Travel Regional Investment Partnership Act - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish a competitive grant program, administered by the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries, to award grants to eligible entities (such as a Convention and Visitors Bureau or a partnership between a state or local government and a local tourism entity) to promote domestic regional tourism growth and new domestic tourism market creation.
[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4676 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4676
To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a competitive grant
program to promote domestic regional tourism.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 24, 2010
Mr. Farr introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a competitive grant
program to promote domestic regional tourism.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Travel Regional Investment
Partnership Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The importance of travel and tourism cannot be
overstated: travel and tourism employs America.
(2) Approximately 8,300,000 domestic jobs depend on the
travel and tourism industry.
(3) The United States travel and tourism industry is worth
more than $691,000,000,000 annually in direct spending, of
which more than 85 percent is the result of domestic travel.
Including indirect spending, such industry tops
$1,200,000,000,000 in spending.
(4) The travel and tourism industry accounts for 2.6
percent of GDP, nearly four times that of the automotive
industry.
(5) Domestic employment related to the travel and tourism
industry cannot be outsourced to other countries.
(6) The current economic downturn has created the most
difficult economic environment for the domestic travel and
tourism industry since the period following the terrorist
attacks of September 11, 2001.
(7) The travel and tourism industry has contracted by
nearly $130,000,000,000 in 2009 alone. The domestic tourism
economy has fallen by nearly 4.5 percent during 2009, twice the
rate of the overall economy of the United States.
(8) Domestic spending on travel and tourism has been in
decline since the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2008, while
employment in the travel and tourism industry has been falling
since the second quarter of such year.
(9) Public-private partnerships have been underutilized in
the promotion of travel and tourism and are a dynamic tool in
creating new domestic tourism markets and promoting domestic
regional tourism growth.
SEC. 3. DOMESTIC REGIONAL TOURISM GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) Establishment by Secretary of Commerce.--The Secretary of
Commerce shall establish a competitive grant program, administered by
the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries, to promote domestic
regional tourism growth and new domestic tourism market creation.
(b) Range of Grant Monetary Amounts.--No grant shall be less than
$100,000 or more than $1,000,000.
(c) Grantee Eligibility Requirements.--
(1) Eligible entities.--The following entities are eligible
for a grant under this section for the purposes of promoting
domestic regional tourism growth and new domestic tourism
market creation:
(A) A Convention and Visitors Bureau.
(B) A partnership between a State or local
government and a local tourism entities.
(2) Application process.--
(A) Submission.--An eligible entity seeking a grant
under this section shall submit to the Secretary an
application at such time, in such form, and with such
information and assurances as the Secretary may
require.
(B) Contents.--Such application shall include--
(i) a description of the tourist promotion
activities that the grant will fund; and
(ii) in the case of a partnership between a
State or local government and local tourism
entities--
(I) the specific tourist entities
that such government has partnered with
in order promote tourism within the
relevant domestic region; and
(II) the details of the partnership
and specific information as to how such
partnership will increase regional
tourism.
(d) Matching Requirement.--
(1) Non-federal funds.--As a condition of receipt of a
grant under this section, the grant recipient shall provide,
either directly or through donations from public or private
entities, non-Federal matching funds, in cash or in-kind, in an
amount equal to the amount of the grant.
(2) Special rule for in-kind donations.--Of the amount of
non-Federal matching funds required under paragraph (1), not
more than 25 percent shall be provided through in-kind
contributions.
(e) Reports.--Not later than 6 months after the end of each fiscal
year in which grants were awarded by the Secretary under this section,
the Secretary shall submit a report to Congress on--
(1) travel-generated expenditures;
(2) travel-generated tax receipts; and
(3) travel-generated employment.
(f) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Commerce.
(2) Local tourist entity.--The term ``local tourist
entity'' means any public or private sector business engaged in
tourism-related activities.
(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated $10,000,000 for each of the first 5 fiscal years that
begin after the date of enactment of this section for grants under this
section, and such amounts appropriated shall remain available until
expended.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection.
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