U.S. CUSTOMS ON HEIGHTENED Y2K ALERT TODAY
U.S. Customs staffers will be on heightened alert at the agency’s Office
of Information and Technology in Newington, Va., as its computer clock switches into year
2000 for its financial systems.
"Starting today, many of our databases and programs will be handling
year 2000 financial data," said John B. Hill, director of applications
development for Customs’ Automated Commercial System (ACS). "This is the
second-largest Y2K milestone at the agency."
To prepare for Y2K, Customs has set up an Emergency Response Center in
Newington. All essential technical staff are on 24-hour call through today, starting at 1
a.m. Customs also plans to have staff at the center through the New Year’s Eve weekend.
Customs completed its Y2K programming last October. The agency
reprogrammed more than 6 million lines of code in ACS.