[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8480 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8480
To authorize the position of Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Travel
and Tourism, to statutorily establish the United States Travel and
Tourism Advisory Board, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 1, 2020
Mr. Case (for himself, Mr. Bilirakis, Ms. Titus, Mr. Young, Ms.
Shalala, Mr. Panetta, Mr. Huffman, Mr. Cardenas, and Mr. Peters)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign
Affairs, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined
by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as
fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize the position of Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Travel
and Tourism, to statutorily establish the United States Travel and
Tourism Advisory Board, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Visit America Act''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to support the travel and tourism industry, which
produces economic impacts that are vital our national economy;
(2) to address the recent decline in the percentage of
international travelers who visit the United States; and
(3) to establish national goals for international visitors
to the United States, including--
(A) recommendations for achieving such goals and
timelines for implementing such recommendations;
(B) coordination between Federal and State
agencies;
(C) assessing the resources needed by each
Government agency to achieve such goals;
(D) setting national travel export goals; and
(E) setting national domestic travel goals.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the national goal for international visitors referred
to in section 2(3) should reach 116,000,000 per year by 2028;
(2) the national goal for travel exports referred to in
section 2(3)(D) should reach $445,000,000,000 by 2028;
(3) the travel industry is an essential part of the United
States services exports with respect to both business travel
and leisure travel;
(4) the promotion of travel and visitation by Brand USA is
vital to increasing visitation and articulating the visitation
laws of the United States; and
(5) there is an urgent need for a coordinated travel and
tourism industry response and strategy in the event of
unforeseen circumstances leading to a decline in travel or
tourism.
SEC. 4. ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR TRAVEL AND TOURISM.
Section 2(d) of the Reorganization Plan Numbered 3 of 1979 (93
Stat. 1382; 5 U.S.C. App.) is amended--
(1) by striking ``There shall be in the Department two
additional Assistant Secretaries'' and inserting ``(1) There
shall be in the Department 3 additional Assistant Secretaries,
including the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Travel and
Tourism,''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) The Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Travel and Tourism
shall--
``(A) be appointed by the President, subject to the advise
and consent of the Senate; and
``(B) report directly to the Under Secretary for
International Trade.''.
SEC. 5. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF COMMERCE FOR
TRAVEL AND TOURISM.
(a) Visitation Goals.--The Assistant Secretary of Commerce for
Travel and Tourism (referred to in this section as the ``Assistant
Secretary''), appointed pursuant to section 2(d) of the Reorganization
Plan Numbered 3 of 1979, as amended by section 4, shall--
(1) establish an annual goal for--
(A) the number of international visitors to the
United States, which shall reach 116,000,000 by 2028;
and
(B) travel exports, which shall reach
$445,000,000,000 by 2028;
(2) develop recommendations for achieving such visitation
goal;
(3) ensure coordination between--
(A) the Department of Commerce, the Department of
Homeland Security, the Department of State, the
Department of Transportation, the Department of Labor
for policy development and recommendations for
utilizing--
(B) the National Travel and Tourism Office;
(C) Brand USA;
(D) the United States Travel and Tourism Advisory
Board;
(E) the Task Force on Travel and Tourism
established by Executive Order 13597 of January 19,
2012; and
(F) travel industry partners, including public and
private destination marketing organizations and travel
and tourism suppliers;
(4) establish short-, medium-, and long-term timelines for
implementing the recommendations developed pursuant to
paragraph (2); and
(5) conduct Federal agency needs assessments to identify
the resources, statutory or regulatory changes, and private
sector engagement needed to achieve the annual visitation
goals.
(b) Visa Adjudication.--The Assistant Secretary--
(1) in coordination with the Secretary of State and the
Secretary of Homeland Security, shall provide support for
improving visitor visa processing with respect to--
(A) the maximum time for processing visas, by
visitation type;
(B) recommending regulatory and policy changes
needed to meet such visa processing goals, including
technology, processing centers, and training; and
(C) a plan for streamlining visa applications and
adjudications, including application design and data
collection procedures; and
(2) shall explore opportunities to establish pilot programs
to integrate technology into the visitor visa adjudication
process, including video conferencing and biometrics.
(c) Domestic Travel.--The Assistant Secretary shall--
(1) conduct a study to identify domestic competitiveness
with respect to--
(A) the strengths and weaknesses of the domestic
travel industry; and
(B) the external opportunities and challenges to
domestic tourism;
(2) develop recommendations and goals to support domestic
tourism, separated by business and leisure; and
(3) engage public and private stakeholders to support
domestic tourism.
(d) Workforce.--The Assistant Secretary--
(1) in coordination with the Secretary of Labor, shall
provide timely and reliable workforce data regarding workforce
and labor market needs;
(2) shall work to improve tourism industry data collection
by the Bureau of Economic Analysis; and
(3) shall provide recommendations for policy enhancements
and streamlining.
(e) Travel Export Promotion.--The Assistant Secretary, in
coordination with the Director General of the United States and Foreign
Commercial Service, shall work to promote and facilitate travel exports
abroad and ensure competitiveness by--
(1) participating in and organizing meetings, incentives,
conferences, and exhibitions;
(2) monitor visa adjudications;
(3) emphasizing rural and other destinations rich in
cultural heritage or ecological tourism, among other uniquely
American destinations; and
(4) promoting sports and recreation events and activities.
