[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 16, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H137-H139]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                MOVING AMERICANS PRIVACY PROTECTION ACT

  Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 1568) to amend the Tariff Act of 1930 to protect 
personally identifiable information, and for other purposes, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1568

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Moving Americans Privacy 
     Protection Act''.

     SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION.

       (a) In General.--Paragraph (2) of section 431(c) of the 
     Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1431(c)) is amended to read as 
     follows:
       ``(2)(A) The information listed in paragraph (1) shall not 
     be available for public disclosure if--
       ``(i) the Secretary of the Treasury makes an affirmative 
     finding on a shipment-by-shipment basis that disclosure is 
     likely to pose a threat of personal injury or property 
     damage; or
       ``(ii) the information is exempt under the provisions of 
     section 552(b)(1) of title 5, United States Code.
       ``(B) The Secretary shall ensure that any personally 
     identifiable information, including Social Security numbers 
     and passport numbers, is removed from any manifest signed, 
     produced, delivered, or electronically transmitted under

[[Page H138]]

     this section before access to the manifest is provided to the 
     public.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) 
     shall take effect on the date that is 30 days after the date 
     of the enactment of this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Nebraska (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Nebraska.


                             General Leave

  Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Nebraska?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the legislation before us today, the Moving Americans 
Privacy Protection Act, takes an important step to protect the privacy 
of all Americans, especially our veterans and servicemembers returning 
from overseas. It requires Customs and Border Protection to remove 
personally identifiable information from any shipping manifest before 
CBP makes the manifest information available to the public.
  Under current law, Customs and Border Protection is required to make 
certain shipping manifest information available for public disclosure. 
Unfortunately, there is no requirement to ensure these manifests do not 
contain Americans' personal information. Instead, U.S. citizens 
returning home from military postings or job opportunities abroad are 
expected to navigate a complicated and bureaucratic system--that often 
experiences significant delays, I might add--to request that any 
personal information be removed from manifests to protect their 
identity from fraudsters and scammers.
  Our brave men and women in uniform, as well as Americans whose 
employers or family commitments have required them to relocate 
overseas, already face numerous hurdles when they return home. Ensuring 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection proactively removes this data from 
manifests is a simple, straightforward, and actually long overdue step 
to protect their identities.
  I applaud Representatives Michael Waltz and Bill Pascrell for their 
leadership on this legislation and Senators Daines, Stabenow, and 
Peters for leading this effort in the Senate. I urge my colleagues in 
the House of Representatives to follow the Ways and Means Committee's 
lead and unanimously pass this bipartisan legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1568, the bipartisan Moving 
Americans Privacy Protection Act.
  I believe that privacy is something we are going to be discussing on 
this floor for the next 10 years. We are trying to catch up to the 
electronics that exist in our lives, and we want to make sure that 
people are all respected.
  We know protecting privacy is a difficult and constantly evolving 
challenge. This is especially true in our modern world. Privacy is 
deeply important for all Americans, particularly our servicemembers 
abroad. Unfortunately, our troops are often victims of identity theft.
  For security purposes, U.S. Customs and Border Protection requires 
manifest sheets to document the cargo of incoming vessels. The Moving 
Americans Privacy Protection Act will ensure that personal data on 
cargo manifests cannot be abused.
  I am proud to co-lead this crucial and commonsense measure with the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Waltz).
  In recent years, manifest data has been mistakenly exposed, enabling 
identity theft, credit card fraud, and unwanted solicitations. Our plan 
will protect Americans from having their personal information 
compromised.
  We must make sure information like names, addresses, Social Security 
numbers, and passport numbers can be removed from cargo manifests 
before they are disclosed. This is a no-brainer. We are talking about 
protecting people's privacy, including servicemembers and their 
families serving abroad.
  Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record two letters of support for the 
Moving Americans Privacy Protection Act: the first is from the New 
Jersey Warehouse and Movers Association; the second is from the 
American Trucking Associations and a coalition of supportive 
organizations.
                                            New Jersey Warehouse &


