April 10, 1952
To the Congress of the United States:
I transmit herewith Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1952, prepared in accordance with the Reorganization Act of 1949 and providing for reorganizations in the Bureau of Customs of the Department of the Treasury. My reasons for transmitting this plan are stated in another message transmitted to the Congress today.
This reorganization plan provides for the abolition of all offices of collector of customs, comptroller of customs, surveyor of customs, and appraiser of merchandise, to which appointments are now required to be made by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Under the authority of section 6 of the Reorganization Act of 1949, I have provided that incumbents in these offices may serve out their present terms of office. The abolition of offices, therefore, will occur gradually.
As the existing offices are abolished, the Secretary of the Treasury will provide for the continuation of the functions now delegated to them. The Secretary will delegate the functions to officials of the Treasury Department appointed by him under the classified civil service, including certain new offices, for which more adequate compensation is authorized, established in the Bureau of Customs by this reorganization plan. These officials will be selected wholly on the basis of merit. The most qualified persons will be sought, from both within and without the service. When this reorganization is completed, all officials and employees of the Bureau of Customs will be appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury under the civil service laws.
This reorganization plan also provides for the abolition of certain functions relating to customs administration now vested in the Secretary of the Treasury. These functions are obsolete and unnecessary. They impose unduly restrictive fiscal procedures upon the Bureau of Customs. Their abolition will promote a more efficient performance of customs functions and a better service to the public.
Many of these abolished functions have been handed down since 1789 when the Customs Service was established by the first Congress. Some of them are regulations carried over from pre-revolutionary days when the British Crown provided an independent check on colonial customs revenues through its naval officers. These procedures have been reviewed by the Bureau of the Budget, the General Accounting Office, and the Treasury Department under the Government's Joint Accounting Program. The abolitions contained in this reorganization plan are based, in part, on that study. They will permit the Secretary of the Treasury to utilize fully in the Bureau of Customs the authority given to him by the Congress in the Budget and Accounting Procedures Act of 1950.
This reorganization plan will ultimately produce economies. There will be some savings in salaries resulting from the abolition of offices. There will also be savings resulting primarily from modernized fiscal controls. These latter savings will be realized only after the accounting reforms have become fully effective. It is expected that within a few years the annual savings, based upon present enforcement levels, business volume, and salary scales will aggregate at least $300,000.
After investigation I have found and hereby declare that each reorganization included in Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1952 is necessary to accomplish one or more of the purposes set forth in section 2(a) of the Reorganization Act of 1949.
It should be emphasized that abolition by Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1952 of the offices of collector of customs, comptroller of customs, surveyor of customs, and appraiser of merchandise will in no way prejudice any right or potential right of any person paying duties or imposts. The abolition of offices by Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1952 will not abolish any rights, privileges, powers, duties, immunities, liabilities, obligations, or other attributes of those offices except as they relate to matters of appointment, tenure, and compensation inconsistent with that reorganization plan. Under the Reorganization Act of 1949 all of these attributes of office will attach, as may be appropriate, to personnel of the Department of the Treasury to whom the Secretary of the Treasury delegates the functions formerly vested in the abolished offices.
I have found and hereby declare that it is necessary to include in the accompanying Reorganization Plan No. 3, by reason of reorganizations made thereby, provision for the appointment and compensation of officers specified therein. The rates of compensation for these officers are not in excess of those which I have found to prevail in respect to comparable officers in the executive branch.
For the purpose of the requirements of the last sentence of section 3 of the Reorganization Act of 1949, with respect to specifying in the transmittal message of the President the statutory authority for the exercise of functions abolished by a reorganization plan, the statutory citations set forth in section 3 of Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1952 are hereby incorporated in this message by reference and shall be deemed to be a part hereof as fully as if set forth at length in this message.
This, reorganization plan will permit a needed modernization of the organization and procedure of the Bureau of Customs. It will permit a more effective administration of the custom laws.
I urge the Congress to permit Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1952 to become effective.
HARRY S. TRUMAN
NOTE: Reorganization Plan 3 of 1952 is printed in House Document 426 (82d Cong., 2d sess.). It did not become effective.
