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p3<5889sy>|q9s9gs|q+~q|s9x|q>gxϟ9<ϙ?3>gϞ|3s9>g>gyϟ"~όsy>g3:>g?<ϙ?0>g9 0s8?>g>gyϟ"~@sx>`02f>`? ϙ?0>g9 0y>O?'<>g>gyϟ&~@sx>`0O>p? ϙ?3>gϓ3y>O'?>g>gyϟǁ ~sy>g3O> ß?O >ϙ?3>ǵ?3y>O'?>g>gyϟ~|sy>g3_>ϟ?O&>yϘ9>sx?9>O'9>g>s|qϟς??<|yǞys|>s9|gx?&?Ϝ898>p8"?<>g>pϜxp~s>p8?px?&?ϟ yy>>x?<>"?>g>|'Ϝ|>x?s>|>?sx?~ߐdžߏǂ?σ{??σ>=<??ρ x8ς'ρ>Oρ>Oρ񟞁ς'ρ>Oρ>Oρ?~?ρς-'σO>OO>O!?<x y<ρ27N>o>o<`yLJ?8p >|q89?ρ2?s8x9yy|9?sg993ρ? 33~ρyy?sg983ρ? ə3&0~s  ?8xyǎx|?3?~8q3-τO8!9s<pg? ????@(J:\AMAST\NRLOGO.WPGJ:\AMAST\NRLOGO.WPGg zʏ\]4gOx#( `aDbcDdUeTfEghUiTwl'l#U\W[Z I&mage <=8C HKKKK(3$ !  'dxd( $ Figure  1  Level 1Level 2Level 3Level 4Level 5 !  _pV<,(`~0% `E,,%%,,%`p (#(#   (#(#  ICC/_JPIC_ԀContact:(202)535-3063* USDASUCCESSFULLYENTERSTHEYEAR2000;EXPECTSNORMAL `  OPERATIONSONMONDAY   W`ASHINGTON,`aashington,aJanb.bcuaryc2,2000-USDA'sChiefInformationOfficerAnneReedreportedtodaythatUSDAhassuccessfully_transitioned_ԀintotheYear2000.However,forallsystemsandtheprogramsthatdependonthem,thefinaltestwillcomeasbusinessoperationsresumeonMondayandclientsbegintoaccessservicesandbenefitsforthefirsttimeintheyear2000.  AttheendofthefirstweekendintheNewYear,fortypercentofUSDA's343missioncriticalsystemsdeclaredafullandsuccessfultransitionintotheYear2000.Theremainingsystemswon'tbeabletobetesteduntilbusinessoperationsbeginonMonday.Forexample,thefederalgovernmentfundsfoodstampandchildnutritionprograms,buteachstateadministersitsownprograms.USDAcanverifythatthesystemsareoperational,butthestateswillneedtoexperiencenormalbusinessprocessinginordertocompletevalidation.  "Seventy-onepercentofthedepartment'shighestprioritysystemswhichimpacthealthandsafety,financialsystems,oreconomicstability-areupandrunningwithoutincident,"saidReed."Validationoftheremainingsystemswillcontinueasagenciesresumenormalbusinessoperations,servingtheirclientele."  USDA'sAgriculturalMarketingServices'(AMS)MarketNewsInformationSystem(_MNIS_)providestimely,unbiasedmarketinformationtobuyersandsellersoffruits,vegetablesandotheragriculturalcommodities.The_MNIS_ԀhasbeenfullytestedandisexpectedtooperatenormallyMonday.AMS'trackingofcommodityshipmentswillresumeMonday.USDAhasreceivednoreportsofdisruptionstothenation'sportactivities.  TheAnimal&PlantHealthInspectionServices'ExportCertificationProgrammaintainscomputerizedsummariesofforeigncountries'_phytosanitary_Ԁimportrequirementsforagriculturalproductswhichareusedbyfederalandstateexportcertificationofficialstoissue_phytosanitary_exportcertificates.The_ECS_ԀisoperationalandanticipatesnormaloperationswhenbusinessresumesonMonday.  TheFoodandNutritionServices'internalFoodStampProgramsystemsareoperational.Acompleteprogramstatuswillbeavailableearlyintheweekasstatesandterritoriesreport.Guamelectedtouseitscontingency,paper-basedstampsforitsfoodstampprogramandnointerruptionstobenefitsareanticipated.dde@'eddeefeMOefgmoregd_ -@), dhhhhi@xx)ihhi2ihh  NodisruptionstotheFoodSafetyInspectionServices'abilitytoensuresafemeat,poultry,andeggproductshavebeenreported._FSIS_Ԁhaseightmissioncriticalsystems;initialtestinghasbeencompletedonthefourhighestprioritysystemsandtestingontheremainingfourwillbecompletedinthecomingweek.  _FSIS_'sPerformanceBasedInspectionSystemusesinspectionresultstodeterminefuturemeatprocessingplantinspections.Asoftoday,the_FSIS_'scomputersaretestedandoperational,allowinginspectionstocontinue.  FireandAviationManagementplaysavitalroleinthemanagementof_wildland_Ԁfiresandothernaturaldisasterssuchashurricanesandtornadoes.Thissystemsuccessfully_transitioned_ԀtoYear2000andisnowoperational,withoneminorglitchinvolvingweatherdatatransmissionstotheNationalWeatherService.Thosetransmissionsarebeingaccomplishedmanuallyuntilthesystemcanberepairedtonight.  RuralDevelopmentprovidesservicestoruralresidentsthroughcomputersystemsthatprovideaccountingandservicingforhousingloanstoindividuals,loansthatprovidemulti-unithousing,aswellaswaterandwaste,communityfacilityandbusinessloans.ThesystemsalsosupportloanmakingandservicingforRuralTelephoneandElectricprograms.ThesystemssupportingtheseprogramssuccessfullybecameoperationalonJanuary2,2000.  ChiefFinancialOfficerSallyThompsonsaid,"Employeescanexpecttheirpaycheckstoarriveastheynormallywould."TheNationalFinanceCentersystemssupport2.5millionretirementaccountsfortheThriftSavingsBoardandthepayrolloperationsforover100Federalagenciesand450,000employees.  "AllsystemsattheCenterwereshutdownfortherolloverandweresuccessfullyrestartedonSaturday,"Thompsonsaid.Normalbusinessoperationswereresumedandcustomerswereencouragedtoaccessservicesasdatainterfacevalidationcontinues,withthefirstpayrollscheduledforprocessingonThursday,January6,2000.  "TheDepartment'ssuccessfultransitiontotheNewYearistheresultofatremendousamountofworkthroughoutUSDAandinpartnershipwiththeprivatesector,"saidReed."WewillcontinuetomonitorUSDAsystemsasbusinessoperationsresumeandwecompletevalidationofdatainterfacesforservicedelivery.  "We'veadvisedUSDAemployeesandcustomersthatwewillbeopenforbusinessasusualonMonday,January3,2000,"Reedsaid.@*#