Year 2000 center closing shop

The Office of Management and Budget is closing down the $50 million Year

2000 Information Coordination Center. The center will be closed March 31.

The Clinton administration created the ICC to serve as the central coordination

site for nationwide response to Year 2000-related incidents during the Dec.

31, 1999, to Jan. 1, 2000, transition. Under John Koskinen, head of the

President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion, and Gen. Peter Kind (Ret.),

the ICC gathered and shared incident information among representatives from

all of the federal, state and local government agencies and industry.

"The ICC played a critical role in helping assure smooth operations at a

critical moment," said Linda Ricci, an OMB spokeswoman. "Now that the mission

has been accomplished to everyone's satisfaction, the ICC will be closing

its operations, and the equipment will be going to FEMA."

Many in government have said that the Year 2000 experience has been very

helpful to both government and industry, especially the proof that many

agencies and companies can work together to reach solutions.

"Y2K showed that agencies can work together, and those that participated...will

probably remember that when the next crisis comes up," said Bruce McConnell,

head of the International Y2K Cooperation Center.