[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 927 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.927

                       One Hundred Fourth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

         Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
   the third day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-six


                                 An Act


 
 To seek international sanctions against the Castro government in Cuba, 
      to plan for support of a transition government leading to a 
   democratically elected government in Cuba, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Cuban Liberty and 
Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Purposes.
Sec. 4. Definitions.
Sec. 5. Severability.

   TITLE I--STRENGTHENING INTERNATIONAL SANCTIONS AGAINST THE CASTRO 
                               GOVERNMENT

Sec. 101. Statement of policy.
Sec. 102. Enforcement of the economic embargo of Cuba.
Sec. 103. Prohibition against indirect financing of Cuba.
Sec. 104. United States opposition to Cuban membership in international 
          financial institutions.
Sec. 105. United States opposition to termination of the suspension of 
          the Cuban Government from participation in the Organization of 
          American States.
Sec. 106. Assistance by the independent states of the former Soviet 
          Union for the Cuban Government.
Sec. 107. Television broadcasting to Cuba.
Sec. 108. Reports on commerce with, and assistance to, Cuba from other 
          foreign countries.
Sec. 109. Authorization of support for democratic and human rights 
          groups and international observers.
Sec. 110. Importation safeguard against certain Cuban products.
Sec. 111. Withholding of foreign assistance from countries supporting 
          Juragua nuclear plant in Cuba.
Sec. 112. Reinstitution of family remittances and travel to Cuba.
Sec. 113. Expulsion of criminals from Cuba.
Sec. 114. News bureaus in Cuba.
Sec. 115. Effect of Act on lawful United States Government activities.
Sec. 116. Condemnation of Cuban attack on American aircraft.

           TITLE II--ASSISTANCE TO A FREE AND INDEPENDENT CUBA

Sec. 201. Policy toward a transition government and a democratically 
          elected government in Cuba.
Sec. 202. Assistance for the Cuban people.
Sec. 203. Coordination of assistance program; implementation and reports 
          to Congress; reprogramming.
Sec. 204. Termination of the economic embargo of Cuba.
Sec. 205. Requirements and factors for determining a transition 
          government.
Sec. 206. Requirements for determining a democratically elected 
          government.
Sec. 207. Settlement of outstanding United States claims to confiscated 
          property in Cuba.

   TITLE III--PROTECTION OF PROPERTY RIGHTS OF UNITED STATES NATIONALS

Sec. 301. Findings.
Sec. 302. Liability for trafficking in confiscated property claimed by 
          United States nationals.
Sec. 303. Proof of ownership of claims to confiscated property.
Sec. 304. Exclusivity of Foreign Claims Settlement Commission 
          certification procedure.
Sec. 305. Limitation of actions.
Sec. 306. Effective date.

