II

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1735

To establish the United States Tourism Organization as a nongovernmental

entity for the purpose of promoting tourism in the United States.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 8, 1996

Mr. PRESSLER (for himself, Mr. BRYAN, Mr. WARNER, Mr. BURNS, Mr. STEVENS, Mr. HOLLINGS, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. FORD, Mr. KERRY, Mr. BREAUX,

Mr. DORGAN, Mr. AKAKA, Mr. JOHNSTON, and Mr. COVERDELL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

A BILL

To establish the United States Tourism Organization as a

nongovernmental entity for the purpose of promoting

tourism in the United States.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States Tourism

5 Organization Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds that—
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1 (1) the travel and tourism industry is the sec2 ond largest retail or service industry in the United

3 States, and travel and tourism services ranked as

4 the largest United States export in 1995, generating

5 an $18.6 billion trade surplus for the United States;

6 (2) domestic and international travel and tour7 ism expenditures totaled $433 billion in 1995, $415

8 billion spent directly within the United States and

9 an additional $18 billion spent by international trav10 elers on United States flag carriers traveling to the

11 United States;

12 (3) direct travel and tourism receipts make up

13 6 percent of the United States gross domestic prod14 uct;

15 (4) in 1994 the travel and tourism industry was

16 the nation’s second largest employer, directly respon17 sible for 6.3 million jobs and indirectly responsible

18 for another 8 million jobs;

19 (5) employment in major sectors of the travel

20 industry is expected to increase 35 percent by the

21 year 2005;

22 (6) 99.7 percent of travel businesses are defined

23 by the federal government as small businesses; and

24 (7) the White House Conference on Travel and

25 Tourism in 1995 brought together 1,700 travel and
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1 tourism industry executives from across the nation

2 and called for the establishment, by federal charter,

3 of a new national tourism organization to promote

4 international tourism to all parts of the United

5 States.

6 SEC. 3. UNITED STATES TOURISM ORGANIZATION.

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established with a

8 Federal charter, the United States Tourism Organization

9 (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Organization’’).

10 The Organization shall be a nonprofit organization. The

11 Organization shall maintain its principal offices and na12 tional headquarters in the city of Washington, District of

13 Columbia, and may hold its annual and special meetings

14 in such places as the Organization shall determine.

15 (b) ORGANIZATION NOT A FEDERAL AGENCY.—Not16 withstanding any other provision of the law, the Organiza17 tion shall not be considered a Federal agency for the pur18 poses of civil service laws or any other provision of Federal

19 law governing the operation of Federal agencies, including

20 personnel or budgetary matters relating to Federal agen21 cies. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.)

22 shall not apply to the Organization or any entities within

23 the Organization.

24 (c) DUTIES.—The Organization shall—
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1 (1) facilitate the development and use of public2 private partnerships for travel and tourism policy3 making;

4 (2) seek to, and work for, an increase in the

5 share of the United States in the global tourism

6 market;

7 (3) implement the national travel and tourism

8 strategy developed by the National Tourism Board

9 under section 4;

10 (4) operate travel and tourism promotion pro11 grams outside the United States in partnership with

12 the travel and tourism industry in the United

13 States;

14 (5) establish a travel-tourism data bank and,

15 through that data bank collect and disseminate

16 international market data;

17 (6) conduct market research necessary for the

18 effective promotion of the travel and tourism mar19 ket; and

20 (7) promote United States travel and tourism.

21 (d) POWERS.—The Organization—

22 (1) shall have perpetual succession;

23 (2) shall represent the United States in its rela24 tions with international tourism agencies;

25 (3) may sue and be sued;
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1 (4) may make contracts;

2 (5) may acquire, hold, and dispose of real and

3 personal property as may be necessary for its cor4 porate purposes;

5 (6) may accept gifts, legacies, and devices in

6 furtherance of its corporate purposes;

7 (7) may provide financial assistance to any or8 ganization or association, other than a corporation

9 organized for profit, in furtherance of the purpose of

10 the corporation;

11 (8) may adopt and alter a corporate seal;

12 (9) may establish and maintain offices for the

13 conduct of the affairs of the Organization;

14 (10) may publish a newspaper, magazine, or

15 other publication consistent with its corporate pur16 poses;

17 (11) may do any and all acts and things nec18 essary and proper to carry out the purposes of the

