House bill would coordinate cargo theft data

House bill would coordinate cargo theft data    A U.S. House bill aimed at coordinating cargo theft crime data and to amend Title 18 of the U.S. Code to augment cargo theft prevention has been introduced by Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla.
   Stearns’s “Cargo Theft Prevention Act” (H.R. 3563) would “allow for the reporting of cargo theft offenses to the Attorney General by a carrier, facility, or cargo owner promptly” after such party “becomes aware of the offense,” according to the bill’s text.
   The bill proposes the creation of a database to contain cargo theft crime reports, integrated “to the extent feasible with other non-criminal justice and intelligence data.”    The database would be up and running by Dec. 31, 2005.
   The Attorney General, after consulting with the Secretary of Homeland Security, would decide which federal agencies are to participate in the reporting.
   The bill would also amend certain freight terms in the U.S. Code. In particular, “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), regardless of any temporary stop while awaiting transshipment or otherwise.”
   Stearns’s bill has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee and to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.