                                            Movers Association

                                               September 11, 2023.
     Hon. Bill Pascrell,
     Washington, DC.
       Representative Pascrell: As the leader of the New Jersey 
     Warehouse & Movers Association, I have the privilege of 
     representing moving and storage companies located across the 
     Garden State. Thank you for your continued leadership, 
     especially as a member of the US House Ways & Means 
     Committee.
       Our members especially thank you for introducing, along 
     with Representative Mike Walz, the bipartisan Moving 
     Americans Privacy Protection Act (``MAPPA'' / HR 1568). As 
     you know, this legislation would help protect the privacy and 
     personally identifiable information (PII) of American 
     servicemembers, federal employees, private sector workers, 
     and their families who are returning to the United States 
     after living abroad.
       With multiple defense and government installations, more 
     than a dozen Fortune 500 corporate headquarters, globally 
     recognized colleges and universities, and its status as a 
     center for international trade, New Jersey residents 
     frequently move overseas and then return to the US. This 
     exchange plays an important role in our state's continued 
     economic growth, and the moving industry is proud to support 
     these individuals and their families. Unfortunately, current 
     government policy regarding the security of their PII 
     unwittingly places them at risk of identity theft, financiat 
     fraud, and other crimes. The MAPPA would change this policy 
     and require US Customs to remove the PII contained in vessel 
     manifests from trade data that is provided to sale.
       Passage of legislation accomplishing the goal of the MAPPA 
     has been a long-standing priority of the moving industry. We 
     are thankful for introducing identical legislation in the 
     House (HR 1568) and the Senate (S 758). The Senate passed S 
     758 in March 2023, making House approval the only step 
     necessary before the legislation goes to the White House for 
     the President's signature.
       As such, the New Jersey moving industry asks you to contact 
     House Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard Neal 
     and urge him to support the Committee, including S 758 as 
     passed by the Senate in the next available markup, to approve 
     the legislation without amendment, and for the House to 
     consider the legislation under suspension of the rules. We 
     also understand that Rep. Waltz is testifying in support of 
     MAPPA during the Ways and Means Committee's ``Member Day'' 
     hearing on September 14, 2023--joint testimony in support of 
     the legislation or a letter of support for the legislation 
     submitted for the hearing's record would be appreciated as we 
     all work to enact this necessary and commonsense legislation.
       Thank you again for your leadership on this important 
     issue.
                                                     May 24, 2023.
     Hon. Jason Smith,
     Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. Adrian Smith,
     Chairman, Subcommittee on Trade, Committee on Ways and Means, 
         Washington, DC.
     Hon. Richard Neal,
     Ranking Member, Committee on Ways and Means, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Earl Blumenauer,
     Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Trade, Committee on Ways and 
         Means, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman J. Smith, Ranking Member Neal, Chairman A. 
     Smith, and Ranking Member Blumenauer: Our organizations 
     respectfully request Committee sign off for House 
     consideration--under suspension of the rules as a stand-alone 
     bill--the Moving Americans Privacy Protection Act (S. 758), 
     as passed by the Senate on March 9, 2023.
       The legislation addresses a specific and unique issue and 
     helps protect the sensitive personal data of servicemembers, 
     federal employees, private sector workers. and families who 
     are returning to the United States after living abroad. S. 
     758 was introduced on a bipartisan basis by Senators Daines, 
     Peters, Stabenow, and Marshall and passed the Senate by voice 
     vote. It has a bipartisan House companion (H.R. 1568) 
     introduced by Representatives Waltz and Pascrell. The 
     legislation is identical to the Moving Americans Privacy 
     Protection Act (115th--H.R. 4403), which in 2018 the Ways & 
     Means Committee reported out by voice vote, followed by House 
     passage under the suspension calendar. The Congressional 
     Budget Office and Joint Tax Committee have determined a 
     ``zero'' score for the legislation.
       Each year, the U.S. military, federal departments, and 
     private sector organizations relocate tens of thousands of 
     Americans back home to the U.S. after posting overseas. Other 
     Americans return home after time abroad for personal reasons. 
     When shipping their personal household goods to the U.S., 
     these individuals must include elements of Personally 
     Identifiable Information

