Thank you Mr. Chairman, Senator Dorgan, and members of the Subcommittee. It is a pleasure for me to be here today to support the FY 2000 budget for Treasury's law enforcement bureaus and offices.

With me today are the heads of the Treasury law enforcement bureaus: John W. Magaw, Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF); Raymond W. Kelly, Commissioner of the United States Customs Service (USCS), and W. Ralph Basham, Director of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC). We are pleased to be joined by two new members of the Treasury Enforcement Team: Brian L. Stafford, Director of the United States Secret Service (USSS), and James F. Sloan, Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Both were appointed by Secretary Rubin last month. Both bring a wealth of law enforcement experience to the challenges of their new roles.

I welcome this opportunity to share with you my thoughts on Treasury Enforcement's mission today and into the 21st century, and on how President Clinton's FY 2000 budget request supports us in achieving this mission.

Each year, as the world becomes a more complex place, Treasury's law enforcement mission grows in complexity, scope and importance. Secretary Rubin has repeatedly noted that our bureaus must continue to meet these challenges as they perform their critical role in advancing America's law enforcement priorities, which include, but are not limited to, protecting our leaders, protecting our borders from drug traffickers and our streets from the threat of bombs, arson, and gun violence, safeguarding our financial institutions from money launderers and fraud, and collecting revenue.

To ensure excellence in achieving these missions, and in keeping with the spirit of the National Performance Review and the Government Performance and Results Act, Treasury continues to engage in a comprehensive strategic management process to enhance and improve the results we deliver to the American people. Overall, the bureaus' performances against established strategic plans were excellent. And while not every goal was met our results were very significant.

With the objective in mind of continuing to perform our mission at the highest level of excellence, the President's FY 2000 budget seeks a Treasury Enforcement program level of $3.5 billion and 27,422 direct FTE, excluding the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division (IRS/CID). IRS/CID, however, does play an integral role in Treasury law enforcement efforts with its FY 2000 $384.3 million and 4,049 FTE request. We believe the President's budget request takes a pragmatic approach to two goals. On one hand, it permits Treasury to contribute substantially towards balancing the federal budget. On the other, it supports effective approaches to law enforcement. Also, it is important to note that the requested Treasury program level allows us to combat crime while depositing more than $34 billion in revenues and collections into the U.S. Treasury. This is a tremendous return on investment.

My remarks today will focus on two things: the role of the Office of Enforcement and the goals of our five-part strategic plan that was developed by the bureaus working with the Office of Enforcement. This format highlights our bureaus' specific areas of expertise, activities and budget requests, as well as our cross-cutting expertise on financial crimes matters. During my testimony, I will highlight several key initiatives that Treasury is undertaking in the law enforcement context.

We recognize that the role of our enforcement bureaus is enhanced through the support, oversight and policy guidance provided at the Departmental level. In this regard, I am pleased to report that the Office of Enforcement has worked diligently over the past year to fulfill these responsibilities, and has a plan in place for maximizing such efforts over the next year.

Support

Over the past year, we have worked to support each of our bureaus' individual goals, as well as for the advancement of issues of significance to all of the enforcement bureaus. We have often done this by bringing together working groups including bureau personnel, to work on challenging issues. Many of these efforts are led by bureau personnel either dedicated to the project or detailed to the Office of Enforcement to work on such matters.

For example, working groups consisting of personnel from the Office of Enforcement, the Office of Management and the enforcement bureaus developed a fleet management policy that balances the needs of law enforcement with Congressional concern for assurance that vehicles are being used in conformity with sound management principles. A combined team of Enforcement and Management staff recently reported to the Subcommittee on the results of those efforts. Similarly, a working group was formed to develop an implementation plan for the demonstration pay project. It is our hope that the use of personnel interventions identified by this working group will enable us to improve our capacity to recruit, develop, and retain high-caliber employees. Finally, the Office of Enforcement, Office of Management, and enforcement bureau representatives have jointly undertaken a major effort to respond to the Congressional request that we analyze the implications of the imminent agent retirements.

