U.S. Wants to Compete for a World Expo Act Public Law 115–32 U.S. Wants to Compete for a World Expo Act 32 115–32 Statute Compilation United States House of Representatives Office of the Legislative Counsel text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. GPO Statute Compilations USLM converter, version 20210527.1 2021-10-15 U.S. Wants to Compete for a World Expo Act 12722 115 2017-05-08 U.S. Wants to Compete for a World Expo Act [(Public Law 115–32)] [This law has not been amended] [Currency: This publication is a compilation of the text of Public Law 115-32. It was last amended by the public law listed in the As Amended Through note above and below at the bottom of each page of the pdf version and reflects current law through the date of the enactment of the public law listed at https://www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/comps/] [Note: While this publication does not represent an official version of any Federal statute, substantial efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of its contents. The official version of Federal law is found in the United States Statutes at Large and in the United States Code. The legal effect to be given to the Statutes at Large and the United States Code is established by statute (1 U.S.C. 112, 204).]
AN ACTTo 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. [22 U.S.C. 2452b note] SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the “U.S. Wants to Compete for a World Expo Act”.
SEC. 2. [22 U.S.C. 2452b note] 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. [22 U.S.C. 2452b note] 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; and (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.
SEC. 4. [22 U.S.C. 2452b note] 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. [22 U.S.C. 2452b note] CONTINUATION OF PROHIBITION ON USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS FOR WORLD’S FAIR PAVILIONS AND EXHIBITS. (a) Continuation of Prohibition.—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). (b) Prohibition on Solicitation of Funds.—Section 204(b)(1)(C) of the Admiral James W. Nance and Meg Donovan Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2000 and 2001 (22 U.S.C. 2452b(b)(1)(C)) is amended by inserting after “expositions” the following: “, except that no employees of the Department of State may, in their official capacity, solicit funds to pay expenses for a United States pavilion or other major exhibit at any international exposition or world’s fair registered by the Bureau of International Expositions”.