                  TITLE IV--EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN ALIENS

Sec. 401. Exclusion from the United States of aliens who have 
          confiscated property of United States nationals or who traffic 
          in such property.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress makes the following findings:
        (1) The economy of Cuba has experienced a decline of at least 
    60 percent in the last 5 years as a result of--
            (A) the end of its subsidization by the former Soviet Union 
        of between 5 billion and 6 billion dollars annually;
            (B) 36 years of communist tyranny and economic 
        mismanagement by the Castro government;
            (C) the extreme decline in trade between Cuba and the 
        countries of the former Soviet bloc; and
            (D) the stated policy of the Russian Government and the 
        countries of the former Soviet bloc to conduct economic 
        relations with Cuba on strictly commercial terms.
        (2) At the same time, the welfare and health of the Cuban 
    people have substantially deteriorated as a result of this economic 
    decline and the refusal of the Castro regime to permit free and 
    fair democratic elections in Cuba.
        (3) The Castro regime has made it abundantly clear that it will 
    not engage in any substantive political reforms that would lead to 
    democracy, a market economy, or an economic recovery.
        (4) The repression of the Cuban people, including a ban on free 
    and fair democratic elections, and continuing violations of 
    fundamental human rights, have isolated the Cuban regime as the 
    only completely nondemocratic government in the Western Hemisphere.
        (5) As long as free elections are not held in Cuba, the 
    economic condition of the country and the welfare of the Cuban 
    people will not improve in any significant way.
        (6) The totalitarian nature of the Castro regime has deprived 
    the Cuban people of any peaceful means to improve their condition 
    and has led thousands of Cuban citizens to risk or lose their lives 
    in dangerous attempts to escape from Cuba to freedom.
        (7) Radio Marti and Television Marti have both been effective 
    vehicles for providing the people of Cuba with news and information 
    and have helped to bolster the morale of the people of Cuba living 
    under tyranny.
        (8) The consistent policy of the United States towards Cuba 
    since the beginning of the Castro regime, carried out by both 
    Democratic and Republican administrations, has sought to keep faith 
    with the people of Cuba, and has been effective in sanctioning the 
    totalitarian Castro regime.
        (9) The United States has shown a deep commitment, and 
    considers it a moral obligation, to promote and protect human 
    rights and fundamental freedoms as expressed in the Charter of the 
    United Nations and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
        (10) The Congress has historically and consistently manifested 
    its solidarity and the solidarity of the American people with the 
    democratic aspirations of the Cuban people.
        (11) The Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 calls upon the President 
    to encourage the governments of countries that conduct trade with 
    Cuba to restrict their trade and credit relations with Cuba in a 
    manner consistent with the purposes of that Act.
        (12) Amendments to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 made by 
    the FREEDOM Support Act require that the President, in providing 
    economic assistance to Russia and the emerging Eurasian 
    democracies, take into account the extent to which they are acting 
    to ``terminate support for the communist regime in Cuba, including 
    removal of troops, closing military facilities, and ceasing trade 
    subsidies and economic, nuclear, and other assistance''.
        (13) The Cuban Government engages in the illegal international 
    narcotics trade and harbors fugitives from justice in the United 
    States.
        (14) The Castro government threatens international peace and 
    security by engaging in acts of armed subversion and terrorism such 
    as the training and supplying of groups dedicated to international 
    violence.
        (15) The Castro government has utilized from its inception and 
    continues to utilize torture in various forms (including by 
    psychiatry), as well as execution, exile, confiscation, political 
    imprisonment, and other forms of terror and repression, as means of 
    retaining power.
        (16) Fidel Castro has defined democratic pluralism as 
    ``pluralistic garbage'' and continues to make clear that he has no 
    intention of tolerating the democratization of Cuban society.
        (17) The Castro government holds innocent Cubans hostage in 
    Cuba by no fault of the hostages themselves solely because 
    relatives have escaped the country.
        (18) Although a signatory state to the 1928 Inter-American 
    Convention on Asylum and the International Covenant on Civil and 
    Political Rights (which protects the right to leave one's own 
    country), Cuba nevertheless surrounds embassies in its capital by 
    armed forces to thwart the right of its citizens to seek asylum and 
    systematically denies that right to the Cuban people, punishing 
    them by imprisonment for seeking to leave the country and killing 
    them for attempting to do so (as demonstrated in the case of the 
    confirmed murder of over 40 men, women, and children who were 
    seeking to leave Cuba on July 13, 1994).
        (19) The Castro government continues to utilize blackmail, such 
    as the immigration crisis with which it threatened the United 
    States in the summer of 1994, and other unacceptable and illegal 
    forms of conduct to influence the actions of sovereign states in 