Oversight

Over the last year we have worked with our bureaus to identify issues before they become problems, and work on problems before they become crises. The Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) is helping us to meet this goal. Since receiving funds in the FY 1998 appropriations bill, we have made considerable progress in staffing this unit, which assists in the provision of oversight on such important issues as internal affairs, training and inspection. Among other things, OPR has carried on work begun by former Under Secretary Kelly, by continuing to make integrity a priority. Indeed, last February, fulfilling a Congressional request, the Office of Enforcement issued an OPR report on Customs' Office of Internal Affairs. This study represents a thorough and comprehensive analysis and reflects the important oversight role envisioned for OPR.

Additionally, during the past year, OPR has worked with ATF to improve enforcement of the firearms laws and operations at the National Tracing Center, analyzed EEO and diversity issues at the Treasury bureaus, and participated in the Implementation Committee overseeing renewal of the FLETC. OPR also conducted an assessment of training at the Customs Service. Its findings and recommendations fully support Commissioner Kelly's decision to establish an Office of Training at the Assistant Commissioner level.

Policy Guidance

A third major function of the Office of Enforcement is to provide leadership in the formulation and coordination of policy for Treasury Enforcement. In this regard, in the past year, we convened the Financial Crimes Policy Steering Committee which consists of representatives from all of the Treasury Bureaus and offices, at the Assistant Director level, who are tasked with helping to formulate policy in the area of Treasury's financial crimes jurisdiction. Among other things, I have tasked this group with the development of a strategic response to what we believe to be an insidious money laundering system, the Black Market Peso Exchange, which is a process by which Colombian narcotraffickers convert their ill-gotten dollars into ostensibly clean pesos. On a broader level, this group is the primary vehicle by which the Office of Enforcement is leading the development of a nationwide strategy against money laundering.

As a former prosecutor, I understand that the effectiveness of our bureaus is constrained by the legal and administrative infrastructure under which they operate. We are working to ensure that those rules function to make our bureaus work as effectively as possible. For example, the impact of successful investigation may be undercut by Sentencing Guidelines that do not adequately reflect the severity of the crime. The Office of Enforcement and General Counsel within Treasury have been working with our bureaus to formulate and recommend to the Sentencing Commission certain changes in the Guidelines.

The Office of Enforcement also has taken other steps to enhance its support and oversight missions. Among other activities, we continue to work closely with Customs, ONDCP, and others to ensure close cooperation on anti-narcotics matters; we have maintained a lead role within the Administration on the National Church Arson Task Force; and in conjunction with ATF and the Department of Justice, we have responded to the President's directive to analyze the problem of the gun show loophole, and remain at the forefront on firearms issues.

On the trade and regulatory side, the Office of Enforcement has taken the lead in initiatives to streamline and modernize the regulatory and trade law enforcement operations of the enforcement bureaus. In recent years, Treasury has been a major force behind changes to the way the alcoholic beverage industry and the firearms industry are regulated by ATF, re-organization of the Customs Service to provide better service to the public, re-invention of Customs' business processes for both import and export transactions, and Customs' enforcement of intellectual property laws.

More globally, the Office of Enforcement represents the United States in an initiative by the G7 governments to develop standard electronic documentation for trade among the G7 countries. This initiative will greatly simplify the experience of exporting for small U.S. companies, and it will reduce the expense of international transactions for all U.S. businesses.

Providing key support, sensible oversight, and sound policy guidance are the principles that govern the work of the Office of Enforcement. I trust they will become clear as we discuss in greater detail the implementation of Treasury Enforcement's strategic plan.

Goal: Reduce the Trafficking, Smuggling and Use of Illicit Drugs

Treasury brings essential counter-narcotics and money laundering expertise to the implementation of all aspects of the President's comprehensive anti-drug strategy. Customs plays a leading role in the fight against illicit drugs through our anti-smuggling efforts at the border and our substantial air support to interdict illegal narcotics at the source. Treasury's anti- narcotics role is also pursued through anti-money laundering activities, efforts to reduce narcotics-related violent crime, and demand reduction programs. The following examples highlight in greater detail the roles our individual bureaus play in Treasury's efforts to achieve the goal of reducing trafficking, smuggling, and use of illicit drugs.

The Customs Service has the primary role for the Treasury Department -- and one of the primary roles for the United States -- in interdicting drugs and other contraband at the border, and in ensuring that all goods and persons entering and exiting the United States do so in accordance with the law. The Customs Service discovers or seizes more illegal drugs than all federal authorities in the United States combined each year.

