Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Travel Cards Act of 2011

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2042) to require the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to establish a program to issue Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Travel Cards, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in support of H.R. 2042, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Travel Cards Act of 2011.

This measure is needed to grant to the Department of Homeland Security the authority to issue ``APEC'' business cards, ABTC, as part of their overall Trusted Traveler programs operated by Customs and Border Protection for expedited reentry into the United States.

The APEC Business Travel Cards program is an initiative of the Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation forum and is designed to facilitate commerce by promoting fast and efficient travel of eligible businesspeople and government officials within the Asian-Pacific region.

This legislation will allow eligible U.S. business travelers to apply for Trusted Traveler cards for expedited entry to certain Asian-Pacific nations which are members of the APEC forum.

As a transitional member of APEC, the United States already provides foreign business travelers who have APEC Business Travel Cards with expedited scheduling of visa interviews at U.S. Embassies and consulates and use of dedicated lanes of expedited entry when traveling to the United States.

However, since the United States has not yet issued cards for U.S. citizens who wish to participate in this program, Americans are currently unable to enjoy the same time-saving benefits that some 70,000 foreign holders of APEC Business Travel Cards enjoy when coming to the United States.

During these challenging economic times, we must all do what we can to facilitate business development, which includes encouraging international travel and negotiations. Expanding U.S. participation in the APEC Business Travel Card is a simple way to support these goals and facilitate travel, whether it be through LAX or JFK.

Of note, this legislation would have no detriment on the homeland security of the United States as all foreign visitors who are citizens of an APEC member economy must continue to go through the standard travel procedures of obtaining a visa or filling out the Web-based Electronic System for Travel Authorization for Visa Waiver Program countries. Currently, 18 of the 21 APEC economies are full members of the APEC Business Travel Card program. The United States currently participates as a transitional member, along with Canada and Russia, and enacting this legislation will demonstrate U.S. commitment to economic integration and engagement in the Asia-Pacific region.

This measure has strong bipartisan support and enjoys the support of the U.S. business community, including the National Center for APEC, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the U.S. Travel Association.

I urge Members to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from the State of Texas (Mr. Brady).

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time and am prepared to close once the gentlelady does.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, this bill is an opportunity to facilitate travel, promote economic growth, and enhance security.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2042. As a member of the Committee on Homeland Security and as a Representative from the great State of California, which has very strong economic ties to the Pacific region, I am proud to be a cosponsor of what I believe is one of the most important things that we can do with respect to trade and getting American jobs going.

The primary goal of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation organization is to support sustainable economic growth and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region. The United States is among the group's 21- member economies, which account for 55 percent of global GDP. They purchase 58 percent of United States' goods exports and comprise a market of 2.7 billion consumers. Seven of America's top 15 trade partners are in APEC.

This bill would require the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to establish a program to issue APEC Business Travel Cards to eligible U.S. citizen business leaders and senior United States Government officials who are actively engaged in APEC business. The APEC Business Travel Cards would expedite the individuals' international travel within the 21 APEC-member economies. There are similar cards already available to APEC travelers in the United States. H.R. 2042 would allow U.S. citizens to enjoy similar travel benefits abroad.

It requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to integrate application procedures for and issuance of APEC Business Travel Cards with other appropriate international registered traveler programs of the Department of Homeland Security such as SENTRI, Global Entry and NEXUS, as well as some of the other programs we already have to expedite travel from one country into the other. Finally, the bill permits the Secretary of Homeland Security, of course, to impose a fee that would cover the cost of issuing these cards. H.R. 2042 is also supported by the Obama administration.

Next month, the U.S. is hosting APEC for 2011, which is the first time since 1993. It's going to include meetings in Washington, D.C.; in Big Sky, Montana; and in San Francisco, California, culminating in the APEC Leaders Meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii, in November. So I think it would be appropriate that the House pass H.R. 2042 in advance of this meeting next month.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Larsen).

I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2042 represents a small but important step towards facilitating travel and enhancing business ties with our Asia-Pacific region, and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2042 would require the Department of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Department of State, to establish a program to issue APEC Business Travel Cards to eligible United States business leaders and government officials.

Under this program, U.S. citizens actively engaged in APEC business would receive expedited screening in international travel within the 21 APEC member economies.

H.R. 2042 requires DHS to integrate application procedures for and issuance of APEC Business Travel Cards with other appropriate DHS international trusted traveler programs such as Global Entry, NEXUS, and SENTRI.

