Congressman Neguse Unveils Bipartisan, Bicameral Legislation to Combat Fraud in the Travel and Tourism Industry

Statement

Today, Congressman Joe Neguse unveiled bipartisan, bicameral legislation to increase consumer protections for travelers. The Protecting Consumers from Travel Fraud Act will instruct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to research scams targeted at travelers throughout the Coronavirus pandemic. The study will be used to better inform consumers on how to best identify and avoid travel scams and will provide policy recommendations to Congress. Recent reports note an uptick in falsified airline or travel planning websites, used to sell hotel bookings and airline tickets, and scammers posing as travel and booking agents.

"It has been extremely disheartening to see fraudulent businesses becoming all the more pervasive amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, with many hard-working Americans falling victim to deceptive scams in the travel industry," said Congressman Joe Neguse. "It is important that we enact legislation like the Protecting Consumers from Travel Fraud Act, to protect American consumers and ensure that everyone can once again travel safely."

The Protecting Consumers from Travel Fraud Act, led by Neguse in the House, is the companion to Senate legislation originally introduced by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Steven Daines (R-MT). This Act will protect Americans from Coronavirus related scams and assist victims in best practices moving forward.

Read the bill text here.

As the former Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), Congressman Neguse has been a leader in consumer protection. In April 2020, he introduced legislation to protect consumers from price gouging due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

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