Lack of Personnel at Treasury Is Causing Backlog in Process of Adding COAC Members

A Department of Treasury official acknowledged Sept. 18 that “personnel changes in the Treasury Security Department” are creating a backlog in the process of appointing additional members to the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee.

"On behalf of the Treasury Department, I apologize for the backlog we've had with the background investigations. It's unacceptable," said Daniel Paisley, Treasury Department senior counsel for Tax, Trade and Tariff Policy, during the Sept. 18 COAC meeting. Paisley was referring to some trade groups' concerns (see 2408120041) that COAC is about 30% short on members, which hinders the committee's ability to fulfill all the work it would like to do (see 2408190034).

"This is a matter of personnel changes in the Treasury Security Department. It doesn't reflect Treasury's commitment to COAC in any way,” Paisley said. “Nobody in the Treasury policy offices [is] involved in this decision-making. And indeed, other treasury advisory groups are impaired the same way. ... We'll do what we can, but I don't want anyone to think that we're not committed.”

The update on filling COAC’s roster came as Paisley also described how the Treasury Department is considering delegating some customs revenue functions to the Department of Homeland Security.

"We hope [to] improve efficiency, reduce redundancy, get things done faster. Treasury is still involved in the interagency process when OMB takes in a regulation as significant for the [Executive Order] 12866 [regulatory review] process,” Paisley said. "Treasury would still be there reviewing those regulations and providing input along with Commerce and [the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative] and other stakeholders within the government. So we're not completely out of the process. But this is a way we think that we can make sure that we're not holding things up, and it also reflects how personnel changes, retirements, institutional memory and history change across time.”

During one of the public comment periods during COAC’s third-quarter meeting Sept. 18, an anonymous commenter emailed this response on the Treasury Department’s plans, complaining that only one full-time employee at the Treasury Department oversees customs revenue: “I want to submit my position that the Treasury’s plan to further delegate more trade functions to DHS to be outrageous. ... It is absolutely unacceptable for a reduced Treasury role over customs revenue function as we are trying to modernize customs. The 21 CCF [21st Century Customs Framework] effort reflects the loss of institutional memory and technical knowledge at Treasury. ... Treasury's role over customs revenue functions should not be changed without input from the trade community and Congress.”

No other comments were received Sept. 18 on the Treasury Department’s potentially evolving role.