The Associated Press reports that the U.S. agency responsible for managing the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile is testing whether its most essential computers can withstand the year 2000 bug after Pentagon inspectors discovered nobody had verified the systems.
The report came over the weekend after USA Today reported Friday that the Defense Special Weapons Agency acknowledged falsifying readiness reports on the looming computer problem. A recent Defense Department inspector general report had found that DSWA claimed that three of five so-called "mission critical" computer systems were fully prepared to face the computer crisis despite never conducting necessary testing, the paper reported. Only 25 percent of such systems had been tested.
The AP reports that Defense Department spokesman Lt. Col. Patrick Sivigny said that any computer failure by the nuclear stockpile agency wouldn't affect the nation's ability to defend itself. "This has nothing to do with command and control of nuclear weapons," he said.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg News reports that the New York Times reported that state governments also are behind schedule fixing the date problem, which could delay payments or interrupt service to people receiving welfare, Medicaid, food stamps or other types of assistance.
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