Congress Considers Historic Bill on Cuba
Historic legislation to soften the 50-year-old embargo toward Cuba is currently pending in Congress. HR 4645, a bill to permit unrestricted travel and greater agricultural exports to Cuba, has already passed the House Agricultural Committee. After the August recess, the bill will move on to the Foreign Affairs Committee, and from there, to the House floor.
The bipartisan bill is backed by a broad coalition. It's been endorsed by farm associations, human rights groups, business and trade associations, labor organizations and religious groups. Previous attempts to hitch proposals for unrestricted travel to Cuba onto larger bills were easily defeated, but this is the first "free-standing" bill on travel. Furthermore, it unites travel and trade provisions, creating a strong constituency.
This bill has plenty going for it. It would restore Americans' right to travel to a neighboring country. It could ease the hardships suffered by ordinary Cubans. It could give business to American farmers, generate revenue for our airlines and ports, and create up to 6,000 badly-needed jobs. And it would signal a move away from the immoral and inhumane embargo on Cuba toward increased engagement.
But the battle is not over. When the bill goes to the Foriegn Affairs Committee in mid-September, pro-embargo committee members such as Ileana Ros-Lehtinen may try to remove the travel portions of the bill, or defeat it altogether. The bill needs your support now more than ever before!
Please write or call your representative to let them know you support HR 4645.
Change is in the air. Recent rumors that Obama might soon reinstate unlimited "people-to-people" travel show that the administration is keeping an ear to the ground on Cuba issues. Let's make sure they hear us.
