II 

Calendar No. 71 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1023 

[Report No. 111–25] 

To establish a non-profit corporation to communicate United States entry 

policies and otherwise promote leisure, business, and scholarly travel 

to the United States. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 12, 2009 

Mr. DORGAN (for himself, Mr. ENSIGN, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. MARTINEZ, Ms. 

KLOBUCHAR, Mr. BEGICH, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. BENNET, Mr. UDALL of 

New Mexico, Mr VITTER, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Mr. REID, Mr. 

ROCKEFELLER, Mr. NELSON of Florida, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. THUNE, Mr. 

KERRY, Mr. PRYOR, Mr. WICKER, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mr. ENZI, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. GRAHAM, and Mr. TESTER) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

Transportation 

JUNE 5, 2009 

Reported under authority of the order of the Senate of June 4, 2009, by Mr. 

ROCKEFELLER, with amendments 

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To establish a non-profit corporation to communicate United 

States entry policies and otherwise promote leisure, business, and scholarly travel to the United States. 


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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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Travel Promotion Act of 2009’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. The Corporation for Travel Promotion. 

Sec. 3. Accountability measures. 

Sec. 4. Matching public and private funding. 

Sec. 5. Travel promotion fund fees. 

Sec. 6. Assessment authority. 

Sec. 7. Office of Travel Promotion. 

Sec. 8. Research program. 

8 SEC. 2. THE CORPORATION FOR TRAVEL PROMOTION. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Corporation for Travel 

10 Promotion is established as a nonprofit corporation. The 

11 Corporation shall not be an agency or establishment of 

12 the United States Government. The Corporation shall be 

13 subject to the provisions of the District of Columbia Non14 profit Corporation Act (D.C. Code, section 29–1001 et 

15 seq.), to the extent that such provisions are consistent 

16 with this section, and shall have the powers conferred 

17 upon a nonprofit corporation by that Act to carry out its 

18 purposes and activities. 

19 (b) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation shall have 

21 a board of directors of 11 members with knowledge 


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1 of international travel promotion and marketing, 

2 broadly representing various regions of the United 

3 States, who are United States citizens. Members of 

4 the board shall be appointed by the Secretary of 

5 Commerce (after consultation with the Secretary of 

6 Homeland Security and the Secretary of State), as 

7 follows: 

8 (A) 1 shall have appropriate expertise and 

9 experience in the hotel accommodations sector; 

10 (B) 1 shall have appropriate expertise and 

11 experience in the restaurant sector; 

12 (C) 1 shall have appropriate expertise and 

13 experience in the small business or retail sector 

14 or in associations representing that sector; 

15 (D) 1 shall have appropriate expertise and 

16 experience in the advertising travel distribution 

17 services sector; 

18 (E) 1 shall have appropriate expertise and 

19 experience in the attractions or recreations sec20 tor; 

21 (F) 1 shall have appropriate expertise and 

22 experience as officials of a city convention and 

23 visitors’ bureau; 

24 (G) 2 shall have appropriate expertise and 

25 experience as officials of a State tourism office; 


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1 (H) 1 shall have appropriate expertise and 

2 experience in the passenger air sector; 

3 (I) 1 shall have appropriate expertise and 

4 experience in immigration law and policy, in5 cluding visa requirements and United States 

6 entry procedures; and 

7 (J) 1 shall have appropriate expertise in 

8 the intercity passenger railroad business. 

9 (2) INCORPORATION.—The members of the ini10 tial board of directors shall serve as incorporators 

11 and shall take whatever actions are necessary to es12 tablish the Corporation under the District of Colum13 bia Nonprofit Corporation Act (D.C. Code, section 

14 29–1001 29–301.01 et seq.). 

15 (3) TERM OF OFFICE.—The term of office of 

16 each member of the board appointed by the Sec17 retary shall be 3 years, except that, of the members 

18 first appointed— 

19 (A) 3 shall be appointed for terms of 1 

20 year; 

21 (B) 4 shall be appointed for terms of 2 

22 years; and 

23 (C) 4 shall be appointed for terms of 3 

24 years. 