    the Western Hemisphere in violation of the Charter of the 
    Organization of American States and other international agreements 
    and international law.
        (20) The United Nations Commission on Human Rights has 
    repeatedly reported on the unacceptable human rights situation in 
    Cuba and has taken the extraordinary step of appointing a Special 
    Rapporteur.
        (21) The Cuban Government has consistently refused access to 
    the Special Rapporteur and formally expressed its decision not to 
    ``implement so much as one comma'' of the United Nations 
    Resolutions appointing the Rapporteur.
        (22) The United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution 47-
    139 on December 18, 1992, Resolution 48-142 on December 20, 1993, 
    and Resolution 49-200 on December 23, 1994, referencing the Special 
    Rapporteur's reports to the United Nations and condemning 
    violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Cuba.
        (23) Article 39 of Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter 
    provides that the United Nations Security Council ``shall determine 
    the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or 
    act of aggression and shall make recommendations, or decide what 
    measures shall be taken . . ., to maintain or restore international 
    peace and security.''.
        (24) The United Nations has determined that massive and 
    systematic violations of human rights may constitute a ``threat to 
    peace'' under Article 39 and has imposed sanctions due to such 
    violations of human rights in the cases of Rhodesia, South Africa, 
    Iraq, and the former Yugoslavia.
        (25) In the case of Haiti, a neighbor of Cuba not as close to 
    the United States as Cuba, the United States led an effort to 
    obtain and did obtain a United Nations Security Council embargo and 
    blockade against that country due to the existence of a military 
    dictatorship in power less than 3 years.
        (26) United Nations Security Council Resolution 940 of July 31, 
    1994, subsequently authorized the use of ``all necessary means'' to 
    restore the ``democratically elected government of Haiti'', and the 
    democratically elected government of Haiti was restored to power on 
    October 15, 1994.
        (27) The Cuban people deserve to be assisted in a decisive 
    manner to end the tyranny that has oppressed them for 36 years, and 
    the continued failure to do so constitutes ethically improper 
    conduct by the international community.
        (28) For the past 36 years, the Cuban Government has posed and 
    continues to pose a national security threat to the United States.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are--
        (1) to assist the Cuban people in regaining their freedom and 
    prosperity, as well as in joining the community of democratic 
    countries that are flourishing in the Western Hemisphere;
        (2) to strengthen international sanctions against the Castro 
    government;
        (3) to provide for the continued national security of the 
    United States in the face of continuing threats from the Castro 
    government of terrorism, theft of property from United States 
    nationals by the Castro government, and the political manipulation 
    by the Castro government of the desire of Cubans to escape that 
    results in mass migration to the United States;
        (4) to encourage the holding of free and fair democratic 
    elections in Cuba, conducted under the supervision of 
    internationally recognized observers;
        (5) to provide a policy framework for United States support to 
    the Cuban people in response to the formation of a transition 
    government or a democratically elected government in Cuba; and
        (6) to protect United States nationals against confiscatory 
    takings and the wrongful trafficking in property confiscated by the 
    Castro regime.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act, the following terms have the following 
meanings:
        (1) Agency or instrumentality of a foreign state.--The term 
    ``agency or instrumentality of a foreign state'' has the meaning 
    given that term in section 1603(b) of title 28, United States Code.
        (2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
    ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on 
    International Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the 
    House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations and 
    the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.
        (3) Commercial activity.--The term ``commercial activity'' has 
    the meaning given that term in section 1603(d) of title 28, United 
    States Code.
        (4) Confiscated.--As used in titles I and III, the term 
    ``confiscated'' refers to--
            (A) the nationalization, expropriation, or other seizure by 
        the Cuban Government of ownership or control of property, on or 
        after January 1, 1959--
                (i) without the property having been returned or 
            adequate and effective compensation provided; or
                (ii) without the claim to the property having been 
            settled pursuant to an international claims settlement 
            agreement or other mutually accepted settlement procedure; 
            and
            (B) the repudiation by the Cuban Government of, the default 
        by the Cuban Government on, or the failure of the Cuban 
        Government to pay, on or after January 1, 1959--
                (i) a debt of any enterprise which has been 
            nationalized, expropriated, or otherwise taken by the Cuban 
            Government;
                (ii) a debt which is a charge on property nationalized, 
            expropriated, or otherwise taken by the Cuban Government; 
            or
                (iii) a debt which was incurred by the Cuban Government 
