The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United
States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government
revenue. The Department is administered by the Secretary of the Treasury, who is a member
of the Cabinet. Jack Lew is the current Secretary of the Treasury; he was sworn in on February
28, 2013. The first Secretary of the Treasury was Alexander
Hamilton, who was sworn into office on September 11, 1789. Hamilton was asked by President
George Washington to serve after first having asked Robert Morris. Hamilton almost single-handedly
worked out the nation's early financial system, and for several years was a major presence
in Washington's administration as well. His portrait is on the obverse of the U.S. ten-dollar
bill while the Treasury Department building is shown on the reverse.
Besides the Secretary, one of the best-known Treasury officials is the Treasurer of the
United States whose signature, along with the Treasury Secretary's, appears on all Federal
Reserve notes. The Treasury prints and mints all paper currency
and coins in circulation through the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the United States
Mint. The Department also collects all federal taxes through the Internal Revenue Service,
and manages U.S. government debt instruments.
History The establishing act of congress, passed in
1789, read in part, The current law, 31 U.S.C. § 301, reads
as follows: President George Washington appointed Alexander
Hamilton as the first United States Secretary of the Treasury on September 11, 1789. He
left office on the last day of January 1795. Much of the structure of the government of
the United States was worked out in those five years, beginning with the structure and
function of the cabinet itself. In the next two years, Hamilton submitted
five reports: First Report on the Public Credit: Communicated
to the House of Representatives, January 14, 1790.
Operations of the Act Laying Duties on Imports: Communicated to the House of Representatives,
April 23, 1790. Second Report on Public Credit – Report
on a National Bank. Communicated to the House of Representatives, December 14, 1790.
Report on the Establishment of a Mint: Communicated to the House of Representatives, January 28,
1791. Report on Manufactures: Communicated to the
House of Representatives, December 5, 1791. 2003 reorganization
Congress transferred several agencies that had previously been under the aegis of the
Treasury department to other departments as a consequence of the September 11, 2001 terrorist
attacks. Effective January 24, 2003, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, which had
been a bureau of the Department since 1972, was extensively reorganized under the provisions
of the Homeland Security Act of 2002. The law enforcement functions of ATF, including
the regulation of legitimate traffic in firearms and explosives, were transferred to the Department
of Justice as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The regulatory and
tax collection functions of ATF related to legitimate traffic in alcohol and tobacco
remained with the Treasury at its new Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.
Effective March 1, 2003, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, the United States Customs
Service, and the United States Secret Service were transferred to the newly created Department
of Homeland Security. Responsibilities
The basic functions of the Department of the Treasury mainly include:
Producing all currency, coinage and postage stamps of the U.S.;
Collecting taxes, duties and money paid to and due to the U.S.:
Paying all bills of the U.S.; Managing the federal finances;
Managing government accounts and the United States public debt;
Supervising national banks and thrift institutions; Advising on domestic and international financial,
monetary, economic, trade and tax policy; Enforcing federal finance and tax laws;
Investigating and prosecuting tax evaders; Publishing statistical reports.
With respect to the estimation of revenues for the executive branch, Treasury serves
a purpose parallel to that of the Office of Management and Budget for the estimation of
spending for the executive branch, the Joint Committee on Taxation for the estimation of
revenues for Congress, and the Congressional Budget Office for the estimation of spending
for Congress. From 1830 until 1901, the responsibility of
overseeing weights and measures was carried out by the Office of Standard Weights and
Measures, which was part of the U.S. Treasury Department. After 1901, the responsibility
was assigned to the agency that subsequently became known as the National Institute of
Standards and Technology. Administrative materials
As part of its administration of Federal tax, the Treasury issues a wide range of documents
providing its interpretation of the Internal Revenue Code, which each document having a
varying level of weight for which the tax payer may rely:
Treasury Regulations reflect the Treasury's interpretation of the IRC, may be promulgated
by the Secretary of the Treasury, and when final they have "force of law" status. Congress
can sometimes carve out areas in which the Treasury can actually make, not just interpret,
the rules. Revenue Rulings are issued under the same
statutory authority as regulations, but generally are just a response to a taxpayer's question
about their own tax liability. Published Revenue Rulings are released in the weekly Internal
Revenue Bulletin and, in the past, in the semi-annual Cumulative Bulletin; they do not
have the force or effect of regulations, but nonetheless may be cited and used by the public.
Private Letter Rulings are also the IRS' response to a specific taxpayer's question regarding
the tax consequences of a particular transaction and can be made public upon request. Although
they may not be relied on by anyone other than the taxpayer that requested it, they
are still useful for tax planning purposes. A Revenue Procedure is a statement of the
Treasury's practice and procedures, and generally deals with a broad subject area.
Organization Structure
Secretary of the TreasuryDeputy Secretary of the Treasury
Treasurer of the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing
United States Mint
Under Secretary for Domestic FinanceAssistant Secretary for Financial Institutions
Office of Financial Institutions
Assistant Secretary for Financial Markets Office of Financial Markets
Fiscal Assistant Secretary Office of Fiscal Service
Bureau of the Fiscal Service
Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability Office of Financial Stability
Under Secretary for International Affairs Assistant Secretary for International Markets
and Development Assistant Secretary for International Affairs
Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence,Assistant Secretary for Terrorist
Financing Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial
Crimes
Assistant Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis Office of Intelligence and Analysis
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network Office of Foreign Assets Control
Treasury Executive Office for Asset Forfeiture
Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs
Assistant Secretary for Management/Chief Financial Officer/Chief Performance Officer
Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs/Director of policy planning
Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau
Commissioner of Internal Revenue Internal Revenue Service
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Office of the General Counsel
Office of the Inspector General Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration
Official website
The Office of the General Counsel is charged with supervising all legal proceedings involving
the collection of debts due the United States, establishing regulations to guide customs
collectors, issuing distress warrants against delinquent revenue collectors or receivers
of public money, examining Treasury officers' official bonds and related legal documents,
serving as legal adviser to the department and administered lands acquired by the United
States in payment for debts. This office was preceded by the offices of the Comptroller
of the Treasury, First Comptroller of the Treasury, Agent of the Treasury, and Solicitor
of the Treasury 1830–1934. Budget and Staffing
The Treasury Department was authorized a budget for Fiscal Year 2015 of $22.6 billion. The
budget authorization is broken down as follows: See also
Title 12 of the Code of Federal Regulations Title 17 of the Code of Federal Regulations
Title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations Federal Reserve System
MicroLoan Program Treasury Enterprise Architecture Framework
Treasury Information System Architecture Framework Notes and references
External links Official website
Department of the Treasury in the Federal Register
Map of Major Foreign Holders Of Treasury Securities 2009
United States Department of the Treasury collected news and commentary at The Washington Post
Annual Reports of the Secretary of the Treasury on the State of Finances – These annual
reports also contain the reports of the many departments of the Treasury, including the
Bureau of the Mint, Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Bureau of Customs, Office of the
Comptroller of the Currency, Secret Service, and the Internal Revenue Service.
United States Department of the Treasury at the Wayback Machine
Act to establish the Treasury Department. 1st Congress, 1st Session, Ch. 12, 1 Stat.
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