Congress restores $80M tourism fund cut by spending bill
H.R. 6202 — Brand USA Restoration Act · Filed by Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) · Introduced Nov 20, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill appropriates $80 million to the Travel Promotion Fund for fiscal year 2026 to restore funding that was cut by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The money comes from general Treasury funds and goes directly into the existing Travel Promotion Fund, which finances Brand USA, the federal agency that markets U.S. travel destinations internationally.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is a direct appropriation to restore federal funding for tourism promotion. While framed as a 'restoration,' it is functionally a subsidy to the tourism and hospitality sectors, which benefit from federally funded international marketing.
What the text implies
- The bill does not explain why the One Big Beautiful Bill Act cut the Fund or whether that cut reflected a policy judgment about federal tourism spending priorities. Restoring the cut without addressing the underlying rationale may perpetuate a cycle of appropriations reversals.
- Brand USA is a quasi-public entity funded by a mix of federal appropriations and private-sector contributions. Restoring federal funding may reduce pressure on the tourism industry to self-fund its own marketing, effectively shifting costs from private to public.
The full analysis lists 3 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
tourism and hospitality industry; international travel and tourism operators; hotel and airline companies