George Weise was sworn in as Commissioner of the United States Customers Service on May 12, 1993. He is the first Customs Commissioner whose appointment was subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
Prior to occupying his current position, Mr. Weise was the staff director of the Subcommittee on Trade of the House Ways and Means Committee. In that position, he served as the principal advisor to Chairman Rostenkowski and other members of the Committee on all trade issues and was responsible for all aspects of trade legislation in the Committee's jurisdiction.
During his tenure on the Committee, Mr. Weise was heavily involved in a number of major trade bills. He was also primarily responsible for all Customs-related legislation considered during his tenure, including legislation establishing Customs user fees and the Customs Forfeiture Fund, the Customs Modernization Act to modernize commercial operations, and legislation to strengthen Customs enforcement capabilities.
Mr. Weise joined the Trade staff in 1984 after serving as the supervisory attorney-advisor in the Office of Tariff Affairs at the U.S. International Trade Commission. While at the ITC, Mr. Weise was the U.S. representative to the GATT Subcommittee on Trade in Civil Aircraft in Geneva from 1980 until 1983. He concluded his tenure with the ITC as a participant in the President's Executive Exchange Program, serving as a customs attorney in the corporate headquarters of the IBM corporation.
Mr. Weise began his career as an import specialist with the U.S. Customs Service in Baltimore, Maryland. He served in this position from 1972-75, where he gained hands-on experience and developed a deep affection for the Customs Service that has continued to the present.
As Commissioner of Customs, Mr. Weise directs a workforce of over 19,000 employees, and he is responsible for enforcing more than 500 laws for 40 other agencies. The U.S. Customs Service generates over $20 billion per year in revenue for the federal treasury, second only to the Internal Revenue Service as a source of income for the U.S. government.
Mr. Weise is a graduate of the University of Maryland School of Law and has an M.B.A. degree in international business from the George Washington University of Government and Business Administration. He is married and has two children. He enjoys all sports, particularly tennis and golf.