A bipartisan group of senators and House members has introduced the VISIT USA Act — legislation that would fully restore Brand USA’s funding in fiscal years 2026 and 2027 by redirecting the entire ESTA fee stream from the Visa Waiver Program back to the organization. The bill lands as Brand USA operates on a roughly 80% budget cut, after its maximum annual match dropped from $100 million to $20 million in last summer’s budget.

The Senate version is led by Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), and Jacky Rosen (D-NV); companion legislation in the House is sponsored by Kathy Castor (D-FL) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL). The U.S. Travel Association is aggressively backing the package, framing it as essential infrastructure ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, America 250, and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Brand USA’s funding collapse has already produced visible operational fallout: a reported 15% workforce reduction and the shutdown of its GoUSA TV digital platform. Senator Sullivan’s office pitched the bill as a non-taxpayer-funded fix, since ESTA fees are paid by inbound foreign travelers, not U.S. residents.

What this means for DMOs

Most DMOs don’t think of themselves as downstream of Brand USA funding, but the math is straightforward. Brand USA’s consumer campaigns, trade-show presence, and international content are what prime demand in source markets — the awareness layer that feeds state tourism offices and host-city marketing with inbound intent. When Brand USA pulls back, every DMO trying to capture international visitors loses top-of-funnel reach, and the gap has to be backfilled by someone. Usually that’s the state or metro tourism office, using budget that was already allocated somewhere else.

U.S. Travel’s framing — 40 million international visitors and $100 billion in potential economic impact tied to the 2026–2028 events window — is the number DMO executives should be putting in front of boards and elected officials this spring. It is a rare moment where national tourism policy, host-city readiness, and the federal calendar line up in one story. The VISIT USA Act will live or die on how loudly the industry advocates for it, and DMO CEOs are exactly the constituents Congressional offices listen to on this.

Practical move: track the bill, brief your board at the next meeting, and consider a joint letter through your state DMO association. This is exactly the kind of policy lift that works only if it is pushed from dozens of local markets at once.

Photo by Adam Michael Szuscik on Unsplash