I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1735

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 4, 1996

Referred to the Committee on Commerce, and in addition to the Committee

on International Relations, for a period to be subsequently determined by

the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

AN ACT

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’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 The Congress finds that—

3 (1) the travel and tourism industry is the sec4 ond largest retail or service industry in the United

5 States, and travel and tourism services ranked as

6 the largest United States export in 1995, generating

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

8 (2) domestic and international travel and tour9 ism expenditures totaled $433 billion in 1995, $415

10 billion spent directly within the United States and

11 an additional $18 billion spent by international trav12 elers on United States flag carriers traveling to the

13 United States;

14 (3) direct travel and tourism receipts make up

15 6 percent of the United States gross domestic prod16 uct;

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

18 the nation’s second largest employer, directly respon19 sible for 6.3 million jobs and indirectly responsible

20 for another 8 million jobs;

21 (5) employment in major sectors of the travel

22 industry is expected to increase 35 percent by the

23 year 2005;

24 (6) 99.7 percent of travel businesses are defined

25 by the Federal Government as small businesses; and
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1 (7) the White House Conference on Travel and

2 Tourism in 1995 brought together 1,700 travel and

3 tourism industry executives from across the nation

4 and called for the establishment, by federal charter,

5 of a new national tourism organization to promote

6 international tourism to all parts of the United

7 States.

8 SEC. 3. UNITED STATES TOURISM ORGANIZATION.

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

10 Federal charter, the United States Tourism Organization

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

12 The Organization shall be a not for profit organization.

13 The Organization shall maintain its principal offices and

14 national headquarters in the greater metropolitan area of

15 Washington, D.C., and may hold its annual and special

16 meetings in such places as the Organization shall deter17 mine.

18 (b) ORGANIZATION NOT A FEDERAL AGENCY.—Not19 withstanding any other provision of the law, the Organiza20 tion shall not be considered a Federal agency for the pur21 poses of civil service laws or any other provision of Federal

22 law governing the operation of Federal agencies, including

23 personnel or budgetary matters relating to Federal agen24 cies. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.)
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1 shall not apply to the Organization or any entities within

2 the Organization.

3 (c) DUTIES.—The Organization shall—

4 (1) facilitate the development and use of public5 private partnerships for travel and tourism policy6 making;

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

8 share of the United States in the global tourism

9 market;

10 (3) implement the national travel and tourism

11 strategy developed by the National Tourism Board

12 under section 4;

13 (4) operate travel and tourism promotion pro14 grams outside the United States in partnership with

15 the travel and tourism industry in the United

16 States;

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

18 through that data bank collect and disseminate

19 international market data:

20 (6) conduct market research necessary for the

21 effective promotion of the travel and tourism mar22 ket; and

23 (7) promote United States travel and tourism.

24 (d) POWERS.—The Organization—

25 (1) shall have perpetual succession;
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1 (2) shall represent the United States in its rela2 tions with international tourism agencies;

3 (3) may sue and be sued;

4 (4) may make contracts;

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

6 personal property as may be necessary for its cor7 porate purposes;

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

9 furtherance of its corporate purposes;

10 (7) may provide financial assistance to any or11 ganization or association, other than a corporation

12 organized for profit, in furtherance of the purpose of

13 the corporation;

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

15 (9) may establish and maintain offices for the

16 conduct of the affairs of the Organization;

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

18 other publication consistent with its corporate pur19 poses;

20 (11) may do any and all acts and things nec21 essary and proper to carry out the purposes of the

22 Organization; and

23 (12) may adopt and amend a constitution and

24 bylaws not inconsistent with the laws of the United
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1 States or of any State, except that the Organization

2 may amend its constitution only if it—

3 (A) publishes in its principal publication a

4 general notice of the proposed alteration of the

5 constitution, including the substantive terms of

6 the alteration, the time and place of the Orga7 nization’s regular meeting at which the alter8 ation is to be decided, and a provision inform9 ing interested persons that they may submit

10 materials as authorized in subparagraph (B);

11 and

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

13 the adoption of any amendment, an opportunity

14 to submit written data, views, or arguments

15 concerning the proposed amendment for a pe16 riod of at least 60 days after the date of publi17 cation of the notice.

18 (e) NONPOLITICAL NATURE OF THE ORGANIZA19 TION.—The Organization shall be nonpolitical and shall

20 not promote the candidacy of any person seeking public

21 office.

22 (f) PROHIBITION AGAINST ISSUANCE OF STOCK OR

23 BUSINESS ACTIVITIES.—The Organization shall have no

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

25 pecuniary profit or gain.
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1 SEC. 4. NATIONAL TOURISM BOARD.

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Organization shall be

3 governed by a Board of Directors known as the National

4 Tourism Board (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the

5 ‘‘Board’’).

6 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—

7 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Board shall be com8 posed of 48 members, and shall be self-perpetuating.

9 Initial members shall be appointed as provided in

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

11 among its members.

12 (2) FOUNDING MEMBERS.—The founding mem13 bers of the Board shall be appointed, or elected, as

14 follows:

15 (A) The Under Secretary of Commerce for

16 International Trade Administration shall serve

17 as a member ex officio.

18 (B) 5 State Travel Directors elected by the

19 National Council of State Travel Directors.

20 (C) 5 members elected by the International

21 Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus.

22 (D) 3 members elected by the Air Trans23 port Association.

24 (E) 1 member elected by the National As25 sociation of Recreational Vehicle Parks and
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1 Campgrounds; 1 member elected by the Recre2 ation Vehicle Industry Association.

3 (F) 2 members elected by the International

4 Association of Amusement Parks and Attrac5 tions.

6 (G) 3 members appointed by major compa7 nies in the travel payments industry.

