The U.S. Travel Association is voicing praise for a recently-issued bipartisan letter that calls on the Biden Administration to establish a White House Task Force on global sporting events.
Authored by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Jerry Moran (R-KS), the letter comes as the United States prepares to host a string of high-profile sporting events over the next several years, among them the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the 2028 and 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the 2031 Rugby World Cup.
With those major events on the horizon, the U.S. Travel Association says it will be critical to “build a coalition within the White House” that’s focused on developing “innovative solutions to smooth the traveler experience, prioritize safety, and bolster the nation’s economy, for those upcoming events.”
“The creation of this task force is essential for our success as we enter a mega-decade of sporting events in the U.S.,” Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of U.S Travel Association, said in a statement today.
The bipartisan letter from Klobuchar and Moran outlines the same goal.
“To ensure the success of these events, preparations must be made to facilitate smooth and secure travel to the United States for our international guests,” says the letter, signed by Klobuchar, Moran and several other senators.
Some of the priorities outlined by the Klobuchar-Moran letter include:
- Streamlining interview wait times for visitor visas
“Currently, wait times for visitor visa interviews, particularly for first-time applicants, remain unacceptably high in many countries,” says the letter.
As of June 2024, in the largest non-Visa Waiver Program countries, average interview wait times were nearly 300 days, with some locations reaching nearly two years.
- Ensuring event safety via advance interagency planning
“The success of these events are dependent on the ability of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to work together to ensure the safety of the games and, if necessary, respond to critical incidents,” says the letter.
“As we prepare for these upcoming events, a White House Task Force on Global Sporting Events could facilitate the interagency planning necessary to keep participants and visitors safe,” the letter adds.
The letter to the administration also points out that there “is ample precedent for establishing such a task force for large-scale public events.”
In 1998, President Clinton announced “the creation of the White House Task Force on the 2002 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”
Additionally, official federal government preparation for the 1994 FIFA World Cup began in June 1987 with Congress passing S.J. Res.175 to provide support to meet the requirements of a host country.
“As we just witnessed with the Paris games, international sporting events shine a huge spotlight on the host country,” Senator Klobuchar said in a statement. “For these events to be successful, we must be prepared and ready to welcome visitors. That is why I am requesting that our government create a Task Force on Global Sporting Events to manage the preparation and security of the games.”
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