CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY

STATEMENT SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD
BY THE TRAVEL BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE

FOR THE
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM
HEARING ON THE IMPACT OF NEW VISA AND PASSPORT REQUIREMENTS ON FOREIGN TRAVEL TO THE UNITED STATES

THURSDAY, JULY 10, 2003

OVERVIEW

The Travel Business Roundtable (TBR) would like to thank Chairman Davis and Ranking Member Waxman for holding this important hearing, and is pleased to have the opportunity to submit a statement for the record regarding the impact of new visa and passport requirements on international visitation to the United States. TBR is a CEO-based organization that represents the diverse travel and tourism industry, with more than 80 member corporations, associations and labor groups. Travel and tourism is one of America’s most dynamic industries, and epitomizes the service sector that drives our nation’s economy in the 21st century. Our industry creates jobs and careers, employing nearly 18 million Americans. In 2001, we produced $98.8 billion in federal, state and local tax revenues. And as the nation’s second largest service export, we generated an annual balance of trade surplus for the U.S. of $8.6 billion that same year. We are in 50 states, 435 congressional districts and every city throughout the nation.

It is impossible to stress enough how important international visitors are to the health of our industry as well as the overall U.S. economy. Total arrivals of international travelers to the U.S. registered 41.9 million in 2002 – a 7 percent decline from the 44.9 million foreign visitors in 2001. This is a continuation of a downward trend: in 2000, international arrivals were at an all-time high of 50.9 million. More to the point, the balance of trade surplus generated by travel and tourism has plummeted from $26 billion in 1996 to $8.6 billion in 2001.

MACHINE READABLE PASSPORT/VISA ISSUES

TBR is extremely concerned about recent visa policy decisions taken by the State Department that we fear could have a detrimental effect on the desire of international travelers to visit the U.S., both for tourism and business purposes. TBR has held conversations with Department officials and continues to support its efforts to ensure that those who wish to do our country harm are kept from crossing our borders. However, we remain extremely concerned that the Department is neither considering the possible consequences of its recent decisions to our nation’s economy nor realistically assessing the capabilities of those responsible for effectively implementing these policies within the deadlines that have been imposed.

TBR is particularly concerned about the fast-approaching implementation date of the Machine Readable Passport (MRP) requirement for citizens of Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries. Many of the countries that participate in this program are among our closest allies and are the home nations of the vast majority of international visitors to the U.S. It is our understanding that most of these countries have just recently begun issuing MRPs or are in the process of doing so. However, even in those nations where MRPs have been issued for some time, not all passport offices within these countries uniformly issue the new passports. Moreover, we believe that the Department’s requirement that all family members have MRPs (including infants, who often travel on a parent’s passport) presents an additional obstacle that discourages travel. The Department has stated that VWP travelers who are unable to supply an MRP when traveling after October 1, 2003 will need to apply for visas at U.S. consulates in their home countries. However, given the Department’s new requirement set to take effect on August 1, 2003 that nearly all visa-seekers be subject to an in-person interview, these travelers are likely to face lengthy delays when trying to come to our country. We must note that we are also extremely concerned about this new interview requirement, which the Department also implemented with little notice and one year in advance of the statutory deadline for its implementation.

We recognize that in initiating the MRP requirement, the Department is responding to the statutory requirement in the USA Patriot Act that moved the deadline ahead to 2003 from 2007. However, as is also the case with in-person interviews, the law gives the Department waiver authority that it is opting not to exercise. TBR is particularly disappointed that the Department waited until June 13 to notify the industry that it would go forward with the October 1 effective date for MRPs, and has made no effort up to this point to inform citizens of VWP countries that this change is coming. It is also our understanding that the decision to go forward with this deadline was taken without assurances that the technology will be in place to read the passports or that the Department of Homeland Security will be prepared to take care of VWP travelers who arrive in the U.S. with non-machine readable passports.

Given these factors, it appears that this decision was made without considering all the relevant information and without a full appreciation of the potential consequences to the flow of commerce or to our nation’s image abroad. Overseas travelers who decide to come to the United States do not make these decisions at the spur of the moment. VWP travelers who are planning to attend conventions or tour the U.S. in October likely booked their passages months ago, when convention planners, travel agents, tour operators, airlines, etc. had no available information from the Department to disseminate regarding the MRP requirement. We believe the potential havoc that this will create in the coming months – on top of the enormous backlog of visa approvals engendered by the in-person interview requirement – will send yet another signal to the world that the U.S. does not welcome visitors or those wishing to do business with us.

U.S. VISIT

TBR also continues to monitor activities at the Department of Homeland Security’s Bureau of Customs and Border Protection with respect to the implementation of the U.S. Visitor and Immigration Status Indication Technology (U.S. VISIT) program, which is scheduled to be introduced at U.S. airports and seaports on January 1, 2004. All the details of the program have not yet been announced, but we do know that one of the key components will be the capturing and reading of biometric identifiers (initially fingerprints and photographs) in travel documents. While we are supportive of the use of technology to help the government account for international travelers in a more systematic manner, we are concerned that the Department will not have the sufficient number of trained staff or the necessary technology in place to ensure that visitors’ documents are processed in an efficient and timely manner. As is the case with the visa and passport issues addressed above, we are extremely concerned that this initiative be rolled out in a way that does not create new obstacles for legitimate foreign travelers.

RECOMMENDATIONS

We would like to be very clear that TBR continues to support the tireless efforts of the State Department, Homeland Security Department, the Congress and other governmental entities to ensure that terrorists and other individuals who wish to do us harm are prevented from crossing our borders. Indeed, the security of our nation is our highest priority. It is our hope, however, that policy changes will be implemented in a manner that will minimize disruption to the travel and tourism industry, and therefore not be detrimental to the U.S. economy as a whole. As President Bush, Secretary Powell and Homeland Security Secretary Ridge have stated, it is imperative that the U.S. seek solutions that will balance our security needs with our need to ensure that the flow of U.S. commerce continues.

With that in mind, TBR has requested that the Department exercise its waiver authority to ensure that sufficient time is available to notify and educate VWP travelers about this significant change and to ascertain that those who will be processing these passports are prepared to do so in an efficient manner. Four months is simply not enough time to implement a program of this magnitude, and the prospect of turning away or detaining our long-time allies at our borders is alarming. International visitation to the U.S. has steadily declined in the past two years, and these types of policy decisions will only serve to further this negative trend.

We also support the appropriation of sufficient federal funds for the State Department and Homeland Security Department for increased staffing, better facilities and state-of-the-art technology to help ensure that they have the necessary resources to implement new policies in a manner that will be least disruptive to the traveling public.

TBR stands ready to work with Congress, the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and other relevant federal entities to ensure that those who wish to do harm to our nation are prevented from traveling to the U.S., while those who seek to visit our country for legitimate reasons are treated respectfully and are admitted in an efficient manner. We appreciate the Committee’s attention to these pressing matters and offer our assistance in any way.

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