Customs has tremendous responsibilities. As you know, Customs must deal with significant challenges in its efforts to execute its drug interdiction mission. For example, the Customs Service processed over 460 million people, over 139 million land, air and sea carriers, and $955 billion worth of imported merchandise. Customs performed the initial checks, processes, and enforcement functions for over 40 federal agencies and applied hundreds of laws and regulations. It performed these tasks by servicing more than 300 ports of entry sprawled across 7,000 miles of land border, and also provided air support to the U.S. Government's source control efforts in South and Central America. Customs pursued all of these enforcement missions while collecting approximately $22 billion in revenue for the United States in the form of duties, taxes, and fees.

Customs constantly strives to improve its ability to stem the flow of drugs while dealing with the increasing volumes of cargo and passengers into and out of the United States. Indeed, the number one operational priority for the Customs Service is preventing the smuggling of narcotics into the United States. It pursues this mission through interdiction, intelligence and investigative capabilities that disrupt and dismantle smuggling organizations. Customs seized 1,116,000 pounds of illegal drugs in FY 1998, exceeding its target of 953,000 pounds. Customs' increase in seizures resulted, in large measure, from Operation Brass Ring, a six month effort to increase the amount of narcotics seized.

Customs will continue to develop the capabilities to meet the ongoing smuggling threats on our southwest land border, in the Caribbean, and at all borders and ports of entry across the country. Customs also remains an active participant in multi-agency criminal investigations, and continues to strengthen its partnerships with the private sector, cooperative foreign governments and other federal agencies in order to continue its active role to counter narcotics smuggling.

Customs' FY 2000 budget proposal includes increases for integrity awareness and training initiatives, and non-intrusive inspection technology and automation, all of which will help us achieve our goal of maintaining the best possible workforce while reducing the trafficking and smuggling of illicit drugs in an effective and efficient manner.

We also are proud of such efforts as ATF's campaign against armed narcotics traffickers, through its Achilles Program, and Youth Crime Gun Interdiction Initiative, the work of all of our bureaus on HIDTA and ICDE task forces, the use of our financial crimes expertise to attack the financial underpinnings of the drug trade, and valuable prevention efforts such as ATF's GREAT program.

Goal: Combat Financial Crimes and Money Laundering

One of the Treasury Department's most important missions is the fight against money laundering and financial crimes. Treasury's unique structure permits us to use both our regulatory and investigative expertise to follow the money trail and thus undermine criminal enterprises. Since our last appearance before you, there have been several developments in this area. For example, as mentioned earlier, the Treasury Department, in conjunction with federal, state, local and private sector entities, is now in the final stages of developing a national money laundering strategy as directed by the Money Laundering and Financial Crimes Strategy Act of 1998. The Office of Enforcement has taken the lead role in this effort. We have reached out to other agencies as we have worked to develop the strategy, and we look forward to continuing work on its further refinement and, ultimately, its implementation. Indeed, we believe that the strategy will make an important contribution to the battle against money laundering.

We have continued to press forward with international efforts against money laundering. Last May, President Clinton announced the Administration's International Crime Control Strategy (ICCS), which includes as one of its goals countering international financial crime. Treasury's Office of Enforcement and its law enforcement bureaus played an active role in the development of the ICCS and continue to play important roles in its implementation. As advances in technology and the removal of other barriers allow money to move with increasing speed among nations, an effective, long-term anti-money laundering strategy will require other nations to adopt strong anti-money laundering measures in the legal, regulatory, and law enforcement areas. This, too, is a component part of the ICCS and an area in which FinCEN, in particular, is actively involved. Also, we have continued to strengthen the capability of our bureaus to fight money laundering in a coordinated fashion. Treasury Enforcement's Financial Crimes Steering Committee, established in 1998, brings together the full spectrum of Treasury agencies that play a role in efforts to combat financial crime. This group currently oversees an interagency working group that is developing an action plan to combat an insidious form of drug money laundering the Colombian Black Market Peso Exchange.

