[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 6] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page 7821] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]THE YEAR 2000 COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE ACT ______ HON. THOMAS M. DAVIS of virginia in the house of representatives Wednesday, April 28, 1999 Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to introduce the Year 2000 Compliance Assistance Act, a bill that authorizes the acquisition of Year 2000 information technology by state and local governments through the Federal Supply Schedules of the General Services Administration (GSA). As a former local government official and high technology executive, I recognize the tremendous burden placed on state and local governments as they work to ensure that their mission-critical systems are ready for the new millennium. Under the presistent urging of Representatives Connie Morella of Maryland and Steve Horn of California over the past four years, the federal government has sluggishly moved toward readying most federal mission-critical systems for the Year 2000 conversion. However, many are now just beginning to turn their attention to the condition of many state and local government mission-critical systems that are essential to the seamless delivery of essential governmental services on all levels of government. As John Koskinen, chair of the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion, has emphasized, we should all be concerned about the ability of some state and local systems to interface with Year 2000 compliant federal systems. These systems include Medicaid and welfare assistance programs. Recently, I held another hearing in the Subcommittee on the District of Columbia at which the General Accounting Office (GAO) provided an upate on the status of the District of Columbia's Year 2000 conversion efforts. The GAO reported this time that the city of Washington, DC was at significant risk of not being able to effectively ensure public safety, collect revenue, educate students and provide health care services. Despite Herculean efforts on the part of the District's Chief Technology Officer, strong private sector support, and substantial federal resources, it appears that the one thing that cannot be controlled during DC's Year 2000 compliance efforts is time. Many states and localities are simply running out of time. I am confident that a substantial number of states, cities, towns, and villages across the country are in similar situations as our Capital City. This is why I am today introducing the Year 2000 Compliance Assistance Act. This legislation is a voluntary program where the federal government will allow state and local governments to purchase Year 2000 conversion related information technology (IT) products and services off the GSA's IT multiple award schedules. Under this emergency authority, state and local governments will have one more option in the fight against time to procure Year 2000 compliance assistance in a cost-effective and timely manner. I believe that during this period of moving governmental responsibilities back to the states and localities, the federal government has a unique opportunity to provide procurement assistance to the state and local governments to help ensure nationwide Year 2000 compliance or contingency preparation. The authority under this legislation is limited to the unique nature of the Year 2000 computer bug. The authority would expire on December 31, 2002, and could only be used by state and local govenments for procurements necessitated by the Year 2000 budget bug. I look forward to working with my colleagues towards the rapid enactment of this unique Year 2000 legislation. ____________________