            in satisfaction or settlement of a confiscated property 
            claim.
        (5) Cuban government.--(A) The term ``Cuban Government'' 
    includes the government of any political subdivision of Cuba, and 
    any agency or instrumentality of the Government of Cuba.
        (B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term ``agency or 
    instrumentality of the Government of Cuba'' means an agency or 
    instrumentality of a foreign state as defined in section 1603(b) of 
    title 28, United States Code, with each reference in such section 
    to ``a foreign state'' deemed to be a reference to ``Cuba''.
        (6) Democratically elected government in cuba.--The term 
    ``democratically elected government in Cuba'' means a government 
    determined by the President to have met the requirements of section 
    206.
        (7) Economic embargo of cuba.--The term ``economic embargo of 
    Cuba'' refers to--
            (A) the economic embargo (including all restrictions on 
        trade or transactions with, and travel to or from, Cuba, and 
        all restrictions on transactions in property in which Cuba or 
        nationals of Cuba have an interest) that was imposed against 
        Cuba pursuant to section 620(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act 
        of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2370(a)), section 5(b) of the Trading with 
        the Enemy Act (50 U.S.C. App. 5(b)), the Cuban Democracy Act of 
        1992 (22 U.S.C. 6001 and following), or any other provision of 
        law; and
            (B) the restrictions imposed by section 902(c) of the Food 
        Security Act of 1985.
        (8) Foreign national.--The term ``foreign national'' means--
            (A) an alien; or
            (B) any corporation, trust, partnership, or other juridical 
        entity not organized under the laws of the United States, or of 
        any State, the District of Columbia, or any commonwealth, 
        territory, or possession of the United States.
        (9) Knowingly.--The term ``knowingly'' means with knowledge or 
    having reason to know.
        (10) Official of the cuban government or the ruling political 
    party in cuba.--The term ``official of the Cuban Government or the 
    ruling political party in Cuba'' refers to any member of the 
    Council of Ministers, Council of State, central committee of the 
    Communist Party of Cuba, or the Politburo of Cuba, or their 
    equivalents.
        (11) Person.--The term ``person'' means any person or entity, 
    including any agency or instrumentality of a foreign state.
        (12) Property.--(A) The term ``property'' means any property 
    (including patents, copyrights, trademarks, and any other form of 
    intellectual property), whether real, personal, or mixed, and any 
    present, future, or contingent right, security, or other interest 
    therein, including any leasehold interest.
        (B) For purposes of title III of this Act, the term 
    ``property'' does not include real property used for residential 
    purposes unless, as of the date of the enactment of this Act--
            (i) the claim to the property is held by a United States 
        national and the claim has been certified under title V of the 
        International Claims Settlement Act of 1949; or
            (ii) the property is occupied by an official of the Cuban 
        Government or the ruling political party in Cuba.
        (13) Traffics.--(A) As used in title III, and except as 
    provided in subparagraph (B), a person ``traffics'' in confiscated 
    property if that person knowingly and intentionally--
            (i) sells, transfers, distributes, dispenses, brokers, 
        manages, or otherwise disposes of confiscated property, or 
        purchases, leases, receives, possesses, obtains control of, 
        manages, uses, or otherwise acquires or holds an interest in 
        confiscated property,
            (ii) engages in a commercial activity using or otherwise 
        benefiting from confiscated property, or
            (iii) causes, directs, participates in, or profits from, 
        trafficking (as described in clause (i) or (ii)) by another 
        person, or otherwise engages in trafficking (as described in 
        clause (i) or (ii)) through another person,
    without the authorization of any United States national who holds a 
    claim to the property.
        (B) The term ``traffics'' does not include--
            (i) the delivery of international telecommunication signals 
        to Cuba;
            (ii) the trading or holding of securities publicly traded 
        or held, unless the trading is with or by a person determined 
        by the Secretary of the Treasury to be a specially designated 
        national;
            (iii) transactions and uses of property incident to lawful 
        travel to Cuba, to the extent that such transactions and uses 
        of property are necessary to the conduct of such travel; or
            (iv) transactions and uses of property by a person who is 
        both a citizen of Cuba and a resident of Cuba, and who is not 
        an official of the Cuban Government or the ruling political 
        party in Cuba.
        (14) Transition government in cuba.--The term ``transition 
    government in Cuba'' means a government that the President 
    determines is a transition government consistent with the 
    requirements and factors set forth in section 205.
        (15) United states national.--The term ``United States 
    national'' means--
            (A) any United States citizen; or
            (B) any other legal entity which is organized under the 
        laws of the United States, or of any State, the District of 
        Columbia, or any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the 
        United States, and which has its principal place of business in 
        the United States.

