[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4676 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4676

 To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a competitive grant 
             program to promote domestic regional tourism.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 24, 2010

   Mr. Farr introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a competitive grant 
             program to promote domestic regional tourism.

    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 Regional Investment 
Partnership Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The importance of travel and tourism cannot be 
        overstated: travel and tourism employs America.
            (2) Approximately 8,300,000 domestic jobs depend on the 
        travel and tourism industry.
            (3) The United States travel and tourism industry is worth 
        more than $691,000,000,000 annually in direct spending, of 
        which more than 85 percent is the result of domestic travel. 
        Including indirect spending, such industry tops 
        $1,200,000,000,000 in spending.
            (4) The travel and tourism industry accounts for 2.6 
        percent of GDP, nearly four times that of the automotive 
        industry.
            (5) Domestic employment related to the travel and tourism 
        industry cannot be outsourced to other countries.
            (6) The current economic downturn has created the most 
        difficult economic environment for the domestic travel and 
        tourism industry since the period following the terrorist 
        attacks of September 11, 2001.
            (7) The travel and tourism industry has contracted by 
        nearly $130,000,000,000 in 2009 alone. The domestic tourism 
        economy has fallen by nearly 4.5 percent during 2009, twice the 
        rate of the overall economy of the United States.
            (8) Domestic spending on travel and tourism has been in 
        decline since the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2008, while 
        employment in the travel and tourism industry has been falling 
        since the second quarter of such year.
            (9) Public-private partnerships have been underutilized in 
        the promotion of travel and tourism and are a dynamic tool in 
        creating new domestic tourism markets and promoting domestic 
        regional tourism growth.

SEC. 3. DOMESTIC REGIONAL TOURISM GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment by Secretary of Commerce.--The Secretary of 
Commerce shall establish a competitive grant program, administered by 
the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries, to promote domestic 
regional tourism growth and new domestic tourism market creation.
    (b) Range of Grant Monetary Amounts.--No grant shall be less than 
$100,000 or more than $1,000,000.
    (c) Grantee Eligibility Requirements.--
            (1) Eligible entities.--The following entities are eligible 
        for a grant under this section for the purposes of promoting 
        domestic regional tourism growth and new domestic tourism 
        market creation:
                    (A) A Convention and Visitors Bureau.
                    (B) A partnership between a State or local 
                government and a local tourism entities.
            (2) Application process.--
                    (A) Submission.--An eligible entity seeking a grant 
                under this section shall submit to the Secretary an 
                application at such time, in such form, and with such 
                information and assurances as the Secretary may 
                require.
                    (B) Contents.--Such application shall include--
                            (i) a description of the tourist promotion 
                        activities that the grant will fund; and
                            (ii) in the case of a partnership between a 
                        State or local government and local tourism 
                        entities--
                                    (I) the specific tourist entities 
                                that such government has partnered with 
                                in order promote tourism within the 
                                relevant domestic region; and
                                    (II) the details of the partnership 
                                and specific information as to how such 
                                partnership will increase regional 
                                tourism.
    (d) Matching Requirement.--
            (1) Non-federal funds.--As a condition of receipt of a 
        grant under this section, the grant recipient shall provide, 
        either directly or through donations from public or private 
        entities, non-Federal matching funds, in cash or in-kind, in an 
        amount equal to the amount of the grant.
            (2) Special rule for in-kind donations.--Of the amount of 
        non-Federal matching funds required under paragraph (1), not 
        more than 25 percent shall be provided through in-kind 
        contributions.
    (e) Reports.--Not later than 6 months after the end of each fiscal 
year in which grants were awarded by the Secretary under this section, 
the Secretary shall submit a report to Congress on--
            (1) travel-generated expenditures;
            (2) travel-generated tax receipts; and
            (3) travel-generated employment.
    (f) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Commerce.
            (2) Local tourist entity.--The term ``local tourist 
        entity'' means any public or private sector business engaged in 
        tourism-related activities.
    (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated $10,000,000 for each of the first 5 fiscal years that 
begin after the date of enactment of this section for grants under this 
section, and such amounts appropriated shall remain available until 
expended.
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