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, processes, and information con-
cerning declared public health emergencies to 
prospective travelers, travel agents, tour opera-
tors, meeting planners, foreign governments, 
travel media and other international stake-
holders; 
(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, 
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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 
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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; 
(2) at least 6 members of the board are present 
at the meeting at which it is approved; and 
(3) each member of the board has been given 
at least 3 days advance notice of the meeting at 
which the vote is to be taken and the matters to be 
voted upon at that meeting. 
(h) FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY.— 
(1) FISCAL YEAR.—The Corporation shall es-
tablish as its fiscal year the 12-month period begin-
ning on October 1. 
(2) BUDGET.—The Corporation shall adopt a 
budget for each fiscal year. 
(3) ANNUAL
AUDITS.—The Corporation shall 
engage an independent accounting firm to conduct 
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an annual financial audit of the Corporation’s oper-
ations and shall publish the results of the audit. 
SEC. 3. ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURES. 
(a) OBJECTIVES.—The Board shall establish annual 
objectives for the Corporation for each fiscal year subject 
to approval by the Secretary, in consultation with the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State. 
The Corporation shall establish a marketing plan for each 
fiscal year not less than 60 days before the beginning of 
that year and provide a copy of the plan, and any revisions 
thereof, to the Secretary. 
(b) BUDGET.—The board shall transmit a copy of the 
Corporation’s budget for the forthcoming fiscal year to the 
Secretary not less than 60 days before the beginning of 
each fiscal year, together with an explanation of any ex-
penditure provided for by the budget in excess of 
$5,000,000 for the fiscal year. The Corporation shall 
make a copy of the budget and the explanation available 
to the public and shall provide public access to the budget 
and explanation on the Corporation’s website. 
(c) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Corpora-
tion shall submit an annual report for the preceding fiscal 
year to the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of 
Homeland Security for transmittal to Congress on or be-
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fore the 15th day of May of each year. The report shall 
include— 
(1) a comprehensive and detailed report of the 
Corporation’s operations, activities, financial condi-
tion, and accomplishments under this Act; 
(2) a comprehensive and detailed inventory of 
amounts obligated or expended by the Corporation 
during the preceding fiscal year; 
(3) a detailed description of each in-kind con-
tribution, its fair market value, the individual or or-
ganization responsible for contributing, its specific 
use, and a justification for its use within the context 
of the Corporation’s mission; 
(4) an objective and quantifiable measurement 
of its progress, on an objective-by-objective basis, in 
meeting the objectives established by the board; 
(5) an explanation of the reason for any failure 
to achieve an objective established by the board, and 
any revisions or alterations to the Corporation’s ob-
jectives under subsection (a); 
(6) a comprehensive and detailed report of the 
Corporation’s operations and activities to promote 
tourism in rural and urban areas; and 
(7) such recommendations as the Corporation 
deems appropriate. 
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SEC. 4. MATCHING PUBLIC AND PRIVATE FUNDING. 
(a) 
ESTABLISHMENT
OF
TRAVEL
PROMOTION 
FUND.—There is hereby established in the Treasury a 
fund which shall be known as the ‘‘Travel Promotion 
Fund’’. 
(b) FUNDING.— 
(1) FIRST YEAR.—For the period beginning on 
October 1, 2009, and ending on September 30, 
2010, from amounts deposited in the general fund of 
the 
Treasury 
from 
fees 
under 
section 
217(h)(3)(B)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1187(h)(3)(B)(i)), the Secretary of 
the Treasury shall make available not more than 
$100,000,000 to the Corporation. The Secretary of 
the Treasury shall make at least quarterly transfers 
to the Corporation to cover its initial expenses and 
carry out its functions under this Act. 
(2) SUBSEQUENT YEARS.—For each of fiscal 
years 2011 through 2014, from amounts deposited 
in the general fund of the Treasury from fees under 
section 5, the Secretary of the Treasury shall trans-
fer not more than $100,000,000 to the Fund, which 
shall be made available to the Corporation, subject 
to subsections (c), (d), and (e), to carry out its func-
tions under this Act. Transfers shall be made by the 
Secretary of the Treasury at least quarterly on the 
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(A) the fair market value, as determined 
by the Corporation, of goods and services (in-
cluding advertising) contributed to the Corpora-
tion for use under this Act may be included in 
the determination; but 
(B) the fair market value of such goods 
and services may not account for more than 80 
percent of the matching requirement for the 
Corporation in any fiscal year. 
(3) RIGHT OF REFUSAL.—The Corporation may 
decline to accept any contribution in kind that it de-
termines to be inappropriate, not useful, or commer-
cially worthless. 
