The Airforwarders Association (AfA) is urging Congress to take tougher action on cargo theft and urging the House of Representatives to include the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (CORCA) in the final Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) following the midterm elections.
The NDAA is passed annually to set defense and spending priorities and is frequently used to advance other measures with bipartisan support.
The House passed CORCA by a large margin in May, and the AfA is calling on lawmakers from both parties to use the NDAA to deliver a coordinated federal response to organized cargo theft and freight fraud.
AfA’s new chief executive, Steve Smith (pictured below) said: “Congress has already shown overwhelming bipartisan support for tackling organized cargo crime, and the job now is to turn that support into law. Forwarders are dealing with organized criminal networks that operate across state lines and exploit gaps between jurisdictions, so this is an issue where Republicans and Democrats should continue working together to give law enforcement and legitimate businesses the tools to route them out.”
CORCA would establish an Organized Retail and Supply Chain Crime Coordination Center within Homeland Security Investigations to strengthen information sharing and coordination between federal, state, and local law enforcement and the private sector.
Over the last year, the AfA has taken member concerns directly to Congress, work that is supported by the AfA’s Cargo Theft Committee which brings members together to share intelligence, examine vulnerabilities, and help shape practical responses to cargo crime.
Chair of the AfA’s Cargo Theft Committee, David King of AB&M Logistics (main picture) added: ”Forwarders are seeing how sophisticated these crimes have become and how difficult they can be to investigate when activity crosses jurisdictions. The industry can help by sharing what is happening on the ground, but we also need law enforcement agencies to be able to act on it.
“CORCA is an opportunity to improve that coordination and give legitimate businesses a stronger federal partner in tackling organized cargo crime.”
