[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6428]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           TRAVEL AND TOURISM

  (Mr. CICILLINE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, this week is the 30th annual National 
Travel and Tourism Week. On Monday, I met with travel and tourism 
leaders in my State to discuss what we can do at the Federal level of 
government to strengthen this key sector of our economy.
  According to the U.S. Travel Association, travel and tourism 
generated $2 trillion in economic output in 2012. The industry is also 
one of America's largest employers, supporting 14.6 million jobs. And 
this is especially important for my home State of Rhode Island, where 
the travel and tourism sector supports more than 40,000 jobs and 
generates $3.5 billion in spending. But we need to do more to support 
the travel industry, as well as the small business community that 
depends on a thriving tourism economy.
  I am a cosponsor of the bipartisan JOLT Act, a bill that would revise 
existing visa laws to support the American travel and tourism economy 
while maintaining essential national security protocols.
  I look forward to working further with my colleagues to highlight the 
importance of our travel and tourism economy in a way that will put men 
and women back to work in Rhode Island and across our country.

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