U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senators Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.) today announced their “Moving Americans Privacy Protection Act” was signed into law. The bill requires 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. Senators Roger Marshall (R-Kans.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) cosponsored the bill and Congressmen Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) led the bill in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“Safeguarding Montanans from identity theft and fraud is one of my top priorities, which is why I’m glad to see my bipartisan ‘Moving Americans Privacy Protection Act’ become law,” Senator Daines said. “Americans’ private, personal information should never be jeopardized just because they are moving or traveling abroad.”
“When Americans are moving back from abroad, including our servicemembers, they shouldn’t be worried about identity theft,” said Senator Peters, Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. “This bipartisan bill will better protect Americans’ sensitive personal information when coming home, while also maintaining safe and secure international travel and trade.”
“Americans’ personal data and sensitive information should be protected and secured. It goes without saying that the federal government policies should never expose Kansans to bad actors or leave their information vulnerable to identity theft,” Senator Marshall said. “I am proud to have helped get this commonsense, bipartisan legislation that will protect American’s personal information to the President’s desk.”
“The personal information of every American should be safe and secure,” said Congressman Waltz.“However, due to the current public disclosure of cargo manifests, our service members and their families experience a higher risk of identity theft and fraud as they move abroad. We must secure international travel and help safeguard the livelihoods of Americans. That’s why I am proud to pass this bill through Congress and signed into law.”
“Preserving privacy is critical for all Americans, particularly our servicemembers overseas. Unfortunately, our troops are often victims of identity theft,” said Congressman Pascrell. “In recent years, manifest data on incoming vessels has been mistakenly exposed, enabling identity theft, credit card fraud, and unwanted solicitations. Information including names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and passport data can now be removed from cargo manifests before they are disclosed. Our commonsense plan will protect Americans from having their personal information compromised and I am delighted it is now law. I thank my colleague Rep. Waltz, and Senator Daines for helping bring this change over the finish line. There isn’t a bigger no-brainer than protecting Americans’ privacy, especially servicemembers and their families serving abroad.”
Background:
Currently, CBP requires manifest sheets, which include PII, in order to disclose and document the cargo of incoming vessels for customs and security purposes. In 1984, the public disclosure of certain manifest information was required. The original intent of this provision was to increase competition, to facilitate better public analysis of import trends, and allow port authorities and transportation companies to more easily identify potential customers and changes in their industries. However, in recent years, PII of relocating individuals has been released, enabling identity theft, credit card fraud and unwanted solicitations.
Daines and Peters introduced the “Moving Americans Privacy Protection Act” in the 115th, 116th and 117th Congresses.
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