The plan to fix troops’ household goods moves hits another roadblock

Connected Global Solutions, an unsuccessful bidder for the $6.2 billion worldwide household goods moving contract, has filed a protest in federal court, again delaying Defense Department efforts to fix many of the long-standing problems plaguing service members who must change stations.

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U.S. Senate Commerce Committee to Mark up Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA)

On Tuesday, the Senate Commerce Committee will "mark up" (consider amendments) for their version of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA), S. 3580. Similar to its House-passed companion, S. 3580 would improve fairness, establish boundaries and set metrics for fees often incurred by the household goods and global shipping community. This follows an Executive Session that IAM reported on earlier in March, where OSRA received lengthy debate from Committee members.

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China Competitiveness Bills & Ocean Shipping Reform Act Set for Action this Week

Senate Set to Act on Key Privacy Legislation, Senate Commerce Committee to Mark Up Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA)

Over the weekend, the Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) indicated he would bring the House passed COMPETES Act, (H.R. 4521) to the Senate floor this week, where he may choose to insert the Senate approved S. 1260, the US Innovation and Competition Act (USICA), before a Senate vote. As the bills differ in content, a final version will be determined by House and Senate appointed conferees.

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JPPSO NE Industry Day

JPPSO NE held their JPPSO/Industry Day virtual meeting on 23 Mar, and covered a number of tactical level issues on the call.  Please see the notes and slides associated with that call.  The notes are very high level, and not intended to cover all the details from the call.

Recognize Excellence: Nominate Someone Today to the Hall of Honor

The Hall of Honor was established in 2008 to pay tribute to those Industry leaders whose careers reflect exceptional and distinguished service to their companies or the Association, or who have worked to elevate the Industry as a whole. See all the Hall of Honor awardees and nominate someone in our industry to receive the award.

Coming Up at IAM Learning

A number of sessions are currently scheduled and more are being planned to help IAM members learn what they need and to make connections to help them do business better. Currently in the lineup and ready for your registration:

• US Government & Military Affairs Update - April 13

Here are some recent popular sessions you may have missed:

• Electronic Inventories: Drivers Weigh In On Upcoming Requirement
• What it's Like to Work for a Family-Owned Business
• You Provided a Service - Now Make Sure You Get Paid
• Diversifications - Professional Office Moving
• IAM CEO Forum

Portal Magazine

In every issue of the Portal, we invite our authors to share their experiences, success stories, learning experiences, and vision with others in the moving and forwarding industry. In addition to our regular columns, feature articles for each issue are united by a central theme. 

Support Industry Education in Honor of IAM’s 60th Anniversary

Did you know that IAM is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2022? In honor of that milestone, IAM is asking for $60 donations to the Alan F. Wohlstetter Scholarship Fund. IAM hopes to raise $60,000 USD in 60 days to support students and industry professionals worldwide. Read more about this important initiative.

Donate today!

IAM is currently accepting applications for college/university scholarships as well as industry training program scholarships. Be sure to visit the AFWSF Webpage for more information.

IAM Country Guides

IAM’s Country Guides provide customs information for more than 170 countries and territories around the world.

U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Issues Rule to Reduce Reporting Burden

CMV drivers would no longer be required to annually submit traffic violation convictions to the agency

The U.S. FMCSA has issued amended current regulations to eliminate the requirement that drivers operating commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce submit a list of their convictions for traffic violations to their employers annually.

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USTRANSCOM Conditions Based Movement Call (15 Mar)

Please see attached notes from today’s (15 Mar) USTC/Service/JPPSO/Industry call.  DoD was not able to make the slides available to me today due to some email issues and the slides being stripped when they were sent out.  If I get the slides in the near future, I’ll resend this update with the slides.

Of note on the call:

   There is new functionality being released in DPS this weekend that will require TSPs to select “yes” or “no” to whether or not you use a move management company and a claims management company.  If yes, then you need to go to a drop down and select the appropriate company.  TRANSCOM passed out the video in mid-February to NDTA reps, who forwarded it to IAM. Watch the video. I put it out via this weekly correspondence back in mid-February; and we included it in our eGov. But wanted to provide it again since the change is imminent. You can read about the back and forth on the topic in the notes.  TRANSCOM, for some reason, never provided it directly to all of industry.