elimination of redundant work being performed at HIR. Additionally the Internet developers will be applied to Y2K efforts in support of deploying Web enabled solutions for legacy applications.

Client Services will notice an FTE reduction of 6 in FY '99. The efficiencies that will be gained by the deployment of the new Customer Tracking System will enable a significant reduction in personnel currently performing customer support while improving the overall level of service received by the clients. These efficiencies are dependent on the deployment of the new software and adoption of a revised customer service model that will take advantage of the automated features of the software and the presence of a knowledge base that captures the solutions for each problem for future re-use.

There is also a small reduction in the Communications group that is accomplished through the elimination of redundant work.

There will be an increase of one FTE in Security to support a critical Quality Assurance function.

The CAO will ensure that HIR will be transitioned into a dynamic information technology organization capable of providing technology leadership for the Congress in the 21a century. The goal is aggressive but can be achieved through strategic changes, both organizational and procedural, that will result in productivity and service improvements.

YEAR 2000

As of December 1997, there are fewer than 800 days remaining before the year 2000, and so this strategic initiative has the potential to be the highest overarching priority for HIR and, perhaps, for the entire House of Representatives over the next two years. With the recent addition of a Year 2000 Program Manager and the careful review by the CAO and the House Oversight Committee. as well as the recently completed Year 2000 audit from the Offices of the Inspector General (OIG), the sense of urgency and awareness is high. In conjunction with other House organizations, HIR is actively engaged in documenting plans that insure the integrity and viability of House systems and services. Because of the inter-related nature of Mainframe operations and the Y2K issues, many of the Year 2000 issues cannot be reviewed separately. An integrated discussion of these issues appears here. For example, the solution to many of the Y2K compliance issues is to replace old systems with server based applications rather than convert the program coding for year 2000 compliance. Other systems, which may not currently be on the mainframe, but which are not Y2K compliant, may also be replaced or converted as appropriate.

In mid-May of 1997, the Year 2000 plan was submitted to the Committee on House Oversight for its review and approval. For each application that is supported by HIR, the plan recommended one of the following options: replace, modernize, outsource or retire.

CHO has issued three approvals. One to replace or outsource the Staff and Member payroll, another to procure a Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) software package to replace the equipment purchase and inventory system (Fixed Asset System) and the third, to modernize (make Year 2000 compliant) the Legislative Information Management System (LIMS) used by the Clerk.

House Payroll Remediation $300,000

Part of the overall strategy for solving the Y2K problem is to plan for contingencies. It is essential that back-up plans be in place in the event that the payroll system is not implemented in a timely manner. House payroll is mission critical to the House and is not Y2K compliant. There are approximately 850,000 lines of Cobol code in this application which need to be updated. The selection and implementation of a new payroll system is on a very tight schedule and there is a possibility that it may not be fully operational by the Year 2000. The FY '99 funding requirement is requested for contracting support to renovate, test and validate the current payroll system.

Year 2000 Systems Replacement $100,000

Funding is requested to migrate/replace systems in FY '99. The following items focus on the major categories' systems to be replaced and explains the source of the FY '99 budget being requested:

pector General Study

in the FY '98 Appropriations Report 105-196, the Inspector General was tasked to perform a

The Office of the Inspector General initiated the study in concert with HIR staff in October 1997. This study will examine the cost benefit of the mainframe migration process with specific review of eight applications. Expected completion of the study is January 1998. For each application, the study will recommend one of four options:

1. Outsource;

2. Replace with a Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) Software Product:

3. Rehost (using either another legislative branch mainframe or purchasing time from a commercial vendor); or

4. Remain on the HIR enterprise server.

System Replacements $50,000 It is anticipated that Recording and Photo Studio applications are the most likely candidates for replacement. Initial estimates, based on discussions with software vendors, for COTS products that offer equivalent functionality approximate $50,000. This funding will include requirement's analysis, software purchase and customization ($20,000) and contractor installation ($22,500) of the systems, and associated staff training ($7,500).

Tracking Systems $35,000 Funding is requested to procure a generic tracking system that could be quickly customized for use by committees. Currently, there are at least six different tracking systems used by committees. They track items such as documents, flags, boxes, imports, exports, and publications. It is estimated that tracking software could be purchased for multiple committees for $10,000. Contract support of $25,000 (250 staff hours) is required to deploy the system in Committee offices. This funding would cover the cost of the software procurement, deployment within each office, including the customization and implementation of the new system.