19 Organization; and

20 (12) may adopt and amend a constitution and

21 bylaws not inconsistent with the laws of the United

22 States or of any State, except that the Organization

23 may amend its constitution only if it—

24 (A) publishes in its principal publication a

25 general notice of the proposed alteration of the
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1 constitution, including the substantive terms of

2 the alteration, the time and place of the Orga3 nization’s regular meeting at which the alter4 ation is to be decided, and a provision inform5 ing interested persons that they may submit

6 materials as authorized in subparagraph (B);

7 and

8 (B) gives to all interested persons, prior to

9 the adoption of any amendment, an opportunity

10 to submit written data, views, or arguments

11 concerning the proposed amendment for a pe12 riod of at least 60 days after the date of publi13 cation of the notice.

14 (e) NONPOLITICAL NATURE OF THE ORGANIZA15 TION.—The Organization shall be nonpolitical and shall

16 not promote the candidacy of any person seeking public

17 office.

18 (f) PROHIBITION AGAINST ISSUANCE OF STOCK OR

19 BUSINESS ACTIVITIES.—The Organization shall have no

20 power to issue capital stock or to engage in business for

21 pecuniary profit or gain.

22 SEC. 4. NATIONAL TOURISM BOARD.

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Organization shall be

24 governed by a Board of Directors known as the National
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1 Tourism Board (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the

2 ‘‘Board’’).

3 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—

4 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Board shall be com5 posed of 45 members, and shall be self-perpetuating.

6 Initial members shall be appointed as provided in

7 paragraph (2). The Board shall elect a chair from

8 among its members.

9 (2) FOUNDING MEMBERS.—The founding mem10 bers of the Board shall be appointed, or elected, as

11 follows:

12 (A) The Under Secretary of Commerce for

13 International Trade Administration shall serve

14 as a member ex officio.

15 (B) 5 State Travel Directors elected by the

16 National Council of State Travel Directors.

17 (C) 5 members elected by the International

18 Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus.

19 (D) 3 members elected by the Air Trans20 port Association.

21 (E) 1 member elected by the National As22 sociation of Recreational Vehicle Parks and

23 Campgrounds; 1 member elected by the Recre24 ation Vehicle Industry Association.
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1 (F) 2 members elected by the International

2 Association of Amusement Parks and Attrac3 tions.

4 (G) 3 members appointed by major compa5 nies in the travel payments industry.

6 (H) 5 members elected by the American

7 Hotel and Motel Association.

8 (I) 2 members elected by the American

9 Car Rental Association; 1 member elected by

10 the American Automobile Association; 1 mem11 ber elected by the American Bus Association; 1

12 member elected by Amtrak.

13 (J) 1 member elected by the National Tour

14 Association; 1 member elected by the United

15 States Tour Operators Association.

16 (K) 1 member elected by the Cruise Lines

17 International Association; 1 member elected by

18 the National Restaurant Association; 1 member

19 elected by the National Park Hospitality Asso20 ciation; 1 member elected by the Airports Coun21 cil International; 1 member elected by the Meet22 ing Planners International; 1 member elected

23 by the American Sightseeing International; 4

24 members elected by the Travel Industry Asso25 ciation of America.
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1 (3) TERMS.—Terms of Board members and of

2 the Chair shall be determined by the Board and

3 made part of the Organization bylaws.

4 (c) DUTIES OF THE BOARD.—The Board shall—

5 (1) develop a national travel and tourism strat6 egy for increasing tourism to and within the United

7 States; and

8 (2) advise the President, the Congress, and

9 members of the travel and tourism industry concern10 ing the implementation of the national strategy re11 ferred to in paragraph (1) and other matters that

12 affect travel and tourism.

13 (d) AUTHORITY.—The Board is hereby authorized to

14 meet to complete the organization of the Organization by

15 the adoption of a constitution and bylaws, and by doing

16 all things necessary to carry into effect the provisions of

17 this Act.

18 (e) INITIAL MEETINGS.—Not later than 30 days

19 after the date on which all members of the Board have

20 been appointed, the Board shall have its first meeting.

21 (f) MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet at the call of

22 the Chair, but not less frequently than semiannually.

