Trump’s New Target: Brand USA

When the U.S. Senate passed the wide-ranging tax bill early on the morning of Dec. 2, it opened the door to the automatic implementation of previous legislation that, in effect, would require the de-funding of Brand USA (officially, the Corporation for Travel Promotion) and deep cuts in the programs of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

While awaiting word from the U.S. Travel Association as to what it thinks about the possibility of the elimination of Brand USA’s funding, here’s what we found out from various sources.

In February 2010, Congress passed and President Barack Obama signed into law The Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (Title I of Public Law 111-139)—also called Paygo—which reinstated a law enacted in 1990 under President George H.W. Bush and was effective until 2002.

The act is designed to ensure that most of the new spending is offset by spending cuts or added revenue elsewhere (with several major policy exemptions). The tax cut bill will cost the U.S., by most estimates, some $1.5 trillion. Hence, the Paygo cuts.

As explained by the New York Times, with the exception of Social Security, the U.S. Postal Service and some income-based programs such as unemployment benefits and food stamps, most mandatory spending programs are subject to Paygo.

For 2018, the law would take away $14 billion in some farm aid programs, $1.7 billion for Social Security block grants, Meals on Wheels and millions here and there for scores of federal programs.

Equally startling is Number 94 on the list, which identifies $1.344 billion in funds for operations and support for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.  There is no specific indication as to what operations and support will be cut.

U.S. Travel Association Executive Vice President Jonathan Grella released the following statement:

“Brand USA is one of hundreds of programs in the bucket of mandatory spending items which could be affected by the rules required for spending offsets. We don’t believe that Brand USA is being singled out in anyway.

“In the hunt for revenue, cutting Brand USA would be a big step in the wrong direction. Brand USA is critical to helping maximize the economic benefits of travel. Last year, Brand USA’s activities generated $615 million in incremental federal taxes—more than four times its budget—and another $552 million in state and local taxes.”

Source: Inbound Report