U.S. Ready for Y2K, Lawmaker Says

Aside from a few gnawing doubts in such areas as food stamp programs and foreign airports, the government is ready for Y2K, lawmakers said Monday. Most important now, they said, is to avoid public panic.

Rep. Stephen Horn (R-Long Beach), who closely follows the Y2K computer problem, said air traffic control systems are among those with work still to be done, but he emphasized that flying on Jan. 1 will be safe. The Federal Aviation Administration said all its systems are Y2K compliant.

Horn, who gave failing grades to many federal agencies when he issued his first Y2K “report card” in July 1996, gave the government an overall B+ in his last report before the millennium change.

“We have come a long way since we began examining this enormous technological challenge,” Horn said.

He said that of 24 federal agencies he has tracked, 12 have completed preparations and eight have fixed their computers but lack testing.

Many older computers only read the last two digits in a year. If not converted, they could mistake the year 2000, shown as 00, for 1900, possibly leading to malfunctions.