acceptance by receiving computers;
(2) the term ``small and medium-sized businesses'' means
businesses with less than 500 employees;
(3) the term ``Year 2000 compliant'' means, with respect to
information technology, that the information technology
accurately processes (including calculating, comparing, and
sequencing) date and time data from, into, and between the 20th
and 21st centuries and the years 1999 and 2000, and leap year
calculations, to the extent that other information technology
properly exchanges date and time data with it;
(4) the term ``Year 2000 computer problem'' means, with
respect to information technology, any problem which prevents
such technology from accurately processing, calculating,
comparing, or sequencing date or time data--
(A) from, into, or between--
(i) the 20th and 21st centuries; or
(ii) the years 1999 and 2000;
(B) with regard to leap year calculations; or
(C) with regard to such other dates as the Year
2000 Conversion Council may identify and designate; and
(5) the term ``Year 2000 Conversion Council'' means the
President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion established under
section 2 of Executive Order No. 13073, issued on February 4,
1998;
SEC. 3. CRITICAL GOVERNMENT SERVICES.
The President shall provide for the acceleration of the development
of business continuity plans by Federal agencies necessary to ensure
the uninterrupted delivery by those agencies of critical mission-
related services.
SEC. 4. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.
It is the sense of the Congress that--
(1) the President should take a high profile national
leadership position to aggressively promote Year 2000 date
change awareness for information technology systems and
sensitive infrastructure applications;
(2) the President should authorize the Chair of the Year
2000 Conversion Council to take a leadership role in resolving
Year 2000 issues in any critical Federal civilian agency system
that is in jeopardy because of ineffective management of not
meeting the January 1, 2000, deadline with respect to the Year
2000 computer problem;
(3) consistent with the spirit of the Government
Performance and Results Act of 1993, the Chair of the Year 2000
Conversion Council, in consultation with the President's
Council on Infrastructure Assurance, officers of the Federal
Government and of State and local governments, and
representatives of the private sector, should work toward a
national strategy to assure that the critical infrastructures
and key sectors of the economy will be prepared for the Year
2000 date change, with such strategy including, for each
sector, goals appropriate to each;
(4) the Chair of the Year 2000 Conversion Council is making
a significant contribution to Year 2000 computer problem
awareness by scheduling a National Y2K Action Week for October
19 through 23, 1998;
(5) the Small Business Administration, the Department of
Commerce, the Department of Agriculture, and other appropriate
Federal agencies should undertake maximum efforts to assist
American family businesses and farmers in assessing their
exposure to the Year 2000 computer problem, undertaking the
necessary remedial steps, and formulating contingency plans;
and
(6) State and local governments, as well as private sector
industry groups and companies, should find ways to participate
in this effort to prepare the American economy for the year
2000.
SEC. 5. AGENCY REPORTS.
All Federal agency reports to the Office of Management and Budget
relating to the Year 2000 computer problem shall be concurrently
transmitted to the Congress, including all Federal agency monthly
submissions to the Office of Management and Budget.
SEC. 6. GUIDELINES.
The Chair of the Year 2000 Conversion Council is encouraged to
develop, in consultation with industry, guidelines of best practices
and standards for remediation and validation with respect to the Year
2000 computer problem to provide better direction for government and
private sector efforts.
SEC. 7. NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF YEAR 2000 COMPUTER PROBLEM.
The Chair of the Year 2000 Conversion Council shall submit to the
Congress any national assessment of the Year 2000 computer problem,
conducted through or in conjunction with the Year 2000 Conversion
Council, covering all critical national infrastructures and key sectors
of the economy, including banking and finance, energy,
telecommunications, transportation, and vital human services which
protect the public health and safety, the water supply, housing and
public buildings, and the environment.
SEC. 8. FEDERAL AGENCY ACTIONS.
To ensure that all computer operations and processing can be
provided without interruption by Federal agencies after December 31,
1999, the head of each Federal agency shall--
(1) take actions necessary to ensure that all systems and
hardware administered by the agency are Year 2000 compliant, to
the extent necessary to ensure that no significant disruption
of the operations of the agency or of the agency's data
exchange partners occurs, including--
(A) establishing, before March 1, 1999, schedules
for testing and implementing new data exchange formats
for completing all data exchange corrections, which may
include national test days for end-to-end testing of
critical processes and associated data exchanges
affecting Federal, State, and local governments;
(B) notifying data exchange partners of the
implications to the agency and the exchange partners if
they do not make appropriate date conversion
corrections in time to meet the Federal schedule for
implementing and testing Year 2000 compliant data
exchange processes;
(C) giving priority to installing filters necessary
to prevent the corruption of mission-critical systems
from data exchanges with noncompliant systems; and
(D) developing and implementing, as part of the
agency's continuity and contingency planning efforts,
specific provisions for data exchanges that may fail,
including strategies to mitigate operational
disruptions if data exchange partners do not make
timely date conversion corrections;
(2) beginning not later than 30 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, convene meetings at least quarterly with
representatives of the agency's data exchange partners to
assess implementation progress; and
(3) after each meeting convened pursuant to paragraph (2),
transmit to the Congress a report summarizing--
(A) the results of that meeting; and
(B) the status of the agency's completion of key
data exchange corrections, including the extent of data
exchange inventoried, an assessment of data exchange
formats agreed to with data exchange partners, testing
and implementation schedules, and testing and
implementation completed.
SEC. 9. ASSISTANCE FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED BUSINESSES.
To ensure that the Nation's small and medium-sized businesses are
prepared to meet the Year 2000 computer problem challenge, the National
Institute of Standards and Technology, in conjunction with the Small
Business Administration, shall develop a Year 2000 compliance outreach
program to assist small and medium-sized businesses. Such program shall
include--
(1) the development of a Year 2000 self-assessment
checklist;
(2) an explanation of the Year 2000 computer problem and an
identification of best practices for resolving the problem;
(3) a list of Federal Government Year 2000 information
resources; and
(4) a list of Year 2000 compliant products provided by the
General Services Administration.
SEC. 10. CONSUMER AWARENESS.
To ensure that the Nation's consumers are aware of and prepared to
meet the Year 2000 computer problem challenge, the Under Secretary of
Commerce for Technology, in consultation with the Consumer Product
Safety Commission and the Federal Trade Commission, shall develop a
Year 2000 consumer awareness program to assist the public in becoming
aware of the implications of the Year 2000 computer problem. Such
program shall include--
(1) the development of a Year 2000 self-assessment
checklist;
(2) a list of Federal Government Year 2000 computer problem
information resources;
(3) a list of Year 2000 compliant products provided by the
General Services Administration;
(4) a series of public awareness announcements or seminars
on the impact of the Year 2000 computer problem on consumer
products and services; and
(5) a series of public awareness announcements or seminars
on the potential effect that the Year 2000 computer problem
could have on the provision of services by the Federal
Government to the public, and the progress made in resolving
the problem by the Federal agencies providing those services.
Passed the House of Representatives October 13, 1998.
Attest:
Clerk.
Pages: 1 Other Popular 105th Congressional Bills Documents:
|
| GovRecords.org presents information on various agencies of the United States Government. Even though all information is believed to be credible and accurate, no guarantees are made on the complete accuracy of our government records archive. Care should be taken to verify the information presented by responsible parties. Please see our reference page for congressional, presidential, and judicial branch contact information. GovRecords.org values visitor privacy. Please see the privacy page for more information. |
 |