Congress Adjourns for the Year | Sen. Lee Pulls Amendment

NY Times asks what it will take to bring back international visitors to the U.S.

A big thanks to all of you who were able to jump on that last minute call to action on the amendment from Sen. Lee to permit the selling off of national park sites. Your voice definitely resonated on Capitol Hill! Sen. Lee pulled his amendment and has refiled it without the language on Section 130. This is very good news but we’re not yet over the finish line.

With time running short, Senate Leadership decided that there was not sufficient time to debate the minibus FY26 appropriations package. The Senate adjourned Thursday night and will return on the January 5. The appropriations package will be one of the its top priorities when it returns. Senate leaders will need to complete negotiations over the final package, and we will be vigilant that no harmful amendments are attached.

We also want to work for quick passage of the appropriations package. If the Senate passes the minibus, followed by the House before January 30, that means that 8 of the 12 appropriations bills will have been approved. The minibus covers all of tourisms key agencies and programs, which means if there is a partial government shutdown tourism communities will to be substantially impacted.

We will have work to do come January.

Today, the New York Times ran an article, How Much More Can the U.S. Travel Industry Take? that looks at how politics has chased away international visitors costing businesses billions and asks if next year’s World Cup will be enough to bring back visitors. It also notes that U.S. Travel does not think that America 250 will be a draw for international visitors. It is an important story but is also illustrates that we will have a lot more work to do to secure resources for tourism communities to promote their attractions around America 250 to the American public. I’ve added that to our January to-do list.

I hope all of you have a wonderful holiday season!