Legislation Introduced to Combat Supply Chain, Retail Theft
Rep. Joyce brought the bill before the House, and Sens. Grassley and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) brought companion legislation to the Senate. Reps. Susie Lee (D-Nev.), David Valadao (R-Calif.), Dina Titus (D-Nev.), Michael Baumgartner (R-Wash.), Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), Laurel Lee (R-Fla.), and Lou Correa (D-Calif.) co-led the legislation in the House.
According to the legislators, the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (CORCA) would launch an Organized Retail and Supply Chain Crime Coordination Center within the Department of Homeland Security that would allow “increased collaboration between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, along with retail crime associations and subject matter experts, to create a cohesive strategy to combat these crimes and share valuable resources.” It would also create new tools to assist in federal investigation and prosecution of organized retail crime, they said, and help recapture lost goods and proceeds.
Additional Senate cosponsors include Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), James Risch (R-Idaho), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), and Ted Cruz (R-Texas).
Additional House cosponsors include Reps. Brad Knott (R-N.C.), Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.), Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.), Mark Amodei (R-Nev.), Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.), Juan Ciscomani (R-Ariz.), Henry Cuellar (D-Tex.), Troy Nehls (R-Tex.), and Jim Costa (D-Calif.).
“Organized criminal operations continue to evolve and escalate their targeted attacks against our nation’s supply chain and retailers,” AAR President and CEO Ian Jefferies said in a statement. “This alarming trend affects every industry—including the nation’s largest railroads, which experienced a 40% spike in cargo theft last year. Disrupting these organized crime networks requires a unified, federally led response. Chairman Grassley and Rep. Joyce’s bipartisan legislation provides the strategic framework necessary to disrupt these criminal networks and safeguard our supply chain.”
For railroads, the AAR noted, “both the frequency and tactics of cargo theft attempts have rapidly evolved and escalated from what once was a crime of opportunity to one that cost the industry more than $100 billion last year.” The association added that railroads have advocated for a “multi-layered federal strategy to address this issue economy-wide, and CORCA represents a critical step forward.”
IANA President and CEO Anne Reinke issued this statement in response to CORCA: “Organized cargo theft and fraud disrupt intermodal freight supply chains, risk the safety of our workforce, and harm the U.S. economy. IANA applauds Sen. Grassley (R-IA), Sen. Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Reps. Joyce (R-OH), Lee (D-NV), Valadao (R-CA), Titus (D-NV), Baumgartner (R-WA), Schneider (D-IL), Lee (R-FL), and Correa (D-CA) for their leadership in championing critical legislation to address this urgent threat. The bipartisan Combating Organized Retail Crime Act will provide important resources to detect and fight organized crime throughout the supply chain, ensuring that our industry can continue delivering goods to American consumers safely and efficiently.”
Among the other bill supporters are: the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, Major County Sheriffs of America, National Retail Federation, Retail Industry Leaders Association, Reusable Packaging Association, American Trucking Association, UPS, DHL, U.S. Dairy Export Council, National Milk Producers Foundation, Transportation Intermediaries Association, PASS (Protect America’s Small Sellers) Coalition, International Downtown Association, Amazon, World Shipping Council, Pirate Ship, National Shooting Sports Foundation, Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC), International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), National District Attorneys Association (NDAA), World Shipping Council, and the Home Depot.
“Large criminal organizations are constantly evolving their tactics to steal goods from retailers and the supply chain in communities across the Silver State,” Sen. Cortez Masto said during the April 10 announcement of CORCA. “The rise in organized retail crime has left businesses scrambling, and it is time for Congress to pass this bipartisan legislation to help law enforcement agencies keep our communities safe.”
“Organized retail crime and supply chain theft are hitting families and small businesses hard in the Central Valley and beyond,” Rep. Valadao noted in the announcement. “These crimes are largely run by sophisticated criminal networks that endanger public safety and drive-up costs for consumers. In the 118th Congress, I introduced the Safeguarding our Supply Chains Act to fight back against cargo theft, and I’m happy to see some of that language included in this bill. The CORCA Act gives law enforcement the tools they need to hold criminals accountable, and I’m proud to work with my colleagues to get this across the finish line.”
Sens. Grassley and Cortez Masto introduced similar legislation in 2022 and 2023.
