Travel Promotion Act

Floor Speech

TRAVEL PROMOTION ACT -- (Senate - June 22, 2009)

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Ms. KLOBUCHAR. If the majority leader would yield for a question, one of the things I found out with our hearing that you so kindly testified at about tourism--and I am chairing that subcommittee--now is, one, this was bipartisan, as you pointed out. There were Republicans there. They pledged their support for this bill.

But the second thing is when we talk about tourism, it is not we are not only talking about the CEOs of airline companies. The jobs, as you know, we are talking about in Nevada, are jobs such as maids or the people who work at the flower shops or the people who work in the frontline in the restaurants or the people, the bellboys. Those are real jobs.

One out of eight people employed in this country is employed in the tourism industry. What I heard in Nevada was something like 400 conventions had been canceled out of Las Vegas. We are just starting to see some improvements in our State. We call Duluth the Las Vegas of Minnesota. But we are starting to see improvements with business travel picking up, with some hope for consumers.

This bill would bring in those key people to spend $4,500 every time they come into this country, and that is the international travelers. So if the majority leader would comment on what this means to real people, the bill the Republicans have now stopped, as we are trying every day to get more jobs in this country.

Mr. REID. Madam President, my father-in-law, may he rest in peace, emigrated from Russia and wound up in Duluth, MN. At that time, it was a booming town, very tough town. I have never been to Duluth. I have been to Minneapolis a few times, but I never had the opportunity to see the Land of a Thousand Lakes--I think that is what they call it.

Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Ten thousand.

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