[Stay on top of transportation news: Get TTNews in your inbox.]
DHS Stalemate Settled; Freight Policy Priorities Advance
Trump Signs Funding Bill; ATA Pushes Cargo Theft Prevention in Congress
| Updated:
Key Takeaways:
- The Department of Homeland Security had been partially shut down since mid-February due to unresolved partisan funding disputes.
- DHS oversees agencies affecting freight and emergency response, including TSA, FEMA and the U.S. Coast Guard.
- Industry groups are urging lawmakers to address cargo theft and organized retail crime as transportation legislation advances.
WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders finally resolved a funding lapse at the Department of Homeland Security as stakeholders promote their policy priorities during a busy legislative spring agenda.
President Donald Trump has signed legislation funding much of the Department of Homeland Security, but not its immigration enforcement operations, ending the longest agency shutdown in history, the Associated Press reported April 30.
Partisan disagreements had stalled action as the DHS shutdown stretched into its third month. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) largely blamed Democrats for the impasse. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) recently placed blame on House Republicans.
It’s time for House Republicans to pass the unanimous, bipartisan Senate bill to fund DHS (except ICE + Border Patrol) NOW. pic.twitter.com/G41Jz0Jsda
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) April 29, 2026
DHS oversees several agencies with significant implications for freight transportation and emergency response, including the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Coast Guard.
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.) had urged colleagues to reach a funding agreement, citing the Coast Guard’s continued operations amid the lapse.
“We owe it to our Coasties, who continue to stand watch, to secure a deal to fund DHS, which the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is committed to doing,” Graves said April 28.
We’ve got to get DHS funded and TSA paid. The left needs to quit prioritizing illegal immigrants over American’s safety. Great to join @MariaBartiromo this morning to discuss. pic.twitter.com/5F3Khf5lrw — Rep. Sam Graves (@RepSamGraves) March 25, 2026
The DHS shutdown began in mid-February, and funding negotiations had dominated the agenda on Capitol Hill as lawmakers eye consideration of transportation and foreign policy measures.
Graves’ panel is preparing to take up a long-anticipated, multiyear surface transportation reauthorization bill before Memorial Day. The measure is expected to establish funding levels and policy directives for large-scale, multimodal freight and commuter projects while addressing emerging technologies and workforce needs.
Industry stakeholders have been pressing lawmakers to include provisions aimed at improving freight efficiency and strengthening supply chain security.
American Trucking Associations has endorsed the bipartisan Combating Organized Retail Crime Act, which would enhance law enforcement efforts to disrupt organized crime operations through improved coordination and enforcement tools. The bill advanced unanimously from the House Judiciary Committee and is expected to be considered in the chamber in the coming weeks.
Image
ATA President Chris Spear speaks to the House Judiciary Committee on cargo theft in the trucking industry during a hearing in December. (American Trucking Associations)
ATA also has joined a diverse coalition of freight, retail and manufacturing groups asking the Department of Justice to implement congressionally mandated measures to address a surge in cargo theft and organized retail crime. According to the American Transportation Research Institute, cargo theft costs the trucking industry more than $18 million per day.
“As organized retail crime and supply chain theft grow in scope and complexity, their impacts extend well beyond financial loss, harming retailers, consumers, employees and communities,” ATA wrote in a letter April 28 to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, warning that increasingly violent tactics are putting drivers, frontline workers and communities in danger. The letter was co-signed by the National Retail Federation, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other trade groups.
The Combating Organized Retail Crime Act would establish a multiagency unit charged with developing a national strategy to dismantle organized retail theft operations.
ATA in Congress: Cargo Theft & CORCA Explained
This holiday season, organized crime rings are targeting the supply chains that deliver our gifts and groceries. At a @JudiciaryGOP @HouseJudiciary Subcommittee hearing, ATA President & CEO Chris Spear called on Congress to… pic.twitter.com/WLn3OaBvSL — American Trucking (@TRUCKINGdotORG) December 29, 2025
ATA has been among the most vocal supporters of the legislation on Capitol Hill. In December, ATA President Chris Spear told the House Judiciary Committee that stronger federal involvement is needed to address what the industry views as a growing threat to supply chains and public safety.
“As the transportation mode entrusted with moving nearly three-quarters of the nation’s freight, trucking has become a top target for organized crime rings, including transnational organizations,” Spear said soon after the bill’s approval in committee. “These brazen criminals rob our industry of millions of dollars every day, raising costs for consumers and putting truck drivers at risk in the process.”
The House version of the surface transportation reauthorization is expected to be introduced in mid-May, with the Senate likely to take up its measure later this summer. Lawmakers face a late September deadline tied to the authorization of federal transportation programs.
