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Congresswoman predicts gov't will spend $5 billion on Y2K
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September 4, 1998 by Blaise Zerega |
From...
|
(IDG)
-- With a number of bills regarding legal immunity and information sharing
pending, Congress is starting to play an active role in year-2000 compliance.
Rep. Constance Morella (R-Md.), chairwoman, House Technology Subcommittee, and co-chair, House Y2K Task Force, talked with InfoWorld Senior Writer Blaise Zerega about the challenge of getting companies to share information and the dangers of noncompliance.
InfoWorld: The 105th Congress has already seen a number of legislative initiatives introduced concerning the year-2000 problem. What further action will Congress take before adjournment in the Fall?
Morella:
We may have two more hearings for the rest of this session, which is only
about four weeks. One I'd like to do on the consumer, recognizing the
consumer as a centerpiece of all of this, what questions should be asked,
how should people react. Another one I was thinking of was doing more
on the liability question, looking at again establishing maybe some standards,
points from which there could be appropriate evaluation.
Rep.
Morella is co-chair of the House Y2K Task Force.
InfoWorld: Liability inevitably means sharing information. Are you suggesting additional hearings or proposing a new bill?
Morella: It would be a hearing to look at what do people need to know. How do we get this information to them? Should they be asking questions of the medical profession? Should they be asking questions of their securities representative? That kind of thing.
InfoWorld: What will noncompliance by the federal government mean to companies and consumers?
Morella: It would be catastrophic.
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InfoWorld: Please explain.
Morella: Whether or not you're talking about Medicare or Medicaid or student loans, we've got connections with the state government, state government has connections with the local, sometimes we have direct connections with the local government, connections over other parts of the world with our international partners. There's just no way that you can divorce the federal government from having some kind of influence in all of these areas. The key concern is interoperability.
InfoWorld: Is there a disaster on the horizon?
Morella: I am not Pollyanna-ish in saying, 'don't worry, everything's going to be great.' And I'm also not Chicken Little, saying 'the sky is falling, the sky is falling.' I think that we've got to look for a balance, a balance that means contingencies will be necessary because everything isn't going to be in compliance. Let's just face it.
InfoWorld: One of the factors critical to year-2000 compliance is information sharing between companies and their business partners. Yet, a fear of legal liability has slowed information exchanges and Congress is considering laws to shield companies on the basis of their year-2000 disclosure statements. What are the differences between Clinton's Good Samaritan Law and the industry-favored Drier Alternative?
Morella: One is more binding than the other. The Drier Bill states more definitively what the waiver will be from liability. The Drier Bill was put together with the input of industry, business, particularly the National Association of Manufacturers.
InfoWorld: Is there a danger in granting companies full or partial immunity when it comes to this problem?
Morella: This is a very precarious, treacherous area to be in, the area of, not litigation, of legislation. And so I think we need not have that rush to legislate. I think we need to think it over. I think we need to figure out what really is appropriate and recognize that there may be other places where we can help beyond just legislation.
InfoWorld: Such as?
Morella: Liability limits. You could say there will be no pain and suffering and non-economic damages and things of that nature.
InfoWorld: Won't that be unfair to companies who have spent time and money to fix their problems? Why protect companies who have not addressed the issue?
Morella: That's the problem and that's why I mentioned that we have to be careful that we don't come out with legislation that gets them off the hook. They've got to realize they have a responsibility and that the government isn't going to exclude them from it. They could be culpable for not working on it. And so I think that's the position that we have to take in government, that we'll give you what you need, but we're not just going to dish out legislation to [protect you for] not complying.
InfoWorld: And legislation protecting information sharing will help get companies moving towards compliance?
Morella: We need to have some assurances that information can be shared, some assurances that we're not going to let the cottage industry of lawyers make more money than what it would cost to resolve the problem. It definitely is a problem.
InfoWorld: So what final form will information sharing legislation take, tort reform, damage caps, immunity, a national campaign of awareness? What will Congress do?
Morella: I think almost all of those things. First, you've got to give companies some confidence in knowing that they can share without the problem of being liable for every little bit of information that they believe is correct. Secondly, you've got to create awareness, awareness among the American people, an awareness among those companies too, that this is a national concern and a problem and we're all in it together and we've got to work together too. And that going to the courts is not really the answer. Thirdly, I think we've just got to offer help and assistance in any way that we can.
InfoWorld: But one of the biggest stumbling blocks to information disclosure is the lack of a standard definition of compliance.
Morella: I know. That is an area that my committee is very interested in looking into, and we talked about possible legislation in the future on the whole concept of the standards. What they should be? I really don't know. We will listen to what the experts say and see if we think there is a legislative role.
InfoWorld: I understand that your committee is going to come out with a form of best practices guide for the government, but it's now Fall of '98. Let's say that came out in the Summer of '99, is that too late?
Morella: Probably. I've always said you need 12 months to validate, to do your testing. I don't know that you could do a good job in less than 10 months.
InfoWorld: Any other Congressional action? How will the government fund year-2000 projects?
Morella: It will be the first time we'll have a fourteenth [appropriations] bill. It'll be in for four billion and there's already another one billion that has already been put within the other [13 annual appropriations] bills.