Senate Takes Up Y2K Act Again

(June 12, 1999) The Senate resumed consideration of the "McCain-Dodd" version of the Y2K Act on June 9 and 10. Earlier attempts to pass the Y2K Act were halted by Democratic filibusters. The Senate may pass the bill as early as Tuesday, June 15.

The McCain-Dodd version of the Y2K Act contains provisions that are intended to give companies an incentive to remedy Year 2000 technology problems before January 1, 2000. It is also intended to encourage parties to resolved disputes out of court, and to decrease the filings of frivolous lawsuits.

One of the most important, and most debated, sections of the bill replaces joint and several liability with proportionate liability in many Year 2000 technology problem cases. Another key section of the bill provides for a 90 day cooling off period before litigation. That is, it requires a prospective plaintiff to give a 30 day notice to a prospective defendant of the plaintiff's intent to sue, along with a description of the Y2K problem. If the defendant responds with a plan to remediate, then the defendant is allowed an additional 60 days to resolve the problem.

Sen. McCain

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is the sponsor of the Y2K Act. He described the McCain-Dodd compromise version of his bill in a lengthy statement on June 9. "These revisions represent significant compromise. They move this bill a considerable distance from the Y2K bill which was passed by the House. Even with these compromises, I believe that the bill will accomplish the goals for the legislation -- to encourage remediation and prevention of Y2K problems, and eliminate frivolous and opportunistic litigation which can only serve to damage our economy. However, I do not believe that any additional compromises are necessary or warranted."

Earlier attempts to bring the Y2K Act to a vote were blocked by a Democratic Party filibuster. Attempts to cut off debate with cloture votes failed in almost straight party line voting. Sixty votes are required to pass a cloture motion.

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) tried to further weaken the bill by offering an amendment in the nature of a substitute. It was tabled on Wednesday evening, June 9, by a vote of 57 to 41. (See table, below.)

Several Democrats voted with Republicans. These were Max Baucus (D-MT), Chris Dodd (D-CT), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Joe Lieberman (D-CT), Blanche Lincoln (D-AK), Pat Moynihan (D-NY), and Ron Wyden (D-OR). Senators Dodd, Feinstein, and Wyden were all active participants in the negotiations over the drafting of the current version of the bill.

The House of Representatives passed its own Y2K bill, HR 775, on May 12. However, that bill contains stronger protections against frivolous lawsuits than the Senate bill. Many of the Democratic Senators who support the McCain-Dodd bill oppose HR 775. For example, Sen. Wyden stated in debate on June 9 that it is "completely unacceptable to me."

Senators Kerry, Daschle, Hollings, and Boxer were active in the floor debate. Among the reasons cited for opposing the McCain-Dodd bill was that Clinton would likely veto it.

Senate leaders agreed on Thursday afternoon to resume consideration of the Y2K Act on Tuesday, June 15.