Bill Clinton: “Well, let me say that we're very concerned about that, Sarah, and I asked John Koskinen, formerly a deputy at OMB and…”

“Well, let me say that we're very concerned about that, Sarah, and I asked John Koskinen, formerly a deputy at OMB and before that a man who had a very distinguished career in the private sector, to come back into public service to supervise and coordinate our efforts to deal with the computer 2000 problem. It's not something that grabs the headlines every day, but it is in fact a profound challenge, not only for the United States but for every country--which is every country now--that has extensive reliance on computers. And there are a lot of very complex questions. There are computer hookups where people at both ends have computers that can be programmed to move easily to 2000, but there's something in the connection in between which won't. So this is a very complicated problem. Interestingly enough, we discussed it in some detail at the G-8 meeting in England recently, and I can tell you that we are working very hard on it. We're working very hard, first of all, to monitor the progress of every Government agency to see that they're ready, and some are doing better than others because some have more profound challenges than others. And secondly, we want to do what we can to be supportive of the private sector in the United States and their efforts to make these adjustments. But it is a very big problem. And I would urge--since you've asked the question, I would urge everyone in America who hears this exchange to make sure that they have done everything they can do within their own business sectors to be ready for this. And we also agreed, by the way, when I was in England, to work with other countries so that we can help share information and do everything we can do make sure that when the new millennium starts, it's happy event and not a cyberspace headache. President's Trip to China”