Every Member of Congress Who Has Acted on Moving Fraud, and What They Did

Moving fraud affects military families, seniors, young professionals, and anyone who relocates across state lines. It is not a Democratic or Republican issue. Members of both parties have recognized the problem and taken action. Some of that action led to real change. Most of it did not.

This is the full record of what Congress has done, what FMCSA was told to do and didn't, and which members are currently working on the issue.

Congress passed the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act (SAFETEA-LU), which included a provision (49 USC 14710-14711) explicitly authorizing state attorneys general to enforce federal household goods regulations against interstate movers.

Four years later, a Government Accountability Office survey (GAO-10-38, 2009) found that no state attorney general had ever used this authority. The reasons: federal remedies do not benefit the states, penalties are insufficient, and cases cannot be brought in state court.

The authority Congress granted in 2005 has been effectively unused by state attorneys general for 21 years. The Florida Attorney General's office has filed enforcement actions against moving companies under state law (FDUTPA, Florida Household Moving Services Act), but Trunk has not identified a documented case of a state AG explicitly invoking the federal 49 USC 14711 authority.

The House Transportation Committee held a hearing titled 'Protecting Consumers from Fraudulent Practices in the Moving Industry.' The hearing documented the same patterns Trunk documents today: lowball estimates, hostage loads, and brokers misrepresenting themselves as carriers.

No legislation resulted directly from the hearing.

The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), passed with bipartisan support, included several household goods provisions (Section 32922):

Proficiency examinations: Congress required FMCSA to develop an exam for HHG carrier applicants to demonstrate knowledge of federal regulations (49 USC 13902(a)(2)(C)). Fourteen years later, the exam does not exist. A private attorney published a study guide for it in 2015. The book is still available on Amazon for $89.99. The test it prepares for has never been administered.

Hostage load remedy: Congress directed the Secretary of Transportation to establish a process for ordering carriers to return goods held hostage (49 USC 14915(a)). FMCSA has not published implementing rules.

Consumer protection standards review: Congress required reviews within 18 months of licensing. These have not been systematically implemented.

The bipartisan MAP-21 gave FMCSA clear directives. The agency treated them as optional.

Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), then Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, commissioned a staff investigation that produced the report 'Internet Moving Brokers: A New Consumer Protection Problem in the Household Goods Industry.' The Committee held a hearing: 'Taking Consumers for a Ride: Business Practices in the Household Goods Moving Industry.'

The investigation documented the DiSorbo broker network (613 combined complaints, 135 hostage loads), the movingcost.com SEO manipulation scheme, and the finding that 90% of broker-arranged moves experienced a price increase. The hearing led directly to the MAP-21 provisions above.

Senator Rockefeller's investigation remains the most comprehensive congressional examination of household goods fraud. The patterns it documented in 2012 are identical to the patterns documented in 2026.

The Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act, Section 5503) required FMCSA to establish a Household Goods Consumer Protection Working Group. The group, 15 consumer affairs experts, educators, and industry representatives, met three times at DOT headquarters and submitted 19 recommendations in September 2017.

FMCSA published its response to Congress in September 2019. For most recommendations, the agency wrote: 'FMCSA is evaluating the working group's recommendation. If deemed appropriate by the Administrator/Secretary, FMCSA will develop proposed regulatory changes for notice and comment rulemaking.'

The Working Group was terminated in 2018. Seven years later, virtually none of its 19 recommendations have been implemented.

On May 22, 2023, a bipartisan group of eight members of Congress sent a joint letter to DOT Inspector General Eric Soskin requesting a permanent task force within OIG to investigate transportation fraud.

The signatories:

Senator Mike Braun (R-IN) Senator JD Vance (R-OH), now Vice President of the United States Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) Senator John Thune (R-SD), now Senate Majority Leader Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) Representative Michael Bost (R-IL) Representative Lance Gooden (R-TX) Representative Chuck Edwards (R-NC)

The letter cited an estimated 3,500 supply chain fraud schemes annually, acknowledged the Riojas decision's impact on FMCSA enforcement, and urged OIG to 'consider creating a special unit within the Inspector General's office, in consultation with FMCSA and the DOJ, to investigate, refer, and prosecute cases of transportation fraud in a systematic, concerted manner.'

Whether this task force was established is not publicly documented. An industry source reports speaking with a DOT criminal task force 2-3 times per week as of August 2026, suggesting some form of dedicated enforcement unit exists.

The most significant pending legislation is H.R. 880 (House) and S. 337 (Senate), the Household Goods Shipping Consumer Protection Act. The bill is bipartisan and bicameral:

House sponsors: Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Rep. Mike Ezell (R-MS) Senate sponsor: Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) Senate co-sponsor: Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)

The bill would:

Restore FMCSA's authority to assess civil penalties for consumer protection violations, reversing the 2019 Riojas decision. Require physical addresses for broker registration. Compel FMCSA to analyze application trends and identify potentially fraudulent operators before they receive authority. Allow states to use federal funds to enforce consumer protection laws related to freight.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) endorsed the bill in March 2025 Senate testimony, with Executive Vice President Lewie Pugh calling the NCCDB 'where complaints go to die.'

As of August 2026, the bill has been referred to the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. It has not received a vote in either chamber.

The SAFE Act, introduced in the Senate in July 2026 with bipartisan support, aims to automate detection of chameleon carriers, companies that dissolve and re-register under new names to escape complaint histories. The bill would require FMCSA to cross-reference new applications against existing carrier data, including shared officers, addresses, and phone numbers.

FMCSA's OP-1 application already asks about affiliations with other regulated entities. The SAFE Act would make verification of those answers automatic rather than voluntary.

On July 30, 2026, Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Edward Markey (D-MA) sent a letter to FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs citing enforcement decline figures: a 65% drop in closed carrier enforcement cases from FY 2024 to FY 2025, zero broker enforcement cases since September 2024, and a projected 83% decline by end of FY 2026. They demanded answers by August 12.

This is the most recent direct congressional pressure on FMCSA regarding household goods enforcement.

In 31 years since Congress created the Section 14704 adjudicatory remedy for consumers (1995), DOT has not written implementing rules.

In 14 years since Congress required proficiency examinations for HHG applicants (2012), FMCSA has not created the exam.

In 7 years since the Working Group submitted 19 recommendations (2017), virtually none have been implemented.

In 21 years since Congress authorized state AGs to enforce federal HHG regulations (2005), the authority has been used once.

In 1 year since zero broker enforcement cases were closed (September 2024), the count remains zero.

Congressional action on moving fraud is bipartisan, documented, and real. Congressional follow-through on whether agencies implement what Congress directs is where the system breaks down. Members introduce bills, hold hearings, write letters, and demand answers. FMCSA responds with 'we are evaluating' and then does nothing. The cycle repeats.