CargoAdmin, Bureaucrats, Moderators (CommentStreams), fileuploaders, Interface administrators, newuser, Push subscription managers, Suppressors, Administrators
14,662
edits
Department of the Treasury: Difference between revisions
m
Text replacement - "Reuters" to "Reuters"
Tags: Undo Reverted |
m (Text replacement - "Reuters" to "Reuters") |
||
| (9 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Organization | {{Organization | ||
|OrganizationName=Department of the Treasury | |OrganizationName=Department of the Treasury | ||
| Line 23: | Line 15: | ||
* Regulations concerning tax administration, sanctions, anti-money laundering (AML), and counter-terrorism financing (CTF). | * Regulations concerning tax administration, sanctions, anti-money laundering (AML), and counter-terrorism financing (CTF). | ||
* Policies and regulations related to the management of federal finances, including debt issuance and management. | * Policies and regulations related to the management of federal finances, including debt issuance and management. | ||
|HeadquartersLocation=38. | |HeadquartersLocation=38.89839, -77.03428 | ||
|HeadquartersAddress=1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20220 | |HeadquartersAddress=1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20220 | ||
|Website=https://home.treasury.gov | |Website=https://home.treasury.gov | ||
| Line 65: | Line 57: | ||
== History == | == History == | ||
=== Revolutionary period === | === Revolutionary period === | ||
The history of the Department of the Treasury began in the turmoil of the [[American Revolution]], when the [[Continental Congress]] at | The history of the Department of the Treasury began in the turmoil of the [[American Revolution]], when the [[Continental Congress]] at Philadelphia deliberated the crucial issue of financing a war of independence against [[Great Britain]]. The Congress had no power to [[tax levies|levy]] and [[tax collector|collect]] taxes, nor was there a tangible basis for securing funds from foreign investors or governments. The delegates resolved to issue paper money in the form of [[bills of credit]], promising [[fiat money|redemption]] in [[coin]] on faith in the revolutionary cause. On June 22, 1775, only a few days after the [[Battle of Bunker Hill]], the Continental Congress issued $2 million in bills; on July 25, 28 citizens of Philadelphia were employed by Congress to sign and number the currency. | ||
On July 29, 1775, the [[Second Continental Congress]] assigned the responsibility for the administration of the revolutionary government's finances to joint Continental treasurers [[George Clymer]] and [[Michael Hillegas]]. Congress stipulated that each of the colonies contribute to the Continental government's funds. To ensure proper and efficient handling of the growing [[national debt]] in the face of weak economic and political ties between the colonies, the Congress, on February 17, 1776, designated a committee of five to superintend the treasury, [[settlement (finance)|settle accounts]], and report periodically to the Congress. On April 1, a Treasury Office of Accounts, consisting of an auditor general and [[clerk]]s, was established to facilitate the settlement of claims and to keep the public accounts for the government of the United Colonies. With the signing of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] on July 4, 1776, the newborn republic as a [[sovereign nation]] was able to secure loans from abroad.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Banks and Politics in America: From the Revolution to the Civil War|last=Hammond|first=Bray|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=1957|location=Princeton, NJ}}</ref> | On July 29, 1775, the [[Second Continental Congress]] assigned the responsibility for the administration of the revolutionary government's finances to joint Continental treasurers [[George Clymer]] and [[Michael Hillegas]]. Congress stipulated that each of the colonies contribute to the Continental government's funds. To ensure proper and efficient handling of the growing [[national debt]] in the face of weak economic and political ties between the colonies, the Congress, on February 17, 1776, designated a committee of five to superintend the treasury, [[settlement (finance)|settle accounts]], and report periodically to the Congress. On April 1, a Treasury Office of Accounts, consisting of an auditor general and [[clerk]]s, was established to facilitate the settlement of claims and to keep the public accounts for the government of the United Colonies. With the signing of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] on July 4, 1776, the newborn republic as a [[sovereign nation]] was able to secure loans from abroad.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Banks and Politics in America: From the Revolution to the Civil War|last=Hammond|first=Bray|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=1957|location=Princeton, NJ}}</ref> | ||
| Line 75: | Line 67: | ||
===Creation of the Treasury=== | ===Creation of the Treasury=== | ||
[[Image:Seal of the United States Department of the Treasury (1789-1968).png|thumb|Original seal, dating from before 1968]] | [[Image:Seal of the United States Department of the Treasury (1789-1968).png|thumb|Original seal, dating from before 1968]] | ||