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1 (4) REMOVAL FOR CAUSE.—The Secretary of 

2 Commerce may remove any member of the board for 

3 good cause. 

4 (5) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the board 

5 shall not affect its power, but shall be filled in the 

6 manner required by this section. Any member whose 

7 term has expired may serve until the member’s suc8 cessor has taken office, or until the end of the cal9 endar year in which the member’s term has expired, 

10 whichever is earlier. Any member appointed to fill a 

11 vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term 

12 for which that member’s predecessor was appointed 

13 shall be appointed for the remainder of the prede14 cessor’s term. No member of the board shall be eligi15 ble to serve more than 2 consecutive full 3-year 

16 terms. 

17 (6) ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN AND VICE CHAIR18 MAN.—Members of the board shall annually elect 

19 one of the members to be Chairman and elect 1 or 

20 2 of the members as Vice Chairman or Vice Chair21 men. 

22 (7) STATUS AS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—Not23 withstanding any provision of law to the contrary, 

24 no member of the board may be considered to be a 


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1 Federal employee of the United States by virtue of 

2 his or her service as a member of the board. 

3 (8) COMPENSATION; EXPENSES.—No member 

4 shall receive any compensation from the Federal 

5 government for serving on the Board. Each member 

6 of the Board shall be paid actual travel expenses and 

7 per diem in lieu of subsistence expenses when away 

8 from his or her usual place of residence, in accord9 ance with section 5703 of title 5, United States 

10 Code. 

11 (c) OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation shall have 

13 a President, an executive director and such other of14 ficers as may be named and appointed by the board 

15 for terms and at rates of compensation fixed by the 

16 board. No individual other than a citizen of the 

17 United States may be an officer of the Corporation. 

18 The Corporation may hire and fix the compensation 

19 of such employees as may be necessary to carry out 

20 its purposes. No officer or employee of the Corpora21 tion may receive any salary or other compensation 

22 (except for compensation for services on boards of 

23 directors of other organizations that do not receive 

24 funds from the Corporation, on committees of such 

25 boards, and in similar activities for such organizaVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:18 Jun 05, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1023.RS S1023

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1 tions) from any sources other than the Corporation 

2 for services rendered during the period of his or her 

3 employment by the Corporation. Service by any offi4 cer on boards of directors of other organizations, on 

5 committees of such boards, and in similar activities 

6 for such organizations shall be subject to annual ad7 vance approval by the board and subject to the pro8 visions of the Corporation’s Statement of Ethical 

9 Conduct. All officers and employees shall serve at 

10 the pleasure of the board. 

11 (2) NONPOLITICAL NATURE OF APPOINT12 MENT.—No political test or qualification shall be 

13 used in selecting, appointing, promoting, or taking 

14 other personnel actions with respect to officers, 

15 agents, or employees of the Corporation. 

16 (d) NONPROFIT AND NONPOLITICAL NATURE OF

17 CORPORATION.— 

18 (1) STOCK.—The Corporation shall have no 

19 power to issue any shares of stock, or to declare or 

20 pay any dividends. 

21 (2) PROFIT.—No part of the income or assets 

22 of the Corporation shall inure to the benefit of any 

23 director, officer, employee, or any other individual 

24 except as salary or reasonable compensation for 

25 services. 


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1 (3) POLITICS.—The Corporation may not con2 tribute to or otherwise support any political party or 

3 candidate for elective public office. 

4 (4) SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING LOBBYING

5 ACTIVITIES.—It is the sense of Congress that the 

6 Corporation should not engage in lobbying activities 

7 (as defined in section 3(7) of the Lobbying Disclo8 sure Act of 1995 (5 U.S.C. 1602(7)). 

