Ron Wyden: “I have joined with Senator McCain in cosponsoring this legislation that comes before the Senate, after voting against…”

“I have joined with Senator McCain in cosponsoring this legislation that comes before the Senate, after voting against the bill that came out of the Senate Commerce Committee. I have done so because there have been at least seven major changes made in the legislation after it came out of committee so that now when it comes before the Senate it is a balanced bill. It is a bill, in my view, that will ensure that innocent consumers are fully protected while at the same time helping to prevent the kind of chaos we could have in our economy if we have scores and scores of unwarranted lawsuits as a result of the Y2K problem. As we all know, the Y2K issue is not a partisan issue. It affects every computer system that uses date information, every piece of hardware, every piece of an operating support system and all software that uses date-related information. Our goal ought to be to try to bring about Y2K compliance. That is our principal focus. The Senate is already on record in that regard. At the same time, we ought to put in place a safety net to ensure that innocent consumers, particularly small businesses, will have a remedy and will not see their businesses devastated.”