Travel Promotion Act of 2008
Latest action · Oct 2, 2008 Read twice. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 1113.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJul 31, 2007
- Passed HouseSep 25, 2008
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Travel Promotion Act of 2008 - Establishes the Corporation for Travel Promotion as a nonprofit corporation that is not an agency or establishment of the U.S. government. Makes the Corporation subject to the provisions of the District of Columbia Nonprofit Corporation Act.
Expresses the sense of Congress that the Corporation shall not engage in any lobbying activities with any employee or branch of the federal government.
Requires the Corporation, among other things, to provide information to people interested in traveling to the United States, identify and address perceptions in other countries regarding U.S. entry policies, and promote U.S. travel.
Requires annual reports from the Corporation to the Secretaries of Commerce and Homeland Security, for transmittal to Congress.
Establishes in the Treasury the Travel Promotion Fund. Sets forth funding and matching funds provisions.
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to collect a user fee of at least $10 from each alien utilizing the electronic travel authorization system for alien travel to the United States, to be used to offset appropriations made to the Corporation.
Prohibits amounts raised by the Fund or the Corporation from being used to directly promote or advertise a specific corporation.
Amends the International Travel Act of 1961 to replace references to the United States National Tourism Organization with references to the Corporation. Modifies various requirements applicable to the Tourism Policy Council, including membership, meetings, and the provision of tourism information.
Amends the Department of Commerce and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2003 to remove provisions establishing the United States Travel and Tourism Promotion Advisory Board.
Directs the Government Accountability Office to: (1) initiate a study to assess barriers to entry into the United States by foreign travelers; and (2) report study findings to the appropriate congressional committees.
Cosponsors 244
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jul 31, 2007 to Sep 15, 2008; 11 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-FL | Cliff Stearns | Original | Jul 31, 2007 |
| D-CA | George Miller | Original | Jul 31, 2007 |
| R-TX | Joe Barton | Original | Jul 31, 2007 |
| R-NV | Jon C. Porter | Original | Jul 31, 2007 |
| R-TX | Lamar Smith | Original | Jul 31, 2007 |
| D-CA | Loretta Sanchez | Original | Jul 31, 2007 |
| D-NY | Louise McIntosh Slaughter | Original | Jul 31, 2007 |
| D-IL | Rahm Emanuel | Original | Jul 31, 2007 |
| R-MO | Roy Blunt | Original | Jul 31, 2007 |
| D-CA | Sam Farr | Original | Jul 31, 2007 |
| R-FL | Tom Feeney | Original | Jul 31, 2007 |
| D-MA | Barney Frank | Sep 14, 2007 | |
| D-NY | Edolphus Towns | Sep 14, 2007 | |
| R-FL | Ric Keller | Sep 14, 2007 | |
| R-NC | Sue Wilkins Myrick | Sep 14, 2007 |
Committees 3
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Energy and Commerce Committee | Referred Jul 31, 2007Markup Sep 23, 2008 |
| Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee | Referred Jul 31, 2007Hearings Sep 12, 2008Markup Sep 16, 2008Reported Sep 16, 2008 | |
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred Jul 31, 2007 |
| Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee | Referred Sep 10, 2007 | |
| House | Homeland Security Committee | Referred Jul 31, 2007 |
| Border Security and Enforcement Subcommittee | Referred Aug 7, 2007 |
Actions 17
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Oct 2, 2008Read twice. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 1113.
- Sep 26, 2008Received in the Senate.
- Sep 25, 2008Mr. Rush moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
- Sep 25, 2008Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H9929-9934)
- Sep 25, 2008DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 3232.
In the Congressional Record 3
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extensions | Debate and remarks E2098 | Bill Delahunt D-MA | Sep 28, 2008 |
| Extensions | Debate and remarks E2087 | Sam Farr D-CA | Sep 27, 2008 |
| House | Debate and remarks H9929–H9934Text printed H9929–H9931 | Bill Delahunt D-MA, Bobby L. Rush D-IL, John D. Dingell D-MI, Lee Terry R-NE, Rahm Emanuel D-IL, Ric Keller R-FL, Roy Blunt R-MO, Sam Farr D-CA | Sep 25, 2008 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 110-146 | ECONOMIC AND SECURITY CONCERNS IN TOURISM AND COMMERCE: H.R. 3232 AND H.R. 1776187 pages | Energy and Commerce Committee | Sep 11, 2008 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 1661 | Travel Promotion Act of 2007 | Related bill | Nov 27, 2007 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To establish a non-profit corporation to communicate United States entry policies and otherwise promote tourist, business, and scholarly travel to the United States.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Travel Promotion Act of 2007
- Short Titles as Passed House
- Travel Promotion Act of 2008
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Transportation and Public Works.
- Aliens
- Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
- Commerce
- Corporations
- Economics and Public Finance
- Electronic data interchange
- Foreign Trade and International Finance
- Foreign trade promotion
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government publicity
- Government trust funds
- Immigration
- Marketing
- Nonprofit organizations
- Right to travel
- Science, Technology, Communications
- Social Welfare
- Tourism
- Transportation and Public Works
- Travel
- User charges
Text 3
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Oct 2, 2008Placed on Calendar Senate
- Sep 25, 2008Engrossed in House
- Jul 31, 2007Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
