Clinton Offers Assurances on Y2K Fixes
President Clinton offered assurances Wednesday that extensive efforts by all major sectors of the U.S. economy to fix the Year 2000 computer problem have paid off, predicting “no major national breakdowns” on Jan. 1.
“I am confident the Y2K problem . . . will not put the savings or the safety of the American people at risk,” Clinton said.
Addressing earlier fears about the effect the Y2K glitch could have on vital government functions, Clinton added: “The American people can have full faith that everything from air traffic control systems to Social Security payment systems will continue to work exactly as they should.”
Clinton’s optimistic forecast was underscored by the President’s Council on the Year 2000 Conversion, which issued its fourth and final report on Y2K readiness Wednesday. But the council also cited some of the remaining weak points in the country’s preparations.
Many local 911 emergency services have been late in addressing problems in their automated systems, and seven have reported that they will not be Y2K compliant by Jan. 1, the council said. A significant number of smaller health-care facilities, schools and small businesses also have put off fixing their computer systems, according to the report, and could suffer troubles as a result.
With only 51 days left in 1999, John A. Koskinen, chairman of the Y2K council, stressed that “those who are not yet done are obviously cutting it very close.” He urged organizations that are not Y2K-compliant to establish contingency plans in case their systems fail.
Y2K remediation involves reprogramming older hardware and software, which denote years with only two digits, so they do not assume that 2000 is 1900. The federal government estimates that it will spend $8.6 billion to prevent major mishaps, and the private sector has dedicated at least $5 billion to the task.
The council’s fourth-quarter report said considerable progress had been made in many sectors since its previous report, which was released in August. At that point, only 37% of the nation’s 911 emergency call centers had said they were ready, compared with half in the new report. All but seven localities expect their systems to be compliant by the new year, the council said. The seven laggards were not identified.
Even in communities where 911 system fixes are not made in time, the fire departments, police departments and ambulance services still will respond to emergency calls, Koskinen said. But their response times may be slowed if the automated systems stop functioning. He suggested that Americans make a list of emergency numbers for hospitals and police and fire departments and keep them handy.
Koskinen said that small businesses taking a wait-and-see approach to Y2K problems “are asking for trouble.” He cited a potential “logjam” of small businesses and individuals trying to buy fixes after Jan. 1 if their computers fail.
The federal government has printed a booklet to help individuals prepare for Y2K. A free copy can be obtained by calling 1-888-USA-4Y2K.
Koskinen expressed confidence in year-end supplies of food, medicine and other essentials. The pharmaceutical industry, which has spent $1 billion on Y2K fixes, has a 90-day inventory of finished products, he said. That should provide a cushion if problems arise, particularly for U.S. drug companies that use foreign suppliers.
The report noted, however, that about one-third of prescription drug manufacturers said in a survey that they did not have contingency plans. As a precautionary measure, it suggested that patients refill prescriptions when they have a five- to seven-day supply remaining instead of waiting until they have none.
Koskinen also suggested that Americans store a weekend’s supply of food and water before the new year, just in case.
Clinton, on the other hand, said during an online town hall meeting Monday that he would not store food if he were an ordinary citizen.
“I wouldn’t hoard food and I wouldn’t hide. I would be trusting because I think we’re going to make it fine,” Clinton said in response to a question from a citizen read to him from a computer screen at George Washington University.
Several nongovernment experts agreed with the president’s positive assessment. “I think the president was on the money,” said Gopi Bala, who heads the management strategy department for the Yankee Group, a Boston-based consulting firm.
The report was criticized by some congressional Republicans for failing to address the international situation in much depth. “We remain concerned that there is still insufficient information to determine the Year 2000 readiness of many other countries that could have serious repercussions on the American public, both here and abroad,” said Rep. Stephen Horn (R-Long Beach), chairman of the House subcommittee on government management, information and technology.