In furtherance of our goal of protecting the integrity of our nation's financial systems, we are also focused on continuing to develop anti-counterfeiting strategies that employ all appropriate technological and investigatory methods to combat designers and traffickers in counterfeit currency and instruments. Working with the State Department, we are expanding the Secret Service's overseas presence to combat more effectively the burgeoning international criminal threat to our financial systems. We are also enhancing our leadership role by continuing to develop partnerships with the financial community and others in the private and public sectors. Recognizing the importance of our combined efforts to combat this problem, in 1998, Secretary Rubin asked Attorney General Reno and the Justice Department to coordinate with Treasury in working with the Sentencing Commission to review and enhance the guideline ranges for imprisonment in counterfeiting cases.

Some of our bureaus' individual efforts in the fight against money laundering and financial crimes include:

In addition to its substantial efforts to counter illicit drugs, Customs also plays a vitally important role in combating money laundering. During FY 1998, Customs' money laundering investigations resulted in 1,035 arrests and 928 criminal indictments. Its investigative strategy is focused on disrupting two key business functions that are necessary for sophisticated international money laundering operations to function: laundering profits and investing the proceeds of their criminal activity. In this context, I note the significance of Operation Casablanca, the largest drug money laundering investigation in U.S. history, which to date has resulted in the arrests of 168 individuals. While I will defer to Commissioner Kelly to discuss the public details of this ongoing investigation, I note that this case represents a fine example of the important work that Customs is doing to eliminate the scourge of money laundering.

The Secret Service is the nation's lead agency in investigating counterfeiting, forgery, and access device fraud. As the nation's counterfeiting expert, the Secret Service has investigated fictitious financial instruments, counterfeit currency and credit card schemes both domestically and internationally. Because United States currency is counterfeited around the globe -- approximately 70 percent of all counterfeit currency detected domestically is of foreign origin -- the Secret Service devotes a large portion of its investigative resources to battling international counterfeiting issues.

The Secret Service has learned through experience that the best method to manage this problem is to address counterfeit issues at their source, with the permanent stationing of Secret Service agents at foreign posts. In addition, the Secret Service leverages its resources by enlisting international law enforcement agencies to identify counterfeit currency and suppress counterfeiting plates. These efforts, primarily carried out through counterfeit detection seminars, have promoted a cooperative international law enforcement effort to detect, suppress and prosecute counterfeit violations.

Moreover, to prevent financial fraud schemes, the Secret Service has developed and implemented longstanding and effective partnerships with private industry to better understand various financial systems and combat significant losses. Assisting the industry and their financial systems with "systemic fixes," aggressive analysis, and proactive security enhancement measures has increased the overall security of these financial systems. Proactive joint initiatives with the industry, such as public awareness campaigns, media programs, speeches, seminars, and security training are having a positive impact. These partnerships have reduced the ability of criminal organizations to target financial institutions.

In addition to its work with the private sector, the Secret Service plays an active role in law enforcement task forces aimed at identifying and targeting fraud schemes intended to victimize individuals, banks, credit card issuers, or other financial institutions.

While Customs, Secret Service and IRS-CID are the financial crime investigators, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network serves as Treasury's principal support arm for such investigative efforts. As its name states, FinCEN is a network, a link between the law enforcement, financial, and regulatory communities. It brings together government agencies and the private sector, in this country and around the world, to maximize information-sharing among these communities, and thereby further efforts to prevent and detect money laundering activities.

FinCEN's FY 2000 budget request focuses on those programs that are at the core of its support to law enforcement: the Gateway system; direct case support to law enforcement; sophisticated research and analysis support to the regulatory and law enforcement communities; expanding the use of technology tools to research Bank Secrecy Act databases; expansion of secure communications; financial intelligence unit development; and a study to gauge the magnitude of money laundering. Your support for FinCEN's FY 2000 budget request -- which reflects a commitment to essential programs rather than an expansion into new initiatives -- will strengthen the quality of the support that it provides to law enforcement.

Although IRS-CID is not a part of this appropriations hearing, I want to say a few words about its important contribution to Treasury's law enforcement efforts. Fighting financial crime is a job well-suited for the special agents of IRS-CID. They are known for their ability to "follow the money trail" and stop the criminal when no one else can. IRS-CID agents are financial experts in combating money laundering and tax evasion. Their expertise is sought in investigations of all types of financial crimes, including health care fraud, pension fraud, insurance fraud, bankruptcy fraud, telemarketing fraud, gaming, narcotics, and public corruption. IRS-CID continues to play an invaluable role in Treasury Enforcement's efforts to combat the range of financial crimes facing us, and we look forward to our continued partnership with them.

