Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 3645 - Tourism Policy and Export Promotion Act of 1991

(House)
(Swift (D) Washington and 8 others)

The Administration strongly opposes H.R. 3645, because it would severely restrict the authority of the Secretary of Commerce to manage the United States Travel and Tourism Administration (USTTA). Unless H.R. 3645 is amended to delete or satisfactorily modify the following provisions, the Secretary of Commerce will recommend a veto:

Section 10(c). Capping administrative expenses at 40 percent of the annual appropriation would force the USTTA to reduce its staff from 94 to 57 full-time equivalents. This reduction would severely curtail USTTA's service to: (1) potential first-time visitors to the United States; (2) U.S. cities, States, and regions; and (3) small- and medium-size private sector members of the travel industry.

Section 10(b). Requiring USTTA to establish three overseas regional offices to manage its 13 international offices would impose an unnecessary layer of management. This would waste scarce funds and personnel slots.

Section 4. Requiring USTTA to expend 40 percent of its annual appropriation on grants to develop and implement regional tourism trade development programs would transform USTTA from an essentially technical assistance agency into a grant agency. Further, USTTA's expenditures would be focused on regional needs and interests to the almost total exclusion of activities which broadly facilitate travel to the U.S. Together, Section 4 and Section 10(c) would force USTTA to close many of its international offices.

Section 10(a). Requiring a career civil servant to be designated Deputy Under Secretary for Tourism Trade Development is an inappropriate infringement on the Secretary's ability to manage the Department of Commerce. Given the sensitive policy matters that can arise when the Under Secretary is absent, the Deputy Under Secretary should be a political appointee. The functions specified for the new career Deputy Under Secretary are presently performed by a career Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tourism Marketing.

Section 12. Requiring monthly publication of the now quarterly statistical report on international travel receipts and payments would be burdensome and expensive. Since the primary purpose of such statistics is for analyzing period-to-period changes, monthly publication would not yield benefits commensurate with the costs. The costs could be as high as $15 million, almost the full amount of USTTA's annual appropriation. Further, Canada and Mexico, the countries from which the majority of our visitors come, provide us with only quarterly data.

The Administration also urges that H.R. 3645 be amended to:

—   Eliminate the provisions of Section 15 which lay the foundation for moving from quarterly to monthly publication of international travel receipts and payments.

—   Delete Section 14, which would establish a Rural Tourism Development Foundation as a charitable and nonprofit corporation. Creation of a Federally chartered, nominally private foundation to assist a Federal agency in accomplishing its mission would pose legal problems.

—   Revise Section 16 to authorize appropriations of "such sums as may be necessary" for FYs 1993, 1994, and 1995.

—   Delete Section 9, which would require the Secretary to ensure that the services of the United States and Foreign Commercial Service continue to be available to assist USTTA. It is inappropriate to require in law that the Secretary ensure that agencies in his Department assist each other.