IRU member the American Trucking Associations (ATA) continues to stack up legislative wins in the battle against cargo theft in the United States. But the war is not over yet.
The United States Congress has made substantial strides towards passing one of ATA’s highest legislative priorities to respond to cargo theft: the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (CORCA).
The House Judiciary Committee has put its bipartisan stamp of approval on this bill that would create a unified, federal response. This was a key milestone the bill needed to reach before being sent to the full House of Representatives for a vote.
This positive development was the culmination of months of advocacy led by ATA.
In 2025, ATA closed out a record-setting Call on Washington season, bringing 430 truckers from 38 states to Capitol Hill for over 500 meetings with their Members of Congress. Thanks to that tremendous grassroots support, CORCA is now cosponsored by 198 representatives and 42 senators – nearly half of both the House and Senate chambers.
ATA’s federation also served as expert witnesses at four hearings focused on this topic, where lawmakers heard its voice loud and clear.
Last year, ATA facilitated the testimony of Adam Blanchard and Donna Lemm, two ATA members whose fleets have experienced the detrimental impact of cargo theft firsthand. ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello participated in a House roundtable. And in December, ATA President Chris Spear testified before a House Judiciary Subcommittee. The Chairman of that panel, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), was initially skeptical about the need for CORCA, but after learning about how criminals are exploiting enforcement gaps and how thieves are using sophisticated digital tactics to overwhelm trucking companies’ IT systems, he endorsed the bill.
While the industry has claimed victory in this important battle, the war on cargo theft remains to be won. ATA is continuing to keep the pressure on. ATA Chairman Greg Hodgen has penned a column for Fox News – titled Lobsters to tequila: Cargo theft is easting America’s lunch and driving up food prices – to call attention to recent high-profile incidents and urge Congress to act.
Congress has also just passed an appropriations bill with provisions championed by ATA to address this issue. The legislation will require the Department of Justice to develop a plan to establish regional cargo theft task forces led by the FBI and to assign at least one additional attorney to cargo theft cases in hot spot regions. When it is signed into law, this legislation will represent the first concrete steps the federal government has taken to enhance enforcement capabilities against cargo theft.
This story was originally published by ATA.