The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) and NBTA-Canada (formerly the Canadian Alliance of Business Travel) praised a measure introduced by Sens. Norm Coleman (R-MN) and Susan M. Collins (R-ME) that would protect the economic interests of the United States…
The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) and NBTA-Canada (formerly the Canadian Alliance of Business Travel) praised a measure introduced by Sens. Norm Coleman (R-MN) and Susan M. Collins (R-ME) that would protect the economic interests of the United Statesand its most important trading partner, Canada, by improving upon the requirements of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) and taking steps to ameliorate the current backlog of passport applications.
In an amendment to S. 1348, the comprehensive immigration reform legislation being debated in the Senate, Sens. Coleman and Collins advanced language that would:
- Authorize the U.S. State Department to hire additional personnel to manage the high level of passport applications prompted by WHTI.
- Allow states with secure driver’s licenses to opt in to a program that would allow citizens to designate their citizenship on the license and make that license acceptable for crossing into the United States from Canada.
- Emphasize the U.S. Congress’ intent to ensure passport cards are available as acceptable border-crossing document before the WHTI land-crossing requirement goes into affect.
NBTA Executive Director & COO, Bill Connors, said, “Protecting national security means securing our borders in a way that does not reduce the flow of business travel and commerce – particularly between the United States and Canada. Senators Coleman and Collins are to be congratulated on their efforts to fix some the challenges posed by WHTI to our economic security. NBTA looks forward to continuing its role as the voice of the business travel industry in the ongoing discussion about WHTI.”
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