SEC. 5. SEVERABILITY.

    If any provision of this Act or the amendments made by this Act or 
the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, 
the remainder of this Act, the amendments made by this Act, or the 
application thereof to other persons not similarly situated or to other 
circumstances shall not be affected by such invalidation.

   TITLE I--STRENGTHENING INTERNATIONAL SANCTIONS AGAINST THE CASTRO 
                               GOVERNMENT

SEC. 101. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the sense of the Congress that--
        (1) the acts of the Castro government, including its massive, 
    systematic, and extraordinary violations of human rights, are a 
    threat to international peace;
        (2) the President should advocate, and should instruct the 
    United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations to 
    propose and seek within the Security Council, a mandatory 
    international embargo against the totalitarian Cuban Government 
    pursuant to chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, 
    employing efforts similar to consultations conducted by United 
    States representatives with respect to Haiti;
        (3) any resumption of efforts by any independent state of the 
    former Soviet Union to make operational any nuclear facilities in 
    Cuba, and any continuation of intelligence activities by such a 
    state from Cuba that are targeted at the United States and its 
    citizens will have a detrimental impact on United States assistance 
    to such state; and
        (4) in view of the threat to the national security posed by the 
    operation of any nuclear facility, and the Castro government's 
    continuing blackmail to unleash another wave of Cuban refugees 
    fleeing from Castro's oppression, most of whom find their way to 
    United States shores, further depleting limited humanitarian and 
    other resources of the United States, the President should do all 
    in his power to make it clear to the Cuban Government that--
            (A) the completion and operation of any nuclear power 
        facility, or
            (B) any further political manipulation of the desire of 
        Cubans to escape that results in mass migration to the United 
        States,
    will be considered an act of aggression which will be met with an 
    appropriate response in order to maintain the security of the 
    national borders of the United States and the health and safety of 
    the American people.

SEC. 102. ENFORCEMENT OF THE ECONOMIC EMBARGO OF CUBA.

    (a) Policy.--
        (1) Restrictions by other countries.--The Congress hereby 
    reaffirms section 1704(a) of the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992, which 
    states that the President should encourage foreign countries to 
    restrict trade and credit relations with Cuba in a manner 
    consistent with the purposes of that Act.
        (2) Sanctions on other countries.--The Congress further urges 
    the President to take immediate steps to apply the sanctions 
    described in section 1704(b)(1) of that Act against countries 
    assisting Cuba.
    (b) Diplomatic Efforts.--The Secretary of State should ensure that 
United States diplomatic personnel abroad understand and, in their 
contacts with foreign officials, are communicating the reasons for the 
United States economic embargo of Cuba, and are urging foreign 
governments to cooperate more effectively with the embargo.
    (c) Existing Regulations.--The President shall instruct the 
Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney General to enforce fully the 
Cuban Assets Control Regulations set forth in part 515 of title 31, 
Code of Federal Regulations.
    (d) Trading with the Enemy Act.--
        (1) Civil penalties.--Subsection (b) of section 16 of the 
    Trading with the Enemy Act (50 U.S.C. App. 16(b)), as added by 
    Public Law 102-484, is amended to read as follows:
    ``(b)(1) A civil penalty of not to exceed $50,000 may be imposed by 
the Secretary of the Treasury on any person who violates any license, 
order, rule, or regulation issued in compliance with the provisions of 
this Act.
    ``(2) Any property, funds, securities, papers, or other articles or 
documents, or any vessel, together with its tackle, apparel, furniture, 
and equipment, that is the subject of a violation under paragraph (1) 
shall, at the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, be forfeited 
to the United States Government.
    ``(3) The penalties provided under this subsection may be imposed 
only on the record after opportunity for an agency hearing in 
accordance with sections 554 through 557 of title 5, United States 
Code, with the right to prehearing discovery.
    ``(4) Judicial review of any penalty imposed under this subsection 
may be had to the extent provided in section 702 of title 5, United 
States Code.''.
        (2) Conforming amendment; criminal forfeiture.--Section 16 of 
    the Trading with the Enemy Act is further amended by striking 
    subsection (b), as added by Public Law 102-393.
        (3) Clerical amendments.--Section 16 of the Trading with the 
    Enemy Act is further amended--
            (A) by inserting ``Sec. 16.'' before ``(a)''; and
            (B) in subsection (a) by striking ``participants'' and 
        inserting ``participates''.
    (e) Denial of Visas to Certain Cuban Nationals.--It is the sense of 
the Congress that the President should instruct the Secretary of State 
and the Attorney General to enforce fully existing regulations to deny 
visas to Cuban nationals considered by the Secretary of State to be 
officers or employees of the Cuban Government or of the Communist Party 
of Cuba.
    (f) Coverage of Debt-for-Equity Swaps by Economic Embargo of 
Cuba.--Section 1704(b)(2) of the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 
6003(b)(2)) is amended--
        (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (A);
        (2) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (C); and
        (3) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following new 
    subparagraph:
            ``(B) includes an exchange, reduction, or forgiveness of 
        Cuban debt owed to a foreign country in return for a grant of 
        an equity interest in a property, investment, or operation of 
        the Government of Cuba (including the government of any 
        political subdivision of Cuba, and any agency or 
        instrumentality of the Government of Cuba) or of a Cuban 
        national; and''; and
        (4) by adding at the end the following flush sentence:
    ``As used in this paragraph, the term `agency or instrumentality of 
    the Government of Cuba' means an agency or instrumentality of a 
    foreign state as defined in section 1603(b) of title 28, United 
    States Code, with each reference in such section to `a foreign 
    state' deemed to be a reference to `Cuba'.''.
    (g) Telecommunications Services.--Section 1705(e) of the Cuban 
Democracy Act of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 6004(e)) is amended by adding at the 
end the following new paragraphs:
        ``(5) Prohibition on investment in domestic telecommunications 
    services.--Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to 
    authorize the investment by any United States person in the 
    domestic telecommunications network within Cuba. For purposes of 
    this paragraph, an `investment' in the domestic telecommunications 
    network within Cuba includes the contribution (including by 
    donation) of funds or anything of value to or for, and the making 
    of loans to or for, such network.
        ``(6) Reports to congress.--The President shall submit to the 
    Congress on a semiannual basis a report detailing payments made to 
    Cuba by any United States person as a result of the provision of 
    telecommunications services authorized by this subsection.''.
    (h) Codification of Economic Embargo.--The economic embargo of 
Cuba, as in effect on March 1, 1996, including all restrictions under 
part 515 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations, shall be in effect 
upon the enactment of this Act, and shall remain in effect, subject to 
section 204 of this Act.