9 (e) DUTIES AND POWERS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation shall de11 velop and execute a plan— 

12 (A) to provide useful information to for13 eign tourists, business people, students, schol14 ars, scientists, and others interested in travel15 ling to the United States, including the dis16 tribution of material provided by the Federal 

17 government concerning entry requirements, re18 quired documentation, fees, processes, and in19 formation concerning declared public health 

20 emergencies, to prospective travelers, travel 

21 agents, tour operators, meeting planners, for22 eign governments, travel media and other inter23 national stakeholders; 


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1 (B) to identify, counter, and correct 

2 misperceptions regarding United States entry 

3 policies around the world; 

4 (C) to maximize the economic and diplo5 matic benefits of travel to the United States by 

6 promoting the United States of America to 

7 world travelers through the use of, but not lim8 ited to, all forms of advertising, outreach to 

9 trade shows, and other appropriate promotional 

10 activities; 

11 (D) to ensure that international travel ben12 efits all States and the District of Columbia 

13 and to identify opportunities and strategies to 

14 promote tourism to rural and urban areas 

15 equally, including areas not traditionally visited 

16 by international travelers; and 

17 (E) to give priority to the Corporation’s ef18 forts with respect to countries and populations 

19 most likely to travel to the United States. 

20 (2) SPECIFIC POWERS.—In order to carry out 

21 the purposes of this section, the Corporation may— 

22 (A) obtain grants from and make contracts 

23 with individuals and private companies, State, 

24 and Federal agencies, organizations, and insti25 tutions; 


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1 (B) hire or accept the voluntary services of 

2 consultants, experts, advisory boards, and pan3 els to aid the Corporation in carrying out its 

4 purposes; and 

5 (C) take such other actions as may be nec6 essary to accomplish the purposes set forth in 

7 this section. 

8 (3) PUBLIC OUTREACH AND INFORMATION.— 

9 The Corporation shall develop and maintain a pub10 licly accessible website. 

11 (f) OPEN MEETINGS.—Meetings of the board of di12 rectors of the Corporation, including any committee of the 

13 board, shall be open to the public. The board may, by ma14 jority vote, close any such meeting only for the time nec15 essary to preserve the confidentiality of commercial or fi16 nancial information that is privileged or confidential, to 

17 discuss personnel matters, or to discuss legal matters af18 fecting the Corporation, including pending or potential liti19 gation. 

20 (g) MAJOR CAMPAIGNS.—The board may not author21 ize the Corporation to obligate or expend more than 

22 $25,000,000 on any advertising campaign, promotion, or 

23 related effort unless— 


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1 (1) the obligation or expenditure is approved by 

an affirmative vote of at least 2 2 ⁄3 of the members of 

3 the board present at the meeting; 

4 (2) at least 6 members of the board are present 

5 at the meeting at which it is approved; and 

6 (3) each member of the board has been given 

7 at least 3 days advance notice of the meeting at 

8 which the vote is to be taken and the matters to be 

9 voted upon at that meeting. 

10 (h) FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY.— 

11 (1) FISCAL YEAR.—The Corporation shall es12 tablish as its fiscal year the 12-month period begin13 ning on October 1. 

14 (2) BUDGET.—The Corporation shall adopt a 

15 budget for each fiscal year. 

16 (3) ANNUAL AUDITS.—The Corporation shall 

17 engage an independent accounting firm to conduct 

18 an annual financial audit of the Corporation’s oper19 ations and shall publish the results of the audit. The 

20 Comptroller General of the United States may re21 view any audit of a financial statement conducted 

22 under this subsection by an independent accounting 

23 firm and may audit the Corporation’s operations at 

24 the discretion of the Comptroller General. The 

25 Comptroller General and the Congress shall have full 


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1 and complete access to the books and records of the 

2 Corporation. 

3 (4) PROGRAM AUDITS.—Not later than 2 years 

4 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comp5 troller General shall conduct a review of the pro6 grammatic activities of the Corporation for Travel 

7 Promotion. This report shall be provided to appro8 priate congressional committees. 

9 SEC. 3. ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURES. 

10 (a) OBJECTIVES.—The Board shall establish annual 

11 objectives for the Corporation for each fiscal year subject 

12 to approval by the Secretary of Commerce (after consulta13 tion with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Sec14 retary of State). The Corporation shall establish a mar15 keting plan for each fiscal year not less than 60 days be16 fore the beginning of that year and provide a copy of the 

17 plan, and any revisions thereof, to the Secretary. 

