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Dec 29, 1999 - 01:43 AM

Officials Take Final Steps Days Away From Century Rollover By Kalpana Srinivasan Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - While confident that the rollover will cause no severe problems, federal officials are taking final precautions nonetheless and offering last-minute advice to help Americans sail smoothly into 2000. Hoping to ease the transition, officials are mailing out benefit checks to veterans and Social Security beneficiaries early. They're advising citizens to keep emergency numbers and battery-operated radios handy. And they are shutting down some public Internet sites to safeguard against hackers.

The Department of Veterans Affairs said Tuesday it has decided to mail January benefit checks to more than 2.5 million veterans on Dec. 30, a day early, to avoid potential delays related to the Y2K computer bug.

The early mailings "will mitigate unexpected year 2000 interruptions of benefit payments arising from anything outside our control," VA spokesman Terry Jemison said.

Social Security's 44 million beneficiaries learned last week of the Social Security Administration's plans to do the same, for both the majority who receive electronic payments and those who still take mailed checks.

While generally optimistic about communications, including 911 calls going through and emergency broadcast alerts reaching people, federal officials urged people not to forget the basics.

"There was a way to call the police, to call ambulance services, long before 911," said Federal Communications Commissioner Michael Powell. He advised people to keep on hand direct numbers for emergency services, like the police.

Powell also recommended that people have radios with batteries handy. Officials foresee no difficulty in getting out emergency news to the populace, he said, because so many broadcast stations are available.

In other Y2K news:

-The Pentagon is shutting down some of its public Internet sites this weekend to keep them safe from computer hackers. While it intends to keep its central Web site - www.DefenseLink.mil - in operation, one site being temporarily blocked is that of the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, which oversees military pay.

-Also being taken off line this weekend is the site maintained by the Office of Personnel Management, which services the rest of the government payroll.

-Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala said people are not hoarding pharmaceuticals, so there won't be any shortages of medicine over New Year's. She cited a 60-to-90 day supply in almost every category of medicine.

As for civilian communications, industry and federal leaders reiterated caution against people picking up the phone early Jan. 1 just to see if it is working or dialing 911 just to check it.

Too many callers at once could clog the network, meaning some might get fast busy signals. Even so, the FCC's Powell said, that wouldn't necessarily indicate any Y2K-related problems.

"This is a basic network congestion issue that we see every Mother's Day. This is Mother's Day on Viagra," he said.

The nation's largest telephone companies have said for months that their networks are ready. But officials say they have more limited information on international calling and on smaller, rural U.S. phone companies.

AP-ES-12-29-99 0140EST

-- Hokie (nn@va.com), December 29, 1999