The good thing about being away from work for so long is that you really forget about all the nonsense that Congress comes up with on a daily basis. The bad thing about being away from work for so long is that when you come back you are hit in the face by all these stupid things at once. Here is one example of the craziness I have been reading about in the last few days.

Leader Harry Reid is very worried about the decline in tourism that started after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorism attacks and has since been exacerbated by recession. That’s why the Nevada Democrat has been pushing a bill (S 1023) to the front of the agenda for a few months to start attracting foreigners to the U.S. However, he is not known for understanding economics, incentives, and ways to grow the economy, so the best idea he came up with is to attract foreigners by treating them badly.

Here is how it works: His Travel Promotion Act of 2009 would create a private company to advertise the United States as a tourist destination to foreigners. For instance, one of the objectives of the bill is, literally, to create a welcoming first impression upon arrival into the U.S. I am stunned that anyone would write this with a straight face. What are they going to do? Welcome foreigners with burgers?

And should that really be a priority of the U.S. right now? Obviously, Congress thinks so, since this is the first bill that it will consider once senators come back from their summer recess.

But here is the best part: “The primary funding source for the bill is a $10 fee (tax) on foreign visitors that use the Visa Waiver Program (primarily European countries). It’s a horrible policy that makes for a horrible bill.”

Needless to say, the Europeans are not happy. Ambassador Bruton, for instance, sent a letter to the secretary of state, DHS, and Commerce expressing his concerns, and stating that, if enacted, the bill could have negative repercussions for relations between the U.S. and the E.U. He also rightfully notes that it is less than classy to use a homeland-security measure, even if it’s a bad one, to fill up the U.S. treasury’s coffers. Well, yes.

Read the letter here.

More on the bill is here. I am sure that I will be saying more about this as it unfolds.