[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2579 Introduced in House (IH)]
104th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2579
To establish the National Tourism Board and the National Tourism
Organization to promote international travel and tourism to the United
States.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 2, 1995
Mr. Roth (for himself, Mr. Skelton, Mr. Clement, Mr. Petri, Mrs.
Morella, Mr. Frazer, Mr. Gejdenson, Mrs. Lincoln, Mr. Abercrombie, Mr.
Oxley, Mrs. Vucanovich, Mr. Zeliff, Mr. Boehlert, Mr. Burton of
Indiana, Mr. Doolittle, Mr. Dixon, Mr. Roemer, Mrs. Seastrand, Mr.
McCollum, Mr. Pickett, Mr. Oberstar, and Mr. Farr of California)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on International Relations,
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 establish the National Tourism Board and the National Tourism
Organization to promote international travel and tourism to the United
States.
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 ``Travel and Tourism Partnership Act
of 1995''.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL TOURISM BOARD.
(a) Establishment.--There is established the National Tourism Board
to--
(1) utilize a private-public partnership for travel and
tourism policymaking;
(2) develop a national travel and tourism strategy for
increasing travel and tourism to and within the United States;
(3) to advise the President, the Congress, and the travel
and tourism industry on the implementation of such national
strategy and on other matters affecting travel and tourism; and
(4) to provide guidance to the National Tourism
Organization established under section 3.
(b) Composition.--The Board shall consist of 36 members appointed
by the President as follows--
(1) 27 members shall be appointed from individuals who
represent all the ranges of the travel and tourism industry;
(2) 6 members shall be appointed from State, regional, and
Federal agencies related to travel and tourism;
(3) 1 member shall be appointed from the Senate and 1
member shall be appointed from the House of Representatives;
and
(4) a chairman shall be appointed by and with the advice of
the Senate.
In making appointments to the Board, the President shall take into
account recommendations made by organizations representing the travel
and tourism industry. The chairman shall be accountable to the
President and the Congress for the operations of the Board.
(c) Terms.--The members and chairman of the Board shall be
appointed for terms of 3 years, except that of the members first
appointed--
(1) 12 members shall be appointed for a term of 1 year;
(2) 12 members shall be appointed for a term of 2 years;
and
(3) 11 members and the chairman shall be appointed for a
term of 3 years,
as determined by the President as of the date of the first
appointments. A member may be reappointed to serve on the Board.
(d) Authority.--
(1) Non-federal status.--The Board is not a Federal agency
and is not subject to any Federal law, including the Federal
Advisory Commission Act and personnel and budget laws.
(2) Executive director.--The chairman of the Board may
appoint an executive director and establish the compensation
and the duties of the executive director.
(3) Meetings.--The Board shall meet at least semi-annually.
The meetings shall be open to the public and appropriate notice
shall be given for the meeting dates.
(4) Compensation and expenses.--The chairman and members of
the Board shall serve without compensation but may be
compensated for expenses incurred in carrying out the duties of
the Board.
(5) Testimony, reports, and support.--The Board may present
testimony to the Congress and to legislatures of the States and
issue reports on its findings and recommendations.
(6) Contributions.--The Board may accept financial
contributions from the private sector to cover the expenses of
the Board.
SEC. 3. NATIONAL TOURISM ORGANIZATION.
(a) Establishment.--There is established with a Federal charter the
National Tourism Organization. The Organization shall be a non-for-
profit organization. The Organization is not a Federal agency and shall
not be subject to any Federal law.
(b) Duties.--The Organization shall--
(1) seek to, and work for, an increase in the share of the
United States in the global tourism market;
(2) implement the national travel and tourism strategy
developed by the National Tourism Board under section 2(a)(2);
(3) operate travel and tourism promotion programs outside
the United States in partnership with the travel and tourism
industry in the United States;
(4) conduct market research necessary for effective
promotion of the travel and tourism market;
(5) establish a Travel-Tourism Data Bank, collect
international market data for the Bank, and disseminate such
data to the travel and tourism industry in the United States;
and
(6) promote United States travel and tourism at
international trade shows.
(c) Board of Directors.--The Organization shall be governed by a
Board of Directors (hereinafter in this section ``Board''), which shall
have 45 members. The Board shall be accountable to the National Tourism
Board for the operations of the Organization. The President shall
appoint the initial members of the Board, taking into account
recommendations made by organizations representing the travel and
tourism industry so that all the ranges of the travel and tourism
industry are represented on the Board. By majority vote, members of the
Board shall select one member to be chairman and shall adopt bylaws,
policies and procedures to govern the duties of the chairman, the term
of service of members of the Board, the functioning of the Board and
the operations of the Organization. The Board shall appoint new members
to fill any vacancy on the Board.
(d) Staff.--The Board shall appoint a president of the Organization
and such other staff as the Board determines is necessary. The Board
shall establish the duties of the staff and set the compensation of the
staff. The president of the Organization shall serve as a member of the
Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee.
(e) Funding.--The Organization may accept financial contributions.
Within one year of the date of the enactment of this Act, the Board
shall develop a plan for long-term financing and, if necessary, make
recommendations to the Congress and the President for legislation.
SEC. 4. UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT COOPERATION.
(a) Secretary of State.--The Secretary of State shall--
(1) place a priority on implementing recommendations by the
National Tourism Board; and
(2) cooperate with the National Tourism Organization in
carrying out its duties.
(b) Director of the United States Information Agency.--The Director
of the United States Information Agency shall--
(1) place a priority on implementing recommendations by the
National Tourism Board; and
(2) cooperate with the National Tourism Organization in
carrying out its duties.
SEC. 5. TRANSITION FROM THE UNITED STATES TRAVEL AND TOURISM
ADMINISTRATION.
(a) Staff.--The President may transfer up to 25 members of the
staff of the United States Travel and Tourism Administration
established under section 301 of the International Travel Act of 1961
(22 U.S.C. 2124) to the Foreign Service or the Commercial Service for 2
years. Such staff members shall assist the Organization in its start-up
activities.
(b) Files and Other Resources.--The files and other non-financial
resources of the United States Travel and Tourism Administration are
transferred to the United States Foreign and Commercial Service.
SEC. 6. TRADE PROMOTION COORDINATING COMMITTEE.
Section 2312 of the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4727)
is amended--
(1) in subsection (c) by adding at the end thereof:
``(6) reflect recommendations by the National Tourism
Board.''
and
(2) in paragraph (d)(1) by striking ``and'' in ``(L)'', by
redesignating ``(M)'' as ``(N)'', and by inserting the
following:
``(M) the President of the National Tourism
Organization; and''.
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act, the term ``Organization'' means the
National Tourism Organization established under section 3.
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