Caleb Tiller, +1 703-684-0836 ext. 138
Nicole Hayes, +1 703-684-0836 ext. 133
Alexandria, VA (July 27, 2007) – Today, Congress sent the Conference Report of H.R. 1, “Implementing the Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007,” to President Bush’s desk for his signature. In addition, last night, the Senate passed H.R. 2368, the 2008 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill. These two pieces of legislation contain important travel reforms that will allow the United States to increase the security of the homeland while easing the burden of security on our domestic and international travelers. The National Business Travel Association congratulates Congress on their hard work in enacting H.R.1 and in moving the appropriations process closer to completion to deploy common sense travel reform measures.
NBTA Executive Director & COO Bill Connors stated, “The National Business Travel Association congratulates Congress on important steps to achieving a good balance between security and ease of travel. We look forward to Congress providing the necessary funding to make these reforms a reality for business travelers.”
Among the measures passed that will improve security and the position of the United States as a place to conduct commerce are the following:
Enhancement of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP)
VWP allows travelers from approved nations to travel to the United States for 90 days or less for business or pleasure without undergoing a formal visa interview, enabling the free flow of commerce between the United States and its most important business and trade partners around the world. The 9/11 bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to be able to verify the departure of international visitors as well as create and implement an electronic travel authorization program before admitting any new countries into the program. In order for new countries to be admitted, they must demonstrate that the visa refusal rate for foreign nationals applying for a visa is less than 10%, and that country is actively working with the United States on intelligence and counterterrorism initiatives. The robust security measures required under the reformed VWP has the potential to facilitate easier and more secure travel for millions of business travelers. NBTA expects that countries such as South Korea and other Eastern Europe nations will be considered for admission under the enhanced VWP.
Expansion of the Model Ports of Entry program
The model ports program was initially created at two airports by the “Rice-Chertoff” initiative -- a joint venture by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Department of State to make travel to the United States more welcoming. The 9/11 bill would expand that program to the nation’s top 20 international arrival airports as well as increase the number of U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers by 200.
In addition, an amendment to S. 1644 offered by Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) would allocate $40 million for the Model Ports of Entry Program as well as provide the necessary funding for the additional 200 CBP officers. This increase will better equip our international airports to process visitors and ease the travel delays, while at the same time allocating more resources to improving the security of our ports-of-entry.
International Registered Traveler Program
Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) and Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) successfully added an amendment to the 2008 DHS Appropriations bill that authorizes an International Registered Traveler (IRT) Program. Building on the success of the domestic Registered Traveler Program, which continues to expand at a promising rate, both in airports and participants, the program would expedite the security checks for frequent international travelers traveling to the United States. Frequent traveler programs such as Registered Traveler and IRT allow business travelers to travel freely in and out of the United States by withstanding more robust security checks and giving DHS greater flexibility in prioritizing towards more high risk travelers.
Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI)
WHTI requires all citizens of the United States, Canada, Mexico and Bermuda to have a passport or other accepted document that establishes the bearer’s identity and nationality to enter or re‑enter the United States from within the Western Hemisphere. As of January 23, 2007, DHS implemented the air rule for WHTI, which has created huge backlogs in the passport application process. The 9/11 bill includes provisions that would require DHS to complete a pilot with at least one state that uses a secure driver’s license as a WHTI-compliant travel document. Given the long delays in the passport application process, other secure travel documents should be examined before the land and sea rules of WHTI are implemented.
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.