NTA Legislative Alert – Contact Your Senators Today

March 30, 2006

NTA Legislative Alert – Contact Your Senators Today
March 30, 2006 – NTA is asking you to contact your two state senators and encourage them to cosponsor the "Common Sense Cross-Border Travel and Security Act of 2006." Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) is going introduce a bill to the United States Senate and also introduce an amendment to any future immigration legislation that would be a welcome change to the current anticipated implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.

To get contact information for your senators please click http://www.senate.gov/contacting/index.cfm. To see a sample letter you can use to contact your senators, click here.

As you know, NTA has been working with other industry groups to make the WHTI more palatable to the tourism industry. WHTI is the law that will require citizens of the U.S. to have a passport when entering into the United States from Canada, Mexico and the nations of the Caribbean. Sen. Dorgan’s bill/amendment will consist of the following three points:

(1) It would exempt children under the age of 18 from WHTI’s passport requirement.
(2) It sets a ceiling of $20 for "passport cards."
(3) It establishes a system of free "day passes" for Americans crossing the northern land border who certify that were unable to apply in advance for passport cards.

Sen. Dorgan is attempting to get other senators to sign on or "cosponsor" this legislation before he submits it to the floor. Please contact your senators today.

Please contact NTA’s Industry and Government Relations Department at 800.682.8886 for more information.