I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8480 
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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 1, 2020 
Mr. CASE (for himself, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Ms. TITUS, Mr. YOUNG, Ms. SHALALA, 
Mr. PANETTA, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. CA´RDENAS, and Mr. PETERS) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy 
and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, 
and the Judiciary, 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 
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-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Visit America Act’’. 
SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this Act are— 
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(1) to support the travel and tourism industry, 
which produces economic impacts that are vital our 
national economy; 
(2) to address the recent decline in the percent-
age of international travelers who visit the United 
States; and 
(3) to establish national goals for international 
visitors to the United States, including— 
(A) recommendations for achieving such 
goals and timelines for implementing such rec-
ommendations; 
(B) coordination between Federal and 
State agencies; 
(C) assessing the resources needed by each 
Government agency to achieve such goals; 
(D) setting national travel export goals; 
and 
(E) setting national domestic travel goals. 
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) the national goal for international visitors 
referred to in section 2(3) should reach 116,000,000 
per year by 2028; 
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(2) the national goal for travel exports referred 
to in section 2(3)(D) should reach $445,000,000,000 
by 2028; 
(3) the travel industry is an essential part of 
the United States services exports with respect to 
both business travel and leisure travel; 
(4) the promotion of travel and visitation by 
Brand USA is vital to increasing visitation and ar-
ticulating the visitation laws of the United States; 
and 
(5) there is an urgent need for a coordinated 
travel and tourism industry response and strategy in 
the event of unforeseen circumstances leading to a 
decline in travel or tourism. 
SEC. 4. ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR TRAVEL AND TOURISM. 
Section 2(d) of the Reorganization Plan Numbered 
3 of 1979 (93 Stat. 1382; 5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘There shall be in the Depart-
ment two additional Assistant Secretaries’’ and in-
serting ‘‘(1) There shall be in the Department 3 ad-
ditional Assistant Secretaries, including the Assist-
ant Secretary of Commerce for Travel and Tour-
ism,’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(2) The Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Travel 
and Tourism shall— 
‘‘(A) be appointed by the President, subject to 
the advise and consent of the Senate; and 
‘‘(B) report directly to the Under Secretary for 
International Trade.’’. 
SEC. 5. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY 
OF COMMERCE FOR TRAVEL AND TOURISM. 
(a) VISITATION GOALS.—The Assistant Secretary of 
Commerce for Travel and Tourism (referred to in this sec-
tion as the ‘‘Assistant Secretary’’), appointed pursuant to 
section 2(d) of the Reorganization Plan Numbered 3 of 
1979, as amended by section 4, shall— 
(1) establish an annual goal for— 
(A) the number of international visitors to 
the 
United 
States, 
which 
shall 
reach 
116,000,000 by 2028; and 
(B) travel exports, which shall reach 
$445,000,000,000 by 2028; 
(2) develop recommendations for achieving such 
visitation goal; 
(3) ensure coordination between— 
(A) the Department of Commerce, the De-
partment of Homeland Security, the Depart-
ment of State, the Department of Transpor-
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tation, the Department of Labor for policy de-
velopment and recommendations for utilizing— 
(B) the National Travel and Tourism Of-
fice; 
(C) Brand USA; 
(D) the United States Travel and Tourism 
Advisory Board; 
(E) the Task Force on Travel and Tourism 
established by Executive Order 13597 of Janu-
ary 19, 2012; and 
(F) travel industry partners, including 
public and private destination marketing orga-
nizations and travel and tourism suppliers; 
(4) establish short-, medium-, and long-term 
timelines for implementing the recommendations de-
veloped pursuant to paragraph (2); and 
(5) conduct Federal agency needs assessments 
to identify the resources, statutory or regulatory 
changes, and private sector engagement needed to 
achieve the annual visitation goals. 
(b) VISA
ADJUDICATION.—The 
Assistant 
Sec-
retary— 
(1) in coordination with the Secretary of State 
and the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall pro-
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vide support for improving visitor visa processing 
with respect to— 
(A) the maximum time for processing 
visas, by visitation type; 
(B) recommending regulatory and policy 
changes needed to meet such visa processing 
goals, including technology, processing centers, 
and training; and 
(C) a plan for streamlining visa applica-
tions and adjudications, including application 
design and data collection procedures; and 
(2) shall explore opportunities to establish pilot 
programs to integrate technology into the visitor visa 
adjudication process, including video conferencing 
and biometrics. 
(c) DOMESTIC TRAVEL.—The Assistant Secretary 
shall— 
(1) conduct a study to identify domestic com-
petitiveness with respect to— 
(A) the strengths and weaknesses of the 
domestic travel industry; and 
(B) the external opportunities and chal-
lenges to domestic tourism; 
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(2) develop recommendations and goals to sup-
port domestic tourism, separated by business and 
leisure; and 
(3) engage public and private stakeholders to 
support domestic tourism. 