23 (g) COMPENSATION AND EXPENSES.—The chairman

24 and members of the Board shall serve without compensa-
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1 tion but may be compensated for expenses incurred in car2 rying out the duties of the Board.

3 (h) TESTIMONY, REPORTS, AND SUPPORT.—The

4 Board may present testimony to the President, to the Con5 gress, and to the legislatures of the States and issue re6 ports on its findings and recommendations.

7 SEC. 5. SYMBOLS, EMBLEMS, TRADEMARKS, AND NAMES.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Organization shall provide

9 for the design of such symbols, emblems, trademarks, and

10 names as may be appropriate and shall take all action nec11 essary to protect and regulate the use of such symbols,

12 emblems, trademarks, and names under law.

13 (b) UNAUTHORIZED USE; CIVIL ACTION.—Any per14 son who, without the consent of the Organization, uses—

15 (1) the symbol of the Organization;

16 (2) the emblem of the Organization;

17 (3) any trademark, trade name, sign, symbol,

18 or insignia falsely representing association with, or

19 authorization by, the Organization; or

20 (4) the words ‘‘United States Tourism Organi21 zation’’, or any combination or simulation thereof

22 tending to cause confusion, to cause mistake, to de23 ceive, or to falsely suggest a connection with the Or24 ganization or any Organization activity; for the pur25 pose of trade, to induce the sale of any goods or
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1 services, or to promote any exhibition shall be sub2 ject to suit in a civil action brought in the appro3 priate court by the Organization for the remedies

4 provided in the Act of July 5, 1946 (60 Stat. 427;

5 15 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.), popularly known as the

6 Trademark Act of 1946. Paragraph (4) of this sub7 section shall not be construed to prohibit any person

8 who, before the date of enactment of this Act, actu9 ally used the words ‘‘United States Tourism Organi10 zation’’ for any lawful purpose from continuing such

11 lawful use for the same purpose and for the same

12 goods and services.

13 (c) CONTRIBUTORS AND SUPPLIERS.—The Organiza14 tion may authorize contributors and suppliers of goods

15 and services to use the trade name of the Organization

16 as well as any trademark, symbol, insignia, or emblem of

17 the Organization in advertising that the contributions,

18 goods, or services were donated, supplied, or furnished to

19 or for the use of, approved, selected, or used by the Orga20 nization.

21 (d) EXCLUSIVE RIGHT OF THE ORGANIZATION.—The

22 Organization shall have exclusive right to use the name

23 ‘‘United States Tourism Organization’’, the symbol de24 scribed in subsection (b)(1), the emblem described in sub25 section (b)(2), and the words ‘‘United States Tourism Or-
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1 ganization’’, or any combination thereof, subject to the use

2 reserved by the second sentence of subsection (b).

3 SEC. 6. UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT COOPERATION.

4 (a) SECRETARY OF STATE.—The Secretary of State

5 shall—

6 (1) place a high priority on implementing rec7 ommendations by the Organization; and

8 (2) cooperate with the Organization in carrying

9 out its duties.

10 (b) DIRECTOR OF THE UNITED STATES INFORMA11 TION AGENCY.—The Director of the United States Infor12 mation Agency shall—

13 (1) place a high priority on implementing rec14 ommendations by the Organization; and

15 (2) cooperate with the Organization in carrying

16 out its duties.

17 (c) TRADE PROMOTION COORDINATING COMMIT18 TEE.—Section 2312 of the Export Enhancement Act of

19 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4727) is amended—

20 (1) by striking out ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub21 section (c)(4);

22 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub23 section (c)(5) and inserting a semicolon and the

24 word ‘‘and’’;

25 (3) by adding at the end thereof the following:
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1 ‘‘(6) reflect recommendations by the National

2 Tourism Board established under the United States

3 Tourism Organization Act.’’ and

4 (2) in paragraph (d)(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ in

5 subparagraph (L), by redesignating subparagraph

6 (M) as subparagraph (N), and by inserting the fol7 lowing:

8 ‘‘(M) the Chairman of the Board of the United

9 States Tourism Organization, as established under

10 the United States Tourism Organization Act; and’’.

11 SEC. 7. SUNSET.

12 If, by the date that is 2 years after the date of incor13 poration of the Organization, a plan for the long-term fi14 nancing of the Organization has not been implemented,

15 the Organization and the Board shall terminate.

Æ