TAPA Americas Pushes Senate to Pass Organized Retail Crime Legislation

The proposed legislation, H.R. 2853, cleared the House with a decisive 348-60 bipartisan vote, signaling broad consensus on the need for federal intervention. TAPA Americas Chairman Scott Cornell, who helped draft the bill’s cargo theft provisions, argues that official data captures only a fraction of the reality. According to Cornell, actual incident rates are likely 10 to 15 times higher than current industry figures suggest, as many thefts are misclassified by local authorities as standard property crimes or auto theft.

Strategic theft—the most sophisticated form of supply chain criminal activity—has seen a staggering 1,475% increase over the last three years. The legislation seeks to address this by creating a dedicated multi-agency task force, appointing federal prosecutors to focus on organized cargo crime, and establishing formal information-sharing channels between private companies and law enforcement. The push for Senate action is backed by five regional supply chain security councils, representing a growing coalition of stakeholders desperate for a unified federal framework to combat a crisis that currently threatens the viability of carriers and brokers across the country.