NCBFAA Secures 21st Co-Sponsor of Customs Business Fairness Act
NCBFAA member outreach to Members of Congress to secure additional co-sponsors the Customs Business Fairness Act (H.R. 1453) continues paying off. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) became the 21st Congressional Member on July 25 to co-sponsor the bill. However, NCBFAA is counting on every association member to continue soliciting their Representatives on Capitol Hill to co-sponsor H.R. 1453, if we are going to achieve our long-sought goal to make this important legislation to our industry permanent in the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in 2023.
Every NCBFAA member should utilize this simple-to-use association website tool to contact their Capitol Hill lawmakers: Go to the “Write My Representative” page, located in the “I Want To” section of the main menu of the new NCBFAA website.
This tool, established by NCBFAA Counsel to assist members with grassroots advocacy, includes a letter for you to use requesting support for the Customs Business Fairness Act (H.R. 1453).
CBFA is vital to the protection of our nation’s customs brokers and their tens of thousands of employees. H.R. 1453 specifically requests a technical change in the bankruptcy laws to protect customs brokers who have paid duties to CBP on behalf of importers that subsequently file for bankruptcy. NCBFAA seeks “subrogation” rights for customs brokers who have received money or paid duties to the U.S. government on behalf of a bankrupt importer. If a customs broker could be subrogated to the priority rights of CBP, any payments from the importer to CBP via the customs broker during the 90-day period would likewise no longer be subject to a preference payment recovery action.
CBFA was first included in the December 2020 stimulus package which gave customs brokers much needed relief from the 90-day claw back when an importer files bankruptcy. However, the legislation included a one-year sunset which occurred on Dec. 31, 2021. Legislation to make the tenets of CBFA permanent in the bankruptcy laws was introduced in early 2022 and had to be subsequently reintroduced with the start of the 118th Congress.
Contact NCBFAA Executive Vice President Megan Montgomery at mmontgomery@ncbfaa.org, if you have any questions.
Source: NCBFAA Monday Morning Briefing of 8/21/23
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