WASHINGTON (TVR) – The Trump administration and lawmakers on Capitol Hill are giving renewed consideration to enacting a ban on Americans traveling to North Korea, a reaction to the death earlier this week of U.S. student Otto Warmbier, who was held by the reclusive regime for 17 months before returning home to Ohio in a coma.

At least 16 Americans have been held by North Korea within the past decade, according to the U.S. State Department; three are currently being detained.

Sen. John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services committee, said Tuesday, “if people are that stupid that they still want to go to that country, then at least they assume the responsibility for their welfare,” and should be required to sign a waiver.

Two congressman, however, have gone further, sponsoring a bipartisan bill to ban U.S. citizens from visiting North Korea for tourism altogether.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, and Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), introduced the North Korea Travel Control Act to stop all tourist travel to the country.

“Americans go there, they’re often taken hostage, essentially, and the North uses them as bargaining chips,” Schiff told CBS News for a story Wednesday.

In his release, Rep. Wilson said, “Tourist travel to North Korea does nothing but provide funds to a tyrannical regime—that will in turn be used to develop weapons to threaten the United States and our allies.”

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Trump Administration Weighs North Korea Ban

The Trump Administration could unilaterally restrict travel without Congress, but so far it has not.

The U.S. State Department currently has an active travel warning for North Korea, that warns U.S. citizens, in part: “The Department of State strongly warns U.S. citizens not to travel to North Korea/the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). U.S. citizens in the DPRK are at serious risk of arrest and long-term detention under North Korea’s system of law enforcement.”

On Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters, “I think the State Department is mulling additional advisories,” but did not share information about a ban.

The United States does not have diplomatic relations with North Korea, and the State Department warns citizens, “the U.S. government has no means to provide normal consular services to U.S. citizens.”

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Tour Groups Restrict American Travel

In the wake of Warmbier’s death, tour groups that market North Korean tours to Americans are scaling back their offerings or reviewing whether to continue.

Young Pioneer Tours, which took Warmer, 22, on the excursion that ended with his arrest, called his detention “appalling,” said it would stop taking Americans to North Korea.

“A tragedy like this must never be repeated,” the company said in a statement.

“Considering these facts and this tragic outcome we will no longer be organising tours for US citizens to North Korea.”

Uri Tours, which says it has arranged trips for more than 2,000 U.S. citizens, told CBS News, “We’re reviewing our policies on Americans traveling to [North Korea].”

Koryo Tours, based in Britain, said in a statement it was also reviewing its policies for American tourists and that it felt “great shock and sadness” to have learned about Warmbier’s death.

Koryo’s general manager, Simon Cockerell, told The Wall Street Journal about 1,000 Americans visit North Korea each year, part of about 5,000 Westerners who make the journey annually.

Warmbier’s funeral was Thursday.

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