[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6965 Reported in House (RH)]
<DOC>
Union Calendar No. 382
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6965
[Report No. 117-508, Part I]
To promote travel and tourism in the United States, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 7, 2022
Ms. Titus (for herself, Mr. Case, and Mr. Young) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, and the
Judiciary, 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
September 28, 2022
Additional sponsors: Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Phillips, Mr. Larsen of
Washington, Ms. Lofgren, Mr. O'Halleran, Ms. Norton, Mrs. Demings, Mr.
Cicilline, Mr. Horsford, Ms. Kuster, Mr. Higgins of New York, and Mr.
Soto
September 28, 2022
Reported from the Committee on Energy and Commerce with an amendment
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
September 28, 2022
Committees on Foreign Affairs and the Judiciary discharged; committed
to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and
ordered to be printed
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March
7, 2022]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To promote travel and tourism in the United States, 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 ``Visit America Act''.
SEC. 2. ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR TRAVEL AND TOURISM.
Section 2(d) of the Reorganization Plan Numbered 3 of 1979 (93
Stat. 1382; 5 U.S.C. App.) is amended--
(1) by striking ``There shall be in the Department two
additional Assistant Secretaries'' and inserting ``(1) There
shall be in the Department 3 additional Assistant Secretaries,
including the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Travel and
Tourism,''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) The Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Travel and Tourism
shall--
``(A) be appointed by the President, subject to the advice
and consent of the Senate; and
``(B) report directly to the Under Secretary for
International Trade.''.
SEC. 3. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF COMMERCE FOR
TRAVEL AND TOURISM.
(a) Visitation Goals.--The Assistant Secretary of Commerce for
Travel and Tourism (referred to in this section as the ``Assistant
Secretary''), appointed pursuant to section 2(d) of the Reorganization
Plan Numbered 3 of 1979, as amended by section 2, shall--
(1) establish an annual visitation goal, consistent with
the goals of the travel and tourism strategy developed pursuant
to section 4(1), for--
(A) the number of international visitors to the
United States; and
(B) the value of travel and tourism commerce;
(2) develop recommendations for achieving the annual goals
established pursuant to paragraph (1);
(3) ensure that travel and tourism policy is developed in
consultation with--
(A) the Tourism Policy Council;
(B) the Secretary of Homeland Security;
(C) the National Travel and Tourism Office;
(D) Brand USA;
(E) the United States Travel and Tourism Advisory
Board; and
(F) travel industry partners, including public and
private destination marketing organizations, travel and
tourism suppliers, and labor representatives from these
industries;
(4) establish short-, medium-, and long-term timelines for
implementing the recommendations developed pursuant to
paragraph (2);
(5) conduct Federal agency needs assessments, in
consultation with the Office of Management and Budget, to
identify the resources, statutory or regulatory changes, and
private sector engagement needed to achieve the annual
visitation goals; and
(6) provide assessments and recommendations to--
(A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate;
(B) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the
House of Representatives; and
(C) the public through a publicly accessible
website.
(b) Visa Adjudication.--The Assistant Secretary, in consultation
with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security,
shall--
(1) explore strategies for improving visitor visa
processing with respect to--
(A) the maximum time for processing visas, by
visitation type;
(B) regulatory and policy changes needed to meet
the visa processing goals referred to in subparagraph
(A), including changes regarding technology, processing
centers, and training; and
(C) streamlining visa applications and
adjudications, including application design and data
collection procedures; and
(2) explore opportunities to establish pilot programs to
integrate technology into the visitor visa adjudication
process, including video conferencing and biometrics.
(c) Domestic Travel and Tourism.--The Assistant Secretary, to the
extent feasible, shall--
(1) evaluate, on an ongoing basis, domestic policy options
for supporting competitiveness with respect to the strengths,
weaknesses, and growth of the domestic travel industry;
(2) develop recommendations and goals to support and
enhance domestic tourism, separated by business and leisure;
and
(3) engage public and private stakeholders to support
domestic tourism.
(d) Workforce.--The Assistant Secretary shall--
(1) consult with the Secretary of Labor to develop
strategies and best practices for improving the timeliness and
reliability of travel and tourism workforce data;
(2) work with the Secretary of Labor and the Bureau of
Economic Analysis to improve travel and tourism industry data;
and
(3) provide recommendations for policy enhancements and
efficiencies.
(e) International Business Travel Facilitation.--The Assistant
Secretary, in coordination with relevant Federal agencies, shall work
to increase and facilitate international business travel to the United
States and ensure competitiveness by engaging in, at a minimum--
(1) facilitating large meetings, incentives, conferences,
and exhibitions to be hosted in the United States;
(2) emphasizing rural and other destinations rich in
cultural heritage or ecological tourism, among other uniquely
American destinations, as locations for hosting international
meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions in the
United States; and
(3) facilitating sports and recreation events and
activities, which shall be hosted in the United States.
(f) Recovery Strategy.--
(1) Initial recovery strategy.--Not later than 1 year after
amounts are appropriated to accomplish the purposes of this
section, the Assistant Secretary, in consultation with public
and private stakeholders identified in subsection (a)(3) and
public health officials, shall develop and implement a COVID-19
public health emergency recovery strategy to assist the United
States travel and tourism industry to quickly recover from the
pandemic.
(2) Future recovery strategies.--After assisting in the
implementation of the strategy developed pursuant to paragraph
(1), the Assistant Secretary, in consultation with appropriate
public and private stakeholders, shall develop additional
recovery strategies for the travel and tourism industry in
anticipation of other unforeseen catastrophic events that would
significantly affect the travel and tourism industry, such as
hurricanes, floods, tsunamis, tornadoes, terrorist attacks, and
pandemics.
