Hearing on Reauthorizing Brand USA and the U.S. SAFE WEB Act

• •The subcommittee held a hearing on October 29, 2019, to discuss the reauthorization of Brand USA and the U.S. SAFE WEB Act.
• •Brand USA is a public-private partnership that markets the United States as a travel destination to international visitors.
• •The U.S. SAFE WEB Act grants the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) authority to share information and cooperate with foreign law enforcement agencies to combat cross-border fraud and privacy violations.
• •H.R. 3851, the Travel Promotion, Enhancement, and Modernization Act of 2019, was introduced as part of the legislative discussion.
• •The committee reviewed a discussion draft of H.R. 4779.
• •The hearing included testimony from Christopher L. Thompson (Brand USA), Tori Emerson Barnes (U.S. Travel Association), and Aaron Burstein (Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP).
• •The committee received written submissions from the FTC, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, and the American Hotel & Lodging Association.

The committee is evaluating whether to extend federal authorization for tourism marketing and international consumer protection tools, which impacts how the U.S. markets itself globally and how the FTC handles international digital fraud.

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.