Visit America Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1947 To authorize the position of Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Travel and Tourism, to statutorily establish the United States Travel and Tour- ism Advisory Board, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 27, 2021 Mr. SULLIVAN (for himself, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. KING, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, and Ms. MURKOWSKI) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To authorize the position of Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Travel and Tourism, to statutorily establish the United States Travel and Tourism Advisory Board, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Visit America Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 5 The purposes of this Act are— 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:42 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1947.IS S1947 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1947 IS (1) to support the travel and tourism industry, 1 which produces economic impacts that are vital our 2 national economy; 3 (2) to address the recent decline in the percent- 4 age of international travelers who visit the United 5 States; and 6 (3) to establish national goals for international 7 visitors to the United States, including— 8 (A) recommendations for achieving such 9 goals and timelines for implementing such rec- 10 ommendations; 11 (B) coordination between Federal and 12 State agencies; 13 (C) the resources needed by each Govern- 14 ment agency to achieve such goals; and 15 (D) national travel export goals. 16 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 17 It is the sense of Congress that— 18 (1) the national goal for international visitors 19 referred to in section 2(3) should reach 116,000,000 20 per year by 2028; 21 (2) the national goal for travel exports referred 22 to in section 2(3)(D) should reach $445,000,000,000 23 by 2028; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:42 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1947.IS S1947 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1947 IS (3) the travel industry is an essential part of 1 the United States services exports with respect to 2 both business travel and leisure travel; 3 (4) the promotion of travel and visitation by 4 Brand USA is vital to increasing visitation and ar- 5 ticulating the visitation laws of the United States; 6 and 7 (5) there is an urgent need for a coordinated 8 travel and tourism industry response and strategy in 9 the event of unforeseen circumstances leading to a 10 decline in travel or tourism. 11 SEC. 4. ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR TRAVEL AND TOURISM. 12 Section 2(d) of the Reorganization Plan Numbered 13 3 of 1979 (93 Stat. 1382; 5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 14 (1) by striking ‘‘There shall be in the Depart- 15 ment two additional Assistant Secretaries’’ and in- 16 serting ‘‘(1) There shall be in the Department 3 ad- 17 ditional Assistant Secretaries, including the Assist- 18 ant Secretary of Commerce for Travel and Tour- 19 ism,’’; and 20 (2) by adding at the end the following: 21 ‘‘(2) The Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Travel 22 and Tourism shall— 23 ‘‘(A) be appointed by the President, subject to 24 the advice and consent of the Senate; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:42 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1947.IS S1947 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1947 IS ‘‘(B) report directly to the Under Secretary for 1 International Trade.’’. 2 SEC. 5. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY 3 OF COMMERCE FOR TRAVEL AND TOURISM. 4 (a) VISITATION GOALS.—The Assistant Secretary of 5 Commerce for Travel and Tourism (referred to in this sec- 6 tion as the ‘‘Assistant Secretary’’), appointed pursuant to 7 section 2(d) of the Reorganization Plan Numbered 3 of 8 1979, as amended by section 4, shall— 9 (1) establish an annual goal for— 10 (A) the number of international visitors to 11 the United States; and 12 (B) travel exports; 13 (2) develop recommendations for achieving the 14 visitation goals established pursuant to paragraph 15 (1); 16 (3) ensure coordination between— 17 (A) the Department of Commerce, the De- 18 partment of Homeland Security, the Depart- 19 ment of State, the Department of Transpor- 20 tation, the Department of Labor for policy de- 21 velopment and recommendations for utilizing: 22 (i) the National Travel and Tourism 23 Office; 24 (ii) Brand USA; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:42 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1947.IS S1947 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1947 IS (iii) the United States Travel and 1 Tourism Advisory Board; 2 (iv) the Task Force on Travel and 3 Tourism established by Executive Order 4 13597 of January 19, 2012; and 5 (v) travel industry partners, including 6 public and private destination marketing 7 organizations and travel and tourism sup- 8 pliers; 9 (4) establish short, medium, and long-term 10 timelines for implementing the recommendations de- 11 veloped pursuant to paragraph (2); and 12 (5) conduct Federal agency needs assessments 13 to identify the resources, statutory or regulatory 14 changes, and private sector engagement needed to 15 achieve the annual visitation goals. 