SEC. 103. PROHIBITION AGAINST INDIRECT FINANCING OF CUBA.

    (a) Prohibition.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no 
loan, credit, or other financing may be extended knowingly by a United 
States national, a permanent resident alien, or a United States agency 
to any person for the purpose of financing transactions involving any 
confiscated property the claim to which is owned by a United States 
national as of the date of the enactment of this Act, except for 
financing by the United States national owning such claim for a 
transaction permitted under United States law.
    (b) Suspension and Termination of Prohibition.--
        (1) Suspension.--The President is authorized to suspend the 
    prohibition contained in subsection (a) upon a determination made 
    under section 203(c)(1) that a transition government in Cuba is in 
    power.
        (2) Termination.--The prohibition contained in subsection (a) 
    shall cease to apply on the date on which the economic embargo of 
    Cuba terminates as provided in section 204.
    (c) Penalties.--Violations of subsection (a) shall be punishable by 
such civil penalties as are applicable to violations of the Cuban 
Assets Control Regulations set forth in part 515 of title 31, Code of 
Federal Regulations.
    (d) Definitions.--As used in this section--
        (1) the term ``permanent resident alien'' means an alien 
    lawfully admitted for permanent residence into the United States; 
    and
        (2) the term ``United States agency'' has the meaning given the 
    term ``agency'' in section 551(1) of title 5, United States Code.

SEC. 104. UNITED STATES OPPOSITION TO CUBAN MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL 
              FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS.

    (a) Continued Opposition to Cuban Membership in International 
Financial Institutions.--
        (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
    Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States 
    executive director of each international financial institution to 
    use the voice and vote of the United States to oppose the admission 
    of Cuba as a member of such institution until the President submits 
    a determination under section 203(c)(3) that a democratically 
    elected government in Cuba is in power.
        (2) Transition government.--Once the President submits a 
    determination under section 203(c)(1) that a transition government 
    in Cuba is in power--
            (A) the President is encouraged to take steps to support 
        the processing of Cuba's application for membership in any 
        international financial institution, subject to the membership 
        taking effect after a democratically elected government in Cuba 
        is in power, and
            (B) the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to instruct 
        the United States executive director of each international 
        financial institution to support loans or other assistance to 
        Cuba only to the extent that such loans or assistance 
        contribute to a stable foundation for a democratically elected 
        government in Cuba.
    (b) Reduction in United States Payments to International Financial 
Institutions.--If any international financial institution approves a 
loan or other assistance to the Cuban Government over the opposition of 
the United States, then the Secretary of the Treasury shall withhold 
from payment to such institution an amount equal to the amount of the 
loan or other assistance, with respect to either of the following types 
of payment:
        (1) The paid-in portion of the increase in capital stock of the 
    institution.
        (2) The callable portion of the increase in capital stock of 
    the institution.
    (c) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term 
``international financial institution'' means the International 
Monetary Fund, the International Bank for Reconstruction and 
Development, the International Development Association, the 
International Finance Corporation, the Multilateral Investment Guaranty 
Agency, and the Inter-American Development Bank.

