Year 2000 Computer Problem: Selected Internet Addresses

Rita Tehan
Information Research Specialist
Congressional Reference Division

Updated June 18, 1999

98-781

Federal Government: Congress (links to House and Senate hearings, statements, and testimony)

• Congressional Hearings: Senate

http://www.freedom.gov/y2k/doing/senate.asp

• Congressional Hearings: House

http://www.freedom.gov/y2k/

• Congressional Hearings: Information Technology Association of America

http://www.itaa.org/congress.htm

• Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem

http://www.senate.gov/~y2k/index.html

Federal Government: Agencies

• General Accounting Office: GAO Reports and Publications

http://www.gao.gov/y2kr.htm

Includes assessment and testing guides, and a manual for business continuity and contingency planning. Since February 1997, GAO has written dozens of reports on the government's response to Y2K, and on specific federal agencies' readiness to handle it.

• General Services Administration

http://www.itpolicy.gsa.gov/mks/yr2000/y201toc1.htm

This site offers a collection of federal government and international links, including an international directory and international conferences.

• Office of Personnel Management: Year 2000 Assistance to Agencies

http://www.opm.gov/y2k/

Links to OPM initiatives to assist federal agencies in hiring information technology professionals, including a link to the U.S. Department of Labor's America's Job Bank.

• President's Year 2000 Conversion Council

http://www.y2k.gov/java/index.htm

The Council was established on February 4, 1998, by Executive Order 13073 and is responsible for coordinating the federal government's response to the Year 2000 problem.

• U.S. Federal Government Gateway for Year 2000 Information Directories

http://www.itpolicy.gsa.gov/mks/yr2000/y2khome.htm

The site links to official U.S. government sources for information on the Y2K problem, including international, consumer, and community information, and Y2K for Kids.

State and Local Government

• National Association of Counties

http://www.naco.org/programs/infotech/y2k/index.cfm

Provides links to the information that is relevant to county government, focusing on information and resources that are useful to the non-technical county official as well as to the county chief information officer or information systems director.

• National Association of State Information Resource Executives (NASIRE)

http://www.nasire.org/hotIssues/y2k/

Compilation of Year 2000 Web pages for states.

• National Conference of State Legislatures

http://www.ncsl.org/programs/lis/y2k/y2k.htm

Contains information on state laws and legislation, state government Y2K compliance, a Y2K checklist, and a survey on the status of state remediation efforts.

• States.org

http://www.states.org/bycat/display.cgi?categID=5000057.0

This site is a compilation of links to states (and Canadian provinces) with Y2K programs (NOTE: this site can be somewhat slow to load).

• Y2K & You: Helping Local Governments Cope with the Year 2000 Problem

http://www.pti.org/y2k

Public Technology, Inc. (PTI), the National League of Cities (NLC), the National Association of Counties (NACo), and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) have launched the Y2K & You Campaign to make local appointed and elected officials aware of the impact of the Year 2000 problem.

International

• Action 2000

http://www.bug2000.co.uk/index2.shtml

This United Kingdom Web site helps businesses prepare for Y2K, and provides information on the status of government and business compliance.

• CIO Council International Links

http://www.itpolicy.gsa.gov/mks/yr2000/g7yr2000.htm

Maintained by the General Services Administration's CIO Council, this page links to various countries' Y2K Web sites (many are bilingual).

• Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)

http://www.csis.org/html/y2k.html

CSIS has established a Y2K Task Force to bring together senior government officials and business leaders from the United States and abroad to assess the Y2K risks to government, businesses, consumers, financial markets, and the global trading system.

• Global 2000 Co-ordinating Committee

http://www.global2k.com/

The Global 2000 Co-ordinating Group includes more than 680 contacts in the financial services private sector from over 280 institutions and associations representing more than 50 countries. Global 2000's aim is to identify the areas where coordinated initiatives will improve the readiness of global financial institutions to meet the Year 2000 date change.

• International Y2K Cooperation Center

http://www.iy2kcc.org

The IY2KCC was established in February 1999, under United Nations auspices with World Bank funding. The Center operates an electronic network that links national Y2K coordinators from over 150 countries and provides them with information about Y2K best practices. The Center also sponsors the Y2K Expert Service (YES) Volunteer Corps, an international network of Y2K experts who have volunteered their expertise to help countries in need of technical assistance.

• United Nations

http://www.un.org/members/yr2000/

This site links to the full text of The Year 2000 Challenge for the United Nations and four U.N. resolutions on the subject.

Business/Industry

• Federal Reserve Bank Guide for Small Businesses

http://www.frbsf.org/fiservices/cdc/smallbus/index.html

The Century Date Change Project site provides a Small Business and the Year 2000 guidance document for small businesses.

• Industry Search (NorthernLight)

http://www.northernlight.com/industry.html

Type "y2k" or "millennium bug" or "century date change" in the Search For box, and select an industry or "All Industries" to find articles on how business is managing Y2K.

