News: New Travel and Trade Victories in House
Sept. 21, 2004
On September 21, The House of Representatives voted 225-174 in support of an amendment sponsored by Jim Davis (D-FL) that would rescind current Bush administration Cuba travel restrictions. The amendment, part of a $90 billion Transportation and Treasury appropriations bill, would restore Cuban Americans' right to visit family members once per year, overturning Bush’s current regulation limiting family visits to once every three years.
"Hurricane Ivan dealt a blow to the Cuban people, and under the administration's new Cuba policies, most Cuban-Americans are prohibited from going to Cuba to help their families recover from Ivan’s destruction," commented Davis.
Subsequently, on September 22, Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) presented an amendment to allow for the financing of agricultural and medical sales to Cuba, while Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) offered an amendment to reinstate educational exchanges. Both amendments passed on voice votes.
Rep. Lee called the restrictions "just plain undemocratic and punitive," while Rep. Waters declared, "It is time to change our policies and go in a new direction."
The current Bush administration restrictions were implemented July 1 in response to a May report presented to the President by his Commission on Cuba.