Goal: Fight Violent Crime

One of the goals of the Clinton Administration has been to reduce violent crime in our nation's streets. Treasury is working to fight violent crime by arresting the most violent armed offenders, denying criminals and juveniles access to firearms, reducing the risk of violent crime in our communities, safeguarding the public from arson and explosive incidents and strengthening our capability to fight terrorist threats to the United States. During FY 1998, ATF received over 180,000 gun trace requests from federal, state, local and international law enforcement agencies. It also expanded its Youth Crime Gun Interdiction Initiative (YCGII) from 17 to 27 cities, focusing on the sources of firearms recovered from juvenile and youthful offenders.

To safeguard the public from arson and explosives incidents, ATF maintains the highest standards of investigative expertise and state-of-the-art technology to respond most effectively to those incidents. We endeavor to prevent criminal misuse of explosives in crimes of arson through enforcement, regulation, and community outreach and investigate thefts and illegal diversion of explosives.

On the international front, we continue to work to maintain appropriate firearms importation and international illegal firearms trafficking policies and to share crime gun tracing and anti-smuggling expertise with the international community in order to combat illegal firearms trafficking.

As will be clear from Director Magaw's testimony, ATF plays the leading role for Treasury -- indeed for the entire federal government -- in the fight against armed violent crime. ATF is responsible for enforcement of the federal firearms laws as well as for regulation of the firearms and explosives industries. It investigates some of the most destructive, dangerous, and controversial crimes in the United States, including bombings of abortion and family planning clinics, church arsons, illegal firearms trafficking, and other firearms and explosives violations.

In an effort to reduce violent crime, ATF focuses its investigative efforts on violent criminals, career criminals, armed narcotics traffickers, violent gang offenders, and domestic and international firearms traffickers that supply the illegal firearms market. It strives to deny criminals, gang members and juveniles access to firearms, safeguard the public from bombings and arson, and imprison violent criminals.

Through its Violent Crime Coordinators (VCCs), ATF is focusing its investigations on armed recidivist and violent career criminals. The VCCs will continue to assist in removing the armed criminals that pose the greatest threat to society by identifying and investigating the most violent offenders, analyzing the best route to prosecution and working closely with the United States Attorneys' Offices to maximize the effectiveness of our investigative efforts.

Through its YCGII, which was launched by President Clinton, ATF continues its efforts to further reduce the illegal trafficking of firearms to gang offenders and juveniles. As we reported to you last year, due to the positive reception of the program in the 17 pilot cities and to ATF's first comprehensive trace analysis report designed for agents and police departments, the10 additional cities were added to the program in FY 1998. We are grateful for the support you have already provided to this program, which is designed to supplement and strengthen ATF's illegal firearms trafficking program, and ask you to support expansion of the program for an additional 10 cities (total of 37) in FY 2000.

In addition, as recently announced, the Administration is working to deny prohibited persons access to firearms, including those sold at gun shows. The President's FY 2000 budget includes additional resources for enhanced overall firearms law enforcement.

ATF is also renowned for its expertise in the areas of arson and explosives. Through its certified fire investigators, National and International Response Teams, accelerant and explosives detection canine program, its accredited laboratory, its arson and explosives repository, and numerous other programs, ATF maintains its role as the leader and innovator in these areas. Its expert work on the National Church Arson Task Force has helped produce a 34 percent clearance rate for the arsons under investigation, a rate that is more than twice the average rate for arson crimes in general. In late 1998, the Attorney General established the National Task Force on Violence Against Health Care Providers. This joint effort is required to effectively address the recent increase of violence against women's health care clinics and their providers nationwide.

ATF, having the largest contingency on the Task Force, contributes its expertise in arson, explosives and firearms and brings 16 years of investigating abortion clinic bombings and arson incidents. It is also an active participant in the Southeast Bombing Task Force, which is investigating, among other things, the 1996 bombing at Olympic Park in Atlanta.

