To establish a non-profit corporation to communicate United States entry policies and otherwise promote leisure, business, and scholarly travel to the United States.
Mr. DORGAN (for himself, Mr. ENSIGN, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. MARTINEZ, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. BEGICH, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. BENNET, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, Mr VITTER, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, and Mr. REID) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
To establish a non-profit corporation to communicate United States entry policies and otherwise promote leisure, business, and scholarly travel to the United States.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT- The Corporation for Travel Promotion is established as a nonprofit corporation. The Corporation shall not be an agency or establishment of the United States Government. The Corporation shall be subject to the provisions of the District of Columbia Nonprofit Corporation Act (D.C. Code, section 29-1001 et seq.), to the extent that such provisions are consistent with this section, and shall have the powers conferred upon a nonprofit corporation by that Act to carry out its purposes and activities.
(b) Board of Directors-
(1) IN GENERAL- The Corporation shall have a board of directors of 11 members with knowledge of international travel promotion and marketing, broadly representing various regions of the United States, who are United States citizens. Members of the board shall be appointed by the Secretary of Commerce (after consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State), as follows:
(A) 1 shall have appropriate expertise and experience in the hotel accommodations sector;
(B) 1 shall have appropriate expertise and experience in the restaurant sector;
(C) 1 shall have appropriate expertise and experience in the small business or retail sector or in associations representing that sector;
(D) 1 shall have appropriate expertise and experience in the advertising sector;
(E) 1 shall have appropriate expertise and experience in the attractions or recreations sector;
(F) 1 shall have appropriate expertise and experience as officials of a city convention and visitors’ bureau;
(G) 2 shall have appropriate expertise and experience as officials of a State tourism office;
(H) 1 shall have appropriate expertise and experience in the passenger air sector;
(I) 1 shall have appropriate expertise and experience in immigration law and policy, including visa requirements and United States entry procedures; and
(J) 1 shall have appropriate expertise in the intercity passenger railroad business.
(2) INCORPORATION- The members of the initial board of directors shall serve as incorporators and shall take whatever actions are necessary to establish the Corporation under the District of Columbia Nonprofit Corporation Act (D.C. Code, section 29-1001 et seq.).
(3) TERM OF OFFICE- The term of office of each member of the board appointed by the Secretary 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) REMOVAL FOR CAUSE- The Secretary of Commerce may remove any member of the board for good cause.
(5) 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 successor has taken office, or until the end of the calendar 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 predecessor’s term. No member of the board shall be eligible to serve more than 2 consecutive full 3-year terms.
(6) ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN AND VICE CHAIRMAN- Members of the board shall annually elect one of the members to be Chairman and elect 1 or 2 of the members as Vice Chairman or Vice Chairmen.
(7) STATUS AS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES- Notwithstanding 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.
(8) COMPENSATION; EXPENSES- No member shall receive any compensation from the Federal government for serving on the Board. Each member of the Board shall be paid actual travel expenses 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 individual 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 employees as may be necessary to carry out its purposes. No officer or employee of the Corporation may receive 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 rendered 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 organizations shall be subject to annual advance approval 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 APPOINTMENT- 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 contribute 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 should not engage in lobbying activities (as defined in section 3(7) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (5 U.S.C. 1602(7)).
(e) Duties and Powers-
(1) IN GENERAL- The Corporation shall develop and execute a plan--
(A) to provide useful information to foreign tourists, business people, students, scholars, scientists, and others interested in travelling to the United States, including the distribution of material provided by the Federal government concerning entry requirements, required documentation, fees, processes, and information concerning declared public health emergencies, to prospective travelers, travel agents, tour operators, meeting planners, foreign governments, travel media and other international stakeholders;
(B) to identify, counter, and correct misperceptions regarding United States entry policies around the world;
(C) to maximize the economic and diplomatic benefits of travel to the United States by promoting 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 activities;
(D) to ensure that international travel benefits all States and the District of Columbia and to identify opportunities and strategies to promote tourism to rural and urban areas equally, including areas not traditionally visited by international travelers; and
(E) to give priority to the Corporation’s efforts with respect to countries and populations most likely to travel to the United States.
(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 institutions;
(B) hire or accept the voluntary services of consultants, experts, advisory boards, and panels to aid the Corporation in carrying out its purposes; and
(C) take such other actions as may be necessary to accomplish the purposes set forth in this section.
(3) PUBLIC OUTREACH AND INFORMATION- The Corporation shall develop and maintain a publicly accessible website.
(f) OPEN MEETINGS- Meetings of the board of directors of the Corporation, including any committee of the board, shall be open to the public. The board may, by majority vote, close any such meeting only for the time necessary to preserve the confidentiality of commercial or financial information that is privileged or confidential, to discuss personnel matters, or to discuss legal matters affecting the Corporation, including pending or potential litigation.
(g) MAJOR CAMPAIGNS- The board may not authorize 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 establish as its fiscal year the 12-month period beginning 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 an annual financial audit of the Corporation’s operations and shall publish the results of the audit. The Comptroller General of the United States may review any audit of a financial statement conducted under this subsection by an independent accounting firm and may audit the Corporation’s operations at the discretion of the Comptroller General. The Comptroller General shall have full and complete access to the books and records of the Corporation.
(4) PROGRAM AUDITS- Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall conduct a review of the programmatic activities of the Corporation for Travel Promotion. This report shall be provided to appropriate congressional committees.