Priority Issues

Summer 2025

Protect Every Park and the Staff Who Steward Them: A Call to Congress to Defend America’s National Parks

Preventing the Defunding and Dismantling of our National Park System

NPCA Messaging Guide: Protect Every Park

The U.S. National Park Service manages 433 individual units covering more than 85 million acres in all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. Created Aug. 25, 1916, NPS serves to conserve scenery and the natural and historical objects contained in lands designated as national parks.

Airports are economic engines for communities across the country and gateways to tourism destinations across the United States and the world. Accordingly, it’s critical that we provide our nation’s airports sufficient resources to ensure they are up to the task. NTA advocates for robust funding streams for our nation’s airports, particularly in the context of the pending Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill being debated in Congress. FAA reauthorization bills govern airport funding and aviation policy for years at a time. The FAA is currently operating on an extension of the previous reauthorization bill and Congress is debating successor legislation. The Senate passed its version of a reauthorization bill on March 16, 2016 with ease. However, the House version of the bill has not yet moved forward on the House floor. Debate continues over the House proposal to remove the operation and management of air traffic control from the FAA and to place ATC control and management under a quasi-private, not-for-profit entity.

NTA is a strong supporter of the Visa Waiver Program, which increases both the safety and efficiency of our visa system. VWP is a pre-screened, pre-approved traveler program which allows for reciprocal visa-free travel for up to 90 days with participating countries. The program is only applicable to specific countries where the U.S. has in-depth security and information sharing agreements and coordination of law enforcement. In this vein, NTA strongly supports the Jobs Originated through Launching Travel Act (JOLT) (H.R. 1401 / S. 2091). The JOLT Act, sponsored by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in the Senate and Congressman Joe Heck (R-NV) in the House, contains provisions that would enhance travel and tourism in the United States, including proposed reforms to provide DHS with greater authorization to expand and clarify VWP eligibility. Finally, NTA is monitoring the debate surrounding possible retaliatory proposals that have been raised by the EU relating to EU visa waivers for U.S. citizens. NTA does not believe such actions are necessarily likely but is advocating strenuously on the need to avoid a negative outcome. Eliminating the ability of Americans and Europeans to make use of VWP and similar European programs could damage the security posture of both the EU and U.S. and potentially stymie travel and business.

Expanding travel to Cuba remains a high priority for NTA. The association strongly believes that normalizing relations with Cuba will greatly benefit the U.S. economy and be a boon for the travel and tourism sector, the nation’s largest service export.

Recent Administration Action

On March 15, 2016, the Administration released its latest amendments to its Cuban Assets Control Regulations and Export Administration Regulations, which significantly increase the ability of U.S. citizens to engage in travel to Cuba. While these amendments do not address travel for tourism purposes, they authorize individuals to travel to Cuba provided that the travel is for cultural and educational exchange purposes.

Landscape in Congress

NTA supports a number of bills in both the House and Senate that would expand travel and trade with Cuba. As an association, NTA has been active in advocating on behalf of these bills and also has teamed up with coalition partners such as Engage Cuba to create a broad chorus of support. Key legislation includes:

• The Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act (H.R. 664 / S. 299): This bill, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) in the Senate and Congressman Mark Sanford (R-SC) in the House, would dismantle any current regulations in place hampering individual travel to Cuba upon enactment and prohibit the future enactment of such regulatory restrictions. This legislation has been cosponsored by over half the Senate and by over 100 members of the House of Representatives.
• The Cuba Trade Act (H.R. 3238): Sponsored by Congressman Tom Emmer (R-MN) and Congresswoman Kathy Castor (D-FL), this bill would eliminate the embargo with Cuba and establish normalized relationships.