(3) Cost-benefit analysis.--In developing the COVID-19
public health emergency recovery strategy under paragraph (1)
and additional recovery strategies for the travel and tourism
industry under paragraph (2), the Assistant Secretary shall
conduct cost-benefit analyses that take into account the health
and economic effects of public health mitigation measures on
the travel and tourism industry.
(g) Reporting Requirements.--
(1) Assistant secretary.--The Assistant Secretary shall
produce an annual forecasting report on the travel and tourism
industry, to the extent feasible, which shall include current
and anticipated--
(A) domestic employment needs;
(B) international inbound volume and spending,
taking into account the lasting effects of the COVID-19
public health emergency and the impact of the recovery
strategy implemented pursuant to subsection (f)(1); and
(C) domestic volume and spending, including Federal
and State public land travel and tourism data.
(2) Bureau of economic analysis.--The Director of the
Bureau of Economic Analysis should annually update, to the
extent feasible, the Travel and Tourism Satellite Accounts,
including--
(A) State level travel and tourism spending data;
(B) travel and tourism workforce data for full-time
and part-time employment; and
(C) Federal and State public lands outdoor
recreational activity and tourism spending data.
(3) National travel and tourism office.--The Director of
the National Travel and Tourism Office--
(A) in partnership with the Bureau of Economic
Analysis, shall report international arrival and
spending data on a regular monthly schedule, which
shall be made available to the Travel and Tourism
Advisory Board and to the public through a publicly
available website; and
(B) shall include questions in the Survey of
International Air Travelers regarding wait-times,
visits to public lands, and State data, to the extent
applicable.
SEC. 4. TRAVEL AND TOURISM STRATEGY.
Not less frequently than once every 10 years, the Secretary of
Commerce, in consultation with the United States Travel and Tourism
Advisory Board, the Tourism Policy Council, and the Secretary of
Homeland Security, shall develop and submit to Congress a 10-year
travel and tourism strategy, which shall include--
(1) the establishment of goals with respect to the number
of annual international visitors to the United States and the
annual value of travel and tourism commerce in the United
States during such 10-year period;
(2) the resources needed to achieve the goals established
pursuant to paragraph (1); and
(3) recommendations for statutory or regulatory changes
that would be necessary to achieve such goals.
SEC. 5. UNITED STATES TRAVEL AND TOURISM ADVISORY BOARD.
Section 3 of the Act of July 19, 1940, entitled ``An Act to
encourage travel in the United States, and for other purposes'' (15
U.S.C. 1546) is amended--
(1) by striking ``sec. 3.'' and all that follows through
``The Secretary of the Interior is authorized'' and inserting
the following:
``SEC. 3. UNITED STATES TRAVEL AND TOURISM ADVISORY BOARD; ADVISORY
COMMITTEE.
``(a) United States Travel and Tourism Advisory Board.--
``(1) In general.--There is established the United States
Travel and Tourism Advisory Board (referred to in this
subsection as the `Board'), the members of which shall be
appointed by the Secretary of Commerce for 2-year terms from
among companies and organizations in the travel and tourism
industry.
``(2) Executive director.--The Assistant Secretary for
Travel and Tourism shall serve as the Executive Director of the
Board.
``(3) Executive secretariat.--The Director of the National
Travel and Tourism Office of the International Trade
Administration shall serve as the Executive Secretariat for the
Board.
``(4) Functions.--The Board's Charter shall specify that
the Board will--
``(A) serve as the advisory body to the Secretary
of Commerce on matters relating to the travel and
tourism industry in the United States;
``(B) advise the Secretary of Commerce on
Government policies and programs that affect the United
States travel and tourism industry;
``(C) offer counsel on current and emerging issues;
``(D) provide a forum for discussing and proposing
solutions to problems related to the travel and tourism
industry; and
``(E) provide advice regarding the domestic travel
and tourism industry as an economic engine.
``(5) Recovery strategy.--The Board shall assist the
Assistant Secretary in the development and implementation of
the COVID-19 public health emergency recovery strategy required
under section 3(f)(1) of the Visit America Act.
``(b) Advisory Committee for Promotion of Tourist Travel.--The
Secretary of Commerce is authorized''; and
(2) by striking ``the Secretary of the Interior to serve''
and inserting ``the Secretary of Commerce to serve''.
SEC. 6. DATA ON DOMESTIC TRAVEL AND TOURISM.
The Secretary of Commerce, subject to the availability of
appropriations, shall collect and make public aggregate data on
domestic travel and tourism trends.
SEC. 7. COMPLETION OF PROCEEDING.
If the Secretary of Commerce has, before the date of the enactment
of this Act, taken action that in whole or in part implements this Act
or the amendments made by this Act, the Secretary is not required to
revisit such action, but only to the extent such action is consistent
with this Act and the amendments made by this Act.
SEC. 8. DEFINED TERM.
In this Act, the term ``COVID-19 public health emergency''--
(1) means the public health emergency first declared on
January 31, 2020, by the Secretary of Health and Human Services
under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
247d) with respect to COVID-19; and
(2) includes any renewal of such declaration pursuant to
such section 319.
Union Calendar No. 382
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6965
[Report No. 117-508, Part I]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To promote travel and tourism in the United States, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
September 28, 2022
Reported from the Committee on Energy and Commerce with an amendment
September 28, 2022
Committees on Foreign Affairs and the Judiciary discharged; committed
to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and
ordered to be printed