WASHINGTON — A legislative effort to purge fraudulent brokers from the supply chain is now eligible for consideration by the full Senate after being placed on the Senate calendar on Monday.
The Household Goods Shipping Consumer Protection Act takes direct aim at fraud in the household goods sector, but its enforcement provisions and registration requirements would apply to all freight carriers and brokers that register with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
If passed, the bill would restore and codify FMCSA’s explicit authority to assess civil penalties for unauthorized brokerage activities – after a 2019 legal ruling had stripped that power away. FMCSA would be able to bypass the Department of Justice for many types of fines, enabling faster action against double-brokering – which scams carriers out of their freight payment – and other unauthorized brokerage schemes.
Carriers and brokers would be required to provide to FMCSA a valid physical business address – not a P.O. box – before receiving operating authority.
In addition, new entrants applying for operating authority would have to disclose any common ownership, management, or even “familial relationships” with other motor carriers or brokers from the previous three years, a measure targeting operators that attempt to reincarnate a businesses under new names to escape safety records or debt.
The legislation also would allow states to keep the penalties they collect for enforcing federal statutes, which could bolster local enforcement against rogue operators.
A companion bill in the House received wide industry support when it was introduced in January 2025, including from the Transportation Intermediaries Association, the American Trucking Associations, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, and the National Association of Small Trucking Companies, as well as from the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, the Institute for Safer Trucking, and Road Safe America.
Cargo theft bill teed for vote
The Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (CORCA), a House bill that attacks freight fraud and theft from a criminal justice angle, has also been cleared for a vote by the full chamber.
The legislation, which has bipartisan support and over 200 co-sponsors, directs the creation of a National Coordination Center under the Department of Homeland Security to align federal, state, and local law enforcement.
Unlike the Household Goods Shipping Consumer Protection Act, where FMCSA takes the lead, CORCA brings FMCSA in as a partner to help track and investigate cargo theft trends.
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