A homeland security appropriations bill has been passed through the U.S Congress, a move which was highly praised by the National Business Travel Association (NBTA), the voice of the business travel industry.

The bill, which is expected to be signed by the President today, will help facilitate the global business travel market while enhancing U.S border security.

This will be achieved through the funding of government security initiatives that NBTA and its members have actively supported, including Global Entry and US-VISIT.

Global Entry

The bill includes $10 million which will be used to enhance and expand the U.S international trusted traveller program, Global Entry.

Global Entry is designed to provide frequent low-risk business travellers with a mechanism to speed their immigration checkpoint processing upon reentry to the United States.

NBTA has advocated rapid expansion of the program from the pilot state to national rollout. NBTA urges U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to also deploy enrollment opportunities beyond current airport locations.

US VISIT

The legislation authorizes $300 million to fund the US-VISIT program. Of this amount, $75 million may not be obligated for implementation until two pilots to collect biometric data are tested: the first would have airlines collect and transmit biometric exit data while the second test would have CBP collect such data at departure gates.

For several years NBTA has supported the creation of a comprehensive exit system, which is a pre-requisite for the expansion of the Visa Waiver Program in 2009, and believes it is an inherently governmental responsibility.