The [[1st United States Congress|First United States Congress]] convened in | The [[1st United States Congress|First United States Congress]] convened in New York City on March 4, 1789, marking the beginning of government under the [[Constitution of the United States|U.S. Constitution]]. On September 2, 1789, Congress created a permanent institution for the management of government finances:<blockquote>Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there shall be a Department of Treasury, in which shall be the following officers, namely: a Secretary of the Treasury, to be deemed head of the department; a Comptroller, an Auditor, a Treasurer, a Register, and an [[United States Assistant Secretary of the Treasury|Assistant to the Secretary of the Treasury]], which assistant shall be appointed by the said Secretary.<ref name="Act-to-establish">{{cite web | title=Image 1 of An act to establish the Treasury department .... [Dated] 1789, July 2. New-York. Printed by Thomas Greenleaf.]. | website=The Library of Congress | date=1970-01-01 | url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/rbpe.1110160m/?st=text | access-date=2022-12-01 | archive-date=December 1, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221201172233/https://www.loc.gov/resource/rbpe.1110160m/?st=text | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://legisworks.org/sal/1/stats/STATUTE-1-Pg65.pdf|title=Chapter 12, 1 Statue. 65|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019033202/http://legisworks.org/sal/1/stats/STATUTE-1-Pg65.pdf|archive-date=October 19, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref></blockquote>[[Alexander Hamilton]] took the oath of office as the first [[United States Secretary of the Treasury|secretary of the treasury]] on September 11, 1789. Hamilton had served as [[George Washington]]'s ''[[aide-de-camp]]'' during the American Revolutionary War and was influential in the [[United States Constitution#1788 ratification|ratification]] of the Constitution. Hamilton's [[business acumen|financial and managerial acumen]] made him a logical choice for addressing the problem of the new nation's heavy [[war debt]]. His first official act as secretary was to submit a report to Congress in which he laid the foundation for the nation's financial health. | ||
To the surprise of many legislators, he insisted upon [[Debt Assumption|federal assumption]] and dollar-for-dollar repayment of the country's $75 million debt in order to revitalize the [[public credit]]: "[T]he debt of the United States was the price of liberty. The faith of America has been repeatedly pledged for it, and with solemnities that give peculiar force to the obligation."<ref name="syrett1962vol6">{{cite book|editor-last1=Syrett|editor-first1=Harold C.|title=The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, vol. 6|date=1962|publisher=[[Columbia University Press]]|location=New York City|isbn=978-0231089050|url=http://www.wwnorton.com/college/history/america7/content/multimedia/ch08/documents_02.htm|access-date=May 6, 2018|ref=syrett1962vol6|archive-date=May 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180507003521/http://www.wwnorton.com/college/history/america7/content/multimedia/ch08/documents_02.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Hamilton foresaw the development of industry and trade in the United States, suggesting that government revenues be based upon [[customs duties]].<ref name="syrett1962vol6" /> His sound [[fiscal policy|financial policies]] also inspired investment in the [[First Bank of the United States|Bank of the United States]], which acted as the government's [[fiscal agent]].{{citation needed|date=May 2018}} | To the surprise of many legislators, he insisted upon [[Debt Assumption|federal assumption]] and dollar-for-dollar repayment of the country's $75 million debt in order to revitalize the [[public credit]]: "[T]he debt of the United States was the price of liberty. The faith of America has been repeatedly pledged for it, and with solemnities that give peculiar force to the obligation."<ref name="syrett1962vol6">{{cite book|editor-last1=Syrett|editor-first1=Harold C.|title=The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, vol. 6|date=1962|publisher=[[Columbia University Press]]|location=New York City|isbn=978-0231089050|url=http://www.wwnorton.com/college/history/america7/content/multimedia/ch08/documents_02.htm|access-date=May 6, 2018|ref=syrett1962vol6|archive-date=May 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180507003521/http://www.wwnorton.com/college/history/america7/content/multimedia/ch08/documents_02.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Hamilton foresaw the development of industry and trade in the United States, suggesting that government revenues be based upon [[customs duties]].<ref name="syrett1962vol6" /> His sound [[fiscal policy|financial policies]] also inspired investment in the [[First Bank of the United States|Bank of the United States]], which acted as the government's [[fiscal agent]].{{citation needed|date=May 2018}} | ||
| Line 82: | Line 74: | ||
===1860s=== | ===1860s=== | ||
