Sam Farr: “as cochair of the House Travel and Tourism Caucus, I express my strong support for passage of the Visa Waiver Permanent…”

“as cochair of the House Travel and Tourism Caucus, I express my strong support for passage of the Visa Waiver Permanent Program Act (H.R. 3767) to permanently reauthorize the Visa Waiver Pilot Program. The Visa Waiver Program facilitates and streamlines international travel by allowing visitors from 29 low-risk countries to enter the U.S. visa-free for up to 90 days. A permanent program will encourage international travel to the United States at a time when we should be promoting the U.S. travel and tourism industry. As the fastest growing industry in the United States, the third-largest retail industry, and one of the Nation's largest employers, tourism is one of our most vibrant economic industries. More than 46 million international visitors come to the United States each year, and the numbers keep on increasing. These tourists spend more than $90 billion in the United States, supporting directly and indirectly 16.9 million American jobs, and creating a tourism trade surplus of $14.2 billion. More than 94 percent of these jobs are created by small businesses located in communities in every corner of the United States. In fact, the travel industry provides jobs for more than 800,000 people in California and 20,000 in my district alone. As the second largest economic engine on the central coast, bringing in $1.5 billion a year, tourism is absolutely integral to my district's economic success story.”