On the recordSeptember 10, 2012
I rise to honor my friend Steve Cloobeck of Las Vegas, the chairman of the board for Brand USA. This month, Steve will step down from the board after 2 years of working tirelessly to build Brand USA from the ground up. Over the past decades, the United States lost valuable tourism dollars as international visitors traveled to other destinations instead of the U.S. In part, the United States lost market share because we failed to promote tourism, while other countries invested in tourism promotion. To encourage tourists to visit the U.S., I worked for the passage of the Travel Promotion Act. This bipartisan legislation established the first-ever United States public-private initiative to promote tourism. The new organization would help attract millions of international visitors by advertising our Nation abroad-- all at no cost to the taxpayers. If this new organization, Brand USA, was going to be successful, it would need a strong leader with a bold vision to promote tourism. Fortunately, we found that leader in Steve Cloobeck. From the moment he joined the board, Steve established aggressive timelines for setting up the new organization. He helped draft the organization's strategic platform and goals, while ensuring that operations continued on schedule. Steve was also actively engaged in building partnerships with the private sector.…