(d) GRANT OFFSET.—For a given fiscal year, the 
Secretary of the Treasury shall reduce the total amount 
of funding to be transferred to the Corporation from the 
Travel Promotion Fund by the amount of Federal grants 
received by the Corporation pursuant to section 2(e)(2)(A) 
to be used during that fiscal year. 
(e) LIMITATION.—The Corporation shall not expend 
funds or obligate to expend funds that will exceed total 
amounts received by the Corporation for a given fiscal 
year. 
(f) CARRYFORWARD.— 
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(1) FEDERAL FUNDS.—Amounts transferred to 
the Fund under subsection (b)(2) shall remain avail-
able until expended. 
(2) MATCHING FUNDS.—Any amount received 
by the Corporation from non-Federal sources in fis-
cal year 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, or 2014 that can-
not be used to meet the matching requirement under 
subsection (c)(1) for the fiscal year in which such 
funds were collected may be carried forward and 
treated as having been received in the succeeding fis-
cal year for purposes of meeting the matching re-
quirement of subsection (c)(1) in such succeeding 
fiscal year. 
SEC. 5. TRAVEL PROMOTION FUND FEES. 
Section 217(h)(3)(B) of the Immigration and Nation-
ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1187(h)(3)(B)) is amended to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(B) FEES.—(i) IN GENERAL.—No later 
than September 30, 2009, the Secretary of 
Homeland Security shall establish a fee for the 
use of the System and begin assessment and 
collections of that fee. The initial fee shall be 
the sum of— 
‘‘(I) $10 per travel authorization; and 
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‘‘(II) an amount that will ensure re-
covery of the full costs of providing and 
administering the System, as determined 
by the Secretary of Homeland Security. 
‘‘(ii) DISPOSITION
OF
AMOUNTS
COL-
LECTED.—Amounts collected under clause (i)(I) 
shall be credited to the Travel Promotion Fund 
established by section 4 of the Travel Pro-
motion Act of 2009. Amounts collected under 
clause (i)(II) shall be transferred to the general 
fund of the Treasury and made available to pay 
the costs incurred to administer the System. 
‘‘(iii) REPORT.—The Secretary of Home-
land Security shall submit a report to Congress 
if the fee authorized by clause (i)(I) is not col-
lected as authorized. The report shall include a 
plan for collecting the fee in the most expedi-
tious manner. 
‘‘(iv) SUNSET
OF
TRAVEL
PROMOTION 
FUND FEE.—The Secretary may not collect the 
fee authorized by clause (i)(I) for fiscal years 
beginning after September 30, 2014, unless 
Congress has authorized the Secretary to con-
tinue to collect the fee authorized by clause 
(i)(I).’’. 
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SEC. 6. INVESTMENT OF FUNDS. 
Pending disbursement pursuant to a program, plan, 
or project, the Corporation may invest funds received by 
the Corporation only in obligations of the United States 
or any agency thereof, in general obligations of any State 
or any political subdivision thereof, in any interest-bearing 
account or certificate of deposit of a bank that is a mem-
ber of the Federal Reserve System, or in obligations fully 
guaranteed as to principal and interest by the United 
States. The Secretary of the Treasury shall reduce the 
total amount of funding for a given fiscal year to be trans-
ferred from the Travel Promotion Fund to the Corpora-
tion by the amount of interest earned by the Corporation 
as a result of its investments pursuant to this section for 
the preceding fiscal year. 
SEC. 7. PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS. 
No funds raised by the Treasury Department’s Trav-
el Promotion Fund or the Corporation for Travel Pro-
motion may be used to directly promote or advertise a spe-
cific corporation. 
SEC. 8. ASSESSMENT AUTHORITY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in 
this section, the Corporation may impose an annual as-
sessment on United States members of the travel and 
tourism industry. The Corporation shall determine— 
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(1) the industry segments that will be included 
in the initial assessment referendum; 
(2) the target assessment level for the initial 
referendum; 
(3) the percent of funds to be levied against 
each industry category and segment, based, to the 
extent possible, on quantifiable industry data, and 
bearing an appropriate relationship to the benefit 
derived from travel and tourism by those industry 
segments; and 
(4) the assessment methodology and rate of as-
sessment within each industry segment, that may in-
clude, but is not limited to, a percentage of gross 
revenue or a per transaction charge. 
(b) INITIAL ASSESSMENT LIMITED.—The Corpora-
tion may establish the initial assessment after the date 
of enactment of the Travel and Tourism Promotion Act 
at no greater, in the aggregate, than $20,000,000. 
(c) REFERENDA.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Corporation may not 
impose an annual assessment unless— 
(A) the Corporation submits the proposed 
annual assessment to members of the industry 
in a referendum; 
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