Last month, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed legislation, S. 758, The Moving Americans Privacy Act, which would require U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to remove personally identifiable information (PII), which includes Social Security and passport numbers, from cargo manifests before public disclosure. 

Authored by Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), and co-sponsored by Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI), Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), the bill addresses a key concern for transportation companies moving families moving into the US. While elements of PII for household goods moves are sometimes required for customs and securities purposes (upon entry into the US), it is often left within the vessel manifest, and then unintentionally sold to data mining and similar commercial entities.

IAM, alongside other household goods transportation-focused organizations including Worldwide ERC and the Moving Storage Conference of the American Trucking Associations, has long championed this critical issue for the moving industry, supporting similar legislation in earlier Congressional sessions. IAM’s efforts to shield PII for international household goods moves over the years has included a confidentiality request for moving companies to provide to their customers, in order to better protect this sensitive data.

Industry support has continued to grow for the measure, with realtor and government employee representative organizations also voicing their support for passage.

Next Steps

Also in March, U.S. House Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL), introduced H.R. 1568, identical companion legislation, alongside, Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ). The House bill currently resides in the Ways and Means Committee, where efforts are underway to pass it out, moving it towards full House consideration and a floor vote. Once passed, the measure will become eligible to be signed by President Biden. IAM will continue to support both bills, and keep members apprised of any new movement.