[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16811]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




THE VISA IMPROVEMENTS TO STIMULATE INTERNATIONAL TOURISM TO THE UNITED 
                   STATES OF AMERICA (VISIT USA) ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. MAZIE K. HIRONO

                               of hawaii

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, November 4, 2011

  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of myself and 
Congressman David Dreier to discuss a bill that we introduced 
yesterday, the Visa Improvements to Stimulate International Tourism to 
the United States of America, VISIT USA, Act.
  This is the companion bill to S. 1746, which was introduced on a 
bipartisan basis in the United States Senate by Senator Schumer of New 
York and Senator Lee of Utah.
  The VISIT USA Act is a common-sense proposal that is about one 
thing--creating jobs and boosting our economy.
  According to the U.S. International Trade Administration, the travel 
and tourism industry accounts for more than 25 percent of all U.S. 
services exports--our nation's largest service export, in fact. In 
2010, international travel to the U.S. accounted for $134 billion in 
receipts for U.S. businesses and supported 7.4 million American jobs--
including 152, 864 in my home state of Hawaii, and 873,000 in 
Congressman Dreier's home state of California.
  This legislation will help to support and grow this important 
industry by making travel to the U.S. easier and more efficient for 
foreign travelers. Specifically, the bill contains several provisions 
aimed at increasing visitors from China, making visa processing more 
efficient, and giving the State Department necessary flexibility to 
manage the visa process more effectively.
  It will also help to solidify and strengthen our relationship with 
one of our most important travel partners, Canada, and even includes 
provisions to help address the housing crisis.
  China has the world's largest population--1.3 billion people--yet 
only 802,000 visitors travelled to the U.S. in 2010. These 802,000 
visitors spent approximately $5 billion in the U.S. during their stays, 
the seventh most spent in the U.S. by visitors from any country. 
Clearly, welcoming more visitors from China will benefit our economy 
and help to create jobs. In order to do this, the bill provides Chinese 
visitors that meet the appropriate security requirements with the 
ability to acquire five year, multiple-entry visitor visas.
  The bill would also establish a pilot program that would allow the 
State Department to conduct visa interviews via videoconference. One of 
the key challenges for residents of these countries--like China, India, 
and Brazil--is the need to travel great distances to conduct in-person 
visa interviews. If successful, this pilot program will help to 
responsibly reduce wait times and effectively meet the demand for visas 
in countries with large rural populations.
  The bill would also authorize the State Department to charge extra 
fees in order to expedite the processing of certain visas, and allow 
Customs and Border Protection to provide expedited visas for foreign 
dignitaries and other priority visitors. This can be especially 
important for international meetings, and events such as the Olympics. 
Finally, the VISIT Act will make changes to visa procedures for 
nation's that are working closely with the U.S. to combat terrorism.
  The VISIT Act also allows the Administration to lower visa 
application fees during off-peak seasons to help incentivize 
applications when overall demand is low.
  In addition to improving the visa processing system, and 
incentivizing travelers from untapped markets, the VISIT Act also 
includes provisions to encourage visitors from the U.S.'s top travel 
partner--Canada.
  In 2010, the U.S. welcomed 20 million visitors from Canada. Those 
visitors spent over $20 billion during their stays. The VISIT Act 
creates a ``Canadian Retiree Visa'' which allows Canadian citizens over 
50 to apply for 240 day visas. These visas would need to be renewed 
every three years, and visa holders would have to meet all necessary 
security requirements, and be able to prove that they have 
accommodations for the duration of their stay.
  Overall, the reforms included in this bill are a cost-effective, 
bipartisan approach to incentivizing job creation and supporting a 
critical U.S. industry. In fact, to date the Senate legislation has 
been endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the U.S. Travel 
Association, the American Hotel & Lodging Association, and the U.S. 
Olympic Committee.
  I'm confident that there will be many other groups--from across the 
political spectrum--that will support these much needed reforms that 
Chairman Dreier and I are introducing today.
  I look forward to working with all of my colleagues to see this 
measure passed.

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