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Last week, Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), who chairs the House Judiciary Committee visited ReMA Member Gerdau Steel in Lynchburg, Virginia to learn more about the scrap recycling industry and see firsthand how the scrap recycling industry is helping combat metals theft.  At the beginning of his tour, Chairman Goodlatte witnessed several scrap transactions and the accompanying recordkeeping suggesting this information would be very helpful to local law enforcement.  He also queried the Gerdau staff about the verification and measurement of each transaction recognizing the scrutiny the scale operator was giving to each transaction.  Congressman Goodlatte was briefed on how Gerdau assisted local law enforcement and used ISRI’s ScrapTheftAlert.com to identify stolen materials and help catch metals thieves.  Congressman Goodlatte questioned why a federal law would be necessary given the already detailed purchase and recordkeeping requirements under state law.  He pointed out that he initiated a bi-partisan task force to provide recommendations concerning the over-federal criminalization of many crimes.  Subsequently, ReMA provided a brief explanation on its new Law Enforcement Advisory Council and how this group of law enforcement and prosecutors could help develop better training to help catch and prosecute thieves.  For more information about scheduling a Congressional tour of your scrapyard or about the federal metal theft legislation, please contact Billy Johnson.