To the Congress of the United States:
I transmit herewith Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1952, prepared in accordance with the Reorganization Act of 1949 and providing for reorganizations in the Bureau of Customs of the Department of the Treasury. My reasons for transmitting this plan are stated in another message transmitted to the Congress today.
This reorganization plan provides for the abolition of all offices of collector of customs, comptroller of customs, surveyor of customs, and appraiser of merchandise, to which appointments are now required to be made by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Under the authority of section 6 of the Reorganization Act of 1949, I have provided that incumbents in these offices may serve out their present terms of office. The abolition of offices, therefore, will occur gradually.
As the existing offices are abolished, the Secretary of the Treasury will provide for the continuation of the functions now delegated to them. The Secretary will delegate the functions to officials of the Treasury Department appointed by him under the classified civil service, including certain new offices, for which more adequate compensation is authorized, established in the Bureau of Customs by this reorganization plan. These officials will be selected wholly on the basis of merit. The most qualified persons will be sought, from both within and without the service. When this reorganization is completed, all officials and employees of the Bureau of Customs will be appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury under the civil service laws.
This reorganization plan also provides for the abolition of certain functions relating to customs administration now vested in the Secretary of the Treasury. These functions are obsolete and unnecessary. They impose unduly restrictive fiscal procedures upon the Bureau of Customs. Their abolition will promote a more efficient performance of customs functions and a better service to the public.
Many of these abolished functions have been handed down since 1789 when the Customs Service was established by the first Congress. Some of them are regulations carried over from pre-revolutionary days when the British Crown provided an independent check on colonial customs revenues through its naval officers. These procedures have been reviewed by the Bureau of the Budget, the General Accounting Office, and the Treasury Department under the Government's Joint Accounting Program. The abolitions contained in this reorganization plan are based, in part, on that study. They will permit the Secretary of the Treasury to utilize fully in the Bureau of Customs the authority given to him by the Congress in the Budget and Accounting Procedures Act of 1950.
This reorganization plan will ultimately produce economies. There will be some savings in salaries resulting from the abolition of offices. There will also be savings resulting primarily from modernized fiscal controls. These latter savings will be realized only after the accounting reforms have become fully effective. It is expected that within a few years the annual savings, based upon present enforcement levels, business volume, and salary scales will aggregate at least $300,000.
After investigation I have found and hereby declare that each reorganization included in Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1952 is necessary to accomplish one or more of the purposes set forth in section 2(a) of the Reorganization Act of 1949.
It should be emphasized that abolition by Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1952 of the offices of collector of customs, comptroller of customs, surveyor of customs, and appraiser of merchandise will in no way prejudice any right or potential right of any person paying duties or imposts. The abolition of offices by Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1952 will not abolish any rights, privileges, powers, duties, immunities, liabilities, obligations, or other attributes of those offices except as they relate to matters of appointment, tenure, and compensation inconsistent with that reorganization plan. Under the Reorganization Act of 1949 all of these attributes of office will attach, as may be appropriate, to personnel of the Department of the Treasury to whom the Secretary of the Treasury delegates the functions formerly vested in the abolished offices.
I have found and hereby declare that it is necessary to include in the accompanying Reorganization Plan No. 3, by reason of reorganizations made thereby, provision for the appointment and compensation of officers specified therein. The rates of compensation for these officers are not in excess of those which I have found to prevail in respect to comparable officers in the executive branch.
For the purpose of the requirements of the last sentence of section 3 of the Reorganization Act of 1949, with respect to specifying in the transmittal message of the President the statutory authority for the exercise of functions abolished by a reorganization plan, the statutory citations set forth in section 3 of Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1952 are hereby incorporated in this message by reference and shall be deemed to be a part hereof as fully as if set forth at length in this message.
This, reorganization plan will permit a needed modernization of the organization and procedure of the Bureau of Customs. It will permit a more effective administration of the custom laws.
I urge the Congress to permit Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1952 to become effective.
HARRY S. TRUMAN
NOTE: Reorganization Plan 3 of 1952 is printed in House Document 426 (82d Cong., 2d sess.). It did not become effective.