A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

FOR RELEASE
March 31, 1999

Contact:
Julie Green
(202) 401-3026

STATEMENT BY ACTING DEPUTY SECRETARY MARSHALL S. SMITH
On Education Department's Y2K Readiness

The Year 2000 problem is a special concern for the Department, because many of our systems are critical to delivering more than $50 billion in federal aid to more than eight million college students annually.

I am pleased to report that all of the Department's 175 data systems - including our 14 mission-critical systems - have been renovated, independently validated and verified, and implemented. The last critical system was implemented earlier this month, safely ahead of the government's self-imposed deadline.

On February 22, Congressman Steven Horn's Subcommittee on Government Management, Information, and Technology, gave the Department a grade of "A-minus." The Office of Management and Budget has placed us in its highest Y2K readiness tier.

We are pleased with this progress, but we are not taking anything for granted. Through our contingency planning, data exchange testing, and outreach efforts, we are working hard with our customers and partners to keep federal aid to states, schools, and students flowing without a hitch when the year 2000 arrives.