The House on Wednesday passed a bill that would end the vaccine requirement for international visitors to the U.S., which the U.S. Travel Association called an "outdated policy."
"The need for this requirement has long since passed, and we appreciate the bipartisan action by the U.S. House to end this outdated policy," U.S. Travel Association executive vice president of public affairs and policy Tori Emerson Barnes said in a statement.
The bill, H.R. 185, would immediately end the CDC's requirement for proof of Covid-19 vaccination for international visitors entering the U.S. by air that has been in place since April 2022. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) introduced the bill and called the CDC's mandate "unscientific."
U.S. Travel strongly supports repealing the mandate, saying the U.S. is the only country that has maintained this policy, putting at risk valuable visitor spending the longer it remains in place.
As of Feb. 8, there was no companion bill in the Senate.