Washington, D.C. – Movers for America (MFA), a national coalition of moving professionals and independent owner-operators serving active-duty military families, has submitted formal comments to the Department of War’s Personal Property Activity (PPA) on the proposed 2027 Business Rules for the Defense Personal Property Program (DP3).
MFA’s recommendations come straight from its members and its National Ambassador Network — the moving professionals who pack, store, haul, and deliver service members’ household goods as they relocate across the country and around the world. After a line-by-line review of the draft rules, the coalition filed its comments ahead of the Oct. 26 deadline. The PPA expects to publish final rules around Nov. 23.
“Every one of these recommendations comes from the people doing the work, our members and MFA Ambassadors who are on the trucks, in the warehouses, and at the front door with military families,” said Katie McMichael, Executive Director of Movers for America. “We share the PPA’s goals of strengthening program capacity, transparency, and accountability. Our comments offer practical fixes to help ensure families are made whole when a shipment runs late, performance scores are based on actual performance, and capable businesses can continue to compete in the program. We’re ready to work alongside the PPA to get the final rules right.”
MFA’s comments include the following:
- Inconvenience claims that make families whole. When a shipment is late, and a family is living without essentials or paying out of pocket, they should absolutely be made whole. MFA recommends the PPA establish a clear list of essential items needed to set up a household, apply per diem when those items aren’t delivered, and compensate for other missing items based on what is actually missing. One standard applied consistently will help ensure families are compensated and no claim costs more than the shipment itself.
- Performance scores that reflect actual performance. MFA recommends expanding the performance data window from nine months to a full year, so a mover’s score captures its work over time, including during peak moving season.
- Consistent base access. Installation commanders set their own access requirements, often above the minimum standard to ensure the safety of military families. Those rules are appropriately outside the control of both movers and the PPA. MFA recommends that the PPA collaborate with industry on solutions to smooth base access, rather than increasing penalties which only restrict capacity in an already strained market.
- Rate transparency. MFA recommends improving government transparency around the methodology for calculating program rates to simplify annual rate filings.
- Cybersecurity standards that don’t price movers out. The safety and security of our service families is a top priority. MFA recommends that Transportation Service Providers (TSPs) maintain compliance with Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Level 1 requirements, while waiving Level 2 requirements. This supports security enhancements while eliminating costly barriers to program participation.
MFA has encouraged continued collaboration between the PPA and industry as the program takes shape, so improvements for military families can be made without sacrificing the capacity, competition, and reliability the program depends on.