16 (b) VISA ADJUDICATION.—The Assistant Secretary, 17 in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Sec- 18 retary of Homeland Security, shall— 19 (1) provide support for improving visitor visa 20 processing with respect to— 21 (A) the maximum time for processing 22 visas, by visitation type; 23 (B) regulatory and policy changes needed 24 to meet the visa processing goals referred to in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:42 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1947.IS S1947 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1947 IS subparagraph (A), including changes regarding 1 technology, processing centers, and training; 2 and 3 (C) streamlining visa applications and ad- 4 judications, including application design and 5 data collection procedures; and 6 (2) explore opportunities to establish pilot pro- 7 grams to integrate technology into the visitor visa 8 adjudication process, including video conferencing 9 and biometrics. 10 (c) DOMESTIC TRAVEL.—The Assistant Secretary 11 shall— 12 (1) conduct a study to better understand do- 13 mestic policy options for supporting competitiveness 14 with respect to the strengths, weaknesses, and 15 growth of the domestic travel industry; 16 (2) develop recommendations and goals to sup- 17 port domestic tourism, separated by business and 18 leisure; and 19 (3) engage public and private stakeholders to 20 support domestic tourism. 21 (d) WORKFORCE.—The Assistant Secretary— 22 (1) in coordination with the Secretary of Labor, 23 shall provide timely and reliable workforce data re- 24 garding workforce and labor market needs; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:42 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1947.IS S1947 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1947 IS (2) shall work to improve tourism industry data 1 collection by the Bureau of Economic Analysis; and 2 (3) shall provide recommendations for policy en- 3 hancements and streamlining. 4 (e) TRAVEL EXPORT PROMOTION.—The Assistant 5 Secretary, in coordination with the Director General of the 6 United States and Foreign Commercial Service, shall work 7 to promote and facilitate travel exports abroad and ensure 8 competitiveness by— 9 (1) participating in and organizing meetings, 10 incentives, conferences, and exhibitions; 11 (2) emphasizing rural and other destinations 12 rich in cultural heritage or ecological tourism, 13 among other uniquely American destinations; and 14 (3) promoting sports and recreation events and 15 activities. 16 (f) TRAVEL SECURITY.—The Assistant Secretary 17 shall investigate and provide recommendations regarding 18 utilizing and expanding existing security programs to bet- 19 ter meet the needs of the United States travel and tourism 20 industry, including— 21 (1) the Visa Waiver Program authorized under 22 section 217 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 23 (8 U.S.C. 1187); 24 (2) preclearance operations; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:42 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1947.IS S1947 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1947 IS (3) the Trusted Traveler Program; 1 (4) the biometric entry-exit control system re- 2 quired under section 110 of the Illegal Immigration 3 Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 4 (division C of Public Law 104–208; 8 U.S.C. 1221 5 note); and 6 (5) the establishment of a system to provide in- 7 creased resilience to travel during pandemics. 8 (g) RECOVERY STRATEGY.— 9 (1) INITIAL RECOVERY STRATEGY.—Not later 10 than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this 11 Act, the Assistant Secretary, in consultation with 12 the United States Travel and Tourism Advisory 13 Board and travel industry partners, shall develop 14 and implement a COVID–19 pandemic recovery 15 strategy to assist in the United States travel and 16 tourism industry to quickly recover from the travel 17 restrictions necessitated by the pandemic. 18 (2) FUTURE RECOVERY STRATEGIES.—After 19 assisting in the implementation of the strategy de- 20 veloped pursuant to paragraph (1), the Assistant 21 Secretary, in consultation with the entities referred 22 to in such paragraph, shall develop additional recov- 23 ery strategies for the travel and tourism industry in 24 anticipation of other unforeseen catastrophic events 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:42 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1947.IS S1947 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1947 IS that would significantly affect the travel and tourism 1 industry, such as hurricanes, floods, tsunamis, tor- 2 nadoes, or pandemics. 