[Senate Report 112-92]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
112th Congress Report
1st Session SENATE 112-92
_______________________________________________________________________
ASIA-PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION BUSINESS TRAVEL CARDS ACT OF 2011
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
S. 1487
TO AUTHORIZE THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY, IN COORDINATION WITH
THE SECRETARY OF STATE, TO ESTABLISH A PROGRAM TO ISSUE ASIA-PACIFIC
ECONOMIC COOPERATION BUSINESS TRAVEL CARDS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
November 8, 2011.--Ordered to be printed
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 2011
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20402-0001
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut, Chairman
CARL LEVIN, Michigan SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine
DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii TOM COBURN, Oklahoma
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware SCOTT P. BROWN, Massachusetts
MARK L. PRYOR, Arkansas JOHN McCAIN, Arizona
MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
JON TESTER, Montana RAND PAUL, Kentucky
MARK BEGICH, Alaska JERRY MORAN, Kansas
Michael L. Alexander, Staff Director
Beth M. Grossman, Deputy Staff Director and Chief Counsel
Blas Nunez-Neto, Professional Staff Member
Eric M. Tamarkin, Counsel, Subcommittee on Oversight of Government
Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia
Nicholas A. Rossi, Minority Staff Director
Brendan P. Shields, Minority Director for Homeland Security Policy
Christopher J. Burford, Minority CBP Detailee
Trina Driessnack Tyrer, Chief Clerk
112th Congress
SENATE
Report
1st Session 112-92
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ASIA-PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION BUSINESS TRAVEL CARDS ACT OF 2011
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November 8, 2011.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Lieberman, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 1487]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 1487) to authorize
the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the
Secretary of State, to establish a program to issue Asia-
Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Travel Cards, and for
other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably
thereon with an amendment in the nature of a substitute and
recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................4
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis......................................4
V. Estimated Cost of Legislation....................................5
VI. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................6
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............6
I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
S. 1487 aims to make it easier for American businesspeople
to engage in commercial activities in the Asia-Pacific region
by allowing them to participate in a travel program that has
long been available to Asia-Pacific nationals seeking to do
business in the United States. It does so by authorizing the
Department of Homeland Security, in coordination with the
Department of State, to issue Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
travel cards to U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents.
These travel cards will allow their holders to bypass numerous
requirements that would otherwise slow their access to and
travel within certain Asia-Pacific countries.
II. BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) was
established in 1989 as an acknowledgement of the growing
economic and diplomatic interdependence among Asia-Pacific
countries. During that year, Australia hosted Foreign and Trade
Ministers from twelve Asia-Pacific nations, all of whom looked
for ways to increase cooperation on a number of different
fronts in order to more effectively foster economic growth. The
founding members of APEC were Australia, Brunei, Canada,
Darussalam, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia,
New Zealand, the Republic of the Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand and the United States.\1\
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\1\History, ASIA-PAC. ECON. COOPERATION, http://www.apec.org/About-
Us/About-APEC/History.aspx (last visited on Oct. 26, 2011).
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One method APEC decided to use to promote commerce among
its members involves the APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC)
program, which it started in 1997.\2\ Under the ABTC program,
APEC nations issue cards to business travelers and senior
government officials who meet certain standards established by
the member nation.\3\ Card applicants are screened against
security and immigration databases to ensure that they are
trusted travelers, and must be pre-cleared by participating
nations in order to receive the card.\4\ In exchange for
submitting to the program's review, the traveler gains
expedited access to the APEC nations. By making it easier to
gain admittance to a member nation, the program removes a
common barrier to commerce, to the benefit of all countries
involved. ABTCs are valid for three years and are issued by
individual members for use by their own citizens.\5\ As of
April 2011, nearly 90,000 foreign citizens held ABTCs.\6\ The
National Center of APEC has estimated the demand for the cards
by U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents at around
10,500-15,000, depending on the eligibility criteria
established.\7\
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\2\APEC Business Travel Card, BUS. MOBILITY GROUP, http://
www.businessmobility.org/key/abtc.html (last visited on Oct. 18, 2011).
\3\APEC Business Travel Card, ASIA-PAC. ECON. COOPERATION, http://
www.apec.org//link.aspx?_id=9E3E68AE3A0D4631B8381E66C4E893CF&_z=z
(last visited Oct. 18, 2011).
\4\APEC Business Travel Card Operating Framework, ASIA-PAC. ECON.
COOPERATION. Document provided by the Department of State (on file with
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee).
\5\Ibid.
\6\Press Release, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, The APEC
Business Travel Card surveys: Moving APEC's Businesspeople (Apr. 28,
2011), http://apec.org/Press/Features/2011/0428_abtcsurveys.aspx.
