National Tourism Policy Act

(Measure passed House, amended, roll call #387 (347-55))

National Tourism Policy Act - =Title I: National Tourism Policy= - Declares that the purpose of this title is to establish a cooperative effort between the Federal Government, States, regions, and local governments and other concerned public and private organizations to implement a national tourism policy.

=Title II: National Tourism Policy Council= - Establishes the National Tourism Policy Council as an independent entity within the executive branch to be the principal coordinating body for policies, programs, and issues relating to tourism, recreation, or national heritage conservation involving Federal departments, agencies, or other entities.

Requires the Council to establish such policy committees as it considers necessary and appropriate which shall be designed to: (1) monitor a specific area of Federal government activity; and (2) review and evaluate the relation of the policies and activities of the Federal government in that specific area to tourism, recreation, and national heritage conservation in the United States.

Directs each policy committee to review and comment on Federal agency program and planning documents that will have a substantial effect on tourism, recreation, and national heritage conservation and that are appropriate to such committee's functional responsibilities and agency representation.

Directs the National Tourism Policy Council to submit annual reports to the President for transmittal to the Congress regarding: (1) the activities of the Council and its policy committees; (2) the results of Council efforts to coordinate the policies and programs of member agencies that have a significant effect on tourism, recreation, and national heritage conservation, and to resolve interagency conflicts; (3) an analysis of problems referred to the Council along with a detailed statement of actions taken or anticipated to be taken to resolve such problems; and (4) such recommendations as the Council deems appropriate.

=Title III - The United States Tourism and Planning Implementing Board= - Establishes, as an independent entity in the executive branch, a United States Tourism Planning and Implementation Board to develop a comprehensive and detailed marketing and implementation plan to stimulate and promote tourism to the United States by residents of foreign countries.

Requires such plan to include the following: (1) a promotional program for enhancing and improving travel for tourism purposes to the United States by foreign visitors; (2) the funding levels required to effectively implement such program; and (3) if the plan provides for the creation of a private corporation, federally chartered corporation, or other entity: (a) provision for the most fair and practical means of providing funding from private as well as public sources; (b) a statement of the administrative cost and budget projections for the first five-year period of operation of the entity; and (c) provision for personnel for the entity.

Requires the Board, no later than October 1, 1981, to submit such plan to Congress and to specified Congressional committees. Specifies that if such plan is not approved in accordance with this Act, the Board shall revise and resubmit another plan to Congress not later than the expiration of six months after the date the previous plan was not approved.

Sets forth the administrative powers and miscellaneous provisions that any federally chartered entity created pursuant to an approved plan of the Board shall be subject to.

Directs that upon the request of the chief executive officer of any such federally chartered entity, each Federal department and agency shall: (1) make its services, personnel, and facilities available, to the maximum extent practicable, to assist the federally chartered entity in the performance of its functions; and (2) furnish the entity, subject to the provisions of applicable law, such information, suggestions, estimates, and statistics as the chief executive officer of the entity may request.

Prohibits such federally chartered entity from: (1) providing or arranging for transportation or accommodations for persons traveling between other countries and the United States, or between points within the United States, in competition with businesses engaged in providing or arranging for such transportation or accommodations; (2) operating industry trade shows or related activities within the United States or providing personnel or financial assistance for such trade shows or activities; (3) engaging in any activity in competition with any State or local government or any private entity; (4) lending money to employees; or (5) owning stock in another corporation.

Declares that the entity shall have no power to issue any shares of stock or to declare or pay any dividends.

Requires the federally chartered entity, within 90 days after the end of each fiscal year, to submit an annual report for that fiscal year to the President and Congress.

Requires the accounts of the entity to be audited annually by independent certified public accountants or independent licensed public accountants certified or licensed by a regulatory authority of a State.

Allows the financial transactions of the entity, for any fiscal year during which Federal funds are available to finance any portion of its operations, to be audited by the Comptroller General of the United States.

=Title IV: Amendments to the International Travel Act= - Amends the International Travel Act of 1961 to direct the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Tourism to report directly to the Secretary of Commerce on all matters concerning tourism and to the Under Secretary for International Trade on those matters which involve both tourism and trade.

Authorizes appropriations through fiscal year 1981 to carry out the purposes of such Act.

Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to provide financial assistance to a region of not less than two States or portions of two States to assist in the implementation of a regional tourism promotional and marketing program. Declares that any such program shall serve as a demonstration project for future program development for regional tourism promotion.

Extends until September 30, 1981, the time limit for the reduction in the number of employees of the United States Travel Service.