8 (H) 5 members elected by the American

9 Hotel and Motel Association.

10 (I) 2 members elected by the American

11 Car Rental Association; 1 member elected by

12 the American Automobile Association; 1 mem13 ber elected by the American Bus Association; 1

14 member elected by Amtrak.

15 (J) 1 member elected by the National Tour

16 Association; 1 member elected by the United

17 States Tour Operators Association.

18 (K) 1 member elected by the Cruise Lines

19 International Association; 1 member elected by

20 the National Restaurant Association; one mem21 ber elected by the National Park Hospitality

22 Association; 1 member elected by the Airports

23 Council International; 1 member elected by the

24 Meeting Planners International; 1 member

25 elected by the American Sightseeing Inter-
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1 national; 4 members elected by the Travel In2 dustry Association of America; 1 member elect3 ed by the Association of Retail Travel Agents;

4 1 member elected by the American Society of

5 Travel Agents; and 1 member elected by the

6 Rural Tourism Development Foundation.

7 (L) 1 member elected by the National

8 Trust for Historic Preservation.

9 (M) 1 member elected by the American As10 sociation of Museums.

11 (3) TERMS.—Terms of Board members and of

12 the Chair shall be determined by the Board and

13 made part of the Organization bylaws.

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

15 (1) develop a national travel and tourism strat16 egy for increasing tourism to and within the United

17 States; and

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

19 members of the travel and tourism industry concern20 ing the implementation of the national strategy re21 ferred to in paragraph (1) and other matters that

22 affect travel and tourism.

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

24 meet to complete the organization of the Organization by

25 the adoption of a constitution and bylaws, and by doing
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1 all things necessary to carry into effect the provisions of

2 this Act.

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

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

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

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

7 the Chair, but not less frequently than semiannually.

8 (g) COMPENSATION AND EXPENSES.—The chairman

9 and members of the Board shall serve without compensa10 tion but may be compensated for expenses incurred in car11 rying out the duties of the Board.

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

13 Board may present testimony to the President, to the Con14 gress, and to the legislatures of the States and issue re15 ports on its findings and recommendations.

16 (i) IMMUNITY.—Members of the Board shall not be

17 personally liable for any action taken by the Board.

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

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

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

21 names as may be appropriate and shall take all action nec22 essary to protect and regulate the use of such symbols,

23 emblems, trademarks, and names under law.

24 (b) UNAUTHORIZED USE; CIVIL ACTION.—Any per25 son who, without the consent of the Organization, uses—
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1 (1) the symbol of the Organization;

2 (2) the emblem of the Organization;

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

4 or insignia falsely representing association with, or

5 authorization by, the Organization; or

6 (4) the words ‘‘United States Tourism Organi7 zation’’, or any combination or simulation thereof

8 tending to cause confusion, to cause mistake, to de9 ceive, or to falsely suggest a connection with the

10 Organization or any Organization activity;

11 for the purpose of trade, to induce the sale of any goods

12 or services, or to promote any exhibition shall be subject

13 to suit in a civil action brought in the appropriate court

14 by the Organization for the remedies provided in the Act

15 of July 5, 1946 (60 Stat. 427; 15 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.),

16 popularly known as the Trademark Act of 1946. Para17 graph (4) of this subsection shall not be construed to pro18 hibit any person who, before the date of enactment of this

19 Act, actually used the words ‘‘United States Tourism Or20 ganization’’ for any lawful purpose from continuing such

21 lawful use for the same purpose and for the same goods

22 and services.

23 (c) CONTRIBUTORS AND SUPPLIERS.—The Organiza24 tion may authorize contributors and suppliers of goods

25 and services to use the trade name of the Organization
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1 as well as any trademark, symbol, insignia, or emblem of

2 the Organization in advertising that the contributions,

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

4 or for the use of, approved, selected, or used by the Orga5 nization.

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

7 Organization shall have exclusive right to use the name

8 ‘‘United States Tourism Organization’’, the symbol de9 scribed in subsection (b)(1), the emblem described in sub10 section (b)(2), and the words ‘‘United States Tourism

11 Organization’’, or any combination thereof, subject to the

12 use reserved by the second sentence of subsection (b).

13 SEC. 6. UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT COOPERATION.

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

15 shall—

16 (1) place a high priority on implementing rec17 ommendations by the Organization; and

18 (2) cooperate with the Organization in carrying

19 out its duties.

20 (b) DIRECTOR OF THE UNITED STATES INFORMA21 TION AGENCY.—The Director of the United States Infor22 mation Agency shall—

23 (1) place a high priority on implementing rec24 ommendations by the Organization; and
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1 (2) cooperate with the Organization in carrying

2 out its duties.

3 (c) TRADE PROMOTION COORDINATING COMMIT4 TEE.— Section 2312 of the Export Enhancement Act of

5 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4727) is amended—

6 (1) by striking out ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub7 section (c)(4);

8 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub9 section (c)(5) and inserting a semicolon and the

10 word ‘‘and’’;

11 (3) by adding at the end thereof the following:

12 ‘‘(6) reflect recommendations by the National

13 Tourism Board established under the United States

14 Tourism Organization Act.’’ and

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

16 subparagraph (L), by redesignating subparagraph

17 (M) as subparagraph (N), and by inserting the fol18 lowing:

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

20 States Tourism Organization, as established under

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

22 SEC. 7. SUNSET.

23 If, by the date that is 2 years after the date of incor24 poration of the Organization, a plan for the long-term fi-
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1 nancing of the Organization has not been implemented,

2 the Organization and the Board shall terminate.

Passed the Senate August 2, 1996.

Attest: KELLY D. JOHNSTON,

Secretary.