Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09), New Jersey’s only member of the House Ways and Means Committee, today welcomed committee passage of his Moving Americans Privacy Protection Act (H.R. 1568). Introduced with sponsor Congressman Mike Waltz (R-FL-06), the legislation will require U.S. Customs and Border Protection to remove personally identifiable information (PII) from cargo manifests before public disclosure. An individual’s PII can range from addresses and birthdates to Social Security and passport numbers, and Congressman Pascrell’s legislation seeks to keep this sensitive information out of the wrong hands.

“Privacy is deeply important for all Americans, in particular our service members abroad,” said Congressman Pascrell. “Unfortunately, we have found that our troops have been victims of identity theft. For security purposes, U.S. Customs and Border Protection requires manifest sheets to document the cargo of incoming vessels. The bipartisan Moving Americans Privacy Protection Act is a common sense measure to ensure the data on manifests cannot be abused. Our plan will protect Americans from accidentally having personal information end up in the wrong hands.”

Currently, U.S. Customs requires manifest sheets, which includes PII, to disclose and document the cargo of incoming vessels for customs and security purposes. The original intent of this requirement was to increase competition, 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.

Congressman Pascrell’s Moving Americans Privacy Protection Act has received support from the New Jersey Warehouse and Movers Association, the American Trucking Associations, the International Association of Movers, the Military Officers Association of America, the Senior Executives Association, and Worldwide ERC.