[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1505 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1505

   To authorize the Secretary of Commerce to establish a Travel and 
                       Tourism Promotion Bureau.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 4, 2001

    Mrs. Boxer (for herself, Mr. Allen, Mr. Inouye, and Mr. Kerry) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
           Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To authorize the Secretary of Commerce to establish a Travel and 
                       Tourism Promotion Bureau.

    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 ``Rediscover America Act of 2001''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) the revitalization of the travel and tourism industry 
        following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the 
        United States is a national economic necessity;
            (2) in light of the effect that the attacks have had on the 
        tourism industry, it is important to put measures immediately 
        into place to restore consumer confidence in travel and in the 
        economy;
            (3) safety and security in travel is of utmost importance 
        in order to restore consumer confidence in the industry;
            (4) the travel and tourism industry has a large impact on 
        the U.S. economy--adding nearly 5 percent to the GDP, 
        generating more than $578,000,000 in revenues, supporting more 
        than 17,000,000 million jobs, and providing a $14,000,000 trade 
        surplus for the country; and
            (5) more than 95 percent of the businesses in travel and 
        tourism are small to medium sized enterprises.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to assist the travel and 
tourism industry in its effort to restore consumer confidence in the 
wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.

SEC. 3. UNITED STATES TRAVEL AND TOURISM PROMOTION BUREAU.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established in the Department of 
Commerce a United States Travel and Tourism Promotion Bureau.
    (b) Purpose.--The Bureau shall--
            (1) work to help restore consumer confidence in travel in 
        the two years following the September 11, 2001, terrorist 
        attacks on the United States; and
            (2) work in conjunction with private industry and industry 
        employee representatives to design and implement public service 
        announcements and advertising to promote tourism, encouraging 
        Americans and foreign visitors to rediscover the nation's 
        treasures.
    (c) Powers.--To carry out the purposes of this Act, the Bureau 
may--
            (1) distribute funds to any travel and tourism related 
        organization or association;
            (2) enter into contracts with private organizations or 
        business;
            (3) utilize up to three existing employees of the 
        Department of Commerce, as may be assigned by the Secretary; 
        and
            (4) conduct any and all acts necessary and proper to carry 
        out the purposes of this Act.

SEC. 4. UNITED STATES TRAVEL AND TOURISM PROMOTION BUREAU ADVISORY 
              COMMITTEE.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established a United States Travel and 
Tourism Promotion Bureau Advisory Committee for the purpose of 
recommending activities to the Bureau.
    (b) Members.--Within 30 days after enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Commerce shall appoint the members of the Advisory 
Committee as follows:
            (1) 1 member representing the aviation industry;
            (2) 1 member representing airline workers;
            (3) 1 member representing the hotel industry;
            (4) 1 member representing hotel workers;
            (5) 1 member representing the restaurant industry;
            (6) 1 member representing restaurant workers;
            (7) 1 member representing amusement parks; and
            (8) 1 member of the Rural Tourism Foundation;
    (c) Chair.--The Advisory Committee shall elect a Chair for an 
initial term of 6 months. After such initial term, the Chair shall be 
elected for such term as the Committee may designate.
    (d) Vacancies.--If a vacancy occurs in the membership of the 
Committee, the Secretary of Commerce shall fill the vacancy, provided 
that the membership of the Committee remains consistent with subsection 
(b).

SEC. 5. QUARTERLY REPORTING PROVISION.

    Not less than once every 90 days, the Bureau shall report to the 
U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and the 
U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce on--
            (1) the Bureau's activities to promote travel and tourism; 
        and
            (2) the state of the travel and tourism industry.

SEC. 6. SUNSET.

    The provisions of this Act shall terminate two years after the date 
of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (A) Appropriation.--Of the funds provided in Public Law 107-38, not 
less than $60,000,000 shall be used for the purpose of carrying out 
this Act.
    (b) Availability of Funds.--The funds made available pursuant to 
subsection (a) shall be available to be expended in fiscal year 2002 
and fiscal year 2003.
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