• Office of the Attending Physician $15,000 The Office of the Attending Physician (OAP) provides services to Members and staff of the House, Senators and Senate staff, as well as the Justices of the Supreme Court. The system used by the Office of the Attending Physician (OAP) is mission critical to the House. Contract support of $15,000 in FY '99 is requested to complete customization of the new medical records system that is scheduled for replacement in 1998.

MINISIS Migration $34.000

This funding request is for the migration of the Grants/Contracts/Federal Funding part of MIN to a web-based system. The migration of services to LIS including user notification and transition will be accomplished using internal staff at HIR. This is a very popular service that is used by Member and Committee offices and heavily used by the Congressional Research Service staff responding to Member requests. Over 300 offices subscribe to the biweekly Federal Funding Report that is delivered via FAX, but produced from the data within these systems. Commercial services do not provide equivalent functions at this time. Therefore, the replacement of these information services will be accomplished through the integration of

Year 2000 Specialized Training $17.860

HIR will focus on training for customer migration support, such as Client/Sever migration from the mainframe. The requested funds include various kinds of training, such as Web development maintenance, and are part of the overall training plan developed by HIR.

Year 2000 Project Manager $135.000

The outside consultant hired to lead the Y2K project for the House is critical to a successful technological transition into the new century. Approval of these funds will pay for the Project manager through the end of FY '99.

Year 2000 Staffing Requirements $2.361,022

The current project manager has brought software tools and additional outside support for the proper planning of this critical project. In all, there are currently 22 FTE working on the project and one outside consultant for a total of 23 individuals working on the project. As the time draws closer to the turn of the century there will be 40 FTE and 3 outside consultants working on the project.

The increase of resources for Y2K emphasizes the CAO's commitment to successful completion of this program. Y2K is the number one priority and all necessary resources will be committed to this effort.

MAINFRAME MIGRATION

As indicated in the Year 2000 section of this presentation, migration of applications from the House Mainframe computer to alternative processing environments is closely linked to the Y2K effort.

As discussed earlier on Page 7. the OIG. with assistance from HIR. is currently conducting a study of mainframe migration options. This report. which is expected to be completed in late January 1998, will contain a recommended course of action that will enable HIR to plan, schedule and budget the final phase of the mainframe migration. As a result of this action a more accurate budgetary number will be calculated and reported during the 2nd quarter FY '98 and the estimated budgetary numbers reported in this section will be adjusted accordingly.

However, to insure smooth transition from an older mainframe operation to new age technology, HIR will continue to require minimal base level mainframe funding to operate certain legacy systems until a systematic transition is completed. The mainframe computer environment is a combination of hardware and software. The hardware includes the CMOS processor, RAID disk storage, tape storage, and high-speed printers. The software that runs on the processor includes the operating system and systems support utilities, and application including database management, statistical analysis software and NCOA service. This includes standard lease and maintenance agreements for hardware and software as applied to a mainframe. The following listed contracts support mainframe operation:

Central Computer Room Operations $43,144

Advantis $13.000 -- This is a communications link to the IBM Information Network, and includes the base monthly fee along with monthly usage charges. It is used by Enterprise Computing and Communications Services to research information on problems and to download information for software installations. This service is also used to transmit information to IBM for problem resolution.

· Disaster Recovery $20,000 A contracted service with IBM's Services group for mainframe disaster recovery services through July 1998.

Miscellaneous Services_ $10,144 -- HIR maintains membership in ‘GUIDE,' a national user group for large computer system users ($500 annually). HIR also contracts for a monitoring service from Lifeline that is used when computer operators are working alone in the central computer facility ($144 annually). HIR also contracts for floor maintenance and cleaning ($9,500 annually) for the central facility computer room.

Specialized Mainframe Supplies and Materials $115.000

The largest users of printed output are the Clerk and the Finance Office (CAO) who each produce approximately 30% of the total monthly printed output. Specialized paper purchases make up about 75% of the costs in this supplies area. The requested funding represents a 30%