[House Report 118-287]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


118th Congress    }                                     {       Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session      }                                     {      118-287

======================================================================



 
                MOVING AMERICANS PRIVACY PROTECTION ACT

                                _______
                                

December 1, 2023.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

Mr. Smith of Missouri, from the Committee on Ways and Means, submitted 
                             the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 1568]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Ways and Means, to whom was referred the 
bill (H.R. 1568) to amend the Tariff Act of 1930 to protect 
personally identifiable information, and for other purposes, 
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an 
amendment and recommends that the bill as amended do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
  I. SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND...........................................2
          A. Purpose and Summary.................................     2
          B. Background and Need for Legislation.................     2
          C. Legislative History.................................     3
 II. EXPLANATION OF THE BILL..........................................3
III. VOTE OF THE COMMITTEE............................................4
 IV. BUDGET EFFECTS OF THE BILL.......................................5
          A. Committee Estimate of Budgetary Effects.............     5
          B. Statement Regarding New Budget Authority and Tax 
              Expenditures Budget Authority......................     5
  V. COST ESTIMATE PREPARED BY THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE........5
 VI. OTHER MATTERS TO BE DISCUSSED UNDER THE RULES OF THE HOUSE.......6
          A. Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations....     6
          B. Statement of General Performance Goals and 
              Objectives.........................................     6
          C. Information Relating to Unfunded Mandates...........     7
          D. Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and 
              Limited Tariff Benefits............................     7
          E. Tax Complexity Analysis.............................     7
          F. Duplication of Federal Programs.....................     7
VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED............7
          In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the 
              Rules of the House of Representatives, changes in 
              existing law made by the bill, as reported, are 
              shown as follows...................................     7

    The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

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 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.

                       I. SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND


                         A. Purpose and Summary

    H.R. 1568, the Moving Americans Privacy Protection Act, 
requires U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to ensure 
that personally identifiable information, such as social 
security numbers and passport numbers, are removed from any 
manifest that is signed, produced, delivered, or transmitted 
before the manifest is disclosed to the public.

                 B. Background and Need for Legislation

    CBP is responsible for ensuring cargo and passenger 
clearance, compliance of imports and exports with U.S. laws, 
collection of revenue, and prevention of smuggling contraband 
or illegal entry of persons. As part of these functions, 
importers are required to submit to CBP manifest documents for 
shipments into the United States either at or before the time 
of entry. Under current law, CBP is required to make certain 
information from vessel manifests available for public 
disclosure, including: the name and address of the importer or 
consignee; the name and address of the shipper; a description 
of the cargo; the name of the vessel, aircraft, or carrier; the 
seaport or airport of loading; the seaport or airport of 
discharge; the country of origin of the shipment; and the 
trademarks appearing on the goods or packages in the shipments.
    CBP is also required to have procedures providing adequate 
protection against public disclosure of personal information 
from such manifests. While CBP maintains procedures for 
importers and consignees to request the confidential treatment 
of certain information, determinations to grant confidential 
treatment may take several months, and they often may not be 
granted until after the manifest data has already been 
disclosed. Further, absent a request for confidential 
treatment, CBP does not independently screen manifests for 
personally identifiable information because there is no 
requirement to provide that information on the manifest.
    As a result, personally identifiable information, such as 
social security numbers, passport numbers, and license 
information, has at times been inadvertently disclosed to the 
public, putting individuals at risk for identity theft, credit 
card fraud, and unwanted solicitations. While certain 
personally identifiable information should not be entered on a 
manifest in the first place, and CBP has a process in place for 
individuals to seek confidential treatment if they have 
provided such information, the burden should not fall on 
individual Americans to ensure that the agency does not make 
such information available to the public. Legislation is needed 
to shift the burden from individuals to the agency.

                         C. Legislative History


Background

    H.R. 1568 was introduced on March 10, 2023, and was 
referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Committee Hearings

    On May 25, 2023, the Committee held a hearing entitled 
``Modernizing Customs Policies to Protect American Workers and 
Secure Supply Chains.''
    On September 14, 2023, the Committee held a hearing 
entitled ``Ways and Means Member Day Hearing.''

