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Senators chide gov't on Y2K
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April 14, 1999: 1:01 p.m. ET
Dodd, Bennett say federal agencies need to step up contingency plans
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The leaders of a special Senate committee created to tackle Year 2000-related issues on Wednesday scolded U.S. government agencies for not doing enough to ensure that contingency plans are in place in the event of any Y2K-related failures.
Although Senators Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) and Robert Bennett (R-Utah) applauded the federal government's efforts in making most of their mission-critical systems Y2K compliant, they admonished those agencies for lagging behind in their contingency plans.
The senators noted their concerns regarding whether there is enough time remaining for federal agencies to complete their testing to ensure services will be provided without disruptions into 2000.
"The committee is not satisfied with the level of progress in this area and has asked agencies to provide more details on their planning efforts by the end of the month," said Bennett, chairman of the Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem.
Dodd, vice-chairman of the committee, noted that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) said it would ask agencies to submit Y2K business contingency and continuity plans in June.
"However, OMB has not yet set a target date for validated and tested contingency plans," Dodd said.
In March, the Clinton administration said 92 percent of the government's mission-critical computer systems were Y2K compliant. But 8 percent, or nearly 500 systems, missed the government's March 31 deadline.
Bennett said those systems include Medicare payment, air-traffic control and "critical national defense systems such as the Global Command and Control System essential for orchestrating conflicts, such as the one currently ongoing in Kosovo."
Bennett maintained that while 92 percent of the government's systems are Y2K compliant, that "doesn't mean the government is 92-percent ready," adding that federal agencies still need to complete end-to-end testing.
Bennett also noted that the 24 major federal agencies are on track to spend nearly $10 billion on the Y2K problem and an additional $3.35 million in emergency funding.
The Y2K problem refers to problems computers may face during the transition from 1999 to 2000 because many computers are programmed to recognize only the last two digits of the year. Computers may recognize 2000 as 1900 or may cease to function altogether. 
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