The 2nd session of the 107th Congress will address a number of issues of direct importance to all Indian Americans as well as to specific segments of the community.

As the hotel industry reacts to increasingly difficult times and the growing need to seek redress from Congress, members of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) can take solace in the organization’s growing political awareness, maturity and clout. Long before Sept. 11, AAHOA determined to reverse years of being not active or effective politically.

For example, Indian Americans, who own approximately half of the independent hotels and motels in this country, were directly affected by the overall downtown in the hospitality industry in the aftermath of the terror attacks of Sept. 11. Almost immediately after the attacks, people and businesses cut back on their plans to travel, which substantially reduced incomes for airlines, hotels, restaurants, taxicabs and related industries.

Congress reacted to the crisis by enacting measures to provide the already beleaguered airline industry with $15 billion in government aid and loan guarantees. Congress did not, however, include as part of their remedy any incentives, such as vouchers or reductions in air fares, that would have increased the number of travelers and aided other travel-related businesses. Because the airline industry is so critical to American commerce, Congress feared that an airline collapse would threaten the national economy. After helping the airline industry, the stock market and others institutions vital to the United States’ economy to survive, Congress turned its attention to funding defense and homeland security.

In the weeks following the attacks, hotel occupancy rates plunged from over 80 percent in cities like Washington, D.C., Boston, San Francisco and Orlando to under 20 percent. Over 500,000 people employed by hotels, tour groups, restaurants and theme parks lost their jobs. These factors contributed to a drop in annual hotel profits by nearly 30 percent, which equates to over $17 billion.

When it became obvious that the focus of initial assistance was targeted to the airlines, representatives from leading hotel chains, including Marriott, Starwood and Loews, met with Secretary of Commerce Donald L. Evans to report on empty parking lots and vacant rooms at their facilities. They requested a wide range of support, including tax credits for travel-related purchases, reduced or deferred payroll taxes for hospitality workers, direct assistance and loans, and national advertising to encourage travel.

Secretary Evans told them to lobby the Congress instead. Unfortunately, when the last session of Congress ended in December, it was without passage of any measures to directly help the hotel and tourism industry, setting the stage for the upcoming session.

As the hotel industry reacts to increasingly difficult times and the growing need to seek redress from Congress, members of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) can take solace in the organization’s growing political awareness, maturity and clout.

Long before Sept. 11, AAHOA’s officers and professional staff determined to reverse years of being not particularly active or effective politically.

Political involvement is relatively new for both AAHOA and for many of its members, who did not fully grasp that this was a means of furthering their personal and professional objectives. While there were some AAHOA members who were active in the political life of their communities, most were more concerned with how to grow and expand their businesses. Certainly, professional success is the first consideration of every business owner, but too often political considerations were ignored or misdirected.

Although many encouraged AAHOA to work more closely with other Indian-American organizations, some within AAHOA were not always comfortable with this approach. Eventually, however, AAHOA’s leaders concluded that they could enhance their effectiveness by stressing the need to be politically active and also by working with other Indian-American groups on issues and concerns where they shared a common purpose.

Significantly, AAHOA determined to fund an intern in the Washington Leadership Program run by the Indian American Center for Political Awareness (IACPA). AAHOA’s generous contribution enabled IACPA to place an additional Indian-American university student in a Congressional office for a summer. This student was able to learn, first-hand, how the American political system works and was then able to transmit this knowledge to others at her university and throughout the community. It is important to note that AAHOA did not stipulate that this student should have ties to the hotel industry. AAHOA made this contribution because its leaders were aware that this program helps the entire community and not just a segment.

While AAHOA’s work with other Indian-American organizations is to be commended, the changes within AAHOA are even more praiseworthy. Its legislative priorities, together with an excellent interactive explanation of the political process and instructions on how to contact political officials, can be found on its Web site, . This has become one of the best sites for those seeking to learn about the political process or to become involved in given issues. AAHOA’s selection and endorsement of political issues worthy of support has also been a growing process. It is the ability to reassess political priorities and redirect the organization’s efforts that underscores AAHOA’s political maturation.

For example, for a number of years, AAHOA listed a franchise reform effort as one of its top political objectives. A franchise bill, introduced in Congress last year, seemed to address some of the legitimate concerns of hotel franchise owners. Unfortunately, despite intense lobbying, only a handful of members of Congress co-sponsored the bill. The overwhelming majority of members felt the bill was an inappropriate and unnecessary approach to resolve potential problems, and the bill died at the end of the last session of Congress.

This year, the General Accounting Office (GAO) did a study of these issues and concluded that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) effectively enforces existing regulations protecting those who invest in franchised businesses. The GAO report contributed to the view in Congress that additional legislation was not necessary and the bill was not reintroduced this year. AAHOA wisely readjusted its emphasis and no longer lists this item on its Web site as one of its legislative priorities. In addition to working with other groups in the hotel/motel industry on measures to provide much-needed financial relief, AAHOA also focuses its attention on bills such as the Americans with Disabilities Notification Act (H.R. 914), which is designed to prevent abusive lawsuits. AAHOA members are also encouraged to be active in opposition to discrimination, hate crimes and immigration matters.

Hopefully, most AAHOA members will be able to economically survive the difficult times ahead. As Congress embarks on the new session, AAHOA continues to position itself to assist its members to affect legislation of direct importance to both hospitality providers as well as the entire Indian-American community.

(The writer teaches international relations at Georgetown University and is counsel in the Washington, D.C., law firm of Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds. He is a Washington Associate with the Indian American Center for Political Awareness)