[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1623 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1623

     To establish a National Tourism Board and a National Tourism 
                 Organization, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 15, 1996

  Mr. Warner introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To establish a National Tourism Board and a National Tourism 
                 Organization, 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 ``Travel and Tourism Partnership Act 
of 1996''.

                    TITLE I--NATIONAL TOURISM BOARD

SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL TOURISM BOARD.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established the National Tourism Board 
(hereafter in this title referred to as the ``Board'').
    (b) Membership.--
            (1) Composition.--The Board shall be composed of 36 
        members, appointed by the President, in consultation with the 
        appropriate representatives of the travel and tourism industry. 
        The members appointed under this subsection shall include--
                    (A) 1 member appointed to serve as the Chairperson 
                of the Board, by and with the advice and consent of the 
                Senate;
                    (B) 1 member appointed from nominations submitted 
                by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;
                    (C) 1 member appointed from nominations submitted 
                by the President pro tempore of the Senate;
                    (D) 6 members appointed from among employees of 
                Federal and State agencies related to travel and 
                tourism; and
                    (E) 27 members representing the private sector and 
                a wide range of travel and tourism industries.
            (2) Accountability of chairperson.--The Chairperson shall 
        be accountable to the President and the Congress for the 
        operations of the Board.
    (c) Terms.--
            (1) In general.--Each member of the Board (including the 
        Chairperson) shall be appointed for a term of 3 years, except 
        as provided in paragraph (2).
            (2) Terms of initial members.--As determined by the 
        President as of the date of the first appointments, of the 
        members first appointed--
                    (A) 12 members shall be appointed for a term of 1 
                year;
                    (B) 12 members shall be appointed for a term of 2 
                years; and
                    (C) 12 members (including the Chairperson) shall be 
                appointed for a term of 3 years.
            (3) Vacancies.--Any vacancy in the Board shall not affect 
        its powers, but shall be filled in the same manner as the 
        original appointment.
    (d) Initial Meeting.--Not later than 30 days after the date on 
which all members of the Board have been appointed, the Board shall 
hold its first meeting.
    (e) Meetings.--The Board shall meet at the call of the Chairperson, 
but not less frequently than semiannually. The Board shall provide 
appropriate notice of each meeting to the general public. The meetings 
of the Board shall be open to the general public.
    (f) Treatment of Board.--
            (1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        law, the Board shall not be considered to be a Federal agency 
        for purposes of the civil service laws and any other provision 
        of Federal law governing the operation of Federal agencies, 
        including personnel or budgetary matters relating to Federal 
        agencies.
            (2) Exemption from the federal advisory committee act.--The 
        Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply 
        to the Board.

SEC. 102. DUTIES OF THE BOARD.

    (a) Public-Private Partnership.--The Board shall--
            (1) facilitate the development and use of a public-private 
        partnership for travel and tourism policymaking;
            (2) develop a national travel and tourism strategy for 
        increasing tourism to and within the United States;
            (3) advise the President, the Congress, and members of the 
        travel and tourism industry concerning--
                    (A) the implementation of the national strategy 
                referred to in paragraph (2); and
                    (B) other matters that affect travel and tourism; 
                and
            (4) provide guidance to the National Tourism Organization 
        established under section 201.
    (b) Recommendations; Testimony.--The Board--
            (1) shall develop such recommendations on the issues 
        referred to in subsection (a)(3) as the Board considers to be 
        appropriate; and
            (2) may present testimony concerning those issues to the 
        Congress and to State legislatures.
    (c)  Reports.--To carry out its duties, the Board may submit to the 
President and the Congress such reports concerning the findings and 
determinations of the Board as the Board determines to be appropriate.

SEC. 103. POWERS OF THE BOARD.

    (a) Information From Federal Agencies.--The Board may secure 
directly from any Federal department or agency such information as the 
Board considers necessary to carry out the duties of the Board. Upon 
request of the Chairperson of the Board, the head of a Federal 
department or agency shall furnish that information to the Board.
    (b) Contributions.--The Board may accept, use, and dispose of gifts 
or donations of funds, services, or property necessary to carry out its 
duties. The Board may not accept any Federal financial assistance or 
financial assistance from any other government.

SEC. 104. BOARD PERSONNEL MATTERS.

    (a) Compensation of Members.--Each member of the Board who is not 
an officer or employee of the Federal Government shall serve without 
compensation, except for travel expenses, as described in subsection 
(b). Each member of the Board who is an officer or employee of the 
Federal Government shall not receive any compensation in addition to 
that received for that member's services as an officer or employee of 
the United States.
    (b) Travel Expenses.--Subject to the availability of funds from 
financial contributions under section 103(b), the members of the Board 
may be allowed travel expenses, while away from their homes or regular 
places of business in the performance of services for the Board.
    (c) Staff.--
            (1) In general.--The Chairperson of the Board may appoint 
        and terminate an executive director and such other additional 
        personnel as may be necessary to enable the Board to perform 
        its duties.
            (2) Compensation.--The Chairperson of the Board may fix the 
        compensation of the executive director and other personnel.
            (3) Support services.--At the request of the Chairperson of 
        the Board, the Chairperson of the Board of the National Tourism 
        Organization established under section 201 may provide clerical 
        and support services to the National Tourism Board established 
        under this title.

