Orrin Hatch: “I rise today to support what will be offered as the bipartisan amendment to S. 96, the Y2K Act. I also rise to oppose…”

“I rise today to support what will be offered as the bipartisan amendment to S. 96, the Y2K Act. I also rise to oppose Senator John Kerry's alternative to the Y2K Act. The Y2K Act has gone through significant and myriad changes. In the spirit of constructive compromise, Senators of both parties have come together to work out their differences to produce S. 1138, the bipartisan Dodd-McCain - Hatch - Feinstein - Wyden - Gorton-Lieberman- Bennett amendment. Why? Because these and other Senators realize the importance of resolving a potential Y2K litigation crisis. These and other Senators have placed the vitality of the nation over any exaggerated loyalty to one political party. Y2K-related lawsuits pose the greatest danger to industry's efforts to fix the problem. All of us are aware that the computer industry is feverishly working to correct--or remediate, in industry language--Y2K so as to minimize any disruptions that occur early next year. What we also know is that every dollar that industry has to spend to defend against especially frivolous lawsuits is a dollar that will not get spent on fixing the problem and delivering solutions to technology consumers. Also, how industry spends its precious time and money between now and the end of the year--either litigating or mitigating--will largely determine how severe Y2K-related damage, disruption, and hardship will be.”