Harry Reid: “I applaud and commend the Senator from North Dakota for his leadership on this issue. The travel industry needs help.…”

“I applaud and commend the Senator from North Dakota for his leadership on this issue. The travel industry needs help. This bill will give the travel industry the shot in the arm it needs. Whether it is travel agents, whether it is rental car agencies, or the myriad of other people who support the tourism industry, we must start someplace. This is certainly a start. In 30 States, the No. 1, No. 2, or No. 3 economic driving force in those States is tourism and we have kind of ignored tourism since September 11. We can no longer afford to do that. I look forward to working with my colleagues who are sponsors of this legislation and the rest of the Senate. This is essential legislation and I hope we can move it very quickly.”