[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Pages 13528-13529]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO STEPHEN J. CLOOBECK

  Mr. REID. Mr President, I rise to honor my friend Steve Cloobeck of 
Las Vegas, the chairman of the board for Brand USA. This month, Steve 
will step down from the board after 2 years of working tirelessly to 
build Brand USA from the ground up.
  Over the past decades, the United States lost valuable tourism 
dollars as international visitors traveled to other destinations 
instead of the U.S. In part, the United States lost market share 
because we failed to promote tourism, while other countries invested in 
tourism promotion. To encourage tourists to visit the U.S., I worked 
for the passage of the Travel Promotion Act. This bipartisan 
legislation established the first-ever United States public-private 
initiative to promote tourism. The new organization would help attract 
millions of international visitors by advertising our Nation abroad--
all at no cost to the taxpayers.

[[Page 13529]]

  If this new organization, Brand USA, was going to be successful, it 
would need a strong leader with a bold vision to promote tourism. 
Fortunately, we found that leader in Steve Cloobeck. From the moment he 
joined the board, Steve established aggressive timelines for setting up 
the new organization. He helped draft the organization's strategic 
platform and goals, while ensuring that operations continued on 
schedule.
  Steve was also actively engaged in building partnerships with the 
private sector. Because of his business relationships in the tourism 
industry, Steve received many large commitments and contributions from 
companies in Nevada and across the Nation. With a slate of committed 
partners from Marriott to Best Western to Disney, Brand USA will raise 
more than $50 million from the private sector this year alone.
  Under the direction of Steve and the board, Brand USA unveiled their 
new advertising campaign. Featuring a song by Rosanne Cash, these ads 
showcase America as a ``Land of Dreams'' where anything is possible. 
These advertisements, which have been running in nine key international 
markets, have created a strong brand identity for the United States 
abroad.
  Today, we can already see that Brand USA is making a difference. So 
far this year, international visitation to the U.S. has increased 12 
percent and we are heading for a record-setting year. And most 
importantly, during these hard economic times, travel promotion is 
creating new, good-paying jobs as we welcome millions of new visitors 
to our Nation's world-class cities, national parks, and tourist 
attractions.
  Under Chairman Cloobeck's leadership, Brand USA has been a tremendous 
success for our Nation and the travel industry. His enthusiasm and 
dedication have ensured that Brand USA is well positioned for the 
future. I am confident that Brand USA will be a critical asset to 
American tourism for years to come, and I am proud to join everyone at 
Brand USA and the travel industry in thanking Steve for his important 
contributions.

                          ____________________