The Travel Promotion Act has been stopped in its tracks by what appears to be political bickering in the Senate, but the U.S. Travel Association remains optimistic that the bill will be revived later in the Congressional session.

Backers also take issue with the claim in Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper, that the bill has "died."

According to U.S. Travel, the bill is not dead, and grassroots supporters in the industry need to keep reminding their elected representatives about the importance of the bill and the positive impact it could have on their districts.

"It is not unusual for legislation to temporarily stall in the U.S. Senate due to procedural hurdles as members seek compromises," said U.S. Travel President Roger Dow.

The measure would set up a Corporation for Travel Promotion that would promote the U.S. as a travel destination in foreign markets and communicate information about U.S. security and entry procedures.

After the bill sailed through the Senate Commerce Committee, the Senate voted 90-3 last month to bring it to the floor for debate. At that point, however, a spat broke out over amendments that had nothing to do with the content of the bill.

The Republicans offered five amendments having to do with the TARP program, but objected to an amendment offered by the Democratic side having to do with the Commodities Futures Trading Commission.

In the end, a motion to end debate and bring the bill up for a vote failed, leaving the measure in limbo.

According to remarks recorded in the Congressional Record, Senate Majority Leader and co-sponsor Harry Reid (D-Nev.) accused the Republicans of "obstructionism" and said "this bill is probably finished for the year."

Roll Call said the bill "died" because it got "caught up in the larger crosscurrents of interparty conflict."

Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), also a co-sponsor, said during the floor debate, "This Congress cannot even agree on tourism, for God’s sake. Unbelievable to me. How dysfunctional can a legislative body become? You cannot agree on tourism."

But the U.S. Travel Association’s vice president for government relations, Patricia Rojas, said the disagreement isn’t necessarily fatal.

She acknowledged that the two political parties are "having problems getting things done" in Congress, but noted that the bill continues to have broad support. The vote failed, she noted, not because of any objection to the bill, but because of unrelated matters.

Rojas also noted that the bill can be revitalized quickly and brought back to the floor by a single motion, something industry lobbyists hope to achieve before the August recess.