bia Nonprofit Corporation Act (sec. 29–301.01 et 
seq.). 
(3) TERM OF OFFICE.—The term of office of 
each member of the board appointed by the Sec-
retary shall be 3 years, except that, of the members 
first appointed— 
(A) 3 shall be appointed for terms of 1 
year; 
(B) 4 shall be appointed for terms of 2 
years; and 
(C) 4 shall be appointed for terms of 3 
years. 
(4) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the board 
shall not affect its power, but shall be filled in the 
manner required by this section. Any member whose 
term has expired may serve until the member’s suc-
cessor has taken office, or until the end of the cal-
endar year in which the member’s term has expired, 
whichever is earlier. Any member appointed to fill a 
vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term 
for which that member’s predecessor was appointed 
shall be appointed for the remainder of the prede-
cessor’s term. No member of the board shall be eligi-
ble to serve more than 2 consecutive full terms.
(5) ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN AND VICE CHAIR-
MAN.—Members of the board shall annually elect 
one of their members to be chairman and elect 1 or 
more of their members as a vice chairman or vice 
chairmen. 
(6) STATUS
AS
FEDERAL
EMPLOYEES.—Not-
withstanding any provision of law to the contrary, 
no member of the board may be considered to be a 
Federal employee of the United States by virtue of 
his or her service as a member of the board. 
(7) COMPENSATION; EXPENSES.—No member 
of the board shall receive any compensation from the 
Federal Government or the Corporation by virtue of 
his or her service as a member of the board. Each 
member of the board shall be paid actual travel ex-
penses and per diem in lieu of subsistence expenses 
when away from his or her usual place of residence, 
in accordance with section 5703 of title 5, United 
States Code. 
(c) OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation shall have 
a President, and such other officers as may be 
named and appointed by the board for terms and at 
rates of compensation fixed by the board. No indi-
vidual other than a citizen of the United States may
be an officer of the Corporation. The corporation 
may hire and fix the compensation of such employ-
ees as may be necessary to carry out its purposes. 
No officer or employee of the Corporation may re-
ceive any salary or other compensation (except for 
compensation for services on boards of directors of 
other organizations that do not receive funds from 
the Corporation, on committees of such boards, and 
in similar activities for such organizations) from any 
sources other than the Corporation for services ren-
dered during the period of his or her employment by 
the Corporation. Service by any officer on boards of 
directors of other organizations, on committees of 
such boards, and in similar activities for such orga-
nizations shall be subject to annual advance ap-
proval by the board and subject to the provisions of 
the Corporation’s Statement of Ethical Conduct. All 
officers and employees shall serve at the pleasure of 
the board. 
(2) 
NONPOLITICAL
NATURE
OF
APPOINT-
MENT.—No political test or qualification shall be 
used in selecting, appointing, promoting, or taking 
other personnel actions with respect to officers, 
agents, or employees of the Corporation.
(d) NONPROFIT
AND NONPOLITICAL NATURE
OF 
CORPORATION.— 
(1) STOCK.—The Corporation shall have no 
power to issue any shares of stock, or to declare or 
pay any dividends. 
(2) PROFIT.—No part of the income or assets 
of the Corporation shall inure to the benefit of any 
director, officer, employee, or any other individual 
except as salary or reasonable compensation for 
services. 
(3) POLITICS.—The Corporation may not con-
tribute to or otherwise support any political party or 
candidate for elective public office. 
(4) SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING LOBBYING 
ACTIVITIES.—It is the sense of Congress that the 
Corporation established under this Act should not 
engage in any lobbying activities with any employee 
or branch of the Federal Government in favor of or 
in opposition to any political issue. 
(e) DUTIES AND POWERS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation shall de-
velop and execute a plan to— 
(A) provide useful information to foreign 
tourists, business people, students, scholars, sci-
entists and others interested in traveling to the
United States, including the distribution of ma-
terial provided by the Federal Government con-
cerning entry requirements, required docu-
mentation, fees, and processes, to prospective 
travelers, travel agents, tour operators, meeting 
planners, foreign governments, travel media and 
other international stakeholders; 
(B) identify and address perceptions in 
other countries regarding United States entry 
policies that tend to limit attempts to travel to 
the United States; 
(C) maximize the economic and diplomatic 
benefits of travel to the United States by pro-
moting the United States of America to world 
travelers through the use of, but not limited to, 
all forms of advertising, outreach to trade 
shows, and other appropriate promotional ac-
tivities; and 
(D) identify opportunities and strategies to 
promote tourism to rural and urban areas 
equally. 
(2) SPECIFIC POWERS.—In order to carry out 
the purposes of this section, the Corporation may— 
(A) obtain grants from and make contracts 
with individuals and private companies, State,
and Federal agencies, organizations, and insti-
tutions; 
(B) hire or accept the voluntary services of 
consultants, experts, advisory boards, and pan-
els to aid the Corporation in carrying out its 
purposes; and 
(C) take such other actions as may be nec-
essary to accomplish the purposes set forth in 
this section. 
