New legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate aims to address numerous issues related to freight fraud and cargo theft in the U.S.
Introduced by Sen. Todd Young (R-Indiana), the “Securing American Freight, Enforcement, and Reliability Transport Act,” or the SAFER Transport Act, would strengthen federal efforts to prevent, detect, and punish freight fraud and cargo theft perpetrators across the transportation ecosystem.
“Americans deserve safe and reliable supply chains and roads,” said Young. “The SAFER Transport Act takes important steps to strengthen our transportation infrastructure, combat crime that is hurting U.S. consumers and businesses, and ensure our roads are safe for all Americans.”
[Related: FMCSA announces rapid actions to shut down ‘chameleon carriers,’ CDL mills, ELD cheating]
The bill includes a number of provisions aimed at combating cargo theft and freight fraud, including:
- Establishing a “Freight Fraud and Theft Advisory Committee” to take public input on how to reduce fraud and theft, and provide input and recommendations to the Transportation Secretary and Congress. The committee would be comprised of representatives from motor carriers (including independent contractors), rail, ports, marine terminals, freight brokers, aviation operators, law enforcement, shippers and insurance.
- Requiring a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the DOT and the Department of Justice, in which the DOT would notify DOJ officials of any freight fraud or theft identified during regulatory or enforcement work of the DOT. DOJ would be required to establish a process for receiving and handling such information.
- Improving security of the DOT registration system by phasing out MC numbers within 5 years and transitioning fully to only using USDOT numbers, including for brokers and freight forwarders.
- Withholding registration and obtaining a USDOT number from anyone convicted of a felony related to theft, fraud and more in commercial transportation operations.
- Requiring motor carriers, brokers and freight forwarders to notify the FMCSA of a change in ownership, including through purchase, sale, merger, acquisition or other transfer, within 30 days.
- Requiring states provide monthly reports to the Transportation Secretary about the number of CLPs, CDLs, non-domiciled CDLs and endorsements issued, as well as the number of, and justification for, revocations, suspensions and downgrades.
- Improving the Training Provider Registry by establishing an audit process, requiring providers register a principal place of business (PPOB) and more.
- Requiring FMCSA to develop and implement one or more automated systems to flag suspicious activity in the registration system or by motor carriers, brokers and others. FMCSA would be required to review each flagged user to determine whether they engaged in fraud.
- Improving enforcement of cabotage laws.
- Requiring “foreign dispatch services” to register as brokers. Foreign dispatch services are defined in the bill as those not located in the U.S., Mexico or Canada, that act as a direct licensed agent on behalf of one or more motor carriers.
Full text of the bill can be viewed here. The bill, since being introduced in the Senate, has been referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
[Related: FBI details double-brokering cargo theft scheme in felony charges for driver]
The SAFER Transport Act is supported by the American Trucking Associations, Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, Commercial Vehicle Training Association (CVTA), Indiana Motor Truck Association and Transportation Intermediaries Association, among others.
“The small business truckers and owner-operators OOIDA represents are particularly vulnerable to fraud, which has unfortunately become widespread in our industry and increasingly sophisticated,” said OOIDA Executive Vice President Lewie Pugh. “Falling victim to even a single scam can cost one of our members their entire livelihood.”
Pugh added that the SAFER Transport Act “addresses many of the regulatory shortcomings that have allowed fraudsters, chameleon carriers, unvetted and underqualified drivers, and sham training schools to proliferate. The SAFER Transport Act is a major step toward weeding out the bad actors in our industry who make our roads less safe.”
[Related: Double brokering: Just how bad is it out there?]
ATA President and CEO Chris Spear also highlighted the impact of theft and fraud on small carriers.
“Over 90% of trucking fleets operate 10 trucks or fewer, and each one represents the embodiment of the American Dream," Spear said. "Motor carriers spend years building their reputations, but ruthless and sophisticated criminals are actively exploiting loopholes in USDOT’s registration process to steal their identities, capitalize on their good names, and commit cargo theft. Small businesses are not equipped to fight large-scale fraud on their own, which is why it is so critical to implement Senator Young’s commonsense reforms that modernize USDOT’s systems to weed out chameleon carriers and enhance oversight and penalties."
[Related: Congress moves closer to federal cargo theft enforcement mandate]