(d) WORKFORCE.—The Assistant Secretary— 
(1) in coordination with the Secretary of Labor, 
shall provide timely and reliable workforce data re-
garding workforce and labor market needs; 
(2) shall work to improve tourism industry data 
collection by the Bureau of Economic Analysis; and 
(3) shall provide recommendations for policy en-
hancements and streamlining. 
(e) TRAVEL EXPORT PROMOTION.—The Assistant 
Secretary, in coordination with the Director General of the 
United States and Foreign Commercial Service, shall work 
to promote and facilitate travel exports abroad and ensure 
competitiveness by— 
(1) participating in and organizing meetings, 
incentives, conferences, and exhibitions; 
(2) monitor visa adjudications; 
(3) emphasizing rural and other destinations 
rich in cultural heritage or ecological tourism, 
among other uniquely American destinations; and 
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(4) promoting sports and recreation events and 
activities. 
(f) TRAVEL SECURITY.—The Assistant Secretary 
shall investigate and provide recommendations regarding 
utilizing and expanding existing security programs to bet-
ter meet the needs of the United States travel and tourism 
industry, including— 
(1) the Visa Waiver Program authorized under 
section 217 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
(8 U.S.C. 1187); 
(2) preclearance operations; 
(3) the Trusted Traveler Program; and 
(4) the biometric entry-exit control system re-
quired under section 110 of the Illegal Immigration 
Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 
(division C of Public Law 104–208; 8 U.S.C. 1221 
note). 
(g) RECOVERY STRATEGY.— 
(1) INITIAL RECOVERY STRATEGY.—Not later 
than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Assistant Secretary, in consultation with 
the United States Travel and Tourism Advisory 
Board and travel industry partners, shall develop 
and implement a COVID–19 pandemic recovery 
strategy to assist in the United States travel and 
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tourism industry to quickly recover from the travel 
restrictions necessitated by the pandemic. 
(2) FUTURE
RECOVERY
STRATEGIES.—After 
assisting in the implementation of the strategy de-
veloped pursuant to paragraph (1), the Assistant 
Secretary, in consultation with the entities referred 
to in such paragraph, shall develop additional recov-
ery strategies for the travel and tourism industry in 
anticipation of other unforeseen catastrophic events 
that would significantly affect the travel and tourism 
industry, such as hurricanes, floods, tsunamis, tor-
nadoes, or pandemics. 
(h) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 
(1) ASSISTANT
SECRETARY.—The Assistant 
Secretary shall produce an annual forecasting report 
on the travel and tourism industry, which shall in-
clude current and anticipated— 
(A) domestic employment needs; 
(B) international inbound volume and 
spending, taking into account the lasting effects 
of the COVID–19 pandemic and the impact of 
the recovery strategy implemented pursuant to 
subsection (g)(1); and 
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(C) domestic volume and spending, includ-
ing Federal and State public land travel and 
tourism data. 
(2) BUREAU OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS.—The Di-
rector of the Bureau of Economic Analysis should 
update the Travel and Tourism Satellite Accounts 
quarterly, including— 
(A) State level travel and tourism export 
data; 
(B) travel and tourism workforce data for 
full-time and part-time employment; and 
(C) Federal and State public lands visita-
tion and spending data. 
(3) NATIONAL
TRAVEL
AND
TOURISM
OF-
FICE.—The Director of the National Travel and 
Tourism Office shall— 
(A) report international arrival and spend-
ing data on a regular monthly schedule; and 
(B) shall include questions in the Survey 
of International Air Travelers regarding wait- 
times, visits to public lands, and State data, to 
the extent applicable. 
SEC. 6. TRAVEL AND TOURISM STRATEGY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce, in 
consultation with the United States Travel and Tourism 
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Advisory Board, shall develop and submit to Congress a 
10-year travel and tourism strategy, which shall include— 
(1) the feasibility of achieving— 
(A) 116,000,000 annual international visi-
tors to the United States by 2028; and 
(B) $445,000,000,000 in travel exports by 
2028; 
(2) the resources needed to achieve the goals 
set forth in paragraph (1); and 
(3) recommendations for statutory or regulatory 
changes that would be necessary to achieve such 
goals. 
(b) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—The Secretary 
of Commerce shall coordinate an interagency strategy with 
the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Se-
curity for— 
(1) identify impediments to reaching the goals 
referred to in subsection (a)(1); and 
(2) recommends solutions for overcoming such 
impediments. 
SEC. 7. UNITED STATES TRAVEL AND TOURISM ADVISORY 
BOARD. 
Section 3 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to encourage 
travel in the United States, and for other purposes’’ (15 
U.S.C. 1546) is amended— 
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