SEC. 105. UNITED STATES OPPOSITION TO TERMINATION OF THE SUSPENSION OF 
              THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT FROM PARTICIPATION IN THE 
              ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES.

    The President should instruct the United States Permanent 
Representative to the Organization of American States to oppose and 
vote against any termination of the suspension of the Cuban Government 
from participation in the Organization until the President determines 
under section 203(c)(3) that a democratically elected government in 
Cuba is in power.

SEC. 106. ASSISTANCE BY THE INDEPENDENT STATES OF THE FORMER SOVIET 
              UNION FOR THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT.

    (a) Reporting Requirement.--Not later than 90 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the 
appropriate congressional committees a report detailing progress toward 
the withdrawal of personnel of any independent state of the former 
Soviet Union (within the meaning of section 3 of the FREEDOM Support 
Act (22 U.S.C. 5801)), including advisers, technicians, and military 
personnel, from the Cienfuegos nuclear facility in Cuba.
    (b) Criteria for Assistance.--Section 498A(a)(11) of the Foreign 
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2295a(a)(11)) is amended by striking 
``of military facilities'' and inserting ``military and intelligence 
facilities, including the military and intelligence facilities at 
Lourdes and Cienfuegos''.
    (c) Ineligibility for Assistance.--
        (1) In general.--Section 498A(b) of that Act (22 U.S.C. 
    2295a(b)) is amended--
        (A) by striking ``or'' at the end of paragraph (4);
        (B) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (6); and
        (C) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following new 
    paragraph:
        ``(5) for the government of any independent state effective 30 
    days after the President has determined and certified to the 
    appropriate congressional committees (and Congress has not enacted 
    legislation disapproving the determination within that 30-day 
    period) that such government is providing assistance for, or 
    engaging in nonmarket based trade (as defined in section 
    498B(k)(3)) with, the Cuban Government; or''
        (2) Definition.--Subsection (k) of section 498B of that Act (22 
    U.S.C. 2295b(k)) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
    paragraph:
        ``(3) Nonmarket based trade.--As used in section 498A(b)(5), 
    the term `nonmarket based trade' includes exports, imports, 
    exchanges, or other arrangements that are provided for goods and 
    services (including oil and other petroleum products) on terms more 
    favorable than those generally available in applicable markets or 
    for comparable commodities, including--
            ``(A) exports to the Cuban Government on terms that involve 
        a grant, concessional price, guaranty, insurance, or subsidy;
            ``(B) imports from the Cuban Government at preferential 
        tariff rates;
            ``(C) exchange arrangements that include advance delivery 
        of commodities, arrangements in which the Cuban Government is 
        not held accountable for unfulfilled exchange contracts, and 
        arrangements under which Cuba does not pay appropriate 
        transportation, insurance, or finance costs; and
            ``(D) the exchange, reduction, or forgiveness of debt of 
        the Cuban Government in return for a grant by the Cuban 
        Government of an equity interest in a property, investment, or 
        operation of the Cuban Government or of a Cuban national.
        ``(4) Cuban government.--(A) The term `Cuban Government' 
    includes the government of any political subdivision of Cuba, and 
    any agency or instrumentality of the Government of Cuba.
        ``(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term `agency or 
    instrumentality of the Government of Cuba' means an agency or 
    instrumentality of a foreign state as defined in section 1603(b) of 
    title 28, United States Code, with each reference in such section 
    to `a foreign state' deemed to be a reference to `Cuba'.''.
        (3) Exception.--Section 498A(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act 
    of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2295A(c)) is amended by inserting after 
    paragraph (3) the following new paragraph:
        ``(4) The assistance is provided under the secondary school 
    exchange program administered by the United States Information 
    Agency.''.
    (d) Facilities at Lourdes, Cuba.--
        (1) Disapproval of credits.--The Congress expresses its strong 
    disapproval of the extension by Russia of credits equivalent to 
    $200,000,000 in support of the intelligence facility at Lourdes, 
    Cuba, in November 1994.
        (2) Reduction in assistance.--Section 498A of the Foreign 
    Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2295a) is amended by adding at 
    the end the following new subsection:
    ``(d) Reduction in Assistance for Support of Intelligence 
Facilities in Cuba.--
        ``(1) Reduction in assistance.--Notwithstanding any other 
    provision of law, the President shall withhold from assistance 
    provided, on or after the date of the enactment of this subsection, 
    for an independent state of the former Soviet Union under this Act 
    an amount equal to the sum of assistance and credits, if any, 
    provided on or after such date by such state in support of 
    intelligence facilities in Cuba, including the intelligence 
    facility at Lourdes, Cuba.
        ``(2) Waiver.--(A) The President may waive the requirement of 
    paragraph (1) to withhold assistance if the President certifies to 
    the appropriate congressional committees that the provision of such 
    assistance is important to the national security of the United 
    States, and, in the case of such a certification made with respect 
    to Russia, if the President certifies that the Russian Government 
    has assured the United States Government that the Russian 
    Government is not sharing intelligence data collected at the 
    Lourdes facility with officials or agents of the Cuban Government.
        ``(B) At the time of a certification made with respect to 
    Russia under subparagraph (A), the President shall also submit to 
    the appropriate congressional committees a report describing the 
    intelligence activities of Russia in Cuba, including the purposes 
    for which the Lourdes facility is used by the Russian Government 
    and the extent to which the Russian Government provides payment or 
    government credits to the Cuban Government for the continued use of 
    the Lourdes facility.
        ``(C) The report required by subparagraph (B) may be submitted 
    in classified form.
        ``(D) For purposes of this paragraph, the term `appropriate 
    congressional committees' includes the Permanent Select Committee 
    on Intelligence of the House of Representatives and the Select 
    Committee on Intelligence of the Senate.
        ``(3) Exceptions to reductions in assistance.--The requirement 
    of paragraph (1) to withhold assistance shall not apply with 
    respect to--
            ``(A) assistance to meet urgent humanitarian needs, 
        including disaster and refugee relief;
            ``(B) democratic political reform or rule of law 
        activities;
            ``(C) technical assistance for safety upgrades of civilian 
        nuclear power plants;
            ``(D) the creation of private sector or nongovernmental 
        organizations that are independent of government control;
            ``(E) the development of a free market economic system;
            ``(F) assistance under the secondary school exchange 
        program administered by the United States Information Agency; 
        or
            ``(G) assistance for the purposes described in the 
        Cooperative Threat Reduction Act of 1993 (title XII of Public 
        Law 103-160).''.

