Amata Radewagen: “I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 1579, the Native American Tourism…”

“I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 1579, the Native American Tourism and Improving Visitor Experience Act, commonly known as the NATIVE Act. This bill would require Federal agencies with recreational travel and tourism functions to include Indian tribes and tribal organization in management plans. Furthermore, the bill requires the Department of Commerce and the Department of the Interior to report on how each Department is including tribes to develop Native American tourism plans to improve travel and tourism data collection. The U.S. Travel Association estimates that the tourism industry in the United States topped $220 billion in 2014. According to the American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association, there is growing interest in Indian Country as a tourist attraction. This bill would help strengthen coordination and collaboration between Federal agencies where tourism programs currently exist without requiring any new appropriations. By removing any silo systems within government, tribes can seek to seize economic opportunities. S. 1579 is the companion bill to H.R. 3477, sponsored by the gentleman from Oklahoma, Congressman Markwayne Mullin. I want to thank him for his hard work on this legislation.…”