In 1861, Sophia Holmes became the first Black woman to be employed by the Treasury Department and by the [[Federal government of the United States]] when [[Henry Wilson|Senator Henry Wilson]], [[James G. Blaine]] and others advocated for her hiring as a janitor under Secretary of the Treasury [[Francis E. Spinner|Francis Spinner]]. She was paid fifteen dollars per month. In 1862, she prevented a major theft from the department of more than $200,000 when she came across a box filled with U.S. currency, including a number of thousand-dollar bills, and reported it to Secretary Spinner. U.S. President | In 1861, Sophia Holmes became the first Black woman to be employed by the Treasury Department and by the [[Federal government of the United States]] when [[Henry Wilson|Senator Henry Wilson]], [[James G. Blaine]] and others advocated for her hiring as a janitor under Secretary of the Treasury [[Francis E. Spinner|Francis Spinner]]. She was paid fifteen dollars per month. In 1862, she prevented a major theft from the department of more than $200,000 when she came across a box filled with U.S. currency, including a number of thousand-dollar bills, and reported it to Secretary Spinner. U.S. President Abraham Lincoln subsequently honored her with a commendation for her actions, and the federal government rewarded her with an appointment for life as a messenger with its Department of Issues.<ref>Logan, Mrs. John A. ''Thirty Years in Washington or Life and Scenes in Our National Capital''. Hartford, Connecticut: A. D. Worthington & Co., 1901.</ref><ref>''[https://books.google.com/books?id=DkJIAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Sophia+Holmes%22 The United States Treasury Register Containing a List of Persons Employed in the Treasury Department]'', p. 36. Washington, D.C.:U.S. Government Printing Office, 1874.</ref><ref>Ziparo, Jessica. ''This Grand Experiment: When Women Entered the Federal Workforce in Civil War–Era Washington, D.C.'' Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press, 2017.</ref><ref>Bailey, M. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=nJTNAAAAMAAJ&dq=Sophia+Holmes+treasury&pg=PA628 The Chautauquan: Organ of the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle]''. Meadville, Pennsylvania: The T. L. Flood publishing House, 1892.</ref> | ||
===2003 reorganization=== | ===2003 reorganization=== | ||
| Line 91: | Line 83: | ||
===2020 data breach=== | ===2020 data breach=== | ||
In 2020, the Treasury [[2020 United States Treasury and Department of Commerce data breach|suffered a data breach]] following a [[cyberattack]] likely conducted by a [[advanced persistent threat|nation state adversary]], possibly Russia.<ref name="wapo">{{cite news |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201213220635/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/russian-government-spies-are-behind-a-broad-hacking-campaign-that-has-breached-us-agencies-and-a-top-cyber-firm/2020/12/13/d5a53b88-3d7d-11eb-9453-fc36ba051781_story.html |archive-date=December 13, 2020| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/russian-government-spies-are-behind-a-broad-hacking-campaign-that-has-breached-us-agencies-and-a-top-cyber-firm/2020/12/13/d5a53b88-3d7d-11eb-9453-fc36ba051781_story.html |title=Russian government spies are behind a broad hacking campaign that has breached U.S. agencies and a top cyber firm |last=Nakashima |first=Ellen |date= December 13, 2020|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=December 14, 2020}}</ref><ref name="reuters">{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-cyber-treasury-exclsuive-idUSKBN28N0PG|title=Suspected Russian hackers spied on U.S. Treasury emails – sources|first=Christopher|last=Bing|work= | In 2020, the Treasury [[2020 United States Treasury and Department of Commerce data breach|suffered a data breach]] following a [[cyberattack]] likely conducted by a [[advanced persistent threat|nation state adversary]], possibly Russia.<ref name="wapo">{{cite news |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201213220635/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/russian-government-spies-are-behind-a-broad-hacking-campaign-that-has-breached-us-agencies-and-a-top-cyber-firm/2020/12/13/d5a53b88-3d7d-11eb-9453-fc36ba051781_story.html |archive-date=December 13, 2020| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/russian-government-spies-are-behind-a-broad-hacking-campaign-that-has-breached-us-agencies-and-a-top-cyber-firm/2020/12/13/d5a53b88-3d7d-11eb-9453-fc36ba051781_story.html |title=Russian government spies are behind a broad hacking campaign that has breached U.S. agencies and a top cyber firm |last=Nakashima |first=Ellen |date= December 13, 2020|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=December 14, 2020}}</ref><ref name="reuters">{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-cyber-treasury-exclsuive-idUSKBN28N0PG|title=Suspected Russian hackers spied on U.S. Treasury emails – sources|first=Christopher|last=Bing|work=Reuters|date=December 14, 2020|access-date=December 14, 2020|archive-date=December 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201214025738/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-cyber-treasury-exclsuive-idUSKBN28N0PG|url-status=live}}</ref> This was in fact the first detected case of the much wider [[2020 United States federal government data breach]], which involved at least eight federal departments.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Office |first=U. S. Government Accountability |date=2024-03-21 |title=SolarWinds Cyberattack Demands Significant Federal and Private-Sector Response (infographic) {{!}} U.S. GAO |url=https://www.gao.gov/blog/solarwinds-cyberattack-demands-significant-federal-and-private-sector-response-infographic |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=www.gao.gov |language=en}}</ref> | ||
==Responsibilities== | ==Responsibilities== | ||