DC Recap
Valued WHTC Members,
Last month, your organization travelled to our nation’s capital to participate in the US Travel Association’s “Destination Capitol Hill” and the National Restaurant Association’s “Public Affairs Conference.” Members of the Wyoming Hospitality and Travel Coalition, the Wyoming Tourism Board, Cheyenne Frontier Days and the University of Wyoming WORTH program met with Senators John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis to discuss key issues impacting our industry.
Among the issues we discussed were:
Restoring Our National Parks
National Parks are America’s crown jewels that generate $56 billion for communities nationwide.
In 2024, visitation to National Parks reached a record 332 million.
Yet, National Parks staffing has decreased by 20% over the last 15 years, leading to a backlog in maintenance and service reductions.
Congress must invest more in staffing and maintenance to ensure our National Parks are ready for America’s 250th Anniversary and generations to come.
Our Ask: Support reauthorizing the bipartisan Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA), which provides funding to address long-overdue infrastructure and maintenance needs at our National Parks and other public lands.
Preparing the Industry for Success
The H-2B visa program allows U.S. businesses to hire foreign workers for temporary or seasonal jobs that would otherwise go unfilled.
Unfortunately, the demand for H-2B visas remains extremely high and the program’s 66,000 annual cap has not been revised or updated since 1992.
The upcoming mega-decade of events hosted by the U.S. will only increase the need for additional temporary workers to accommodate the expected 40 million international visitors.
Our Ask: Support legislation to increase the H-2B visa cap for hospitality workers supporting major global events hosted in the United States.
Secure and Efficient Visa Processing
The State Department is struggling to meet current demand for visitor visas and the system could be completely overwhelmed by a surge of applications for these global events.
The 2026 World Cup could attract more than 6 million international visitors, but citizens from half of the top countries that travel for the World Cup will require visitor visas.
In many countries, wait times for a visitor visa interview can be hundreds of days or more than one year. (e.g., 444 days in India, 700 days in Colombia)
Our Ask: Appropriate $491 million in unused visa fees for the State Department to surge staffing, extend hours of operations, and increase processing capacity in advance of global events.
Strong and Efficient Airport Borders
Due to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) staffing shortages, Americans returning home from abroad and international visitors often wait one-to-two hours to clear customs.
At many airports, CBP does not have enough staff to accommodate new international routes — which costs local economies $227 million per year for each lost route.
We need stronger, more efficient airport borders to keep America safe and facilitate global travel.
Our Ask: Provide funding for 2,000 additional CBP officers at airports to address staffing shortages, efficiently facilitate lawful travel, and spur economic growth; Appropriate $600 million to complete biometric air exit within two years to strengthen protection against immigration overstays and vastly improve CBP’s border security and immigration enforcement.
Promoting International Visitation to all Regions of the U.S.
Brand USA is a public-private partnership, created by the bipartisan Travel Promotion Act, that promotes international travel to all regions of the United States and provides information about U.S. entry and visa requirements to help visitors comply with U.S. laws.
Brand USA is actively working to maximize the number of international visitors who attend America250, the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and the 2028 Summer Olympics and drive visitation beyond host cities so that all communities benefit from these events.
Brand USA doesn’t cost taxpayers a dime. It is funded solely by travel industry contributions and fees paid by international travelers for using the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA).
Our Ask: Given Brand USA’s crucial role in increasing international visitation for major global events, we urge Congress to keep ESTA fee revenue dedicated to Brand USA and oppose diverting the fees for other purposes.
Lowering Credit Card Swipe Fees
For most restaurants and lodging properties, processing credit card transactions is the third-largest operating expense, behind food and labor.
Unchecked by competition, U.S. swipe fees have more than doubled over the past decade.
Two companies control 80% of the U.S. credit card processing market.
The Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) would create competition in the broken credit card processing industry, saving U.S. businesses, including restaurants and hotels, and consumers an estimated $16.4 billion annually.
Our Ask: Support the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) to lower high swipe fees.
Extending the Qualified Business Income Deduction
The Main Street Tax Certainty Act makes the QBI deduction for pass-through businesses permanent.
Without this legislation, this deduction will expire at the end of 2025.
Most Wyoming restaurants operate as family-owned, pass-through businesses (partnerships, LLCs, S-Corps, or sole proprietorships).
The average small business restaurant has a 3–5% pre-tax profit margin.
For an average restaurant operator, the QBI deduction reduces the business’s top effective tax rate from 37% to 29.6%.
Our Ask: Support the Main Street Tax Certainty Act (S. 213/H.R. 703).
Thank you very much to all of the WHTC and Wyoming Tourism Board members who attended and educated our elected officials on why these issues are critically important to a thriving hospitality and tourism industry in Wyoming.
Want to be more involved? We are always looking for members who are willing to help us protect and promote our industry! Please reach out to WHTC Executive Director Chris Brown for more information at chris@wyohtc.org
Warm Regards,
Chris Brown
Executive Director
chris@wyohtc.org