The President's remarks accompanied the release of the final report of The President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion, which calls dealing with the Y2K problem "...the greatest management challenge the world has faced since World War II."

"When it comes to financial services, power, telecommunications, air and rail travel, leading organizations report they have completed or nearly completed all their Y2K work, I am confident the Y2K problem, therefore, will not put the savings or the safety of the American people at risk." stated the President.

However, the President went on to warn of the Y2K Council's continued concern for possible problems for small businesses, local governments, small health care providers, and as many as half of all local 911 emergency response systems.

"Now, over the next 52 days, we must continue to reach out to smaller organizations and local governments whose preparations are lagging behind," Clinton said. "If we work together and use this time well, we can ensure that this Y2K computer problem will be remembered as the last headache of the 20th century, not the first crisis of the 21st."

The Y2K Council also declares 99 percent of all "mission-critical" U.S. Government computer systems to be fully ready for the date conversion on 1/1/2000. "the public can have full faith that everything from air traffic control systems to Social Security payment systems will continue to work exactly as they should.'' stated the President.