[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 785 Introduced in House (IH)]
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 785
To coordinate cargo theft crime data collection and to amend title 18,
United States Code, to make improvements relating to cargo theft
prevention, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 10, 2005
Mr. Stearns introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To coordinate cargo theft crime data collection and to amend title 18,
United States Code, to make improvements relating to cargo theft
prevention, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Cargo Theft Prevention Act''.
SEC. 2. CARGO THEFT DATA COLLECTION.
(a) In General.--The Attorney General shall, within 18 months of
enactment of this Act, issue regulations to--
(1) allow for the reporting of cargo theft offenses to the
Attorney General by a carrier, facility, or cargo owner
promptly after such carrier, facility, or cargo owner becomes
aware of the offense, with such reports to contain information
regarding the offense as specified in regulations, including
the origin and destination of the shipment, the commodities
stolen, the time and location of the theft, and other
information regarding cargo theft, to the extent such
information is available to the reporting party;
(2) create a database to contain the reports made under
paragraph (1) and integrate them, to the extent feasible, with
other noncriminal justice and intelligence data;
(3) prescribe procedures for access to the database created
under paragraph (2) by appropriate Federal, State, and local
governmental agencies, while protecting the privacy of the
information in accordance with other applicable Federal laws;
and
(4) share the results and analysis of the information
collected in paragraphs (1) and (2) with the appropriate
Federal, State, and local government agencies, for the purpose
of assisting in the investigation of cargo theft and in the
arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators of cargo theft.
(b) Creation of Databases.--
(1) In general.--United States Government agencies with
significant regulatory or law enforcement responsibilities with
respect to cargo theft, to the extent feasible, modify their
information databases to ensure the collection and
retrievability of data relating to crime and terrorism and
related activities affecting cargo transportation.
(2) Designation of covered agencies.--The Attorney General,
after consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security,
shall designate the agencies included within the requirement of
paragraph (1).
(c) Outreach Program.--The Attorney General, in consultation with
the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Transportation, the
National Maritime Security Advisory Committee established under section
70112 of title 46, United States Code, and appropriate Federal and
State agencies, shall establish an outreach program to--
(1) work with State and local law enforcement officials to
harmonize the reporting of data on cargo theft among the
States, localities and with the United States Government's
reports; and
(2) disseminate cargo theft information to appropriate law
enforcement officials.
(d) Annual Report.--The Attorney General shall submit an annual
report on the implementation of this section to the Committees on the
Judiciary of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to the Attorney General and Transportation Security
Administration of the Department of Homeland Security such sums as are
necessary for each of the fiscal years 2003 through 2007 to carry out
the requirements of this section, such sums to remain available until
expended.
(f) Limitation on Disclosure of Reports and Data.--Any reports made
pursuant to section 1(a)(1) and the data contained in the database
created under section 1(a)(2) shall be exempt from disclosure under the
Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552).
SEC. 3. THEFT OF INTERSTATE OR FOREIGN SHIPMENTS OR VESSELS.
(a) Theft of Interstate or Foreign Shipments.--Section 659 of title
18, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in the first undesignated paragraph--
(A) by inserting ``trailer,'' after
``motortruck,'';
(B) by inserting ``air cargo container,'' after
``aircraft,''; and
(C) by inserting ``, or from any intermodal
container, trailer, container freight station,
warehouse, or freight consolidation facility,'' after
``air navigation facility'';
(2) in the fifth undesignated paragraph, by striking ``one
year'' and inserting ``3 years''; and
(3) by inserting after the first sentence in the eighth
undesignated paragraph the following: ``For purposes of this
section, goods and chattel shall be construed to be moving as
an interstate or foreign shipment at all points between the
point of origin and the final destination (as evidenced by the
waybill or other shipping document of the shipment), regardless
of any temporary stop while awaiting transshipment or
otherwise.''.
(b) Stolen Vessels.--
(1) In general.--Section 2311 of title 18, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
```Vessel' means any watercraft or other contrivance used or
designed for transportation or navigation on, under, or immediately
above water.''.
(2) Transportation and sale of stolen vessels.--Sections
2312 and 2313 of title 18, United States Code, are each amended
by striking ``motor vehicle or aircraft'' and inserting ``motor
vehicle, vessel, or aircraft''.
(c) Review of Sentencing Guidelines.--Pursuant to section 994 of
title 28, United States Code, the United States Sentencing Commission
shall review the Federal Sentencing Guidelines to determine whether
sentencing enhancement is appropriate for any offense under section 659
or 2311 of title 18, United States Code, as amended by this Act.
(d) Annual Report of Law Enforcement Activities.--By December 31,
2006, and annually thereafter, the Attorney General shall submit to
Congress a report, which shall include an evaluation of law enforcement
activities relating to the investigation and prosecution of offenses
under section 659 of title 18, United States Code, as amended by this
Act. The Attorney General's report shall include an assessment of the
effectiveness of the cargo theft data collection program provided for
in section 1 thereof.
(e) Reporting of Cargo Theft.--The Attorney General shall take the
steps necessary to ensure that reports of cargo theft collected by
Federal, State, and local officials are reflected as a separate
category in the Uniform Crime Reporting System, or any successor
system, by no later than December 31, 2005.
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