79–008 

115TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 115–639 

MOVING AMERICANS PRIVACY PROTECTION ACT 

APRIL 16, 2018.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of 

the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. BRADY of Texas, from the Committee on Ways and Means, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 4403] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Ways and Means, to whom was referred the 

bill (H.R. 4403) to amend the Tariff Act of 1930 to protect personally identifiable information, and for other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and 

recommend 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 

Section 1: Short Title ................................................................................ 3 

Section 2: Protection of Personally Identifiable Information ................. 3 

III. VOTES 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 

C. Cost Estimate Prepared by the Congressional Budget Office ........... 5 

V. 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 .................................... 6 

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

Benefits ............................................................................................... 6 

E. Duplication of Federal Programs ........................................................ 6 

F. Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings .................................................. 7 


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VI. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED 7 

A. Text of Existing Law Amended or Repealed by the Bill, as Reported .................................................................................................. 7 

B. Changes in Existing Law Proposed by the Bill, as Reported ........... 9 

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.—Section 431(c)(2) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1431(c)(2)) 

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 account 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

The Moving Americans Privacy Act protects personally identifiable information by amending the Tariff Act of 1930 to require 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 against the smuggling of contraband and the 

illegal entry of persons. As part of these functions, vessels 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 on the manifest available for public disclosure, including: the name and address of the importer or consignee; 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 of 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 for the adequate protection against the public disclosure of information that 

is not available for public disclosure 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 often 

may not be granted until after the manifest data has already been 


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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 while 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 consumers to ensure that the agency does not make such 

information available to the public. Legislation is needed to shift 

the burden from the individual consumer to the agency. 

C. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

Background 

H.R. 4403, to amend the Tariff Act of 1930 to protect personally 

identifiable information, and for other purposes, was introduced on 

November 15, 2017, by Representative Jeff Denham and Ranking 

Member Bill Pascrell, Jr. and was referred to the Committee on 

Ways and Means. 

Committee action 

The Committee on Ways and Means marked up H.R. 4403, Moving Americans Privacy Protection Act, on April 11, 2018, and ordered the bill, as amended, favorably reported (with a quorum 

being present). 

II. EXPLANATION OF THE BILL 

SECTION 1: SHORT TITLE

Present law 

No provision. 

Explanation of provision 

This Act may be cited as ‘‘Moving Americans Privacy Protection 

Act.’’ 

Reason for change 

The Committee believes that the short title accurately reflects 

the policy actions included in the legislation. 

Effective date 

The provision is effective 30 days after the date of the enactment 

of this Act. 

SECTION 2: PROTECTION OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE

INFORMATION

Present law 

Section 431(c) of the Tariff Act of 1930 requires that certain information contained on manifests be available for public disclosure. 


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Such information includes the name and address of the importer or 

consignee; 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 of 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 personal property or if the information is exempt 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 from such manifests. 

Explanation of provision 

Section 2(a) amends section 431(c) of the Tariff Act of 1930 by 

adding a requirement that CBP ensure that any personally identifiable information, including social security numbers and passport 

numbers, are removed from any manifest before making it available to the public. 

Section 2(b) provides a 30-day effective date period to allow CBP 

time to program its systems to identify and remove any such personally identifiable information. 

Reason for change 

The Committee is concerned about the unauthorized disclosure of 

personally identifiable information in 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 often may not be granted until 

after the manifest data has already been disclosed. 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 disclosed in the public domain, putting individuals at 

risk for identify 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. 

Effective date 

The provision is effective 30 days after the date of the enactment 

of this Act. 

III. VOTES OF THE COMMITTEE 

In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the following statement is made concerning the vote of the Committee on Ways and Means in its consideration of H.R. 4403, Moving Americans Privacy Protection Act, 

on April 11, 2018. 

The Chairman’s amendment in the nature of a substitute was 

adopted by a voice vote (with a quorum being present). 


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The bill, H.R. 4403, was ordered favorably reported as amended 

by voice vote (with a quorum being present). 

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. 4403, as reported. 

The Committee agrees with the estimate prepared by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which 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. 

C. 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. 

U.S. CONGRESS, 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, 

Washington, DC, April 13, 2018. 

Hon. KEVIN BRADY, 

Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office and the 

staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) have reviewed the 

following bills that were ordered reported by the House Committee 

on Ways and Means on April 11, 2018: 

• H.R. 4403, the Moving Americans Privacy Protection Act 

(the bill would require the Secretary of the Treasury to ensure 

any personally identifiable information is removed from tariff 

manifests before being disclosed to the public); 

• H.R. 5438, a bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 

1986 to allow officers and employees of the Department of 

Treasury to provide to taxpayers information regarding low-income taxpayer clinics (for JCT’s description of the bill see: 

www.jct.gov/publications.html?func=startdown&id=5078); 

• H.R. 5439, a bill to provide a single point of contact at the 

Internal Revenue Service for the taxpayers who are victims of 

tax-related identity theft (for JCT’s description of the bill see: 

www.jct.gov/publications.html?func=startdown&id=5084); and 

• H.R. 5440, a bill to require notice from the Secretary of 

the Treasury in the case of any closure of a Taxpayer Assistance Center (for JCT’s description of the bill see: www.jct.gov/ 

publications.html?func=startdown&id=5076). 

CBO estimates that implementing each of those bills would have 

no significant discretionary cost. In addition, CBO and JCT estiVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:56 Apr 17, 2018 Jkt 079008 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR639.XXX HR639

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mate that enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. 

CBO and JCT estimate that enacting these bills would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four 

consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029. 

CBO and JCT have reviewed the bills and determined that they 

contain no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined 

in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew Pickford. 

Sincerely, 

KEITH HALL, 

Director. 

V. 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. 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 


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pursuant to the Federal Program Information Act (Pub. L. No. 95– 

220, as amended by Pub. L. No. 98–169). 

F. DISCLOSURE OF DIRECTED RULE MAKINGS

In compliance with Sec. 3(i) of H. Res. 5 (115th Congress), the 

following statement is made concerning directed rule makings: The 

Committee advises that the bill requires no directed rulemakings 

within the meaning of such section. 

VI. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS 

REPORTED 

A. TEXT OF EXISTING LAW AMENDED OR REPEALED BY THE BILL, AS

REPORTED

In compliance with clause 3(e)(1)(A) of rule XIII of the Rules of 

the House of Representatives, the text of each section proposed to 

be repealed by the bill, as reported, is shown below: 

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 italic, 

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 preVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:56 Apr 17, 2018 Jkt 079008 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR639.XXX HR639

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scribed 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. 

ø(2) The information listed in paragraph (1) shall not be available for public disclosure if— 

ø(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 

ø(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 account 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; 


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(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. 

* * * * * * * 

B. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW PROPOSED BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

In compliance with clause 3(e)(1)(B) of rule XIII of the Rules of 

the House of Representatives, changes in existing law proposed 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 italic, existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in 

roman): 

Æ 


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