                TITLE II--NATIONAL TOURISM ORGANIZATION

SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL TOURISM ORGANIZATION.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Establishment.--The President shall, in accordance with 
        this section, provide for the establishment of a nonprofit 
        corporation, to be known as the National Tourism Organization 
        (hereafter in this title referred to as the ``Organization''). 
        The Organization shall not be an agency or establishment of the 
        United States Government, but shall be operated in a manner 
        consistent with the provisions of this section and any other 
        applicable laws.
            (2) Purposes.--The purposes of the Organization are--
                    (A) to work toward increasing the market share of 
                the United States in global tourism;
                    (B) to implement the strategy developed under 
                section 102(a)(2);
                    (C) to operate travel and tourism promotion 
                programs overseas in partnership with the travel and 
                tourism industry of the United States;
                    (D) to establish a travel-tourism data bank and, 
                through that data bank, collect and disseminate 
                international market data;
                    (E) to conduct market research necessary for the 
                effective promotion of the travel and tourism market; 
                and
                    (F) to promote United States travel and tourism at 
                international trade shows.
    (b) Organization Board of Directors.--The Organization shall have a 
Board of Directors (hereafter in this title referred to as the 
``Organization Board''). The Organization Board shall consist of 45 
members, appointed by the President. The Organization Board shall be 
accountable to the National Tourism Board established under title I for 
the operations of the Organization.
    (c) Incorporators.--The members of the initial Organization Board 
shall--
            (1) serve as incorporators; and
            (2) take any action that is necessary to establish the 
        Organization as a corporation under applicable law.
    (d) Term of Office.--The term of office of each member of the 
Organization Board who is appointed by the President shall be 3 years, 
except that any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to 
the expiration of the term for which the predecessor of that member was 
appointed shall be appointed for the remainder of that term.
    (e) Vacancies.--Any vacancy in the Organization Board shall not 
affect its power, but shall be filled in the same manner as the 
original appointment.
    (f) Chairperson.--The Organization Board shall be headed by a 
chairperson, who shall be selected by the Organization Board, from 
among the members of the Organization Board.
    (g) Status of Members.--Members of the Organization Board shall 
not, by reason of membership in the Organization Board, be considered 
to be officers or employees of the United States.
    (h) Officers; Staff.--
            (1) Officers.--The Organization shall have a president, and 
        such other officers as may be named and appointed by the 
        Organization Board for terms and at rates of compensation fixed 
        by the Organization Board. The president shall serve as a 
        member of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee 
        established under section 2312 of the Export Enhancement Act of 
        1988 (15 U.S.C. 4727). The Organization Board may prescribe the 
        duties of the officers. All officers of the Organization shall 
        serve at the pleasure of the Organization Board.
            (2) Staff.--The Organization Board shall hire the staff 
        necessary to carry out the purposes of the Organization and fix 
        the compensation of that staff.
    (i) Financing.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
incorporation of the Organization, the appropriate officers of the 
Organization shall cooperate with the Organization Board to develop a 
recommendation for the long-term financing of the Organization.

SEC. 202. COOPERATION BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

    (a) Technical Assistance.--Upon request of the appropriate officer 
of the Organization or the Organization Board, the head of a Federal 
agency shall provide technical assistance to assist the Organization in 
carrying out its purposes, as specified in section 201(a)(2).
    (b) Overseas Posts.--The head of each Federal agency that maintains 
offices in a foreign country shall, as appropriate, incorporate in the 
programs and activities carried out by those offices, programs and 
activities that implement the recommendations of the National Tourism 
Board established under section 101 and the Organization.

SEC. 203. TRADE PROMOTION COORDINATING COMMITTEE.

    Section 2312 of the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4727) 
is amended--
            (1) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph 
                (4);
                    (B) by striking the period at the end of paragraph 
                (5) and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraph:
            ``(6) reflect recommendations made by the National Tourism 
        Board established under the Travel and Tourism Partnership Act 
        of 1996.''; and
            (2) in subsection (d)(1)--
                    (A) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph 
                (L);
                    (B) by redesignating subparagraph (M) as 
                subparagraph (N); and
                    (C) by inserting after subparagraph (L) the 
                following:
                    ``(M) the president of the National Tourism 
                Organization established under the Travel and Tourism 
                Partnership Act of 1996; and''.
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