Some of these standards specify a 4-digit year format. Federal and state coordinating organizations reached initial agreements in 1997 on the steps to address data exchanges issues; however, many federal agencies and states have not yet finished assessing their data exchanges to determine if they are Year 2000 compliant. Further, little progress has been made in completing key steps such as reaching agreements with partners on exchange formats, developing and testing bridges and filters, and developing contingency plans. To implement these agreements, OMB issued instructions in January 1998 for federal agencies to inventory all data exchanges with outside parties by February 1, 1998, and coordinate plans for transitioning to Year 2000 compliant data exchanges with exchange partners by March 1, 1998. Significant state actions will be needed to address Year 2000 data exchange issues. Of the 12 agencies that have been monitoring progress on the resolution of Year 2000 problems, 10 reported that they have data on the corrective action status of the organization they regulate or oversee. Most Actions Taken by Federal Agencies to Prevent International Data Exchange Problems Have Been in the Financial Services Area

Federal agencies in the financial services area reported having initiated efforts domestically and internationally to address Year 2000 problems with international data exchanges, but other federal agencies reported that they are still in the initial stages of addressing these issues. Ten federal agencies reported having 702 data exchanges with foreign governments or the foreign private sector. The federal agencies reported reaching agreement on formats for 98, or 14 percent, of the foreign exchanges. Organizations in the financial services area are the most active in Year 2000 efforts. Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

As requested by the Ranking Minority Member of the Subcommittee on Technology, House Committee on Science, our overall objectives for the review were to identify (1) the key actions taken to date to address electronic data exchanges among federal, state, and local governments, (2) actions the federal government has taken to minimize the adverse economic impact of noncompliant Year 2000 data from other countries’ information systems corrupting critical functions of our nation, and (3) international forums where the worldwide economic implications of this issue have been or could be addressed. To identify the key actions taken to date to address electronic data exchanges among federal, state, and local governments, we contacted federal and state organizations responsible for coordinating Year 2000 activities to identify their approaches for addressing data exchange issues. They expect to complete these surveys during the first half of 1998. 1. 2. 3. 4.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on actions taken to address year 2000 issues for electronic data exchanges, focusing on the: (1) key actions taken to date to address electronic data exchanges among federal, state, and local governments; (2) actions the federal government has taken to minimize the adverse economic impact of non-compliant year 2000 data from other countries' information systems corrupting critical functions of the United States; and (3) international forums where the worldwide economic implications of this issue have been or could be addressed.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) key actions to address year 2000 data exchange issues are still in the early stages; however, federal and state coordinating organizations have agreed to use a 4-digit contiguous year format and establish joint federal and state policy and working groups; (2) to implement these agreements, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued instructions in January 1998 to federal agencies to inventory all data exchanges with outside parties by February 1, 1998, and coordinate with these exchange partners by March 1, 1998; (3) at the time of GAO's review, no actions had been taken to establish target dates for additional key tasks; (4) about half of the federal agencies reported during the first quarter of 1998 that they have not yet finished assessing their data exchanges to determine if they will be able to process data with dates beyond 1999; (5) two of the 39 state-level organizations reported having finished assessing their data exchanges; (6) for the exchanges already identified as not year 2000 ready, respondents reported that little progress has yet been made in completing key steps such as reaching agreements with partners on date formats, developing and testing bridges and filters, and developing contingency plans for cases in which year 2000 readiness will not be achieved; (7) most federal agency actions to address year 2000 issues with international data exchanges have been in the financial services area; (8) ten federal agencies reported having a total of 702 data exchanges with foreign governments or the foreign private sector; (9) these foreign data exchanges represented less than 1 percent of federal agencies' total reported exchanges; (10) federal agencies reported reaching agreements so far on formats of 98 of the foreign data exchanges; (11) international organizations addressing year 2000 issues have been the most active in the financial services area; and (12) during 1997, several international organizations initiated activities to increase awareness, provide guidance, and monitor the status of year 2000 efforts.