WASHINGTON — This week, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce passed legislation to reauthorize Brand USA (H.R. 3581). U.S. Travel Association Executive Vice President for Public Affairs and Policy Tori Barnes issued the following statement on the passage:
“The Brand USA legislation is fundamentally a U.S. jobs and exports bill, and today the House took another huge step toward boosting both by advancing the reauthorization measure closer to passage,” Barnes stated. “International visitation to the U.S. is flat at a time when global travel is booming, which means that we are leaving a huge opportunity for economic growth on the table. The situation would be far worse without Brand USA’s demonstrated effectiveness at bringing lucrative international visitor dollars to our shores, and House and committee leaders are to be commended for recognizing the urgency to renew Brand USA this year.”
According to the U.S. Travel Association’s latest Travel Trends Index (TTI), international travel to the United States contracted 0.4 percent in September, marking the fifth month in negative territory in 2019.
“The American travel community extends its deepest thanks to full committee Chairman Frank Pallone and Ranking Member Walden, and to subcommittee Chairwoman Jan Schakowsky and Ranking Member Cathy McMorris Rodgers for prioritizing this issue in an incredibly crowded legislative agenda,” Barnes continued. “We add our thanks to Speaker Pelosi and Leader McCarthy, and urge them—along with Leader McConnell and Leader Schumer—to include this strong bipartisan measure in must-pass legislation before the end of 2019.”
