On April 10, lawmakers reintroduced the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2025 in both chambers of Congress. Led by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), along with a bipartisan group of 12 senators, the bill (S. 1404) seeks to curb increasingly sophisticated retail theft. Representatives Dave Joyce (R-OH), Susie Lee (D-NV), and Dina Titus (D-NV) introduced the House version (H.R. 2853).
The legislation strengthens federal efforts by expanding money laundering statutes to include gift cards, establishing a federal coordination center within Homeland Security Investigations, and supporting multi-jurisdictional investigations. It also promotes greater data sharing to identify and disrupt retail crime networks, which often operate across state and national borders.
The National Retail Federation (NRF) praised the bill, calling it “an important next step” and urging swift passage.
Organized Retail Crime (ORC) poses a growing threat to businesses, employees, and consumers nationwide. This bill is designed to bolster collaboration between law enforcement and the retail sector while giving federal agencies more tools to pursue and prosecute high-level retail theft operations.
