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CNN's Rick Lockridge reports
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December 29, 1998
Web posted at: 10:46 p.m. EST (0346 GMT)

(CNN) -- With roughly a year to go until "Y2K Day," opinions on the extent of the Year 2000 computer problem are divided.

Some await the apocalypse; others think the problem will be merely annoying. In any case, the federal government's own outlook inspires little confidence.

Should the most dire predictions about the problems come true, the new millennium will pack quite a wallop: phones and lights won't work, automatic tellers won't give cash, airports will close and paychecks won't show up in the mail.

Is the one year remaining enough time to prevent Y2K problems?

Joel Willemssen of the U.S. General Accounting Office doesn't sugarcoat his answer. "All the government agencies will not be done on time. There will be some failures," he says.

"Right now as a country we do not know where we stand on water, power and telecommunications. If you don't have water, power or telecom, you can't get the job done," he says.

'This involves ... everyone'

The Y2K bug arises from a programming flaw that prevents some computers from recognizing any year later than 1999. Fixing the computer glitch is time-consuming and expensive, but unavoidable.

$20 bills in the printing press

"This involves not just federal agencies, but anyone who depends upon a computer, which is everyone, directly or indirectly," President Bill Clinton cautioned on December 28.

In his speech. Clinton praised the Y2K compliance of the Social Security Administration. Senior citizens will receive their checks, he promised.

But the president may need to take a hard look at what other federal agencies and major businesses have and haven't accomplished to date.

Money could be a problem. U.S. banks have spent $8 billion on Y2K readiness and say all accounts will be safe. But the Federal Reserve has ordered $50 billion in new currency in case there's a run on the banks anyway.

Air travel? The Federal Aviation Administration concedes it remains at least three months behind where it should be on Y2K preparedness.

Defense? The Pentagon received a "D-minus" in the last congressional Y2K report card, but plans war games in June 1999 to demonstrate its preparedness.

The Department of Energy got an "F" in the same report, placing in doubt what it can do in 1999 to ensure electrical power is available on January 1, 2000.

And the Internal Revenue Service is so far behind that the GAO says U.S. citizens could receive erroneous tax bills in 2000 or, on a brighter note, refund checks they aren't entitled to.

Telephones? AT&T alone says it has 3,000 software programs to inspect and fix.

Suddenly, a year doesn't seem like much time at all.

"And those who have not yet undertaken the task need to get on it and get on it now," Clinton says.

Otherwise, the Y2K bug could crash the party of the millennium.

Correspondent Rick Lockridge contributed to this report.