[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 534 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 534


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 26, 2017

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
   To require the Secretary of State to take such actions as may be 
 necessary for the United States to rejoin the Bureau of International 
                  Expositions, 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 ``U.S. Wants to Compete for a World 
Expo Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Bureau of International Expositions (BIE) is the 
        organization responsible for governing World Fairs and 
        International Expositions.
            (2) Section 1(a) of Public Law 91-269 (22 U.S.C. 2801(a)) 
        found that ``international expositions * * * have a significant 
        impact on the economic growth of the region surrounding the 
        exposition and * * * are important instruments of national 
        policy''.
            (3) The United States has not been an active member of the 
        BIE since 2001.
            (4) State and local governments and private entities in the 
        United States have continued to participate in international 
        expositions held in foreign countries as a means of promoting 
        United States exports and creating jobs, but face significantly 
        higher costs for such participation because the United States 
        is not an active member.
            (5) State and local governments and private entities in the 
        United States have expressed interest in an international 
        exposition being hosted in the United States, but the bid of a 
        United States city, region, or State to host an international 
        exposition is unlikely to be successful if the United States is 
        not a member of the BIE.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the United States should rejoin the BIE immediately to 
        promote domestic job creation, global branding, and tourism to 
        the United States;
            (2) the Secretary of State, in partnership with the 
        Secretary of Commerce, State and local governments, and private 
        and non-profit entities, should take all necessary steps to 
        facilitate the timely submission of a request to rejoin the 
        BIE; and
            (3) funding for the participation of the United States in 
        international expositions or other events facilitated by the 
        BIE should continue to be privately solicited and sourced, in 
        accordance with existing law.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of State is authorized to take such 
actions as the Secretary determines necessary for the United States to 
rejoin and maintain membership in the BIE.
    (b) Authorization to Accept Private Contributions.--In addition to 
funds otherwise available to the Secretary to carry out this section, 
the Secretary is authorized to accept contributions for such purpose.
    (c) Notification.--The Secretary of State shall notify the 
Committees on Foreign Affairs and Appropriations of the House of 
Representatives and the Committees on Foreign Relations and 
Appropriations of the Senate upon taking any action under subsection 
(a).

SEC. 5. CONTINUATION OF PROHIBITION ON USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS FOR WORLD'S 
              FAIR PAVILIONS AND EXHIBITS.

    Nothing in this Act may be construed to authorize any obligation or 
expenditure prohibited by section 204 of the Admiral James W. Nance and 
Meg Donovan Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2000 and 
2001 (22 U.S.C. 2452b) (relating to limitations on the obligation or 
expenditure of funds by the Department of State for a United States 
pavilion or exhibit at an international exposition or world's fair 
registered by the BIE).

            Passed the House of Representatives April 25, 2017.

            Attest:

                                                 KAREN L. HAAS,

                                                                 Clerk.