GBTA Statement on House Homeland Security Committee Meeting on Visa Overstays

Alexandria, VA (May 23, 2017) – The U.S. House Homeland Security Committee held a hearing today on Visa Overstays: A Gap in the Nation’s Border Security. The following statement may be attributed to Michael W. McCormick, GBTA executive director and COO.

“The recent Department of Homeland Security (DHS) OIG report makes an excellent business case for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to fulfill its mandate to biometrically verify the exit of foreign visitors. CBP’s biometric exit solution, the Traveler Verification System (TVS), has the potential to increase security at the airport and better facilitate travel. TVS can be leveraged by TSA to reduce its workforce, help the airlines achieve the goal of a frictionless travel experience and reduce congestion at the airports.

Air travel is vital to business travel. Corporations send their travelers on more than 40 million trips a month – most of which include air travel, so finding ways to more efficiently move passengers through security will improve the business travel experience.

We are encouraged by CBP’s approach to develop public-private partnerships with the air travel industry to ensure that CBP can jointly develop an implementation strategy with key stakeholders that also conforms to their own modernization plans to improve air travel. GBTA continues to look forward to the implementation of biometric exit and a solution that is mutually beneficial for security and convenience.”

CONTACT: Colleen Gallagher line, +1 703-236-1133, cgallagher@gbta.org Marianne Varkiani, +1 703-236-1164, mvarkiani@gbta.org

About the Global Business Travel Association
The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) is the world’s premier business travel and meetings trade organization headquartered in the Washington, D.C. area with operations on six continents. GBTA’s 9,000-plus members manage more than $345 billion of global business travel and meetings expenditures annually. GBTA and the GBTA Foundation deliver world-class education, events, research, advocacy and media to a growing global network of more than 28,000 travel professionals and 125,000 active contacts. To learn how business travel drives lasting business growth, gbta.org