“It’s unacceptable that our federal agencies have been exposing American citizens to identity theft,” said Rep. Denham. “The U.S. government needs to protect the identities of its citizens and armed service members at all costs.”Rep. Denham’s bill would prevent the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP) from providing personally identifiable information to third-party data brokers; such information can include names, social security numbers, and passport numbers collected as part of required documents for shipments into the United States. Currently, the agency provides this information to third-party data brokers, where it can be made available online or deliberately stolen, putting people at risk for easy identity theft, credit card fraud, and unwanted advertising solicitations.
Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy commented on the bill, saying “Over 100 million Americans have been subject to identity theft, and Congress must do everything we can to help protect the personal information of our constituents. Because of the strong leadership of Representative Denham, today’s passage of Moving Americans Privacy Protection Act (H.R. 4403) will help safeguard the identities of Americans in a common sense way by removing personally identifiable information transmitted to third parties. Jeff’s commitment on this issue will enhance the privacy protection of our neighbors and communities.”
H.R. 4403 would amend the current customs disclosure process to explicitly require the removal of personally identifiable information to ensure CBP does not compromise the identities of service members and citizens.
Congressman Jeff Denham