ATF assists state and local authorities with arson investigations falling under federal jurisdiction and having a significant impact on their community, particularly when the nature or extent of the problem extends beyond the available resources or expertise of the locale involved. ATF also provides training to other federal, state, and local enforcement agencies in the detection and investigation of arson, particularly arson-for-profit, and post-blast bombing investigation.

To ensure that its vital work continues in as safe and secure an environment as possible, the President's budget supports the proposed new ATF headquarters building. We ask you to support this request. Overall, the President's FY 2000 budget request will enable ATF to continue its critical work in the battle against violent crime.

Counterterrorism

One essential aspect of our anti-violent crime efforts is Treasury's contribution to our nation's antiterrorism fight. Treasury enforcement bureaus have the legal authority and the essential expertise to perform missions that are critical to the success of the counterterrorism effort. Treasury's counterterrorist activities are not new, but derive from authority that Treasury has exercised for decades and from expertise developed in the course of Treasury's longstanding performance of its missions.

Treasury enforcement bureaus provide immediate and effective response to terrorist attacks, guard against the smuggling of weapons of mass destruction, enforce laws directed at the most common instruments of terror, protect potential terrorist targets, and enforce economic sanctions against countries and groups that promote terrorism. Treasury bureaus are equipped not only to respond to specific threats and attacks, but also to conduct the proactive operations within their areas of expertise that help defeat terrorist plans.

Treasury's central role in the counterterrorism effort is performed by ATF, Customs, the Secret Service, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the FinCEN and the FLETC. As set forth above, ATF investigates bombing and arson cases. Customs, as the lead agency responsible for enforcement of anti-smuggling laws, is charged with preventing the illegal import or export of nuclear, hazardous, or otherwise illegal materials. OFAC enforces sanctions laws, including those directed at governments that sponsor terrorism. The Secret Service is responsible for protecting the President, the Vice President, foreign dignitaries, and other designated protectees.

In addition, Treasury's unrivaled expertise on financial crime investigations provides an invaluable mechanism for sanctioning those who commit terrorist acts. The IRS/CID, the Secret Service and FinCEN figure prominently in the discovery and analysis of financial information about terrorists and their organizations. The IRS is also the sole agency responsible for investigating income tax violations, commonly committed by groups that advocate violence against the U.S. Government.

Coordination among agencies is crucial to the fight against terrorism, and law enforcement agencies throughout the federal government have always recognized and relied upon the essential work of Treasury's law enforcement bureaus. As evidenced by the response to the World Trade Center bombing, Oklahoma City bombing, and Unabomber investigation, Treasury closely coordinates with Justice and other federal, state, and local law enforcement. This coordination continues into the policy making arena, where Treasury works closely with Justice on the Attorney General's Core Agency Group against terrorism, and participates actively in the NSC's coordination groups on Weapons of Mass Destruction and counterterrorism.

Goal: Protect Our Nations Leaders and Visiting World Leaders

As I noted at the outset of my testimony, as the world becomes an increasingly more complex and dangerous place, Treasury's law enforcement mission grows in complexity as well. Treasury is striving to manage the ever-changing nature of threats by developing, acquiring and deploying necessary countermeasures. The Secret Service, as described below, continues to carry out its critical responsibility of protecting the President, the Vice President and other specially designated protectees against any potential threat.

Secret Service

The Secret Service must accomplish its protective and investigative missions in an increasingly dangerous society--and it has done so quite effectively. During FY 1998, the Service successfully managed protective security for its protectees as well as for several major events. Importantly, last year, the President signed Presidential Decision Directive 62, which names the Secret Service as the lead agency for security design, planning and implementation at designated national special security events.

The Service has also continued its efforts to combat the increasing threat from weapons of mass destruction, and is working to develop measures to ensure the safety of the President and other protectees against the threat of such weapons. In FY 2000, the Secret Service looks forward to training additional chemical/biological teams to support its protective responsibilities.

Also during FY 2000, the Service will continue its preparations for the 2000 Presidential campaign and has budgeted $35,247,000 to come from the Department's Asset Forfeiture Fund to cover the costs of providing protection for the candidates and nominees involved in the campaign and the two national party conventions. The Secret Service's budget request will further advance its ability to maintain the highest level of physical protection possible for its protectees through the effective use of human resources, protective intelligence, risk assessment and technology.

