Congressman Heath Shuler cosponsored a bill that presumed to increase tourism by raising the price. More specifically, the bill would charge foreigners $10 to enter the United States (through official ports of entry, that is). The perverse incentive is supposed to work because the funds collected would pay a newly-created nonprofit organization to market the United States as a tourist destination. The bill would therefore create jobs, and since people come to North Carolina to enjoy the mountains, the jobs could be considered green. The bill, dubbed the Tourism Promotion Act, sailed through the House of Representatives.
Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) referred to the plan as Fannie Travel. He said people already know the United States exists, but several organizations do not send their people to this country because it has an unnecessarily aggravating process for awarding visas.
