On July 31, 1789, the First Congress passed an Act - the Fifth Act of Congress - establishing 59 customs districts in 11 states. That was the birth of the U.S. Customs Service - over 213 years ago. In those early years, we were guided by none other than Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, whose tireless, dedicated commitment to Customs set an early standard for Customs officials.

Throughout our years with Treasury, U.S. Customs has had its share of famous personnel. Among them, great authors, such as Herman Melville, who was a Customs officer in New York; Edwin Arlington Robinson, a great American poet who was appointed to the Customs Service by President Theodore Roosevelt; and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Presidents Ulysses S. Grant and Chester Arthur also spent time as Customs officials.

The U.S. Customs Service's history with the Department of the Treasury has been a long, rich, and rewarding one. Under Treasury's leadership, we have evolved from an agency whose primary responsibility was collecting revenue to one charged with enforcing the laws of the United States at our borders, to, now, an agency whose priority responsibility is nothing less than protecting America and the American people from the threat of international terrorism by securing our border - by doing everything we reasonably and responsibly can to prevent terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering our country.

Thus, the story of Treasury, and particularly the story of Customs within Treasury, is a story of how an organization created in 1789 to collect revenue generated by "tariffs and tonnage" has become a major player in the 21st century war on terrorism. It is a story of how, for the first 124 years of this nation's history, Customs was the government's primary source of income. Revenues collected by Customs paid for, among other things, the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France and the building of the Transcontinental Railroad.

As foreign trade into the U.S. increased, so did the flow of contraband. From the very beginning, Customs collectors tasked with generating revenue found themselves enforcing laws regulating the movement of goods into and out of the country. Cattle thieves, rumrunners, drug smugglers, money launderers, and criminals of every other bent have been almost certain, at some point in their careers, to face off with the Customs Service.

In a few days - this Saturday - Customs will be in the new Department of Homeland Security. In addition to performing its traditional missions, Customs will be the frontline against terrorism and the effort to detect, investigate, and stop weapons of mass destruction from entering our country.

Although much has changed in the first 213 years of U.S. Customs, the strong traditions of honor, integrity, service to country, courage, and professionalism developed through those years has not and will not change. The move from Treasury is certainly a bittersweet one for all of us at Customs. We have had a long and proud history in the Treasury Department.

We are ready and eager to embrace our responsibilities in the new Department of Homeland Security; yet it is difficult to leave a Department with which we have such a strong and solid bond - a bond that spans so many years and so much history.

As Customs makes its move to the new Department, though, we know we are not leaving behind the lessons of excellence we have learned from our time with the Treasury Department. Rather, we are bringing those lessons with us. We will rely on them, and on all of the proud traditions developed during our history with Treasury, to help us meet the challenges we will face in the days and years to come.

I would like to conclude today by presenting Secretary Snow with the Customs ensign. This ensign has flown proudly at U.S. Customs Headquarters on 14th Street. The original Customs ensign was designed by the second Secretary of the Treasury, Oliver Walcott, in 1799.

Mr. Secretary, please accept this as a commemoration of the great and historical relationship Customs has had with the Treasury Department for these past 213 years.

Thank you.

*Commissioner Bonner reserves the right to edit his written remarks during his oral presentation and to speak extemporaneously. Thus, his actual remarks, as given, may vary slightly from the written text.