Goal: Provide High Quality Training for Law Enforcement Personnel

Assuring the excellence of training of federal law enforcement is of vital importance to the future effectiveness of our law enforcement efforts. As the training agent for the majority of all federal law enforcement agencies, we currently have 71 agencies participating in training programs at the FLETC. We are committed to enhancing basic and in-service training programs to meet the changing needs and increasing demands of federal law enforcement as we combat increasingly sophisticated, technologically advanced and globally linked crime. Our objective is to develop and operate state-of-the-art facilities and systems responsive to interagency training needs.

To meet the goal of quality training while keeping within a limited budget, to meet current training needs and to prepare for the future, we will maintain and improve FLETC's physical plant by implementing the master plan to guide the expansion of facilities to meet projected training needs. We will also develop alternative training delivery systems, such as distance learning capabilities, thereby effecting long term cost savings. Additionally, the Office of Enforcement is working with FLETC to expand the use of advanced technology in training and support, especially in the areas of computer-based training and simulation, to provide not only state-of-the-art training but long-term budget savings as well. We will also continue to provide international training in support of the International Law Enforcement Academies.

One of the reasons that Treasury law enforcement is so successful is the quality of training that its agents and inspectors receive at the FLETC. Since its establishment by a memorandum of understanding in 1970, FLETC has built a reputation for providing high quality, cost effective law enforcement training. As you know, there are many advantages to consolidated training for federal law enforcement personnel, not the least of which is an enormous cost savings to the government. Currently, 71 agencies participate in more than 200 different training programs at FLETC. Additionally, FLETC has been involved in providing law enforcement training overseas for over 20 years and has trained more than 5,000 foreign law enforcement officials from more than 102 different countries. We expect this growth to continue as more agencies recognize the many benefits of consolidated training. Through the National Center for State and Local Law Enforcement Training, FLETC also has been an excellent resource for providing over 50 highly specialized advanced training programs to State and local law enforcement officers within the United States. These programs include training related to hate-bias crime issues, computer and financial fraud and rural drug enforcement matters.

Over the last several years, the FLETC has seen an unprecedented increase in its workload. Current projections indicate continued workload growth for several more years. During FY 1998, FLETC graduated 25,762 students representing 120,399 student-weeks of training, the largest workload in the history of the Center. In FY 1999 the workload is expected to grow to 35,315 students. As Director Basham notes in his testimony, the majority of this increase is attributable to recent Congressional and Administration initiatives to control immigration along our nation's borders. Other contributing factors include counter-terrorism activity and security enhancements at federal facilities and new federal prisons coming on line.

To permit FLETC to train the law enforcement agents in the skills needed for the future, it has continued to implement its master plan for facilities. This plan was first introduced in 1989 and when fully implemented, will permit FLETC to achieve its goal of further developing, operating, and maintaining state-of-the-art facilities and systems responsive to interagency training needs.

In addition to relying on temporary training facilities to accommodate the increased workload, the Center has also implemented a dual-shift schedule at Glynco in order to accommodate the training being requested in FY 1999.

In addition to its domestic training responsibilities, the FLETC is also being called upon to play a larger and more important role in support of the Administration's and Congress' foreign policy initiatives involving the training of foreign law enforcement officials. Indeed, as Director Basham reports, foreign training requests have grown substantially in recent years, with student weeks of training increasing by almost 200 percent since 1994.

Conclusion

In summary, the Treasury Department is proud of the contributions that its law enforcement bureaus have made and continue to make to this nation. Treasury and its bureaus have defined goals and objectives to ensure our excellence in protecting our borders, fighting violent crime, defeating financial crimes and training our law enforcement agents for the challenges of countering increasingly sophisticated criminals. The FY 2000 President's budget request will enable Treasury's law enforcement bureaus to meet the current challenges and to begin preparations for the challenges of the 2lst century. I am confident you will find this to be a responsible budget, as it considers the growing demands of law enforcement in a constrained budget environment.

I would like to express my appreciation for all the support the Subcommittee has provided us. With your permission Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask the Directors of the Treasury law enforcement bureaus to describe in more detail those strategies and goals we see as playing a key role in the coming fiscal year, as well as our recent accomplishments. After which we would be pleased to answer any questions you or Members of this Subcommittee may have. Thank you.