FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Contact: (202) 225-1721
May 1, 1997
No. TR-6
Congressman Philip M. Crane (R-IL), Chairman, Subcommittee on Trade of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on oversight of the U.S. Customs Service. The hearing will take place on Thursday, May 15, 1997, in room B-318 Rayburn House Office Building, beginning at 2:00 p.m.
Oral testimony at this hearing will be from both invited and public witnesses. Any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee or for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.
BACKGROUND:
The Customs Modernization Act was enacted as part of the North American Free Trade Agreement implementing legislation in December 1993 (P.L. 103-182). Through passage of this Act, the Committee provided the Customs Service with the necessary tools to successfully redesign its processes for the 21st Century. Specifically, the Act allowed Customs to develop a fully-automated commercial environment, redesign and restructure its core business-related activities, and reevaluate the culture and work practices of its employees.
Pursuant to this legislation, the Customs Service announced a major reorganization and modernization plan in September 1994. The original goals stated by Customs for its reorganization effort were to make the agency more effective, improve management practices, and secure more stable sources of funding such as user fees. The plan itself included initiatives to concentrate services at ports of entry, restructure and reduce staffing at headquarters, eliminate regional and district offices, establish Customs Management Centers to manage field operations, and establish regional Strategic Trade Centers to target trade-enforcement efforts.
The Subcommittee held hearings on the progress of the Customs Service reorganization and modernization efforts in January 1995. Extensive legislative and oversight review by the Subcommittee eventually led to passage of the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-295), which was signed by the President on October 11, 1996. This Act made several important corrections to the Customs Modernization Act by improving Customs' ability to facilitate trade.
On March 11, 1997, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the Budget Authorizations for fiscal years 1998 and 1999 for the U.S. Customs Service, as well as the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and the International Trade Commission. The Subcommittee received testimony from representatives from the business and trade community. Much of the testimony concerned the operations of the Customs Service.
Customs continues to work on the detailed regulatory and operational efforts required to implement the massive organizational change required by the Customs Modernization Act.
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Crane stated: "I applaud Commissioner Weise's work in implementing the Customs Modernization Act so that Customs is prepared to address trade and enforcement issues in the coming century. This hearing will allow the Subcommittee to assess how well Customs has reallocated its resources. I am also interested in the status of the various regulatory packages which Customs has rewritten pursuant to the Customs Modernization Act. It is imperative that the Subcommittee work with Customs to reduce the burden of Customs regulations not only on legitimate imports, but also on our strong and growing export sector."
The hearing will provide both Customs and the trade community with an opportunity to identify for the Subcommittee the status, progress, and concerns related to the changes Customs has made pursuant to the Customs Modernization Act and the reorganization. Other areas of inquiry may include Customs Officers Pay Reform Act, user fees, and the allocation of inspectors, Special Agents, and other personnel resources. In addition, the Subcommittee is interested in Customs' role in interdicting illegal narcotics, as well as its anti-money laundering activities. Specifically, the Subcommittee is concerned about Customs methods for measuring the effectiveness of its efforts in the drug war.
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSIONS OF REQUESTS TO BE HEARD:
Requests to be heard at the hearing must be made by telephone to Traci Altman or Bradley Schreiber at (202) 225-1721 no later than the close of business, Wednesday, May 7, 1997. The telephone request should be followed by a formal written request to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. The staff of the Subcommittee on Trade will notify by telephone those scheduled to appear as soon as possible after the filing deadline. Any questions concerning a scheduled appearance should be directed to the Subcommittee on Trade staff at (202) 225-6649.
In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, the Subcommittee may not be able to accommodate all requests to be heard. Those persons and organizations not scheduled for an oral appearance are encouraged to submit written statements for the record of the hearing. All persons requesting to be heard, whether they are scheduled for oral testimony or not, will be notified as soon as possible after the filing deadline.
Witnesses scheduled to present oral testimony are required to summarize briefly their written statements in no more than five minutes. THE FIVE-MINUTE RULE WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED. The full written statement of each witness will be included in the printed record, in accordance with House Rules.
In order to assure the most productive use of the limited amount of time available to question witnesses, all witnesses scheduled to appear before the Subcommittee are required to submit 200 copies of their prepared statement and a 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or ASCII format, for review by Members prior to the hearing. Testimony should arrive at the Subcommittee on Trade office, room 1104 Longworth House Office Building, no later than Monday, May 12, 1997. Failure to do so may result in the witness being denied the opportunity to testify in person.
WRITTEN STATEMENTS IN LIEU OF PERSONAL APPEARANCE:
Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit at least six (6) copies of their statement and a 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or ASCII format, with their address and date of hearing noted, by the close of business, Thursday, May 29, 1997, to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Subcommittee on Trade office, room 1104 Longworth House Office Building, at least one hour before the hearing begins.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:
Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be typed in single space on legal-size paper and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. At the same time written statements are submitted to the Committee, witnesses are now requested to submit their statements on a 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or ASCII format.
2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.
4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, full address, a telephone number where the witness or the designated representative may be reached and a topical outline or summary of the comments and recommendations in the full statement. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.
The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.
The Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event (four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to special accommodation needs in general (including availability of Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the Committee as noted above.