Opening Statement of Sen. John Ashcroft (R-MO).
Re: Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on S 461, the 'Year 2000 Fairness and Responsibility Act.'
Date: March 1, 1999.
Source: Senate Judiciary Committee.

Small Business Year 2000 Readiness Act
Statement of Senator John Ashcroft
March 1, 1999

Mr. President, I want to take an opportunity to congratulate the Senior Senator from my home State for introducing and reporting the Small Business Year 2000 Readiness Act. This is an important bill that I am happy to co-sponsor and support. The bill represents an important step in Congress’ ongoing efforts to limit the scope and impact of the Year 2000 problem before it is too late. Last year, we passed the Year 2000 Information and Readiness Disclosure Act, which was an important first step in removing any legal barriers that could prevent individuals and companies from doing everything possible to eliminate Year 2000 problems before they happen. I was particularly gratified that I was able to work with Senators Hatch and Leahy to include the provisions of my temporary antitrust immunity bill, S. 2384, in last year’s act. However, as I said at the time, the Disclosure Act must be understood as only the first step in our efforts to deal with this problem. Senator Bond’s bill, along with the liability bills working their way through the Commerce and Judiciary Committees, on which I sit, are the next logical steps in this ongoing effort.

Countless computer engineers and experts are busy right now trying to solve or minimize the Year 2000 and related date failure problems. Part of what makes this problem so difficult to address is that there is no one Year 2000 problem. There are countless distinct date failure problems, and no one silver bullet will solve them all. The absence of any readily-available one-size-fits-all solution poses particularly serious challenges for small business.

The Small Business Year 2000 Readiness Act addresses this problem by providing loan guarantees to small businesses to remedy their Year 2000 problems. The Act provides the necessary resources so that small businesses can nip this problem in the bud, so that the Year 2000 problem does not become the Year 2000 disaster.

The Act is narrowly targeted at enabling small business to remedy Year 2000 issues before they lead to costly damages and even more costly litigation. Like the antitrust exemption I authored in the last Congress, this provision automatically sunsets once the window of opportunity for avoiding Year 2000 problems closes.

Finally, let me say, that like Year 2000 Information and Readiness Disclosure Act we enacted last year, this law does not offer a complete solution to the Year 2000 problem. There are many aspects to this problem -- both domestic and international -- and there may be limits to what government can do to solve this problem. These loan guarantees are one constructive step Congress can take. Another construction step is to remove government-imposed obstacles that limit the ability of the private sector to solve this problem. For example, Congress needs to address the liability rules that govern litigation over potential Year 2000 problems. That process is ongoing in both the Commerce and Judiciary Committees, and I look forward to working with my colleagues on both Committees to reach an acceptable approach that can be enacted quickly.

The remaining issues are difficult, but we cannot shrink from tackling the tough issues. Many have talked about the unprecedented prosperity generated by our new, high-tech economy. I want to make sure that the next century is driven by these high-tech engines of growth and is stamped made in America. But we will not make the next century an American Century by dodging the tough issues and hoping the Year 2000 problem will just go away. We need to keep working toward a solution.

Resources to address the Year 2000 problem, particularly time, are finite. They must be focused as fully as possible on remediation, rather than on unproductive litigation. This issue is all about time, and we have precious little left before the Year 2000 problem is upon us. I hope we can continue to work together on legislation like this to free up talented individuals to address this serious threat.