Industry Prods Congress on Theft

ATLANTA — A group thinks it has the right combination to unlock congressional action on a plan to reduce cargo theft and allow criminal background checks of potential employees in trucking.

The Transportation Security Coalition — made up of trucking companies, shippers groups and law enforcement agencies — is putting the finishing touches on a legislative proposal that would beef up interdiction and take other steps to discourage cargo thieves. It discussed the plan April 12 during a meeting held in conjunction with the annual conference of the Transportation Loss Prevention and Security Council of American Trucking Associations.

The coalition is refining a version of legislation advocated by trucking last year as an alternative to a cargo-theft bill offered by Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey.

Lautenberg’s proposal would have created a commission to study cargo theft. But it died in the Senate in the fall as Congress bogged down in the impeachment proceedings against President Clinton.

“The intention was good, but it was way off the mark in its desired effort of deterring theft,” said Kenneth Siegel, deputy general counsel of ATA.

Coalition members are urging Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and House Crime Subcommittee Chairman Bill McCollum (R-Fla.) to put their recommendations into legislation. They are confident of the proposal’s chances this year.

Among the provisions in the coalition’s draft proposal:

Expand the current federal definition of cargo theft to include trailers, containers and aircraft.

Increase the minimum penalties for cargo theft.

Require the Justice Department to collect cargo theft statistics using the CargoTIPs database of ATA’s security council.

Allow prosecutors to seize assets used in cargo theft.

For the full story, see the April 19 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.