U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) introduced bipartisan legislation on April 10 designed to crack down on organized retail theft schemes, including cargo theft that harms the nation’s supply chain.
The Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2025, S. 1404, would bring together the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and state and local law enforcement agencies to create new ways to tackle organized theft and help recapture lost goods and proceeds.
“Organized theft rings deploy innovative tactics to pilfer goods, and it’s causing financial harm to businesses, putting employees and consumers at risk and funding transnational criminal organizations throughout the world,” Grassley said. “It’s time for the law to catch up and prevent criminals from exploiting the internet and online marketplaces. Our bill improves the federal response to organized retail crime and establishes new tools to recover stolen goods and illicit proceeds and deter future attacks on American retailers.”
The legislation is supported by a wide variety of law enforcement, retail organizations and employers including the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, the Major County Sheriffs of America, the National Retail Federation, the Retail Industry Leaders Association, and the American Trucking Associations (ATA).
“The trucking industry takes great pride in delivering America’s freight safely and on time; however, the billions of tons of goods transported by trucks from coast to coast have increasingly become a prime target for organized crime rings, including transnational organizations, putting truck drivers at risk and raising costs for consumers,” ATA President and CEO Chris Spear said. “ATA commends this bipartisan group of leaders for addressing this alarming trend and safeguarding our supply chain. By empowering federal agencies to improve cooperation across jurisdictions and ramp up enforcement actions, this bill would strike an effective blow against organized crime.”
ATA said thieves targeting freight shipments cost the supply chain up to $35 billion annually and create inflation for consumers. Strategic theft has risen 1,500% since the first quarter of 2021, and the average value per theft is over $200,000, according to ATA.
Specifically, the legislation would create the Organized Retail and Supply Chain Crime Coordination Center within DHS and would create new tools to assist in the federal investigation and prosecution of organized retail crime.
“Organized criminal operations continue to evolve and escalate their targeted attacks against our nation’s supply chain and retailers,” said Association of American Railroads President and CEO Ian Jefferies. “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.”
According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), more than 84 percent of retailers report violent and aggressive criminal activity has become more of a concern since 2022. The association also said larceny incidents are up by 93 percent in 2023 compared to 2019.