\7\Dep't of State, Fact Sheet: APEC Business Travel Card Program
(ABTC) (on file with Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Committee).
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While there are 21 members of APEC, only 18 nations are
full members of the ABTC program. Full members allow ABTC
holders visa-free travel to their country and expedited
immigration processing when they arrive (for example, some APEC
countries do not require that ABTC travelers have passports).
The United States, Canada, and Russia are transitional members,
which means that they do not offer visa-free travel for ABTC
holders. Instead, the United States, Canada, and Russia provide
fast track immigration processing lanes, typically allowing
ABTC holders to use diplomatic or crew lines at airports.\8\
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\8\Based on Committee staff interviews with Department of Homeland
Security and Department of State officials, October 12-27.
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Although the United States is not a full participant in the
ABTC program, it has made efforts to ease the travel of ABTC
holders. The U.S. continues to require visas for ABTC holders
to travel to the United States, for example, but affords ABTC
holders from APEC countries expedited visa interview scheduling
at embassies and consulates abroad. And as noted above, ABTC
holders benefit from expedited immigration processing through
airline crew or diplomatic lanes upon arriving at international
airports, reducing their travel times significantly.
Because the United States does not yet offer ABTCs to its
citizens but does recognize foreign ABTC holders, the United
States is currently at a competitive trade disadvantage. In
other words, we allow nationals of other APEC nations to travel
easily to and within the U.S., but we deny that same advantage
to Americans traveling abroad because we currently do not have
a program for issuing APEC business travel cards. When the
United States joined the program in 2007 as a transitional
member, then Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice remarked on
how the program would give foreign business travelers easier
access to United States markets:
In order to foster trade, we must also facilitate
travel. Therefore, the United States has decided this
year to recognize the APEC Business Travel Card, as the
first step toward joining the program. This will enable
entrepreneurs . . . to gain visas, to move through our
immigration lines, and to visit America--in a faster,
safer, easier manner.\9\
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\9\Press Release, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, APEC Leaders
Address Regional Business Interests (Nov. 19, 2006), http://
www.apec.org/Press/News-Releases/2006/1119_vn_
leadersaddregbizinterest.aspx.
S. 1487 would provide the same benefits to American
businesspeople traveling to other APEC countries that their
foreign counterparts have enjoyed in the United States since
2007.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in conjunction
with the Department of State (State), has been working with
Congress to obtain the legislative authority to issue the ABTC
to U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents who are members
of Global Entry, the DHS international trusted traveler
program.\10\ S. 1487 reflects negotiations among DHS, State,
and Congress to fulfill the United States' obligations under
the APEC agreement.
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\10\Global Entry Trusted Traveler Program and APEC, internal
Department of Homeland Security document. (Sept. 30, 2011) (on file
with Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee).
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This legislation could have a significant positive impact
for U.S. businesses. A full 44 percent of world trade and 54
percent of global GDP are derived from the 21 APEC member
economies.\11\ In 2010, U.S. exports to APEC economies totaled
$774 billion--approximately 60 percent of all U.S. exports.\12\
Given the substantial amounts of trade and international
commerce in the Asia-Pacific region, it is important to
expedite the access of businesspeople and government officials
to these countries. By increasing access to foreign markets, S.
1487 will help American businesses expand their production,
hire more workers, and bolster President Obama's National
Export Initiative objective to double U.S. exports over the
next 5 years.\13\
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\11\U.S.-APEC Trade Facts, OFFICE OF THE U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE,
http://www.ustr.gov/countries-regions/japan-korea-apec/apec/us-apec-
trade-facts (last visited Oct. 19, 2011).
\12\U.S.-APEC Trade Facts, OFFICE OF THE U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE,
http://www.ustr.gov/countries-regions/japan-korea-apec/apec/us-apec-
trade-facts (last visited Oct. 19, 2011).
\13\Exec. Order No. 13534, 75 Fed. Reg. 12433, 12433 (Mar. 16,
2010); Letter from The Am. Chamber of Commerce in Singapore, to
Chairman Lieberman and Ranking Member Collins, Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs Committee (Oct. 14, 2011) (on file with Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs Committee).
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S. 1487 has been endorsed by multiple U.S. business
organizations, whose members are seeking parity with their
foreign business competitors. For example, the American Chamber
of Commerce in Singapore wrote in a recent letter to the Senate
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that
``[the legislation will] help position American businesses to
succeed in the booming Asia-Pacific economies, and to send a
clear message that the United States is committed to bolstering
its commercial presence in the region.''\14\ Additionally, the
United States Council for International Business noted that
ABTCs would complement other current programs such as the ATA
Carnet System, which allows for temporary duty-free imports
oversees, by expediting passage through APEC member airports
and allowing increased time for meeting with customers,
vendors, and transacting business.\15\
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\14\Letter from The American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore, to
Chairman Lieberman and Ranking Member Collins, Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs Committee (Oct. 14, 2011) (on file with Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs Committee).
