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‘‘(ii) may be further renewed as pro-
vided under this chapter. 
‘‘(3) REGISTRATION
UPDATE.—The Secretary 
shall require a motor carrier, freight forwarder, or 
broker to update its registration under this chapter 
periodically or not later than 30 days after any 
change in address, other contact information, officers, 
process agent, or other essential information, as deter-
mined by the Secretary and published in the Federal 
Register.’’. 
SEC. 
32919. 
FINANCIAL 
SECURITY 
OF 
BROKERS 
AND 
FREIGHT FORWARDERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 13906 is amended by strik-
ing subsections (b) and (c) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(b) 
BROKER
FINANCIAL
SECURITY
REQUIRE-
MENTS.— 
‘‘(1) REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may reg-
ister a person as a broker under section 13904 
only if the person files with the Secretary a sur-
ety bond, proof of trust fund, or other financial 
security, or a combination thereof, in a form and 
amount, and from a provider, determined by the 
Secretary to be adequate to ensure financial re-
sponsibility.
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‘‘(B) USE
OF
A
GROUP
SURETY
BOND, 
TRUST
FUND, OR
OTHER
SURETY.—In imple-
menting the standards established by subpara-
graph (A), the Secretary may authorize the use 
of a group surety bond, trust fund, or other fi-
nancial security, or a combination thereof, that 
meets the requirements of this subsection. 
‘‘(C) SURETY BONDS.—A surety bond ob-
tained under this section may only be obtained 
from a bonding company that has been approved 
by the Secretary of the Treasury. 
‘‘(D) PROOF OF TRUST OR OTHER FINAN-
CIAL SECURITY.—For purposes of subparagraph 
(A), a trust fund or other financial security may 
be acceptable to the Secretary only if the trust 
fund or other financial security consists of assets 
readily available to pay claims without resort to 
personal guarantees or collection of pledged ac-
counts receivable. 
‘‘(2) SCOPE OF FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.— 
‘‘(A) PAYMENT OF CLAIMS.—A surety bond, 
trust fund, or other financial security obtained 
under paragraph (1) shall be available to pay 
any claim against a broker arising from its fail-
ure to pay freight charges under its contracts,
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agreements, or arrangements for transportation 
subject to jurisdiction under chapter 135 if–– 
‘‘(i) subject to the review by the surety 
provider, the broker consents to the pay-
ment; 
‘‘(ii) in any case in which the broker 
does not respond to adequate notice to ad-
dress the validity of the claim, the surety 
provider determines that the claim is valid; 
or 
‘‘(iii) the claim is not resolved within 
a reasonable period of time following a rea-
sonable attempt by the claimant to resolve 
the claim under clauses (i) and (ii), and the 
claim is reduced to a judgment against the 
broker. 
‘‘(B) RESPONSE OF SURETY PROVIDERS TO 
CLAIMS.—If a surety provider receives notice of 
a claim described in subparagraph (A), the sur-
ety provider shall–– 
‘‘(i) respond to the claim on or before 
the 30th day following the date on which the 
notice was received; and
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‘‘(ii) in the case of a denial, set forth 
in writing for the claimant the grounds for 
the denial. 
‘‘(C) COSTS
AND
ATTORNEY’S
FEES.—In 
any action against a surety provider to recover 
on a claim described in subparagraph (A), the 
prevailing party shall be entitled to recover its 
reasonable costs and attorney’s fees. 
‘‘(3) 
MINIMUM
FINANCIAL
SECURITY.—Each 
broker subject to the requirements of this section shall 
provide financial security of $100,000 for purposes of 
this subsection, regardless of the number of branch of-
fices or sales agents of the broker. 
‘‘(4) CANCELLATION NOTICE.—If a financial se-
curity required under this subsection is canceled–– 
‘‘(A) the holder of the financial security 
shall provide electronic notification to the Sec-
retary of the cancellation not later than 30 days 
before the effective date of the cancellation; and 
‘‘(B) the Secretary shall immediately post 
such notification on the public Internet Website 
of the Department of Transportation. 
‘‘(5) SUSPENSION.—The Secretary shall imme-
diately suspend the registration of a broker issued 
under this chapter if the available financial security
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of that person falls below the amount required under 
this subsection. 
‘‘(6) PAYMENT OF CLAIMS IN CASES OF FINAN-
CIAL FAILURE OR INSOLVENCY.—If a broker registered 
under this chapter experiences financial failure or in-
solvency, the surety provider of the broker shall–– 
‘‘(A) submit a notice to cancel the financial 
security to the Administrator in accordance with 
paragraph (4); 
‘‘(B) publicly advertise for claims for 60 
days beginning on the date of publication by the 
Secretary of the notice to cancel the financial se-
curity; and 
‘‘(C) pay, not later than 30 days after the 
expiration of the 60-day period for submission of 
claims–– 
‘‘(i) all uncontested claims received 
during such period; or 
‘‘(ii) a pro rata share of such claims if 
the total amount of such claims exceeds the 
financial security available. 
‘‘(7) PENALTIES.— 
‘‘(A) CIVIL ACTIONS.—Either the Secretary 
or the Attorney General of the United States 
may bring a civil action in an appropriate dis-
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trict court of the United States to enforce the re-
quirements of this subsection or a regulation pre-
scribed or order issued under this subsection. The 
court may award appropriate relief, including 
injunctive relief. 
‘‘(B) CIVIL
PENALTIES.—If the Secretary 
determines, after notice and opportunity for a 
hearing, that a surety provider of a broker reg-
istered under this chapter has violated the re-
quirements of this subsection or a regulation pre-
scribed under this subsection, the surety provider 
shall be liable to the United States for a civil 
penalty in an amount not to exceed $10,000. 
‘‘(C) ELIGIBILITY.—If the Secretary deter-
mines, after notice and opportunity for a hear-
ing, that a surety provider of a broker registered 
under this chapter has violated the requirements 
of this subsection or a regulation prescribed 
under this subsection, the surety provider shall 
be ineligible to provider broker financial security 
for 3 years. 
‘‘(8) FINANCIAL
SECURITY
AMOUNT
ASSESS-
MENT.—Every 5 years, the Secretary shall review, 
with public notice and comment, the amount of the fi-
nancial security required under this subsection to de-