[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 11940]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         NATIONAL TOURISM WEEK

  (Ms. BORDALLO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support 
for House Congressional Resolution 172 introduced last week by our 
colleagues, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Foley) and the gentleman 
from California (Mr. Farr), the cochairs of the Travel and Tourism 
Caucus. I commend them for their leadership on this issue.
  The tourism industry is vital to the economy of the United States. It 
is the bedrock of the economy of Guam, my district, and instrumental to 
the continued economic growth of our islands.
  Last year nearly 1 million visitors alone came to Guam. In 1997, 
visitor arrivals peaked at 1\1/2\ million. Guam is 4 flying hours away 
from major markets in Asia such as Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, Taipei, Hong 
Kong, Bangkok, and Manila. Guam is served by several major airlines 
including Continental, Micronesia, Northwest, Japan Airlines, Korean 
Air, and All Nippon Airways.
  Guam has been struggling to rebound in the aftermath of the September 
11 terrorist attacks, Supertyphoon Pongsona, the war in Iraq, and 
recently the SARS epidemic.
  In February, in the omnibus appropriations bill, Congress included 
$50 million for a promotional campaign to encourage travel to the 
United States, including territories. We need to continue our efforts 
here in Congress to promote tourism. Let us support the visitor 
industry. Support the American economy, support National Tourism Week.

                          ____________________