\15\Letter from U.S. Council for Int'l Bus., to Senator Cantwell
(Oct. 17, 2011) (on file with Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs Committee).
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While S. 1487 will provide clear benefits to U.S.
businesses, it will be at no cost to U.S. taxpayers. By
allowing DHS to prescribe and collect a fee for establishing
and maintaining the ABTC program, the Committee intends that S.
1487 be budget neutral.
III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 1487 was introduced on August 2, 2011, by Senator
Cantwell with original co-sponsors Senator Akaka and Senator
Inouye. The Committee considered S. 1487 at its October 19,
2011, business meeting. Members adopted by voice vote an
amendment in the nature of a substitute offered by Senators
Johnson, Portman, and McCain with Senators Lieberman, Akaka,
Carper, Pryor, McCaskill, Begich, Collins, Brown, Johnson, and
Moran present. The substitute authorized the ABTC program
through fiscal year 2018, removed a section that authorized
appropriations, and clarified that the costs of establishing
the program are to be paid for by fees. The Committee adopted
the bill, as amended, by voice vote, with Senators Lieberman,
Akaka, Carper, Pryor, McCaskill, Begich, Collins, Brown,
Johnson, and Moran present.
IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short title
This section names the Act the ``Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation Business Travel Cards Act of 2011.''
Section 2. Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Travel Cards
(a) This subsection authorizes the Secretary of Homeland
Security, in coordination with the Secretary of State, to issue
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Travel Cards
and, as amended by the substitute, gives the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) the authority to issue these cards
through the end of fiscal year 2018. The APEC Business Travel
Cards (ABTC) may be issued to any eligible person, which
includes business leaders and U.S. Government officials who are
actively engaged in APEC business, and who have been approved
and are in good standing with a current DHS international
trusted traveler program.
(b) This subsection authorizes DHS to integrate the ABTC
program with other appropriate international trusted traveler
programs under the jurisdiction of DHS, and requires that ABTC
holders remain in good standing with DHS' international trusted
traveler program.
(c) This subsection authorizes DHS to consult with private
sector entities if deemed necessary by the Department.
(d) This subsection authorizes the Secretary of Homeland
Security, in coordination with the Secretary of State, to
prescribe such regulations as necessary to carry out this
program.
(e) This subsection authorizes the Secretary of Homeland
Security to establish and collect a fee for each ABTC and to
adjust the fee in order to fully cover both the direct and
indirect costs associated with implementing this program. The
substitute amendment further directs the Secretary to ensure
that fee collections are sufficient to fully offset the cost of
establishing the program. The fees shall be placed into an
account in the Treasury and used to offset expenses.
(f) This subsection provides for the termination of the
ABTC program if deemed necessary by the Secretary of Homeland
Security, in coordination with the Secretary of State.
V. ESTIMATED COST OF LEGISLATION
November 3, 2011.
Hon. Joseph I. Lieberman,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S.
Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1487, the Asia-
Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Travel Card Act of 2011.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark
Grabowicz.
Sincerely,
Douglas W. Elmendorf.
Enclosure.
S. 1487--Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Travel Cards Act of
2011
CBO estimates that implementing S. 1487 would cost about $2
million in fiscal year 2012, subject to the availability of
appropriated funds. Enacting the bill also would affect direct
spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. However,
CBO estimates that any such effects would be insignificant for
each year. S. 1487 would not affect revenues.
S. 1487 would authorize the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS), through the end of fiscal year 2018, to issue a special
business card to certain persons who are employed in
international commerce involving the United States and
countries in Asia. The card would allow those persons to
expedite their travel to several countries. The bill would
permit DHS to charge a fee to cover the costs of carrying out
this program.
Based on information from DHS, CBO estimates that, assuming
the availability of appropriated funds, the agency would spend
about $2 million in 2012 to establish the new program,
including costs to develop and test software, and test computer
systems. In 2012 and subsequent years, the department expects
to collect a fee of about $100 from a few thousand participants
per year. Thus, we estimate that DHS would collect and spend
less than $500,000 annually in most years to operate the
program, so there would be no significant net effect on direct
spending in any year.
S. 1487 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal
governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz.
The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
VI. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT
Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning
of the Rule. The Congressional Budget Office states that the
bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates
as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not
affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.
VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
S. 1487, as amended and reported, does not make changes to
existing law.