[[Page H139]]

     (PII) on shipping forms which are made part of vessel 
     manifests. The PII often contains Social Security numbers, 
     Passport numbers, home addresses, and other sensitive data.
       Currently U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is 
     required to make all commercial information from vessel 
     manifests--often capturing the sensitive PII of returning 
     American citizens--available to data brokers who package and 
     resell this data throughout their subscriber network. Without 
     concrete action to protect the PII, normally held under 
     strict security by the U.S. Government, these elements can be 
     exposed, placing Americans at risk of identity theft, 
     financial fraud, and other abuses of their data.
       The Moving Americans Privacy Protection Act helps protect 
     Americans from this risk by ensuring PII is removed from 
     manifests prior to CBP providing and selling the commercial 
     manifest information to data brokers. While it does not amend 
     other provisions of the Tariff Act or in any other way modify 
     Customs, authorities or trade policy, it does remove the U.S. 
     Government from making sensitive PII of servicemembers and 
     other Americans available to potential criminals as citizens 
     move back home to the United States.
       Given the focused nature of this legislation and increase 
     in identity theft crimes in recent years, we urge the 
     Committee to agree to direct House consideration of the 
     Senate-passed version of the Moving Americans Privacy 
     Protection Act (S. 758) as a stand-alone bill under 
     suspension of the rules.
       Thank you for your consideration.
           Sincerely,
     American Trucking Associations,
     International Association of Movers,
     Military Officers Association of America,
     Senior Executives Association,
     Worldwide ERC.

  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I strongly encourage my colleagues to 
support this commonsense measure today.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Waltz), an expert on this topic.
  Mr. WALTZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 
1568, the Moving Americans Privacy Protection Act.
  This bipartisan, bicameral bill will require U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection, CBP, to remove personally identifiable information, 
including Social Security and passport numbers, from cargo manifests 
before they are disclosed to the public.
  Currently, CBP requires manifest sheets, which include PII, in order 
to disclose and document the cargo of incoming vessels for customs and 
security purposes. Now, originally, the intent of this requirement was 
to increase competition. It was to facilitate better public analysis of 
import trends. It was to allow port authorities and transportation 
companies to more easily identify potential customers and changes in 
their industry.

                              {time}  1645

  Like many things we do here, it had a viable and good intent. 
However, in recent years, the PII of relocating individuals has, again, 
been publicly released. That has enabled identity theft. It has enabled 
credit card fraud and unwanted solicitations.
  Importantly, from a national security standpoint, the disclosure 
allows our adversaries, from terrorist organizations to foreign 
intelligence organizations of our adversaries like China, Russia, and 
Iran, to easily access the PII of our servicemembers and their families 
as they move around the globe to keep this great Nation free.
  The personal identification, Mr. Speaker, of every American should be 
safe and secure, but due to the current public disclosure of cargo 
manifests, our servicemembers and their families are experiencing a 
higher risk of identity theft, fraud, and targeting as they move abroad 
in service of our Nation.
  It is critical that we take the necessary steps to protect them from 
this dangerous and fraudulent activity. The Moving Americans Privacy 
Protection Act is essential to protect the private information not only 
of our servicemembers but of all Americans.
  I thank Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith, Democrat co-lead, 
Representative Pascrell, and particularly the Ways and Means staff for 
their hard work and working with my team to move this bill through 
committee and to the full House for consideration.
  I look forward to passage by the full House. I encourage my 
colleagues to support this legislation, and I look forward to working 
with Senator Daines, in particular, in the Senate to get this important 
bill signed into law.
  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, protecting the privacy of the American 
people must be our priority. I strongly urge my colleagues to support 
this commonsense measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Mr. Speaker, my colleagues have sufficiently 
described the details of this bill, why we need to do it, and that we 
should do it immediately.
  I certainly urge my colleagues to support it so that we can get this 
done, especially to assist our men and women in uniform.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Smith) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 1568, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the 
ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a 
quorum is not present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

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