Last month, June 10-12, I had the opportunity to attend the 2025 U.S. Legislative Summit in Washington, D.C., organized by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA). This annual event, now in its 17th year, brings together travel professionals and industry stakeholders to advocate for legislation that directly impacts the business travel ecosystem.
As I represent Atlas Travel with the NYC chapter, I found this year’s summit to be especially impactful. More than 100 GBTA chapter members from across the country gathered on Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers, share our collective voice and support policy change aimed at improving the future of the industry.
Our mission was clear: to influence key components of the Reconciliation Bill, a major budget reconciliation law that includes tax and spending policies under debate in the 119th Congress.
A Purpose-Driven Experience
Ahead of the summit, GBTA ensured all attending members were well-prepared for the Hill. To make sure everyone understood what we were there to accomplish, a pre-event webinar was held to outline our talking points and the following advocacy priorities:
- Modernizing the air traffic control system
- Improving business travel at U.S. borders, including the hiring of 5,000 new Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers
- Additional resources for CBP’s biometric Entry and Exit Program
- Extending the Clean Fuel Production Credit (45Z) through 2031 to support sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) development
- Investing in rail infrastructure improvements across the U.S.
- Rejecting the extension of the 9/11 Passenger Security Fee diversion
Once everyone arrived in D.C. that first evening, GBTA kicked things off with a moonlight tour of the city’s monuments. This was an energizing opportunity to reconnect with familiar faces and network with new ones over our shared passion for travel, while also unifying the group for the big day ahead.
During the summit, we heard from Senator Jacky Rosen of Nevada and Representative Rick Larsen of Washington State, both of whom spoke about timely topics like modernizing our nation’s outdated air traffic control system and the growing need for SAF. Their presence underscored just how seriously lawmakers are approaching the challenges and opportunities facing the industry.
The following day, we broke into state-based teams to meet directly with our respective congressional representatives and senators. These meetings were our chance to advance the agenda further and share our perspectives on the key issues at hand.
Over the course of the summit, more than 150 meetings took place with members of Congress. GBTA has long worked with policymakers to strengthen both domestic and international travel, and this year’s platform marked another important and positive step forward.
What Was Delivered
On July 4, President Donald J. Trump signed into law the Reconciliation Bill, now officially known as HR 1: The Big Beautiful Bill Act. I’m thrilled to report that a majority of our policy asks were included in this final legislation, such as:
- The modernization of the air traffic system: $12.5 billion included as a first step to addressing the nation’s outdated Air Traffic Control System
- Improvements to business travel at U.S. borders: $4.1 billion allocated for additional CBP personnel, including 5,000 CBP officers
- Additional resources for CBP’s implementation of the Entry and Exit Program: $673 million was given for further deployment of the biometric entry and exit system to accelerate the safe facilitation of business travelers at U.S. points of entry
- Extension of the Clean Fuel Production Credit (45Z): Now extended through to 2031 to encourage the production of SAF
Why It Matters
Business travel plays a critical role in powering economies, supporting companies and connecting professionals across industries. According to GBTA’s report, the business travel sector is a major contributor to the U.S. economic performance, adding $484.4 billion annually.
At Atlas Travel, we’re proud to support organizations like GBTA that champion policies to improve the experience for business travelers across the globe, while also strengthening the efficiency, safety and sustainability of travel overall.
Attending this summit was nothing short of inspiring and seeing our collective advocacy result in meaningful legislative progress is incredibly rewarding. I’m grateful that this opportunity allowed professionals like me to advocate directly for the issues that matter most to our clients, colleagues and travel community.
As we look ahead to GBTA’s global convention next week on July 21, I’m reminded of the power our industry holds when we show up, speak up and push for change. This summit proved that advocacy truly works and I’m incredibly honored to have played a part in this unified effort.
