Congress Introduces Bill Aiming at Cargo Theft
Usually when a Bill is going through the system, it will start in one wing of Congress before moving to another after approval. The Combating Organized Retail Crime Act is bucking this trend by having two very similar Bills introduced into both wings at the same time, with minor differences planning to be reconciled later.
Details
Beyond being expedited in this way, the Bill is also garnering bipartisan support. In the Senate, it was sponsored by Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nevada.). As you can imagine from the name, the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act fights cargo theft by expanding the federal statutes involving money laundering. The Bill was introduced in 2022 and 2023 prior, but with a new makeup in the federal government, including the presidency, its chances of becoming official law look brighter than ever.
“Retail crime has cost Iowa billions, and it’s even worse across the nation,” Senator Grassley said in regards to the bill. “Organized theft rings deploy innovative tactics to pilfer goods, and it’s causing financial harm to businesses, putting employees and consumers at risk and funding transnational criminal organizations throughout the world. It’s time for the law to catch up and prevent criminals from exploiting the internet and online marketplaces. Our bill improves the federal response to organized retail crime and establishes new tools to recover stolen goods and illicit proceeds and deter future attacks on American retailers.”
Conclusion
The Bill was met, once again, with support from trucking industry representatives, including American Trucking Associations CEO Chris Spear. “The trucking industry takes great pride in delivering America’s freight safely and on time; however, the billions of tons of goods transported by trucks from coast to coast have increasingly become a prime target for organized crime rings, including transnational organizations, putting truck drivers at risk and raising costs for consumers. ATA commends this bipartisan group of leaders for addressing this alarming trend and safeguarding our supply chain. By empowering federal agencies to improve cooperation across jurisdictions and ramp up enforcement actions, this bill would strike an effective blow against organized crime.”
When it comes to this Bill protecting truckers and their businesses by increasing the range of criminal statutes applied to thieves, hopefully the third time will be the charm.
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