You might also like:
U.S. Travel Association CEO Roger Dow praised Congress for passing a spending bill that averts a government shutdown, approves the funding of “important security and travel facilitation programs,” and doesn’t raise TSA fees on travelers.
The House and Senate passed a $1.17 trillion spending bill that President Donald Trump is expected to sign, funding the government through September.
“This spending bill provides significant funding to address a number of our industry’s most pressing policy priorities,” Dow said in a statement. “It creates a $75 million emergency fund to address emerging global health threats like Ebola and Zika. It will accelerate the hiring of front-line CBP inspectors in order to keep wait times at our ports of entry manageable, and directs new funds to the Visa Security Program, which will aid in the efficient processing of visa applications.
“It devotes new resources to help identify the small fraction of travelers who overstay their visas, invests $1 billion in air traffic control updates, and allots funding for continued TSA modernization, including $23 million to expand canine detection programs at domestic airports,” he added.
Dow applauded the decision not to raise TSA fees “in light of the continued diversion of passenger TSA fees away from security purposes.”
“Keeping travelers moving to and within the U.S. is vital to our nation’s economic health,” Dow said. “Unnecessarily cutting or disrupting the operations of agencies like the FAA, CBP and TSA would place considerable strain on travelers, stymie national security efforts and cost our country billions in lost travel revenue. … We thank lawmakers for passing this spending bill and urge them to continue investing in travel infrastructure, facilitation programs and security.”
Sоurсе: travelweekly.com