(f) Travel Security.--The Assistant Secretary shall investigate and
provide recommendations regarding utilizing and expanding existing
security programs to better meet the needs of the United States travel
and tourism industry, including--
(1) the Visa Waiver Program authorized under section 217 of
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1187);
(2) preclearance operations;
(3) the Trusted Traveler Program; and
(4) the biometric entry-exit control system required under
section 110 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant
Responsibility Act of 1996 (division C of Public Law 104-208; 8
U.S.C. 1221 note).
(g) Recovery Strategy.--
(1) Initial recovery strategy.--Not later than 60 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant
Secretary, in consultation with the United States Travel and
Tourism Advisory Board and travel industry partners, shall
develop and implement a COVID-19 pandemic recovery strategy to
assist in the United States travel and tourism industry to
quickly recover from the travel restrictions necessitated by
the pandemic.
(2) Future recovery strategies.--After assisting in the
implementation of the strategy developed pursuant to paragraph
(1), the Assistant Secretary, in consultation with the entities
referred to in such paragraph, shall develop additional
recovery strategies for the travel and tourism industry in
anticipation of other unforeseen catastrophic events that would
significantly affect the travel and tourism industry, such as
hurricanes, floods, tsunamis, tornadoes, or pandemics.
(h) Reporting Requirements.--
(1) Assistant secretary.--The Assistant Secretary shall
produce an annual forecasting report on the travel and tourism
industry, which shall include current and anticipated--
(A) domestic employment needs;
(B) international inbound volume and spending,
taking into account the lasting effects of the COVID-19
pandemic and the impact of the recovery strategy
implemented pursuant to subsection (g)(1); and
(C) domestic volume and spending, including Federal
and State public land travel and tourism data.
(2) Bureau of economic analysis.--The Director of the
Bureau of Economic Analysis should update the Travel and
Tourism Satellite Accounts quarterly, including--
(A) State level travel and tourism export data;
(B) travel and tourism workforce data for full-time
and part-time employment; and
(C) Federal and State public lands visitation and
spending data.
(3) National travel and tourism office.--The Director of
the National Travel and Tourism Office shall--
(A) report international arrival and spending data
on a regular monthly schedule; and
(B) shall include questions in the Survey of
International Air Travelers regarding wait-times,
visits to public lands, and State data, to the extent
applicable.
SEC. 6. TRAVEL AND TOURISM STRATEGY.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with
the United States Travel and Tourism Advisory Board, shall develop and
submit to Congress a 10-year travel and tourism strategy, which shall
include--
(1) the feasibility of achieving--
(A) 116,000,000 annual international visitors to
the United States by 2028; and
(B) $445,000,000,000 in travel exports by 2028;
(2) the resources needed to achieve the goals set forth in
paragraph (1); and
(3) recommendations for statutory or regulatory changes
that would be necessary to achieve such goals.
(b) Interagency Coordination.--The Secretary of Commerce shall
coordinate an interagency strategy with the Secretary of State and the
Secretary of Homeland Security for--
(1) identify impediments to reaching the goals referred to
in subsection (a)(1); and
(2) recommends solutions for overcoming such impediments.
SEC. 7. UNITED STATES TRAVEL AND TOURISM ADVISORY BOARD.
Section 3 of the Act entitled ``An Act to encourage travel in the
United States, and for other purposes'' (15 U.S.C. 1546) is amended--
(1) by amending the section heading to read as follows:
``united states travel and tourism advisory board; advisory
committee for promotion of tourist travel''; and
(2) by striking ``The Secretary of Commerce is authorized''
and inserting the following:
``(a) United States Travel and Tourism Advisory Board.--
``(1) In general.--There is established the United States
Travel and Tourism Advisory Board (referred to in this
subsection as the `Board'), which shall be composed of not more
than 32 members, who shall be appointed by the Secretary of
Commerce for 2-year terms from among companies and
organizations in the travel and tourism industry.
``(2) Executive director.--The Assistant Secretary for
Travel and Tourism shall serve as the Executive Director of the
Board.
``(3) Executive secretariat.--The National Travel and
Tourism Office of the International Trade Administration shall
serve as the Executive Secretariat for the Board.
``(4) Functions.--The Board shall comply with its Charter,
as established in 2003, including--
``(A) serving as the advisory body to the Secretary
of Commerce on matters relating to the travel and
tourism industry in the United States;
``(B) advising the Secretary of Commerce on
government policies and programs that affect the United
States travel and tourism industry;
``(C) offering counsel on current and emerging
issues;
``(D) providing a forum for discussing and
proposing solutions to problems related to the travel
and tourism industry; and
``(E) examining the domestic travel and tourism
industry as an economic engine.
``(5) Recovery strategy.--The Board shall assist the
Assistant Secretary in the development and implementation of
the COVID-19 pandemic recovery strategy required under section
5(g)(1) of the Visit America Act.
``(b) Advisory Committee for Promotion of Tourist Travel.--The
Secretary of Commerce is authorized''.
<all>
Visit America Act
#8480 | HR Congress #116
Policy Area: Commerce
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory proceduresAdvisory bodiesAviation and airportsCardiovascular and respiratory healthCompetitiveness, trade promotion, trade deficitsCongressional oversightDepartment of CommerceDisaster relief and insuranceEmergency medical services and trauma careExecutive agency funding and structureFederal officialsGovernment information and archivesGovernment studies and investigationsImmigration status and proceduresInfectious and parasitic diseasesInternet and video servicesInternet, web applications, social mediaLabor marketNatural disasters
Last Action: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. (10/1/2020)
Bill Text Source: Congress.gov
Summary and Impacts
Original Text