mr. chairman , i thank the distinguished chairman of the full committee for yielding me this time , and i thank the gentleman from north carolina ( mr. coble ) xz4000760 for his help here . 
i rise , obviously , in support of the coble-schiff-forbes amendment and in favor of the underlying bill . 
this amendment i think is important to update and improve our seaport security , which obviously is very crucial to protecting america . 
it also includes three provisions from my bill , h.r. 785 , the cargo theft bill ; and it is an issue that i have been concerned about for over 2 years , so i am very pleased that it is part of the bill . 
probably the most important thing with this amendment that we are talking about this evening that it accomplishes is that it requires that cargo theft reports be reflected as a separate category in the uniform crime reporting system , or the ucr , the data collection system that is used by the fbi today , currently , no such category exists in the ucr , which results in ambiguous data and an inability to track and monitor trends . 
so i am very pleased that the committee on the judiciary incorporated that provision and also raised criminal penalties for cargo theft , which is included in this bill . 
as it now stands , mr. chairman , punishment for cargo theft is a relative slap on the wrist . 
throw in the fact that cargo thieves are tough to catch , and what we have here is a low-risk , high-reward crime that easily entices potential criminals . 
the sentencing enhancement proposed in this amendment will go a long way in making a career in cargo theft less attractive . 
so the authors of this amendment are to be commended . 
last , this amendment includes a provision requiring the attorney general to mandate the reporting of cargo thefts and to create a database containing this information , which will provide a valuable source of information and will allow states and local law enforcement officials to coordinate reports of cargo theft . 
this information could then be used to help fight this theft in everyday law enforcement . 
mr. chairman , this is a commonsense cargo theft provision , along with efforts to strengthen our seaport security , vitally effective tools in our war on terrorism . 
i want to thank my colleagues , particularly my good friend , the gentleman from north carolina ( mr. coble ) xz4000760 , for their help . 
i rise today in support of the coble/schiff/forbes amendment , and in favor of the underlying bill . 
this amendment proposes to update and improve our seaport security , which is a crucial element to protecting america . 
it also includes three critical provisions from my bill h.r. 785 regarding cargo theft , an issue that i have been concerned about for some time now . 
cargo theft is a problem that has plagued our country for some 30 years , but continues unabated today . 
it is a problem that travels our highways , threatens our interstate commerce and undermines our homeland security . 
it is a problem that affects our entire country , costs tens of billions of dollars each year , and demands a federal response . 
there is no doubt that stopping cargo theft and smuggling is a national security issue . 
we know that terrorists can make a lot of money stealing and selling cargo , not to mention the fact that terrorists have a proven record of using trucks to either smuggle weapons of mass destruction or as an instrument of delivery . 
many of the industries involved in delivering cargo : trucking , shipping , and businesses -- are genuinely concerned about how security gaps expose cargo to terrorism . 
law enforcement has the same concerns . 
these groups support this legislation . 
that 's why the three particular provisions in this amendment relating to cargo theft are so important . 
probably the most important thing this amendment accomplishes is that it requires that cargo theft reports be reflected as a separate category in the uniform crime reporting system , or the ucr , the data collection system that is used by the fbi today . 
currently , no such category exists in the ucr , resulting in ambiguous data and the inability to track and monitor trends . 
i am also pleased that the provision raising criminal penalties for cargo theft is included in this bill . 
as it now stands , mr. chairman , punishment for cargo theft is a relative slap on the wrist . 
throw in the fact that cargo thieves are tough to catch , and what we have here is a low-risk , high-reward crime that easily entices potential criminals . 
the sentencing enhancements proposed in this amendment will go a long way in making a career in cargo theft less attractive . 
and last , this amendment includes a provision requiring the attorney general to mandate the reporting of cargo thefts , and to create a database containing this information . 
this database will provide a valuable source of information that would allow state and local law enforcement officials to coordinate reports of cargo theft . 
this information could then be used to help fight this theft in everyday law enforcement . 
these common-sense cargo theft provisions , along with the efforts to strengthen our seaport security , will be vital and effective tools in our war on terror . 
mr. chairman , i thank my colleagues on the judiciary committee for including this language , and i urge this house to pass this amendment and the underlying bill . 
