‘Into America’s Wild’ & a History Sidebar on Brand USA
By Laurie Jo Miller Farr
Brand USA, a public-private partnership, was created by the bipartisan Travel Promotion Act of 2009. It was funded by 14 founding partners, commenced operations in May 2011 and was reauthorized by Congress in 2014. Since its founding, Brand USA has worked with more than 900 partners. “It must be noted that Brand USA does not cost American taxpayers a dime,” a Congressional hearing was told last week.
However, without new action by Congress, the agency will expire in September 2020 because of the 2018 congressional budget cap agreement that diverted Brand USA’s funding to general revenue.