NBTA Applauds House for Passage of DHS
Appropriations Bill
The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) today commented on passage by the U.S. House of Representatives of the omnibus spending package H.R. 2764, the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2008. The legislation includes funding for the Model Ports of Entry Program and language authorizing an International Registered Traveler Program.
NBTA issued the following statement:
NBTA congratulates the House of Representatives on the passage of the omnibus spending package H.R. 2764, which includes funding for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. NBTA applauds the leadership by Congressman David Price (D-NC), Congressman Hal Rogers (R-KY), Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV), and Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS) for their efforts and urges Senate passage on this key legislation. Among many important provisions, the bill included funding for the Model Ports of Entry Program and language authorizing an International Registered Traveler Program.
Model Ports of Entry
Originally developed as part of the “Rice-Chertoff” initiative, the Model Ports of Entry Program is an important effort to improve the experience of commercial air travelers. NBTA looks forward to seeing the program expand to the nation’s top 20 international arrival airports. During Senate consideration of the DHS spending bill Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) offered an amendment to the legislation that allocates $40 million for the Model Ports of Entry Program. Not only will this money better equip our international airports to process visitors and ease travel delays, but it will also allow DHS to hire additional U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, further improving security at our ports-of-entry.
International Registered Traveler (IRT)
The second travel facilitating measure, an International Registered Traveler Program, was authorized in the legislation. Originally included in the Senate version of the DHS appropriations bill after an amendment offered by Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) and Senator Susan Collins (D-ME), IRT will expedite the screening and processing of international travelers through the use of biometrics and other available technologies, allowing DHS to focus its scarce resources on high risk travelers. In conjunction with the current domestic RT program and other initiatives like US-VISIT and the Visa Waiver Program, DHS continues to effectively build out a multi-layered aviation security screening strategy that facilitates legitimate travel.
The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) is the world’s premier business travel organization. U.S.-based NBTA and its regional subsidiaries – NBTA-Asia Pacific, NBTA-Canada and NBTA-Mexico – serve more than 3,000 members in 30 nations around the world. NBTA has 42 U.S. Chapters with more than 5,000 members. NBTA members are corporate and government travel and meetings managers, as well as travel service providers, who collectively manage and direct more than $170 billion of global business travel expenditures annually. The association provides industry-leading networking, education & professional development, research, news & information, and advocacy. For more information, visit www.nbta.org.
For media information, contact Caleb Tiller, +1 703-684-0836 ext. 138, or Nicole Hayes, +1 703-684-0836 ext. 133.
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