Committee Action

    The Committee on Ways and Means marked up H.R. 1568, the 
``Moving Americans Privacy Protection Act,'' on November 2, 
2023, and ordered the bill, as amended, favorably reported 
(with a quorum being present).

                         D. Designated Hearing

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(6) of rule XIII, the following 
hearings were used to develop and consider H.R. 1568:
    On May 25, 2023, the Committee held a hearing entitled 
``Modernizing Customs Policies to Protect American Workers and 
Secure Supply Chains''
    On September 14, 2023, the Committee held a hearing 
entitled ``Ways and Means Member Day Hearing.''

                      II. EXPLANATION OF THE BILL


                              PRESENT LAW

    Section 431(c) of the Tariff Act of 1930 requires that 
certain information contained on customs manifests be available 
for public disclosure. Such information includes the name and 
address of the importer or consignee; the name and address of 
the shipper; a description of the cargo; the name of the 
vessel, aircraft, or carrier; the seaport or airport of 
loading; the seaport or airport of discharge; the country of 
origin of the shipment; and the trademarks appearing on the 
goods or packages in the shipments. It also requires that such 
information not be available for public disclosure if a 
determination is made that the disclosure is likely to pose a 
threat of personal injury or property damage or if the 
information is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of 
Information Act (section 552(b)(1) of title 5 of the United 
States Code). It further requires CBP to establish procedures 
to provide access to manifests, including provisions for 
adequate protection against the public disclosure of 
information not available for public disclosure.

                           REASONS FOR CHANGE

    The Committee is concerned about the unauthorized 
disclosure of personally identifiable information into the 
public domain. CBP maintains a process for individuals to seek 
confidential treatment of their personally identifiable 
information. But such determinations may take several months 
and may not be granted until after the manifest data has 
already been disclosed and harm has occurred. In addition, 
individuals may be unaware that a carrier has placed their 
personal information on a manifest in the first instance. This 
has resulted in instances in which personally identifiable 
information has been inadvertently made public, putting 
individuals at risk for identity theft, credit card fraud, and 
unwanted solicitations. This legislation would require CBP to 
ensure that personally identifiable information is not 
disclosed publicly, even in instances in which an individual 
has not filed a request for confidential treatment.

                       EXPLANATION OF PROVISIONS

    Section 1: Short title
    Section 2: Protection of personally identifiable 
information: This section amends section 431(C) of the Tariff 
Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1431(c)) to require Customs and Border 
Protection to remove personally identifiable information such 
as Social Security numbers, passport numbers, and home 
addresses from shipping manifest documents related to U.S. 
imports before information from such manifests is provided to 
the public.

                             EFFECTIVE DATE

    The bill would become effective 30 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act.

                       III. VOTE OF THE COMMITTEE

    In compliance with the Rules of the House of 
Representatives, the following statement is made concerning the 
vote of the Committee on Ways and Means during the markup 
consideration of H.R. 1568, the Moving Americans Privacy 
Protection Act'' on November 2, 2023.
    H.R. 5862 was ordered favorably reported to the House of 
Representatives as amended by a roll call vote of 41 yeas to 0 
nays (with a quorum being present). The vote was as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Representative             Yea       Nay      Present    Representative      Yea       Nay      Present
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Smith (MO)................        X   .........  .........  Mr. Neal........        X   .........  .........
Mr. Buchanan..................        X   .........  .........  Mr. Doggett.....        X   .........  .........
Mr. Smiith (NE)...............        X   .........  .........  Mr. Thompson....        X   .........  .........
Mr. Kelly.....................        X   .........  .........  Mr. Larson......        X   .........  .........
Mr. Schweikert................        X   .........  .........  Mr. Blumenauer..        X   .........  .........
Mr. LaHood....................        X   .........  .........  Mr. Pascrell....  ........  .........
Dr. Wenstrup..................        X   .........  .........  Mr. Davis.......        X   .........  .........
Mr. Arrington.................        X   .........  .........  Ms. Sanchez.....        X   .........  .........
Dr. Ferguson..................        X   .........  .........  Mr. Higgins.....        X   .........  .........
Mr. Estes.....................        X   .........  .........  Ms. Sewell......        X   .........  .........
Mr. Smucker...................        X   .........  .........  Ms. DelBene.....        X   .........  .........
Mr. Hern......................        X   .........  .........  Ms. Chu.........        X   .........  .........
Ms. Miller....................        X   .........  .........  Ms. Moore.......        X   .........  .........
Dr. Murphy....................        X   .........  .........  Mr. Kildee......        X   .........  .........
Mr. Kustoff...................        X   .........  .........  Mr. Beyer.......        X   .........  .........
Mr. Fitzpatrick...............        X   .........  .........  Mr. Evans.......        X   .........  .........
Mr. Steube....................        X   .........  .........  Mr. Schneider...  ........  .........
Ms. Tenney....................        X   .........  .........  Mr. Panetta.....        X   .........  .........
Mrs. Fischbach................        X
Mr. Moore.....................        X
Mrs. Steel....................        X
Ms. Van Duyne.................        X
Mr. Feenstra..................        X
Ms. Malliotakis...............        X
Mr. Carey.....................        X
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                     IV. BUDGET EFFECTS OF THE BILL


