U.S. Rep. Young Kim (R-CA) recently introduced the Improving Federal Investigations of Organized Retail Crime Act (H.R. 7499), a bipartisan bill to improve how law enforcement handles organized retail crime.
According to a 2019 report by the Retail Industry Leaders Association and Buy Safe America Coalition, as much as $68.9 billion worth of products were stolen from retailers in 2019. Additionally, the report found that retail crime results in $125.7 billion in lost economic activity and over 658,000 fewer jobs that would have paid almost $39.3 billion in wages and benefits to workers. It also costs federal and state governments nearly $15 billion in personal and business tax revenues, not including the lost sales taxes.
“Businesses need a safe environment to grow their enterprises and create jobs,” Kim said. “Unfortunately, organized retail crime makes it harder for businesses to operate, hurts local economies, and worsens public safety across U.S. communities. I am proud to lead the charge to ensure the federal government is prioritizing and working with state and local law enforcement and entities to address organized retail crime and hold these criminal networks accountable, and I am grateful this can be a bipartisan effort.”
Kim’s bill would direct the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Postal Services, and other federal agencies to create a strategy and report to Congress on how they could improve coordination for federal law enforcement, increase collaboration at the state and local level with retails, retail crime associations and crime taskforces, as well as help state and local authorities, compile evidence for prosecuting organized retail crime.
In addition to being a member of the House Small Business Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Workforce Development Subcommittee, Kim is also a business owner herself.
“The rapid rise in organized retail crime in California is hurting employees, consumers, and store owners and international crime rings are contributing to this problem,” Steve McCarthy, California Retailers Association vice president of government affairs and policy, said. “The federal government has an important role to play in stopping ORC.”
Backing H.R. 7499 were several cosponsors, including U.S. Reps. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), Eric Swalwell (D-CA), Maria Salazar (R-FL), and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA).