FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Contact: (202) 225-7601
May 11 1999
No. OV-6
Congressman Amo Houghton (R-NY), Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on U.S. Customs Service passenger inspection operations. The hearing will take place on Thursday, May 20, 1999, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 9:00 a.m.
In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. Witnesses will include the Honorable Raymond W. Kelly, Commissioner, U.S. Customs Service, individuals who have alleged discrimination in inspections, and experts who have studied Customs' passenger search and seizure practices. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.
BACKGROUND:
In 1998, Customs seized more than 1,880 pounds of heroin and 3,750 pounds of cocaine as part of its Commercial Air Passenger operations, according to Customs statistics. Customs officers may use strip searches, body cavity searches, and x-rays to detect smuggling by individuals who hide contraband such as illegal drugs inside their clothing or who may swallow packets of drugs. Of the 71.5 million international air passengers who passed through Customs last year, 50,892 were subjected to some level of body search, most of them simple pat-downs. Nationally, 43.3 percent of those subjected to body searches last year were Black or Hispanic.
Customs is now facing a number of lawsuits over body searches, including a class-action lawsuit by nearly 100 African American women alleging they were singled out because of their sex and race. Commissioner Kelly has responded to the allegations by appointing an independent commission to review the passenger inspection policies and procedures used by inspectors and requiring a report with recommendations by July 15, 1999.
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Houghton stated: "Serious allegations of racial profiling by Customs inspectors have been made by the public, and we absolutely have to get to the bottom of them. The views of the Customs Commissioner and individuals with direct experiences will provide a good first step."
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The hearing will focus on a review of Customs passenger inspection operations, and, in particular, on allegations of discriminatory racial profiling in passenger inspections and the agency's response to those allegations. The Subcommittee's hearing will provide a basis for evaluating a recently appointed independent review commission's work and a record for consideration of reforms to Customs passenger inspection operations.
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:
Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit six (6) single-spaced copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Thursday, June 3, 1999, 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 Oversight office, room 1136 Longworth House Office Building, by close of business the day before the hearing.
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 submitted on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, typed in single space and may 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. 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, company, address, telephone and fax numbers where the witness or the designated representative may be reached. 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.