Summary: Unless timely, corrective action is taken, the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), like other federal agencies, could face widespread computer failures at the turn of the century because of the "Year 2000" problem. In many computer systems, the Year 2000 is undistinguishable from 1900. This could make veterans who are due to receive benefits appear ineligible. If this were to happen, issuance of benefits checks could be disrupted. VBA has tried to address this problem, but it can do more. First, the Year-2000 management office's structure and technical capabilities are inadequate. Second, key Year-2000 readiness assessment processes--determining the potential severity of the Year-2000 impact on VBA operations, inventorying its information systems, and developing contingency plans--have not been completed. Third, VBA lacks enough information on the costs or potential problems associated with its approach to making systems Year-2000 compliant. As a result, it cannot make informed choices about which systems must be funded to avoid disruptions in service and which can be deferred. Addressing these problems requires top management attention. Contributing to the challenges are the loss of key computer people, difficulties in obtaining information on whether interfaces and third-party products are Year-2000 compliant, and delays in upgrading systems at VBA data centers. GAO summarized this report in testimony before Congress; see: Veterans Benefits Computer Systems: Uninterrupted Delivery of Benefits Depends on Timely Correction of Year 2000 Problems, by Joel C. Willemssen, Director of Information Resources Management Issues, before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. GAO/T-AIMD-97-114, June 26 (15 pages).