18 (b) BUDGET.—The board shall transmit a copy of the 

19 Corporation’s budget for the forthcoming fiscal year to the 

20 Secretary not less than 60 days before the beginning of 

21 each fiscal year, together with an explanation of any ex22 penditure provided for by the budget in excess of 

23 $5,000,000 for the fiscal year. The Corporation shall 

24 make a copy of the budget and the explanation available 


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1 to the public and shall provide public access to the budget 

2 and explanation on the Corporation’s website. 

3 (c) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Corpora4 tion shall submit an annual report for the preceding fiscal 

5 year to the Secretary of Commerce for transmittal to the 

6 Congress on or before the 15th day of May of each year. 

7 The report shall include— 

8 (1) a comprehensive and detailed report of the 

9 Corporation’s operations, activities, financial condi10 tion, and accomplishments under this Act; 

11 (2) a comprehensive and detailed inventory of 

12 amounts obligated or expended by the Corporation 

13 during the preceding fiscal year; 

14 (3) a detailed description of each in-kind con15 tribution, its fair market value, the individual or or16 ganization responsible for contributing, its specific 

17 use, and a justification for its use within the context 

18 of the Corporation’s mission; 

19 (4) an objective and quantifiable measurement 

20 of its progress, on an objective-by-objective basis, in 

21 meeting the objectives established by the board; 

22 (5) an explanation of the reason for any failure 

23 to achieve an objective established by the board and 

24 any revisions or alterations to the Corporation’s ob25 jectives under subsection (a); 


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1 (6) a comprehensive and detailed report of the 

2 Corporation’s operations and activities to promote 

3 tourism in rural and urban areas; and 

4 (7) such recommendations as the Corporation 

5 deems appropriate. 

6 (d) LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts depos7 ited in the Fund may not be used for any purpose incon8 sistent with carrying out the objectives, budget, and report 

9 described in this section. 

10 SEC. 4. MATCHING PUBLIC AND PRIVATE FUNDING. 

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF TRAVEL PROMOTION

12 FUND.—There is hereby established in the Treasury a 

13 fund which shall be known as the Travel Promotion Fund. 

14 (b) FUNDING.— 

15 (1) START-UP EXPENSES.—For the period be16 ginning on October 1, 2009, and ending on Decem17 ber 31, 2009, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 

18 make available to the Corporation such sums as may 

19 be necessary, but not to exceed $10,000,000, from 

20 amounts deposited in the general fund of the Treas21 ury from fees under section 217(h)(3)(B)(i)(I) of the 

22 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

23 1187(h)(3)(B)(i)(I)) to cover the Corporation’s ini24 tial expenses and activities under this Act. 


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1 (2) FISCAL YEAR 2010 AND SUBSEQUENT

2 YEARS.—For the period beginning on January 1, 

3 2010, and ending on September 30, 2010, and for 

4 each of fiscal years 2011 through 2014, from 

5 amounts deposited in the general fund of the Treas6 ury during the preceding fiscal year from fees under 

7 section 217(h)(3)(B)(i)(I) of the Immigration and 

8 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1187(h)(3)(B)(i)(I)), the 

9 Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer not more 

10 than $100,000,000 to the Fund, which shall be 

11 made available to the Corporation, subject to sub12 sections (c) and (d) of this section, to carry out its 

13 functions under this Act. Transfers shall be made at 

14 least quarterly on the basis of estimates by the Sec15 retary of the Treasury of the amounts required to be 

16 transferred in accordance with subsection (c), and 

17 proper adjustments shall be made in amounts subse18 quently transferred to the extent prior estimates 

19 were in excess or less than the amounts required to 

20 be transferred. 

21 (c) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas23 ury shall make available to the Corporation at least 

24 quarterly from amounts available in the Fund for 

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1 ing on September 30, 2010, and for each of fiscal 

2 years 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014, an amount equal 

3 to the amount received from non-Federal sources by 

4 the Corporation. The amount made available to the 

5 Corporation under this paragraph for the period 

6 ending on September 30, 2010, and for each of 

7 those fiscal years, may not exceed $100,000,000. 

