Lawmakers sign on in support of bill to address cargo theft

A piece of legislation designed to address the rise in cargo theft across the United States is gaining more support.

Introduced in June by Rep. David G. Valadao, R-Calif., the Safeguarding our Supply Chains Act aims to reduce the growing trend.

The heart of the bill is simple: to improve communication between federal agencies and state and local law enforcement in an effort to curb cargo theft, particularly in regions experiencing “high volumes of organized crime.”

If approved, the legislation would establish the Supply Chain Crime Coordination Center in the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations to “collect and analyze data related to supply chain fraud and theft” and to share that information with state and local agencies.

Additionally, the bill seeks to create a Supply Chain Fraud and Theft Task Force that would be comprised of “HSI, the FBI and all relevant agencies” working collaboratively to “disrupt and deter organized theft groups that are targeting all stages of the supply chain.”

Joining Valadao in introducing the bipartisan bill were Reps. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., Darin LaHood, R-Ill., Vince Fong, R-Calif., and August Pfluger, R-Texas.

Their early commitment should come as no surprise, with their three states – California, Illinois and Texas – showing the most significant increase in reported cargo theft activity for the first quarter of 2024 when compared to the year prior.

“Cargo theft and supply chain fraud has increased at an alarming rate over the last few years. In just the first four months of this year, my state of Illinois experienced a 126-percent spike in incidents of fraud schemes,” Schneider said in a statement. “I’m proud to join Rep. Valadao in introducing this bill to bolster the federal response to the rise in cargo theft and supply chain fraud facing the logistics and transportation industries.”

Others were quick to jump on board. Reps. John Rutherford, R-Fla., and Pete Stauber, R-Minn., signed on as co-sponsors in the days following the bill’s introduction. In July, Valadao told Land Line Now that he anticipated other representatives would be joining the cause.

“This is a very noncontroversial piece of legislation. It’s very bipartisan,” Valadao said. “And the more they hear about it, obviously they sign on because it is a very simple bill. It’s something that most people are seeing in their districts, and they want to make sure that they’re part of the solution on this one.”

That prediction from Valadao has come true. Since the beginning of August, six other members of congress have signed on as co-sponsors, including:

• Salud Carbajal, D-Calif.
• Robert Garcia, D-Calif.
• Trent Kelly, R-Miss.
• Mark Amodei, R-Nev.
• Abigail Spanberger, D-Va.
• Robert Wittman, R-Va.

“Supply chain theft and ORC (organized retail crime) has detrimental financial impacts for businesses, consumers and our economy due to increased security expenses, labor costs, repairs/replacements and lost revenue,” Spanberger said in a statement. “Lost profit leads to a subsequent reduction in tax revenue. Specifically, ORC costs federal and state governments nearly $15 billion in lost tax revenue, not including lost sales taxes. This ultimately harms the consumer.”

Since its introduction, the legislation has been referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. LL

Listen to Land Line Now’s full interview with Valadao below.