I strongly support those three DHS trusted traveler programs, which facilitate international travel for pre-approved, low-risk passengers while allowing DHS to focus its resources on higher-risk and unknown passengers.

H.R. 2042 is supported by the Obama Administration, and I also support the bill.

However, I am dismayed that with just 19 days left in the First Session of the 112th Congress, H.R. 2042 is the first Committee on Homeland Security bill to reach the House floor.

I would note that the last time the Committee brought legislation to the House floor was when I was still Chairman--at the end of December 2010.

With respect to H.R. 2042, let the record reflect that the path to the floor involved bypassing Committee consideration. I did not object to this approach, given that the APEC conference is slated to commence in Hawaii next month.

The Democratic Members of the Committee are committed to ensuring that the full breadth and depth of homeland security issues facing our Nation are addressed.

To date, eighty homeland security bills have been introduced and referred to the Committee. The subject matter of these bills range from border security to aviation security to counterterrorism to preparedness and response.

Unfortunately, only a handful of homeland security bills have actually been considered in Committee and only one has been reported to the House. That bill is now pending before another Committee.

The failure of the Committee on Homeland Security to advance meaningful homeland security legislation that speaks to the oversight finding of the Committee in the 112th Congress is inexcusable.

Though I recognize that the hour is late on the congressional calendar, I sincerely hope that consideration of H.R 2042 today signals the commencement of a more active legislative period for the Committee.

Nevertheless, I urge the House to support H.R. 2042 today.

I rise in support of H.R. 2042, the APEC Business Travel Card, and I appreciate working with my counterpart, Congressman Larsen, on this legislation.

This bill provides security-vetted American business and government travelers the same time-saving benefits as their counterparts in other Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation countries. The bill is supported by leaders in both parties, including the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, Representative Peter King. I appreciate his leadership, as this provision was included in the authorizing bill recently reported by the House Committee on Homeland Security.

The card was originally created to increase the economic engagement in a region that continues to grow and grow, and to expedite secure business travel for those who make frequent business trips to these economies. But today, the United States is only one of three economies within APEC that hasn't yet provided these travel cards to their frequent business travelers. This bill would allow Customs and Border Protection to issue the travel card to our citizens after conducting background checks, confirming frequent travel to the APEC region, and collecting fees to cover the full costs.

The two big benefits beyond increased security is the equal treatment for Americans. Our counterparts, frequent business and government travelers, who do business within these countries in the region already enjoy these benefits. This provides it to United States citizens. Basically, it then makes sure we stay competitive in that region, which is a region that is growing economically and represents more than half of the world's economy. They buy almost 58 percent of what America sells, so they are, as Congresswoman Sanchez says, major new customers for our farmers and ranchers, for our technology companies, for our manufacturing companies, and for our service workers as well.

I fully support this bill. It is important that our business travelers in America get out there to sell American products throughout this important region. It has strong business support, and I urge Member support as well.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2042, the APEC Business Travel Card bill. This bill is bipartisan, and it levels the playing field for U.S. businessmen and -women who export their products into other APEC economies.

Since joining the APEC Business Travel Card program as a transitional member in 2007, the U.S. has been extending the benefits of having an APEC Business Travel Card to foreign businessmen and -women in 18 other economies but not to our own. These benefits include being permitted to use the ``crew'' or designated ``APEC Business Travel Card'' lanes in airports when entering a country as well as having expedited visa processing. As of October

12, 2011, there were over 100,000 foreign ABTC holders--but no Americans.

Today's legislation simply levels the playing field by directing the Department of Homeland Security to establish an APEC Business Travel Card that will allow Americans to use the card to gain expedited entry into participating APEC economies when they go abroad and use Customs and Border Protection's, or CBP's, Global Entry program for expedited reentry back into the United States. This will make travel throughout the Asia-Pacific region easier for American businessmen and -women and will help them to more efficiently sell their products overseas.

I want to thank my good friend, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Brady), for his hard work on this bill as well as fellow APEC Caucus cochairs, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Herger), for their support as well.

The future of the United States is tied to the Asia-Pacific region. With the hosting of the APEC summit by the United States in less than a month, it is important that the APEC Business Travel Card program is established. I urge my colleagues to support this bill as well.

In conclusion, I want to thank the leadership of this House for working with me and the gentleman from Texas to get this bill scheduled for House consideration.