6 U.S.C. § 115 — Trade and customs revenue functions of the Department

(a) Trade and customs revenue functions. (1) Designation of appropriate official. The Secretary must name a senior official in the Secretary's own office. That official must (A) make sure DHS's trade and customs revenue functions are coordinated across the Department and with other federal agencies, and that the impact on legitimate trade is considered in any action affecting those functions; and (B) monitor and report to Congress on whether DHS's trade and customs revenue functions — including spending, operations, and staffing tied to them — are keeping up with the level of trade entering the United States. (2) Director of Trade Policy. There is a Director of Trade Policy, who is subject to the direction of the official named in (1). The Director must (A) advise that official on all Department policy relating to trade and customs revenue functions, (B) coordinate development of Department-wide policy on trade and customs revenue functions and trade facilitation, and (C) coordinate those policies with other federal agencies. (b) Study; report. (1) The Comptroller General must study how well DHS is meeting its legal obligation, under section 212(b), to maintain customs revenue functions. (2) The study must analyze (A) how much the former Customs Service's customs revenue functions have been merged with other DHS work, discontinued, or reduced since the move to DHS — including whether staff responsible for customs revenue collection have also been assigned unrelated duties; (B) whether staffing levels or resources tied to customs revenue functions have dropped since the move; and (C) whether DHS's management structure supports effective trade facilitation and customs revenue collection. (3) The Comptroller General had to report the study's results to Congress within 180 days of October 13, 2006. (4) By September 30, 2007, the Secretary had to make sure section 212(b)'s requirements were fully satisfied, and report on that to the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee. (5) This subsection defines "customs revenue functions" by reference to section 212(b)(2). (c) Consultation on trade and customs revenue functions. (1) The Secretary must consult representatives of the international-trade business community — including seeking advice from the Commercial Operations Advisory Committee — no later than 30 days after proposing, and no later than 30 days before finalizing, any DHS policy, initiative, or action with a significant impact on international trade and customs revenue functions. (2)(A) The Secretary must also notify the appropriate congressional committees at least 60 days before proposing, and at least 60 days before finalizing, any policy, initiative, or action with a major impact on trade and customs revenue functions, describing the proposal and any comments from the Commercial Operations Advisory Committee or other relevant groups. (B) If the Secretary decides it is important to national security to finalize something before that consultation happens, the Secretary may skip it, but must then notify Congress of the advisory committee's recommendations within 45 days after finalizing the action, and modify the action afterward based on the consultation, to the extent appropriate. (d) Notification of reorganization of customs revenue functions. (1) At least 45 days before reorganizing any customs revenue function, the Secretary must notify several Senate and House committees of the specific assets, functions, or personnel being transferred and why, including an explanation of the impact on trade enforcement, how the reorganization still satisfies section 212(b)'s requirement not to diminish these functions, and any comments from the Commercial Operations Advisory Committee. (2) Any of those committees may ask the Commercial Operations Advisory Committee to analyze the reorganization's impact and recommend changes. (3) Within one year after a reorganization, the Secretary, in consultation with the Commercial Operations Advisory Committee, must report to the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee, assessing the reorganization's impact and any suggested modifications.