September 30, 2026 / By erika deblasi / Logistic / 0 Comments
ADVOCATING FOR OUR INDUSTRY ON CAPITOL HILL
By Mark Fiorini, President of Westgate Global Logistics
In September I returned to Washington, D.C. to lead Team PA at the 2026 3PL Policy Forum, joined by fellow TIA members from ARL Logistics, E3 Group, Evans Delivery Company and West Motor. It was a busy and productive day on the Hill. We held six meetings, sitting down with the offices of Congressman Ryan Mackenzie (PA-7) , Senator Dave McCormick and Representatives Rob Bresnahan (PA-8), Chris Deluzio (PA-17) and Mike Kelly (PA-16), as well as Representative Robert Garcia (CA-42), who serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee alongside Reps. Bresnahan and Deluzio. In each meeting, we explained what freight brokers do, how federal policy shapes our daily operations, and what practical solutions would strengthen safety and security across the supply chain.
We weren’t alone. More than 130 TIA members held over 160 meetings with congressional offices from 34 states, which made this one of the most successful Policy Forums to date. The event even caught the attention of the Beltway press, earning a mention in Politico’s Influence newsletter.
Every meeting came back to one simple point: brokers want to do the right thing, and we need clear, consistent rules to do it. A single federal standard for selecting safe carriers, real consequences for the organized crime rings stealing freight, and regulations that reflect how our industry actually works today aren’t abstract policy debates for us. They affect our customers, our carriers and our team every single day.
This year we focused on three priorities: a uniform federal standard for carrier selection, combating organized cargo theft, and modernizing outdated broker regulations.
1. Establishing a Uniform Standard for Carrier Selection
H.R. 5337 – The Motor Carrier Safety Selection Standard Act
As I wrote in July, the Supreme Court’s ruling in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport earlier this year was a major disappointment for our industry. The decision created a patchwork of litigation-driven expectations, leaving brokers and shippers to guess at what counts as a “safe” carrier choice. Meanwhile, the data needed to evaluate a carrier’s safety, such as driver records and maintenance history, remains out of our reach.
The Motor Carrier Safety Selection Standard Act would replace that uncertainty with a clear national framework grounded in FMCSA’s safety authority. Key provisions include:
- Requiring brokers and shippers to contract only with motor carriers that are registered with FMCSA, hold valid operating authority and meet federal insurance requirements.
- Directing FMCSA to create a public-facing website where brokers and shippers can verify that a carrier meets those federal baseline standards.
- Reaffirming FMCSA’s authority to determine carrier fitness, so selection decisions are measured against verifiable federal requirements rather than conflicting state-law theories or hindsight.
On a parallel track, TIA has petitioned FMCSA to establish a uniform federal standard for carrier selection and publish a High-Risk Motor Carrier List that would give brokers better information when choosing carriers.
2. Combating Organized Cargo Theft
1404 / H.R. 2853 – The Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (CORCA)
Cargo theft continues to climb, costing the U.S. supply chain an estimated $35 billion every year. According to TIA’s State of Fraud in the Industry report, cargo theft incidents have jumped by roughly 1,500% since 2021. These are not isolated crimes. Sophisticated criminal networks are increasingly targeting retail, logistics and transportation, and those losses ultimately show up in the prices consumers pay for everything from groceries to electronics.
As we saw last year, this is an issue that draws support from both sides of the aisle. CORCA would:
- Expand federal authority to prosecute aggregated organized retail and cargo theft.
- Create a Department of Homeland Security–led center to coordinate data sharing, intelligence analysis and joint enforcement.
- Strengthen penalties for organized theft and fraudulent transport of goods, particularly across state lines and international borders.
- Improve coordination among FMCSA, law enforcement, retailers and transportation providers to prevent theft and disrupt the resale of stolen goods.
3. Modernizing Outdated Broker Regulations
The Broker Modernization Act
Some of the rules governing freight brokers were written for a very different industry. One regulation dating back to the early 1980s — before trucking deregulation, when brokers largely functioned as carrier agents — still gives motor carriers the right to inspect broker transaction records, including visibility into broker margins.
That rule made sense when rates were set and regulated by the federal government. Today, brokers are independent businesses that negotiate separately with shippers and carriers, often under strict confidentiality agreements, and carriers have real-time pricing at their fingertips through digital tools and load boards. The Broker Modernization Act would repeal this outdated “rate intrusion” rule, protect proprietary business information and support fair competition. The bill also clarifies the role of dispatch services, many of which operate like brokerages without the required registration or bond, so everyone in the market plays by the same rules.
Why Showing Up Matters
Seventy percent of TIA’s 1,800 member companies are small, family-owned businesses, and Westgate has been one of them since 1983. Lawmakers hear from advocates in every industry, but they rarely hear directly from constituents about how a specific bill will affect the business down the road in their own district. That personal connection is what makes the Policy Forum so effective.
The work doesn’t end when we leave Washington. We’re following up with every office we met, and we’d welcome the chance to host our representatives in Bethlehem so they can see firsthand how a freight brokerage keeps goods moving.
If you work in the 3PL industry, I encourage you to get involved. Join TIA, contribute to the TIA PAC, and use TIA’s Action Center to contact your representatives between now and next year’s Forum. If we aren’t the ones speaking up for our industry, who will?
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.