Securing American Jobs Through Exports Act of 2012--Motion to Proceed

Floor Speech

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Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, with summer approaching, the travel season will soon be in full swing, and this week we celebrate National Travel and Tourism Week. It is a time to call attention to the importance that travel and tourism play in our national economy and in the creation of jobs.

I know the Presiding Officer understands this issue very clearly because, for his State of Alaska, like the State of New Hampshire, travel and tourism is a very important industry. The fact is that the travel and tourism industry is one of the top 10 industries in 48 States, and it supports over 14 million American jobs. In New Hampshire, travel and tourism is our second largest industry, and it supports over 60,000 jobs in New Hampshire.

The Travel Promotion Act, which Congress passed in 2010, and of which I was very proud to be one of the cosponsors, will help the United States compete for foreign travelers. This year we will begin to see the impact of this landmark legislation.

For most of our history, the United States has been one of a very few developed countries that did not advertise overseas. The Travel Promotion Act changes all of that because it created what is called Brand USA. It is a low-cost public-private partnership, and Brand USA has just started rolling out an advertising campaign for America. Brand USA is going to leverage millions of dollars in contributions to the private sector to help encourage more foreign travelers to bring their dollars to the United States. This is important because what we have learned in New Hampshire is that overseas visitors tend to stay longer when they get to America and they tend to spend more money. For the first time we are going to be advertising overseas to attract visitors to come to the United States.

But there is even more we can and should do working together to support the travel sector. Traveling and tourism rely on a good infrastructure, on keeping our highways, our bridges, and our airports running. That is essential for the travel industry to grow. That is why it was so important that this year--after many years of trying--we finally reauthorized the FAA, and with that legislation are putting in place a new NextGen system of air traffic control that is going to allow our airplanes to get from point to point faster and more efficiently.

That is why it is so critical that we pass the highway bill that is pending in Congress, which is at a committee of conference. We passed that bill in the Senate on an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote, and now we need to get this bill out of the Congress.

We also need to look at ways to improve our visa system so we can make it easier for foreign travelers to come to the United States. We need to pass legislation--and there are several bills that have been introduced--that will help us clear the backlog of visa applications so we can make sure those travelers who want to come to the United States are going to be able to do so, again bearing in mind that those overseas visitors tend to stay longer and spend more money.

I want to conclude by highlighting what is an exciting new campaign in New Hampshire to help build New Hampshire's reputation as a world-class travel destination with something to offer for everyone. I know a lot of people have been to New Hampshire every 4 years as part of our Presidential primary. A lot of people are familiar with our State's slogan, ``Live Free or Die.'' This slogan actually captures what was uttered by GEN John Stark, who was a Revolutionary War general talking about the British during the Revolution. A few days ago our State Division of Travel and Tourism Development launched a new campaign to promote New Hampshire to show the world what we have to offer as a unique travel destination, and that campaign very cleverly plays on our famous State slogan. We can see in this advertisement ``Live Free and Explore.'' It is one of our beautiful lakes. We can see the family out canoeing.

We also have another one, ``Live Free and Reconnect.'' Here is a family out hiking. We can see some of our mountains in the background. They are not quite as high as the mountains in Alaska, but we think they are a great place for families to come and explore. Hikers can enjoy and reconnect and relax.

This one is ``Live Free and Discover.'' Again, kids getting ready to jump into one of our lakes. We can see the wilderness in the background. This is another great example of one of the opportunities New Hampshire has to enjoy our beautiful State.

We are very proud of what New Hampshire has to offer. We have a new logo that shows how you can visit our travel and tourism site on the Web and see what New Hampshire has to offer. We hope all of those who come to experience our Presidential primary will come back every 4 years and maybe in the meantime look at what we have to offer for enjoying the natural beauty and activities of the State. We would like that, but I understand that all of us here in Washington have very busy schedules and sometimes finding time to travel is difficult. Fortunately, soon we are going to have a great opportunity for everyone on the Hill to experience what New Hampshire has to offer without even leaving the building. On June 6, the New Hampshire State Society and our office are going to be hosting a reception called ``Experience New Hampshire.'' It is a great opportunity to experience New Hampshire's signature hospitality, our history, our culture, and our scenic beauty. I invite all of my colleagues to enjoy New Hampshire beverages, to taste some of the menus from our historic grand homes, our charming inns, and to come and celebrate with us.

As we celebrate travel and tourism this week, I hope all of us will take a few minutes to reflect on the importance of this industry to our State and local economies and to the country.

I thank the Chair.

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