8 (1) START-UP EXPENSES.—For fiscal year 2010, 

9 the Secretary of the Treasury shall make available to 

10 the Corporation such sums as may be necessary, but 

11 not to exceed $10,000,000, from amounts deposited in 

12 the general fund of the Treasury from fees under sec13 tion 217(h)(3)(B)(i)(I) of the Immigration and Na14 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1187(h)(3)(B)(i)(I)) to cover 

15 the Corporation’s initial expenses and activities 

16 under this Act. Transfers shall be made at least quar17 terly, beginning on October 1, 2009, on the basis of 

18 estimates by the Secretary, and proper adjustments 

19 shall be made in amounts subsequently transferred to 

20 the extent prior estimates were in excess or less than 

21 the amounts required to be transferred. 

22 (2) SUBSEQUENT YEARS.—For each of fiscal 

23 years 2011 through 2014, from amounts deposited in 

24 the general fund of the Treasury during the preceding 

25 fiscal year from fees under section 217(h)(3)(B)(i)(I) 


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1 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

2 1187(h)(B)(i)(I)), the Secretary of the Treasury shall 

3 transfer not more than $100,000,000 to the Fund, 

4 which shall be made available to the Corporation, 

5 subject to subsection (c) of this section, to carry out 

6 its functions under this Act. Transfers shall be made 

7 at least quarterly on the basis of estimates by the Sec8 retary, and proper adjustments shall be made in 

9 amounts subsequently transferred to the extent prior 

10 estimates were in excess or less than the amounts re11 quired to be transferred. 

12 (c) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—No amounts may be made 

14 available to the Corporation under this section after 

15 fiscal year 2010, except to the extent that— 

16 (A) for fiscal year 2011, the Corporation 

17 provides matching amounts from non-Federal 

18 sources equal in the aggregate to 50 percent or 

19 more of the amount transferred to the Fund 

20 under subsection (b); and 

21 (B) for any fiscal year after fiscal year 

22 2011, the Corporation provides matching 

23 amounts from non-Federal sources equal in the 

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1 ferred to the Fund under subsection (b) for the 

2 fiscal year. 

3 (2) GOODS AND SERVICES.—For the purpose of 

4 determining the amount received from non-Federal 

5 sources by the Corporation, other than money— 

6 (A) the fair market value of goods and 

7 services (including advertising) contributed to 

8 the Corporation for use under this Act may be 

9 included in the determination; but 

10 (B) the fair market value of such goods 

11 and services may not account for more than 80 

12 percent of the matching requirement under 

13 paragraph (1) for the Corporation in any fiscal 

14 year. 

15 (3) RIGHT OF REFUSAL.—The Corporation may 

16 decline to accept any contribution in-kind that it de17 termines to be inappropriate, not useful, or commer18 cially worthless. 

19 (4) LIMITATION.—The Corporation may not ob20 ligate or expend funds in excess of the total amount 

21 received by the Corporation for a fiscal year from 

22 Federal and non-Federal sources. 

23 (d) CARRYFORWARD.— 


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1 (1) FEDERAL FUNDS.—Amounts transferred to 

2 the Fund under subsection (b)(2) shall remain avail3 able until expended. 

4 (2) MATCHING FUNDS.—Any amount received 

5 by the Corporation from non-Federal sources in fis6 cal year 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, or 2014 that can7 not be used to meet the matching requirement under 

8 subsection (c)(1) for the fiscal year in which amount 

9 was collected may be carried forward and treated as 

10 having been received in the succeeding fiscal year for 

11 purposes of meeting the matching requirement of 

12 subsection (c)(1) in such succeeding fiscal year. 