3 (h) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 4 (1) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The Assistant 5 Secretary shall produce an annual forecasting report 6 on the travel and tourism industry, which shall in- 7 clude current and anticipated— 8 (A) domestic employment needs; 9 (B) international inbound volume and 10 spending, taking into account the lasting effects 11 of the COVID–19 pandemic and the impact of 12 the recovery strategy implemented pursuant to 13 subsection (g)(1); and 14 (C) domestic volume and spending, includ- 15 ing Federal and State public land travel and 16 tourism data. 17 (2) BUREAU OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS.—The Di- 18 rector of the Bureau of Economic Analysis should 19 update the Travel and Tourism Satellite Accounts 20 quarterly, including— 21 (A) State level travel and tourism export 22 data; 23 (B) travel and tourism workforce data for 24 full-time and part-time employment; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:42 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1947.IS S1947 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1947 IS (C) Federal and State public lands visita- 1 tion and spending data. 2 (3) NATIONAL TRAVEL AND TOURISM OF- 3 FICE.—The Director of the National Travel and 4 Tourism Office shall— 5 (A) report international arrival and spend- 6 ing data on a regular monthly schedule; and 7 (B) shall include questions in the Survey 8 of International Air Travelers regarding wait- 9 times, visits to public lands, and State data, to 10 the extent applicable. 11 SEC. 6. TRAVEL AND TOURISM STRATEGY. 12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce, in 13 consultation with the United States Travel and Tourism 14 Advisory Board, shall develop and submit to Congress a 15 10-year travel and tourism strategy, which shall include— 16 (1) the establishment of goals with respect to 17 the number of annual international visitors to the 18 United States and the annual amount of travel ex- 19 ports during such 10-year period; 20 (2) the resources needed to achieve the goals es- 21 tablished pursuant to paragraph (1); and 22 (3) recommendations for statutory or regulatory 23 changes that would be necessary to achieve such 24 goals. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:42 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1947.IS S1947 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1947 IS (b) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—The Secretary 1 of Commerce shall coordinate an interagency strategy with 2 the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Se- 3 curity for— 4 (1) identify impediments to reaching the goals 5 referred to in subsection (a)(1); and 6 (2) recommends solutions for overcoming such 7 impediments. 8 SEC. 7. UNITED STATES TRAVEL AND TOURISM ADVISORY 9 BOARD. 10 Section 3 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to encourage 11 travel in the United States, and for other purposes’’ (15 12 U.S.C. 1546) is amended— 13 (1) by amending the section heading to read as 14 follows: ‘‘UNITED STATES TRAVEL AND TOURISM 15 ADVISORY BOARD; ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR 16 PROMOTION OF TOURIST TRAVEL’’; and 17 (2) by striking ‘‘The Secretary of Commerce is 18 authorized’’ and inserting the following: 19 ‘‘(a) UNITED STATES TRAVEL AND TOURISM ADVI- 20 SORY BOARD.— 21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established the 22 United States Travel and Tourism Advisory Board 23 (referred to in this subsection as the ‘Board’), which 24 shall be composed of not more than 32 members, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:42 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1947.IS S1947 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1947 IS who shall be appointed by the Secretary of Com- 1 merce for 2-year terms from among companies and 2 organizations in the travel and tourism industry. 3 ‘‘(2) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The Assistant 4 Secretary for Travel and Tourism shall serve as the 5 Executive Director of the Board. 6 ‘‘(3) EXECUTIVE SECRETARIAT.—The National 7 Travel and Tourism Office of the International 8 Trade Administration shall serve as the Executive 9 Secretariat for the Board. 10 ‘‘(4) FUNCTIONS.—The Board shall comply 11 with its Charter, including— 12 ‘‘(A) serving as the advisory body to the 13 Secretary of Commerce on matters relating to 14 the travel and tourism industry in the United 15 States; 16 ‘‘(B) advising the Secretary of Commerce 17 on government policies and programs that af- 18 fect the United States travel and tourism indus- 19 try; 20 ‘‘(C) offering counsel on current and 21 emerging issues; 22 ‘‘(D) providing a forum for discussing and 23 proposing solutions to problems related to the 24 travel and tourism industry; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:42 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1947.IS S1947 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1947 IS ‘ [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]