Political Quotes

“this rule strikes the emergency funding appropriation related to the Year 2000 conversion of Federal information technology systems. I must protest this provision in the rule because of the severity and potential impact of the Year 2000 problem. I'd like to commend the work of Representative Steve Horn who is the Chairman of the Government, Management, Information and Technology Subcommittee where I serve as ranking member. Mr. Horn has been a leader on the Y2k issue long before anyone else. I am pleased to be serving with him on the subcommittee on this issue. I'd also like to commend the Majority for paying special attention to the Y2k problem. However, I'm concerned that if we delay the emergency appropriations for Y2k that we will not be giving the agencies the support they need to solve this problem. Last month, the U.S. Postal Service released their first progress report on fixing the Y2k problem. The report was worrisome. Out of 335 mission-critical systems, 210 need to be repaired, 59 need to be replaced, and only 54 were Year 2000 compliant. The Postal Service needs their emergency appropriations as soon as possible. Imagine the disservice we are doing to the American people and economy by not doing our best to make sure their mail is delivered in a timely manner once January 1, 2000 is here.”