WASHINGTON — The American Trucking Associations is applauding the House Appropriations Committee for passing the fiscal year 2027 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies funding bill, which would begin the process of establishing a unified, federal response to cargo theft.
“America’s trucking industry delivers billions of tons of goods to every community, and those essential shipments have increasingly become prime targets for organized crime, putting truck drivers at risk and raising costs for consumers,” said Henry Hanscom, ATA chief advocacy & public affairs officer. “ATA commends the House Appropriations Committee for directing DOJ to leverage its enforcement capabilities to pursue criminals operating across borders. This directive and funding will strengthen the partnership between the government, law enforcement, motor carriers and our supply chain partners to strike an effective blow against these organized theft groups.”
Fighting Cargo Theft
The legislation, which must now be considered by the full House, would require the U.S. Department of Justice to step up its enforcement of cargo theft cases as well as make a $4 million down payment to prosecute these crimes.
The initiative would complement the comprehensive framework created by the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act that has been endorsed by ATA and passed the House earlier this week. Together, the FY27 CJS appropriations bill and CORCA would help counter the sharp rise in cargo theft and broader supply chain fraud, addressing one of ATA’s top strategic priorities.
Key Features
The bill includes report language that would:
- Direct DOJ to provide a briefing within 120 days on plans to establish regional task forces, led by the FBI and in partnership with HSI; TSA; USDOT; and federal, state, and local law enforcement to investigate and refer cases for prosecution. The bill allocates $2 million to support the establishment of these task forces.
- Direct the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys to submit a report within 90 days that identifies U.S. Attorneys’ Offices (USAOs) with the highest rates of crime involving cargo theft and directs those USAOs to assign at least one additional attorney to cargo theft prosecutions. The bill allocates an additional $2 million for this purpose.
ATA secured similar provisions in FY26 and recently joined a coalition to pressure DOJ to implement this congressional mandate.
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
