ADVISORY

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT

Lewis Announces a Hearing on the Department of the Treasury Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau

House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee Chairman John Lewis (D-GA) today announced that the Subcommittee on Oversight will hold a hearing on the Department of the Treasury’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB).  The hearing will take place on Tuesday, May 20, 2008, at 10:30 a.m., in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building. 

In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only.  The Honorable Lloyd Doggett, a Representative from the State of Texas, and John J. Manfreda, Administrator of  TTB, have been invited to testify.  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:

On January 24, 2003, the Homeland Security Act of 2002 separated the functions of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms into two organizations—TTB and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).  TTB was established as a new bureau within the Department of the Treasury to: (1) collect excise taxes on alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and ammunition; (2) regulate alcohol and tobacco products; and (3) protect consumers.  TTB is the primary federal authority in the regulation of the alcohol and tobacco industries.  ATF was established as a new bureau within the Department of Justice with jurisdiction over firearms enforcement and regulation, arson and explosives, and interstate trafficking of cigarettes. 

TTB is the third largest tax collection agency in the federal government with nearly $15 billion in excise taxes collected last year from approximately 6,100 businesses.  In addition, TTB regulates over 45,000 alcohol and tobacco business operations.  It has approximately 550 employees and a budget of $93.5 million.  The Administration's fiscal year 2009 proposed budget for TTB is $96.9 million, an increase of 3.6 percent over current levels.

In announcing the hearing, Chairman Lewis said, “TTB has a broad range of responsibilities from tax collection to consumer protection and plays a critical role in our economy.  I look forward to reviewing TTB’s operations, including the impact of its separation from ATF.  TTB must have the resources and authority it needs to protect the public and the revenue.”

FOCUS OF THE HEARING:

The hearing will review TTB’s overall operations on its five-year anniversary.  The Subcommittee will examine: (1) TTB’s budget and workload; (2) enforcement programs and compliance issues related to the collection of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and ammunition excise taxes; (3) the immediate and long-term impact of the division of resources and responsibilities between TTB and ATF; and (4) administrative and other proposals related to TTB’s operations.

DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:

Please Note:  Any person(s) and/or organization(s) wishing to submit comments for the hearing record must follow the appropriate link on the hearing page of the Committee website and complete the informational forms.  From the Committee homepage, http://waysandmeans.house.gov/, select "110th Congress" from the menu entitled, "Committee Hearings” (http://waysandmeans.house.gov/Hearings.asp?congress=18).  Select the hearing for which you would like to submit, and click on the link entitled, "Click here to provide a submission for the record."  Follow the online instructions, completing all informational forms and clicking "submit" on the final page.  ATTACH your submission as a Word or WordPerfect document, in compliance with the formatting requirements listed below, by close of business Tuesday, June 3, 2008.  Finally, please note that due to the change in House mail policy, the U.S. Capitol Police will refuse sealed-package deliveries to all House Office Buildings.  For questions, or if you encounter technical problems, please call (202) 225-1721.

FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:

The Committee relies on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record. As always, submissions will be included in the record according to the discretion of the Committee. The Committee will not alter the content of your submission, but we reserve the right to format it according to our guidelines. Any submission provided to the Committee by a witness, any supplementary materials submitted for the printed record, and any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any submission or supplementary item 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 submissions and supplementary materials must be provided in Word or WordPerfect format and MUST NOT exceed a total of 10 pages, including attachments.  Witnesses and summiteers are advised that the Committee relies 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.  All submissions must include a list of all clients, persons, and/or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.  A supplemental sheet must accompany each submission listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers of each witness.

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.

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

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