(f) OPEN MEETINGS.—Meetings of the board of di-
rectors of the Corporation, including any committee of the 
board, shall be open to the public. The board may, by ma-
jority vote, close any such meeting only for the time nec-
essary to preserve the confidentiality of commercial or fi-
nancial information that is privileged or confidential, to 
discuss personnel matters, or to discuss legal matters af-
fecting the Corporation, including pending or potential liti-
gation. 
(g) MAJOR CAMPAIGNS.—The board may not author-
ize the Corporation to obligate or expend more than 
$25,000,000 on any advertising campaign, promotion, or 
related effort unless— 
(1) the obligation or expenditure is approved by 
an affirmative vote of at least 2⁄3 of the members of 
the board present at the meeting;
SEC. 8. AMENDMENTS TO THE INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL 
ACT OF 1961. 
(a) POWERS AND DUTIES OF SECRETARY OF COM-
MERCE.—Section 201 of the International Travel Act of 
1961 (22 U.S.C. 2122) is amended— 
(1) in the first sentence of the matter preceding 
paragraph (1)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘and by the United States 
National Tourism Organization Act of 1996’’; 
and 
(B) by striking ‘‘United States National 
Tourism Organization’’ and inserting ‘‘Corpora-
tion for Travel Promotion (established by sec-
tion 3 of the Travel Promotion Act of 2008)’’; 
(2) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘United 
States National Tourism Organization’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘Corporation for Travel Promotion’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘Such plan may not include a comprehensive international 
advertising campaign relating to critical tourism func-
tions.’’. 
(b) TOURISM POLICY COUNCIL.— 
(1) MEMBERSHIP.—Subsection (b) of section 
301 of the International Travel Act of 1961 (22 
U.S.C. 2124) is amended—
(A) by striking paragraphs (8) through 
(10); 
(B) by redesignating paragraph (11) as 
paragraph (13); 
(C) by inserting after paragraph (7) the 
following new paragraphs: 
‘‘(8) The Secretary of Homeland Security. 
‘‘(9) The Commissioner of U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection of the Department of Homeland 
Security. 
‘‘(10) The Assistant Secretary of U.S. Customs 
and Immigration Enforcement of the Department of 
Homeland Security. 
‘‘(11) The Secretary of Education.’’; and 
(D) in paragraph (13) (as redesignated by 
subparagraph (B) of this paragraph), by insert-
ing ‘‘, in consultation with other members of 
the Council’’ at the end before the period. 
(2) MEETINGS.—Subsection (d) of such section 
is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(d) The Council shall meet not less than 2 times 
a year. For the purposes of conducting business, each 
member of the Council may appoint a designee to rep-
resent such member during one or more meetings of the 
Council.’’.
(3) INVOLVEMENT OF FEDERAL AGENCIES AND 
DEPARTMENTS.—Subsection (e) of such section is 
amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(4) Members of the Council shall provide the Cor-
poration for Travel Promotion with timely information re-
garding documentation and procedures required for ad-
mission to the United States and regarding strategies 
planned by any Federal department or agency to promote 
travel to the United States for tourism, business, study, 
scholarship, scientific exchange, or other purposes, so that 
the Corporation for Travel Promotion may better conduct 
its communications and promotion activities.’’. 
(4) ANNUAL
REPORT.—Subsection (g)(3) of 
such section is amended by striking ‘‘United States 
National Tourism Organization’’ and inserting ‘‘Cor-
poration for Travel Promotion’’. 
(5) APPLICABILITY
OF
FEDERAL
ADVISORY 
COMMITTEE ACT.—Subsection (h) of such section is 
amended by striking ‘‘President of the United States 
National Tourism Organization’’ and inserting 
‘‘President of the Corporation for Travel Pro-
motion’’. 
(c) REPEAL OF AUTHORITIES RELATING TO THE 
UNITED STATES TRAVEL AND TOURISM PROMOTION AD-
VISORY BOARD.—Section 210 of the Department of Com-
merce and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2003 
(contained in title II of division B of Public Law 108– 
7; 117 Stat. 78–79; 22 U.S.C. 2122 note) is amended— 
(1) by striking subsections (b) through (d); and 
(2) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub-
section (b). 
SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act, the following definitions apply: 
(1) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the 
board of directors of the Corporation. 
(2) CORPORATION.—The term ‘‘Corporation’’ 
means the Corporation for Travel Promotion estab-
lished by section 2. 
(3) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Trav-
el Promotion Fund established by section 4. 
(4) SECRETARY.—Except as otherwise expressly 
provided, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 
of Commerce. 
SEC. 10. G.A.O. STUDY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Government Account-
ability Office shall initiate a study to assess barriers to 
entry into the United States by foreign travelers. The 
GAO shall consult with the Department of Homeland Se-
curity, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce-
ment and Customs and Border Protection, the Depart-
ment of Commerce, and the Department of the Treasury, 
as necessary. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the GAO shall report the find-
ings to the appropriate Congressional committees. The re-
port shall include— 
(1) the GAO’s findings on specific barriers to 
entry into the United States by foreign travelers; 
and 
(2) recommendations for initiatives that may 
reduce those barriers. 
Passed the House of Representatives September 25, 
2008. 
Attest: 
Clerk.