Sen. Mitt Romney joined a bipartisan group of colleagues Tuesday to call on President Joe Biden to establish a White House task force on global sporting events.
The task force would be in preparation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 and 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Games as well as the 2031 Rugby World Cup. All these events will be hosted by the United States.
Romney, R-Utah, signed onto the letter to Biden, which Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Jerry Morgan, R-Kansas, led the effort on as co-chairs of the Senate Travel and Tourism Caucus. The letter came after Salt Lake City was announced as host of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2034.
“We urge the White House to establish a White House Task Force on Global Sporting Events to oversee preparation and securing the games, specifically through international visa processing, security scenario training, incident response, transportation, diplomatic security, intelligence gathering and dissemination, and securing critical protective assets,” wrote the senators in the letter addressed to Biden.
The senators said these global sporting events can both strengthen the country’s economy and also show its leadership on an international stage. The World Cup in 2026 is slated to be the largest sporting event in U.S. history and will be held across several major cities, including Dallas, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area and Miami.
More than five million international visitors may come to the World Cup and the event is expected to generate $5 billion in economic activity.
“Similarly, the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games are expected to generate another $5 billion in economic activity, while attracting millions of visitors from all over the world,” said the letter.
The letter also highlighted a couple areas the country would need preparation on such as transportation and coordination between law enforcement.
“To ensure the success of these events, preparations must be made to facilitate smooth and secure travel to the United States for our international guests,” said the senators. “One challenge that must be an immediate and top priority is streamlining interview wait times for visitor visas. Currently, wait times for visitor visa interviews, particularly for first-time applicants, remain unacceptably high in many countries”
The senators said these wait times need to be lowered and encouraged the administration to target wait times fewer than 31 days for 80% of applicants.
They also said law enforcement agencies at every level need to work together to ensure the safety of the games. A White House task force could help with the planning between agencies, said the senators.
The letter pointed back to 1998 when President Bill Clinton created a White House Task Force in preparation for the 2002 Olympic and Paralympic Games when Salt Lake City hosted the games. The federal government also began preparing for when it hosted the 1994 FIFA World Cup back in June 1987 with Congress passing a resolution.
“We thank your administration for efforts already underway to prepare for the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 and 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Games and appreciate your attention to ensuring the success of these historic events,” said the senators. “We stand ready to work with your administration in any capacity to achieve our shared goals.”