Rep. Susie Lee Hosts Travel, Tourism Roundtable

Las Vegas, Nev. - Rep. Susie Lee (Nev.-03) hosted a roundtable with the U.S. Travel Association to discuss travel and tourism policies and priorities in southern Nevada. The roundtable included government representatives and business and nonprofit leaders in Nevada's travel and tourism industry.

"While southern Nevada is rapidly diversifying and growing, travel and tourism is still the lifeblood of our economy," said Rep. Lee. "We need to make sure that not just our industry leaders, but our workers can count on having the policies and resources they need to help the industry thrive. We need to prioritize infrastructure projects like Interstate 11 to make travel easier and more efficient, and we need to make sure our businesses have the support to hire workers to keep up with demand. Just as important, there are some things I am dedicated to ensuring never happen, namely Yucca Mountain, which would undoubtedly hurt our community and decimate Nevada's travel and tourism industry. In June, I fought with the Nevada delegation to ensure that no Yucca Mountain funding was included in the 2019-2020 House budget bill, and I will continue to fight for Nevadans to guarantee our state does not become the nation's dumping ground for nuclear waste."

BACKGROUND: The travel and tourism industry is the largest in the state, employing over 428,000 Nevadans. In March 2019, Rep. Lee sent a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to reauthorize the Brand USA program within the Administration's Fiscal Year 2020 budget request. Brand USA is a highly successful public-private partnership that was created through the bipartisan Travel Promotion Act of 2009, with the purpose of promoting the United States as a preferred destination to global travelers at no cost to American taxpayers. In June, Rep. Lee and the rest of the Nevada Congressional delegation secured the 2019-2020 House budget bill without any funding for any Yucca Mountain.