ADVISORY
FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

Thomas Announces Hearing on
Creation of Homeland Security Department

Congressman Bill Thomas (R-CA), Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Committee will hold a hearing on the President’s proposal to create a U.S. Department of Homeland Security including the transfer of all assets and authority of the U.S. Customs Service to the new Department.  The hearing will take place on Wednesday, June 26, 2002, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 2:00 p.m.

In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited 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:

Since 1789, the Customs has been a separate Federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Treasury.  Virtually all Federal Government revenue was originally collected by Customs through duties.  Today, Customs collects about $20 billion of revenue and ensures that all imports and exports comply with U.S. laws and regulations.  Customs collects and protects the revenue, guards against smuggling, and is responsible for the following:

• Assessing and collecting Customs duties, excise taxes, fees, and penalties due on imported merchandise.
• Interdicting and seizing contraband, including narcotics and illegal drugs.
• Processing persons, baggage, cargo and mail, and administering certain navigation laws.
• Detecting and apprehending persons engaged in fraudulent practices designed to circumvent Customs and related laws.
• Protecting American business and labor and intellectual property rights by enforcing    U.S. laws intended to prevent illegal trade practices, including provisions related to quotas and the marking of imported merchandise; the Anti-Dumping Act; and, by providing Customs Recordations for copyrights, patents, and trademarks.
• Protecting the general welfare and security of the United States by enforcing import and export restrictions and prohibitions, including the export of critical technology used to develop weapons of mass destruction, and money laundering.
• Collecting accurate import and export data for compilation of international trade statistics.

Today, in addition to its own laws, Customs enforces well over 400 other provisions of law for at least 40 agencies. A number of these statutes are quality of life issues that relate to the environment, such as motor vehicle safety and emission controls, water pollution standards, pesticide controls, Freon smuggling, and the protection of endangered wildlife. Other laws safeguard American agriculture, business and public health, and consumer safety.

 On June 18, 2002, President Bush proposed to transfer all of the authority and assets of Customs, as well as any other Federal agencies, to a new Homeland Security Department.  Specifically, Customs would be placed under an Under Secretariat for Border and Transportation

Security along with the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Transportation Security Administration. 

In announcing the hearing, Chairman Thomas stated:  “Customs has long performed the critical balancing act of assuring the security of our ports and borders while also ensuring that vital international commerce continues to flow.  Our Nation’s long-term defense rests equally upon the protectors at our borders and the engine of our economy.  During this hearing, I hope we can examine how these dual functions would continue to be performed if Customs were transferred entirely to a new Homeland Security Department.”

 FOCUS OF THE HEARING:

The President proposes to create a new Homeland Security Department, the most significant transformation of the Federal Government in over a half-century by transforming and realigning current government activities into a single department whose primary mission is to protect our homeland.  The creation of the Department is a key step in the President’s national strategy for homeland security.  The hearing will focus on details of how this realignment will affect Customs and its core functions such as collection of duties and trade facilitation. 

DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:

Please Note:  Due to the change in House mail policy, any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should send it electronically to hearingclerks.waysandmeans@mail.house.gov, along with a fax copy to (202) 225-2610, by the close of business, Monday, July 8, 2002.  Those filing written statements that wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing should deliver their 300 copies to the full Committee in room 1102 Longworth House Office Building, in an open and searchable package 48 hours before the hearing.  The U.S. Capitol Police will refuse sealed-packaged deliveries to all House Office Buildings.

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.   Due to the change in House mail policy, all statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted electronically to hearingclerks.waysandmeans@mail.house.gov, along with a fax copy to (202) 225-2610, in Word Perfect or MS Word format and MUST NOT exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments.  Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.

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.  Any statements must include a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.  A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers of each witness.

Note: All Committee advisories and news releases are available on the World Wide Web at http://waysandmeans.house.gov.

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.