December 29, 1999
Web posted at: 11:41 a.m. EST (1641 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bill Clinton will preside over the New Year's Eve bash in the nation's capital, but he and other White House staff will also be on the lookout for any Y2K-related problems.

The president and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton will kick off the millennial celebration on the nation's Mall, and will host several black tie parties at the White House.

At the same time, administration officials say Clinton will be kept informed of any Y2K-related computer or national security developments.

The president and Vice President Al Gore will be getting regular updates from John Koskinen, the White House Y2K chief, who will be headquartered at a command center just blocks from the White House.

Koskinen, however,won't have direct access to Clinton. He'll be briefing Gore, Clinton's point-man on technological issues, who will in turn buttonhole Clinton if need be.

"If anything important happens, obviously we'll talk with the president as well," Koskinen said. "But at this point, we've agreed that my personal reports will be to the vice president over that weekend."

Koskinen will oversee activities at the headquarters of the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion. Operatives at the command center will collect data from some 180 countries and all 50 states.

"We will not have champagne, but we will try to make sure people can at least take a moment to pause while we enter the new millennium," said Koskinen of the group's work. "Everybody will be working hard to see how the country is making the transition."

Clinton won't be completely out of the loop through the evening. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will report directly to him on domestic matters of note, while the National Security Council, the Pentagon and the State Department will keep him up-to-date on international matters.

Many people in various industries will be working on New Year's Eve, as will many White House aides. The plan, they say, is to be prepared, so many extra staffers will be on hand to deal with any developments.

"We'll keep (the president) informed," said Maria Echaveste, the deputy White House chief of staff, "and we certainly hope there will be very little to report."

But, federal officials say they don't expect any major glitches caused by computers misreading the year 2000 as the year 1900. Still, the White House will have back up generators on hand in case of a power outage.

"Our main motto is `be prepared,'" Echaveste said. "But the White House has some very exciting events planned that people should really enjoy."

And, as far as terrorism concerns, U.S. officials continue to say they have no credible evidence of any specific threat against a specific target in the U.S. They simply advise people to be cautious as they go about their New Year's plans.

"We're trying to walk this fine line of making sure we're prepared while not exaggerating," Echaveste said. "We know there's going to be more demands on us; therefore, we need to be staffed to address those needs."

Clinton, Gore, Koskinen and the staff at the White House will be in good company on Friday night and Saturday morning. A survey by the consulting firm Edward Perlin Associates indicates more than 90 percent of major organizations have special plans for staffing on New Year's Eve in anticipation of Y2K glitches.

CNN's Kelly Wallace and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Wednesday, December 29, 1999

• Bradley claims to catch Gore in overall fund-raising
• Clinton's dual New Year's Eve role: host, Y2K overseer
• Lewinsky to become Jenny Craig poster child
• Tipper Gore released from hospital
• McCain backs better schools, temporary workers in meeting with Hispanics
• Bauer calls for easing of CIA restrictions
• Reform Party splinters over convention, ideology, court action
• For politicians, shaking hands is tough, grimy work
• Forbes would do more to find illegal Internet sites
• White House proposes $690 million for new housing vouchers

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