On the recordJuly 31, 2014
today, July 31, 2014, marks the 225th anniversary of the signing by President George Washington of legislation establishing the U.S. Customs Service, the oldest legacy agency of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, CBP, currently within the Department of Homeland Security. The U.S. Customs Service was created by the 5th Act of the 1st Congress. The U.S. Customs Service placed controls on imports and exports and on shipping and trade, which were deemed essential by the founders of the Republic, and would have been impossible without implementation by an honest, resourceful, and efficient Customs Service. The original Customs collectors, the Customs houses, and today's CBP officers have stood for 225 years as the embodiment of Federal authority at our ports of entry. After 225 years, the ever more complex demands of our economy and our society require CBP officers to remain alert and ready to perform on short notice a widening variety of tasks. Today's dedicated CBP personnel, and their predecessor Customs inspectors, have been the first line of defense against the entry into the United States of terrorists, terrorist weapons, illicit drugs and other contraband goods, while protecting the economic well-being of the Nation, and supporting American jobs, by facilitating legitimate trade and travel, and protecting this country's intellectual property rights. ____________________
