The Cargo Security Innovation Act creates a pilot program run by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to test new technologies that help prevent cargo theft. Cargo theft—the stealing of goods in transit or at transportation hubs—costs businesses and consumers billions of dollars annually. This bill directs the TSA to set up test sites at up to 6 major transportation hubs or rail yards across the country (with no more than one per state) where they can try out advanced security technologies and see what actually works to stop thieves.

The program works by giving grants to groups called "eligible consortiums"—partnerships made up of transportation companies (trucking firms, railroads, shipping companies, airlines), local police, and rail police—to deploy and test these new security technologies. The money can be used to buy and install the technology, train workers, connect systems to federal databases, and evaluate how well everything works. Importantly, the bill prohibits using any technology made by foreign companies that are considered security concerns to the U.S. government.

Each test site will run for 3 years, and the TSA must report to Congress within 2 years of starting about what technologies they're testing, whether they actually reduce theft, what they learned, and whether the program should be expanded. After all the pilot sites wrap up, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) will do an independent review to evaluate the overall success of the program.