               A. Committee Estimate of Budgetary Effects

    In compliance with clause 3(d) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, the following statement is made 
concerning the effects on the budget of the bill, H.R. 1568, as 
reported. The estimate prepared by the Congressional Budget 
Office (CBO) is included below.

B. Statement Regarding New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures Budget 
                               Authority

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee states that the 
bill involves no new or increased budget authority. The 
Committee states further that the bill involves no new or 
increased tax expenditures.

      V. COST ESTIMATE PREPARED BY THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, requiring a cost estimate 
prepared by the CBO, the following statement by CBO is 
provided.

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    H.R. 1568 would require the Department of the Treasury to 
prevent the public disclosure of personally identifiable 
information (PII), such as Social Security or passport numbers, 
included on the manifest of any vessel or aircraft entering the 
United States at a port-of-entry. A manifest is a set of 
customs documents that provide information about the cargo 
being imported in each shipment. Under current regulations, the 
department delegates the collection and disclosure of manifests 
to Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
    Based on the cost of similar activities, CBO estimates that 
the cost to CBP to update its policies and procedures and 
redact any PII before releasing the information on manifests 
would be less than $500,000 over the 2024-2028 period; any 
spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated 
funds.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeremy Crimm. 
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy 
Director of Budget Analysis.
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                             Director, Congressional Budget Office.

     VI. OTHER MATTERS TO BE DISCUSSED UNDER THE RULES OF THE HOUSE


          A. Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations

    With respect to clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, the Committee made findings and 
recommendations that are reflected in this report.

        B. Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives

    With respect to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the 
bill does not authorize funding, so no statement of general 
performance goals and objectives is required.

              C. Information Relating to Unfunded Mandates

    This information is provided in accordance with section 423 
of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. No. 104-
4).
    The Committee has determined that the bill does not contain 
Federal mandates on the private sector. The Committee has 
determined that the bill does not impose a Federal 
intergovernmental mandate on State, local, or tribal 
governments.

  D. Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff 
                                Benefits

    With respect to clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee has carefully reviewed 
the provisions of the bill, and states that the provisions of 
the bill do not contain any congressional earmarks, limited tax 
benefits, or limited tariff benefits within the meaning of the 
rule.

                       E. Tax Complexity Analysis

    Pursuant to clause 3(h)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the staff of the Joint Committee on 
Taxation has determined that a complexity analysis is not 
required under section 4022(b) of the IRS Reform Act because 
the bill contains no provisions that amend the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 and that have ``widespread applicability'' to 
individuals or small businesses, within the meaning of the 
rule.

                   F. Duplication of Federal Programs

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee states that no 
provision of the bill establishes or reauthorizes: (1) a 
program of the Federal Government known to be duplicative of 
another Federal program; (2) a program included in any report 
from the Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant 
to section 21 of Public Law 111-139; or (3) a program related 
to a program identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal 
Domestic Assistance, published pursuant to the Federal Program 
Information Act (Pub. L. No. 95-220, as amended by Pub. L. No. 
98-169).

            VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, 
                              AS REPORTED

    In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italics, and existing law in which no 
change is proposed is shown in roman):

                           TARIFF ACT OF 1930



           *       *       *       *       *       *       *
TITLE IV--ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


      Part II--Report, Entry, and Unlading of Vessels and Vehicles

SEC. 431. MANIFEST--REQUIREMENT, FORM, AND CONTENTS.

  (a) In General.--Every vessel required to make entry under 
section 434 or obtain clearance under section 4197 of the 
Revised Statutes of the United States (46 U.S.C. App. 91) shall 
have a manifest that complies with the requirements prescribed 
under subsection (d).
  (b) Production of Manifest.--Any manifest required by the 
Customs Service shall be signed, produced, delivered or 
electronically transmitted by the master or person in charge of 
the vessel, aircraft, or vehicle, or by any other authorized 
agent of the owner or operator of the vessel, aircraft, or 
vehicle in accordance with the requirements prescribed under 
subsection (d). A manifest may be supplemented by bill of 
lading data supplied by the issuer of such bill. If any 
irregularity of omission or commission occurs in any way in 
respect to any manifest or bill of lading data, the owner or 
operator of the vessel, aircraft or vehicle, or any party 
responsible for such irregularity, shall be liable for any fine 
or penalty prescribed by law with respect to such irregularity. 
The Customs Service may take appropriate action against any of 
the parties.
  (c)(1) Except as provided in subparagraph (2), the following 
information, when contained in such vessel or aircraft 
manifest, shall be available for public disclosure:
          (A) The name and address of each importer or 
        consignee and the name and address of the shipper to 
        such importer or consignee, unless the importer or 
        consignee has made a biennial certification, in 
        accordance with procedures adopted by the Secretary of 
        the Treasury, claiming confidential treatment of such 
        information.
          (B) The general character of the cargo.
          (C) The number of packages and gross weight.
          (D) The name of the vessel, aircraft, or carrier.
          (E) The seaport or airport of loading.
          (F) The seaport or airport of discharge.
          (G) The country of origin of the shipment.
          (H) The trademarks appearing on the goods or 
        packages.
  [(2) The information listed in paragraph (1) shall not be 
available for public disclosure if--
          [(A) 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
          [(B) the information is exempt under the provisions 
        of section 552(b)(1) of title 5 of the United States 
        Code.]
  (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 this 
section before access to the manifest is provided to the 
public.
  (3) The Secretary of the Treasury, in order to allow for the 
timely dissemination and publication of the information listed 
in paragraph (1), shall establish procedures to provide access 
to manifests. Such procedures shall include provisions for 
adequate protection against the public disclosure of 
information not available for public disclosure from such 
manifests.
  (d) Regulations.--
          (1) In general.--The Secretary shall by regulation--
                  (A) specify the form for, and the information 
                and data that must be contained in, the 
                manifest required by subsection (a);
                  (B) allow, at the option of the individual 
                producing the manifest and subject to paragraph 
                (2), letters and documents shipments to be 
                accounted for by summary manifesting 
                procedures;
                  (C) prescribe the manner of production for, 
                and the delivery or electronic transmittal of 
                the manifest required by subsection (a); and
                  (D) prescribe the manner for supplementing 
                manifests will bill of lading data under 
                subsection (b).
          (2) Letters and documents shipments.--For purposes of 
        paragraph (1)(B)--
                  (A) the Customs Service may require with 
                respect to letters and documents shipments--
                          (i) that they be segregated by 
                        country of origin, and
                          (ii) additional examination 
                        procedures that are not necessary for 
                        individually manifested shipments;
                  (B) standard letter envelopes and standard 
                document packs shall be segregated from larger 
                document shipments for purposes of customs 
                inspections; and
                  (C) the term ``letters and documents'' 
                means--
                          (i) data described in General 
                        Headnote 4(c) of the Harmonized Tariff 
                        Schedule of the United States,
                          (ii) securities and similar evidences 
                        of value described in heading 4907 of 
                        such Schedule, but not monetary 
                        instruments defined pursuant to chapter 
                        53 of title 31, United States Code, and
                          (iii) personal correspondence, 
                        whether on paper, cards, photographs, 
                        tapes, or other media.

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