Election 2024: US Lawmakers Support Initiatives to Combat Freight Fraud

Over the past few years, growing threats in the trucking and retail sectors have prompted lawmakers to propose legislation aimed at combating freight fraud and organized retail crime.

With organized supply chain theft and sophisticated retail crime schemes on the rise, these legislative efforts are aimed at ensuring the safety of the movement of goods and supporting law enforcement in combating these crimes.

Two key bills—the Securing Our Supply Chains Act and the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2023 (CORCA)—demonstrate the federal government’s efforts to protect domestic supply chains from both theft and fraud.

Here’s a look at the specifics of the bills, their major sponsors and co-sponsors, and which lawmakers will remain in power to support initiatives in the upcoming legislative cycle after the 2024 elections.

Protect Our Supply Chains Act

Introduced by Congressman David Valadao, R-Calif., Securing Our Supply Chains Act addresses an increase in organized thefts targeting critical cargo networks throughout the United States.

This bill seeks to create a Supply Chain Fraud and Theft Task Force under the joint direction of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the FBI. The task force, with an estimated $100 million in funding, will coordinate law enforcement efforts at both the federal and local levels to combat organized theft and fraud in freight networks that include rail, trucking and intermodal systems. The focus of this task force is highlighted in a recent CargoNet report. study It was found that cargo theft incidents in the US and Canada increased by 14% in the third quarter of 2024 compared to the third quarter of 2023.

The bill has several bipartisan cosponsors, including:

Representative Bradley Scott Schneider, Democrat of Illinois. – re-elected.
Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Ill. – re-elected.
Rep. August Pflueger, R-Texas, re-elected.
Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif. – too close to calling, probability of winning.
Rep. Vince Fong, Republican of California. – re-elected.
Rep. John Rutherford, Republican of Florida. – re-elected.
Representative Pete Stauber, Republican of Minnesota. – re-elected.
Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Calif. – re-elected.
Representative Robert Wittman, Republican of Virginia. – re-elected.
Rep. Trent Kelly, R-Miss. – re-elected.
Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev. – re-elected.
Rep. Robert Garcia, Democrat of California. – too close to calling, probability of winning.
Representative Steve Cohen, Democrat of Tennessee. – re-elected.
Rep. Bill Huizenga, Republican of Michigan. – re-elected.
Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz. – too close to the count, 1.7% lower than the Democratic Party. enemy Kirsten Engel.

Notably, Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Virginia, has decided to run for governor of Virginia, leaving her seat to Democrat Eugene Vindman. Whether Vindman will support the legislation remains to be seen.

Retail Organized Crime Act 2023

CORCA is another bipartisan bill. developed to address the growing problem of organized crime in the retail industry. Sponsored by Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and co-sponsored by a bipartisan coalition of senators, CORCA seeks to equip federal law enforcement agencies with the resources to collaborate with local authorities in dismantling complex retail crime rings. These criminal organizations often engage in elaborate schemes involving cargo theft and e-commerce fraud.

Major CORCA donors are not seeking re-election in this year’s race. They include:

Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, Democrat of Nevada.
Senator John Kennedy, Republican from Louisiana.
Senator Bill Cassidy, Republican from Louisiana.
Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
Senator Thom Tillis, R.N.C.
Senator Ted Budd, R.N.C.
Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont.
Senator Mark Kelly, Democrat of Arizona.
Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida.
Senator James Risch, R-Idaho
Senator Mike Crapo, R-Idaho

Sponsors Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Ted Cruz (R-TX) won re-election. Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., is in a close race with Republican Sam Brown, with polls tilting in Brown’s favor, and Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana. lost to Republican Tim Sheehy.

The Securing Our Supply Chains Act and CORCA are strong indicators of a bipartisan commitment to combating crime affecting U.S. supply chains. As key sponsors and co-sponsors remain in power, they can play a vital role in U.S. supply chain security initiatives.

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