House forms Y2K task force to work with Senate

Reps. Constance Morella (R-Md.) and Steve Horn (R-Calif.), both of whom have led the House's investigation into how the federal government is managing Year 2000 fixes, have been appointed to lead a task force that will oversee efforts in the public and private sectors to address the millennium bug.

Morella, chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Technology, said in a prepared statement, "The House Y2K task force will allow us to collaborate more effectively with the newly created Senate special committee to ensure both government and private industry move forward with the necessary dispatch to correct the problem in a timely manner."

In April, the Senate formed the Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem, which Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah) heads. The committee studies how the Year 2000 problem affects the executive and judicial branches of the federal government, state governments and private-sector operations in the United States and overseas. Based on its findings, the committee may make recommendations for possible legislation as well as amendments to existing laws.

For the House task force, Horn, who chairs the Subcommittee on Government Management, Information and Technology, said the "chief objective ... is to inspire action."

In announcing the task force, House speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said in a prepared statement that the Clinton administration has paid little attention to the Year 2000 problem, which "has put many federal information technology systems at risk."