By Joe Kimball

In a Wednesday speech to Meet Minneapolis, the city's convention and visitors bureau, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar talked about her efforts to increase tourism in the U.S. by speeding up visa processing and making it easier for foreigners to visit.

"Tourism is a powerful engine for job creation in Minnesota and across the country, and we need to do everything we can to encourage rather than discourage people from visiting the United States," she said. "I will continue to work to cut red tape that has been limiting international tourism so that our businesses can grow and thrive."

Klobuchar, who is up for re-election, is chair of the  Senate Tourism Caucus and is one of many sponsors of the Jobs Originated through Launching Travel (JOLT) Act, which, her office says, "would boost international tourism to the United States by expediting the processing of business and tourist visas, speeding up the time it takes to receive a visa interview, and exploring expanded visa operations in major tourism markets."