13 SEC. 5. TRAVEL PROMOTION FUND FEES. 

14 Section 217(h)(3)(B) of the Immigration and Nation15 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1187(h)(3)(B)) is amended to read as 

16 follows: 

17 ‘‘(B) FEES.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—No later than September 

19 30, 2009, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 

20 establish a fee for the use of the System and begin 

21 assessment and collection of that fee. The initial fee 

22 shall be the sum of— 

23 ‘‘(I) $10 per travel authorization; and 

24 ‘‘(II) an amount that will at least ensure 

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1 ministering the System, as determined by the 

2 Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(ii) DISPOSITION OF AMOUNTS COLLECTED.— 

4 Amounts collected under clause (i)(I) shall be cred5 ited to the Travel Promotion Fund established by 

6 section 4 of the Travel Promotion Act of 2009. 

7 Amounts collected under clause (i)(II) shall be 

8 transferred to the general fund of the Treasury and 

9 made available to pay the costs incurred to admin10 ister the System. 

11 ‘‘(iii) SUNSET OF TRAVEL PROMOTION FUND

12 FEE.—The Secretary may not collect the fee author13 ized by clause (i)(I) for fiscal years beginning after 

14 September 30, 2014.’’. 

15 SEC. 6. ASSESSMENT AUTHORITY. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in 

17 this section, the Corporation may impose an annual as18 sessment on United States members of the international 

19 travel and tourism industry (other than those described 

20 in section 2(b)(1)(C) or (H)) represented on the Board 

21 in proportion to their share of the aggregate international 

22 travel and tourism revenue of the industry. The Corpora23 tion shall be responsible for verifying, implementing, and 

24 collecting the assessment authorized by this section. 


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1 (b) INITIAL ASSESSMENT LIMITED.—The Corpora2 tion may establish the initial assessment after the date 

3 of enactment of the Travel and Tourism Promotion Act 

4 at no greater, in the aggregate, than $20,000,000. 

5 (c) REFERENDA.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation may not 

7 impose an annual assessment unless— 

8 (A) the Corporation submits the proposed 

9 annual assessment to members of the industry 

10 in a referendum; and 

11 (B) the assessment is approved by a ma12 jority of those voting in the referendum. 

13 (3) PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS.—In con14 ducting a referendum under this subsection, the Cor15 poration shall— 

16 (A) provide written or electronic notice not 

17 less than 60 days before the date of the ref18 erendum; 

19 (B) describe the proposed assessment or 

20 increase and explain the reasons for the ref21 erendum in the notice; and 

22 (C) determine the results of the ref23 erendum on the basis of weighted voting appor24 tioned according to each business entity’s rel25 ative share of the aggregate annual United 


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1 States international travel and tourism revenue 

2 for the industry per business entity, treating all 

3 related entities as a single entity. 

4 (d) COLLECTION.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation shall estab6 lish a means of collecting the assessment that it 

7 finds to be efficient and effective. The Corporation 

8 may establish a late payment charge and rate of in9 terest to be imposed on any person who fails to 

10 remit or pay to the Corporation any amount as11 sessed by the Corporation under this Act. 

12 (2) ENFORCEMENT.—The Corporation may 

13 bring suit in Federal court to compel compliance 

14 with an assessment levied by the Corporation under 

15 this Act. 

16 (e) INVESTMENT OF FUNDS.—Pending disbursement 

17 pursuant to a program, plan, or project, the Corporation 

18 may invest funds collected through assessments, and any 

19 other funds received by the Corporation, only in obliga20 tions of the United States or any agency thereof, in gen21 eral obligations of any State or any political subdivision 

22 thereof, in any interest-bearing account or certificate of 

23 deposit of a bank that is a member of the Federal Reserve 

24 System, or in obligations fully guaranteed as to principal 

25 and interest by the United States. 


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1 SEC. 7. OFFICE OF TRAVEL PROMOTION. 

2 Title II of the International Travel Act of 1961 (22 

3 U.S.C. 2121 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 

4 201 the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 202. OFFICE OF TRAVEL PROMOTION. 

6 ‘‘(a) OFFICE ESTABLISHED.—There is established 

7 within the Department of Commerce an office to be known 

8 as the Office of Travel Promotion. 