• National Association of Manufacturers Clearinghouse for Current Solutions

http://www.nam.org/y2k/y2khome.asp

This trade association's Web site helps small and medium-sized firms share information about products and services dealing with the Year 2000 problem. Companies can search the site by company name or type of company.

• Prudential Small Business Guide

http://www.prudential.com/corporate/techatpru/cotzz1004.html

Prudential developed a plan and worksheets to help small businesses prepare for Y2K.

• Small Business Administration

http://www.sba.gov/y2k/

The SBA site provides links to "Steps to Take," "Checklists," and "Solution Providers" to assist small businesses in identifying and correcting the Y2K problem.

• Westergaard

http://www.y2ktimebomb.com/

This site analyzes how specific business sectors will be affected by Y2K (for example, utilities, banking, healthcare, insurance, etc.). In addition, featured columnists write weekly columns (Y2K on the Job, Investment Insights, Washington Interpreter, Technology Corner, etc.).

Media (Newspaper and Magazine Coverage)

• ComputerWorld Y2K articles

http://www.computerworld.com/res/year_2000.html

• Money Magazine - The Year 2000 Bug

http://www.pathfinder.com/money/y2k/index.html

• Sangers' Review of Y2K News Reports (linked and archived daily)

http://sangersreview.com

• Y2K News Magazine

http://www.y2knews.com/

• Y2K Today

http://www.y2ktoday.com/modules/home/default.asp

• ZDY2K

http://www.zdnet.com/enterprise/zdy2k/

General Sites

• Cassandra Project

http://www.cassandraproject.org/

Maintained by a grass-roots nonprofit organization, this Web site promotes community preparation and contingency planning.

• Coalition 2000

http://www.coalition2000.org

Coalition 2000 is a collaborative network of concerned citizens who help communities prepare for the Year 2000 by providing them with credible information and tools. The Coalition is dedicated to using a collaborative and cooperative partnership process involving community, government, and private sector groups.

• Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility

http://www.cpsr.org/program/y2k/

This site promotes Year 2000 awareness, mitigation, contingency planning, and preparedness. In particular CPSR seeks to speak and act for the segments of society which do not have extensive resources or organized groups to speak for them.

• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

http://www.computerpro.com/~phystad/csy2kfaq.html

This is a lengthy, very detailed question-and-answer document, regularly updated, which defines the problem, discusses its social and historical implications, describes specific hardware and software issues, gives examples of how to fix the problem, and provides links to additional resources and tools.

• Information Technology Association of America (ITAA)

http://www.itaa.org/year2000.htm

ITAA is an authoritative voice addressing the Year 2000 issue. Its scope has gone beyond the federal marketplace and now includes firms interested in pursuing this issue in both the state and local commercial sectors.

• Year 2000 Information Center

http://www.year2000.com/cgi-bin/y2k/NFyear2000.cgi

This is the Web site of Peter de Jager, who is perceived by many to be a worldwide leader in creating awareness of the Year 2000 problem.

Consumer Information

• Banking: The Year 2000 Date Change

http://www.fdic.gov/about/y2k/

This Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) site provides information on insured deposits, Y2K and the banking industry, "Is Your Money Safe", "Y2K Fixes and Frauds", and "A Bank Customer's 'To Do' List."

• Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association

http://www.cemacity.org/govt/CEMA2000.htm

This site is a collection of links to Y2K-compliant manufacturers of consumer appliances, such as Casio, Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Sony, Panasonic, etc.

• Government Hotlines

http://www.nist.gov/y2k/consumer.htm

This page links to U.S. government telephone hotlines for consumer and small business information on Y2K.

• Investor Kit

http://www.nasdr.com/3600_inv_kit.htm

The Securities and Exchange Commission, the National Association of Securities Dealers, and the Securities Industry Association have issued an "Investor Kit" to help investors prepare for Y2K. In addition to a review of the financial industry's efforts to prepare, the kit includes a list of questions frequently asked by investors, and a Y2K checklist.

• NSTL Year 2000 Testing Program: YMark 2000 (for personal computers)

http://www.nstl.com/html/nstl_y2k.html

YMark 2000 is a free NSTL utility which consumers can download to their personal computer to determine if a PC will adequately support dates after December 31, 1999.

• Travel

http://travel.state.gov/y2k_announce.html

This announcement from the State Department advises citizens of potential problems while traveling overseas in late 1999 or early 2000. The bulletin also notes that by October 1, 1999, the State Department will provide Consular Information Sheets on individual countries' Y2K preparedness.

• Y2Kbase

http://www.y2kbase.com/

This is a comprehensive independent database of Y2K compliance information for consumers. It provides search and browse features for finding which products and services are Y2K compliant.

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• ZDNet Consumer Alert

http://www.zdnet.com/enterprise/zdy2k/alert/

Answers to consumer questions on how Y2K will affect business, health, personal computers, home appliances, personal finances, and more.

• Vendor 2000

http://www.vendor2000.com

Vendor 2000 is a repository of hardware, software, and other specialized products that may be affected by the "Year 2000 Bug." The compliance information was obtained either directly from the vendors by letter or from the published Year 2000 compliance status on the vendors' Internet Web sites.