9 ‘‘(b) DIRECTOR.— 

10 ‘‘(1) APPOINTMENT.—The Office shall be head11 ed by a Director who shall be appointed by the Sec12 retary. 

13 ‘‘(2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Director shall be a 

14 citizen of the United States and have experience in 

15 a field directly related to the promotion of travel to 

16 and within the United States. 

17 ‘‘(3) DUTIES.—The Director shall be respon18 sible for ensuring the office is carrying out its func19 tions effectively and shall report to the Secretary. 

20 ‘‘(c) FUNCTIONS.—The Office shall— 

21 ‘‘(1) serve as liaison to the Corporation for 

22 Travel Promotion established by section 2 of the 

23 Travel Promotion Act of 2009 and support and en24 courage the development of programs to increase the 

25 number of international visitors to the United States 


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1 for business, leisure, educational, medical, exchange, 

2 and other purposes; 

3 ‘‘(2) work with the Corporation, the Secretary 

4 of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security— 

5 ‘‘(A) to disseminate information more ef6 fectively to potential international visitors about 

7 documentation and procedures required for ad8 mission to the United States as a visitor; 

9 ‘‘(B) to ensure that arriving international 

10 visitors are generally welcomed with accurate 

11 information and in an inviting manner; 

12 ‘‘(C) to collect accurate data on the total 

13 number of international visitors that visit each 

14 State; and 

15 ‘‘(D) enhance the entry and departure ex16 perience for international visitors through the 

17 use of advertising, signage, and customer serv18 ice; and 

19 ‘‘(3) support State, regional, and private sector 

20 initiatives to promote travel to and within the 

21 United States. 

22 ‘‘(d) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Within a year after 

23 the date of enactment of the Travel Promotion Act of 

24 2009, and periodically thereafter as appropriate, the Sec25 retary shall transmit a report to the Senate Committee 


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25 

•S 1023 RS 

1 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the Senate 

2 Committee on Homeland Security and Government Af3 fairs, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, the 

4 House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Com5 merce, the House of Representatives Committee on Home6 land Security, and the House of Representatives Com7 mittee on Foreign Affairs describing the Office’s work 

8 with the Corporation, the Secretary of State and the Sec9 retary of Homeland Security to carry out subsection 

10 (c)(2).’’. 

11 SEC. 8. RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

12 Title II of the International Travel Act of 1961 (22 

13 U.S.C. 2121 et seq.), as amended by section 7, is further 

14 amended by inserting after section 202 the following: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 203. RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Office of Travel and Tour17 ism Industries shall expand and continue its research and 

18 development activities in connection with the promotion of 

19 international travel to the United States, including— 

20 ‘‘(1) expanding access to the official Mexican 

21 travel surveys data to provide the States with trav22 eler characteristics and visitation estimates for tar23 geted marketing programs; 

24 ‘‘(2) expanding the number of inbound air trav25 elers sampled by the Commerce Department’s SurVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:18 Jun 05, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1023.RS S1023

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•S 1023 RS 

1 vey of International Travelers to reach a 1 percent 

2 sample size and revising the design and format of 

3 questionnaires to accommodate a new survey instru4 ment, improve response rates to at least double the 

5 number of States and cities with reliable inter6 national visitor estimates and improve market cov7 erage; 

8 ‘‘(3) developing estimates of international travel 

9 exports (expenditures) on a State-by-State basis to 

10 enable each State to compare its comparative posi11 tion to national totals and other States; 

12 ‘‘(4) evaluate the success of the Corporation in 

13 achieving its objectives and carrying out the pur14 poses of the Travel Promotion Act of 2009; and 

15 ‘‘(5) research to support the annual reports re16 quired by section 202(d) of this Act. 

17 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

18 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Com19 merce for fiscal years 2010 through 2014 such sums as 

20 may be necessary to carry out this section.’’. 


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Calendar No. 71 

111TH

CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1023 

[Report No. 111–25] 

A BILL 

To establish a non-profit corporation to commuthe United States. promote leisure, business, and scholarly travel to nicate United States entry policies and otherwise 

JUNE 5, 2009 

Reported with amendments 


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