SEC. 107. TELEVISION BROADCASTING TO CUBA.

    (a) Conversion to UHF.--The Director of the United States 
Information Agency shall implement a conversion of television 
broadcasting to Cuba under the Television Marti Service to ultra high 
frequency (UHF) broadcasting.
    (b) Periodic Reports.--Not later than 45 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and every three months thereafter until the 
conversion described in subsection (a) is fully implemented, the 
Director of the United States Information Agency shall submit a report 
to the appropriate congressional committees on the progress made in 
carrying out subsection (a).
    (c) Termination of Broadcasting Authorities.--Upon transmittal of a 
determination under section 203(c)(3), the Television Broadcasting to 
Cuba Act (22 U.S.C. 1465aa and following) and the Radio Broadcasting to 
Cuba Act (22 U.S.C. 1465 and following) are repealed.

SEC. 108. REPORTS ON COMMERCE WITH, AND ASSISTANCE TO, CUBA FROM OTHER 
              FOREIGN COUNTRIES.

    (a) Reports Required.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and by January 1 of each year thereafter until 
the President submits a determination under section 203(c)(1), the 
President shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional 
committees on commerce with, and assistance to, Cuba from other foreign 
countries during the preceding 12-month period.
    (b) Contents of Reports.--Each report required by subsection (a) 
shall, for the period covered by the report, contain the following, to 
the extent such information is available:
        (1) A description of all bilateral assistance provided to Cuba 
    by other foreign countries, including humanitarian assistance.
        (2) A description of Cuba's commerce with foreign countries, 
    including an identification of Cuba's trading partners and the 
    extent of such trade.
        (3) A description of the joint ventures completed, or under 
    consideration, by foreign nationals and business firms involving 
    facilities in Cuba, including an identification of the location of 
    the facilities involved and a description of the terms of agreement 
    of the joint ventures and the names of the parties that are 
    involved.
        (4) A determination as to whether or not any of the facilities 
    described in paragraph (3) is the subject of a claim against Cuba 
    by a United States national.
        (5) A determination of the amount of debt of the Cuban 
    Government that is owed to each foreign country, including--
            (A) the amount of debt exchanged, forgiven, or reduced 
        under the terms of each investment or operation in Cuba 
        involving foreign nationals; and
            (B) the amount of debt owed the foreign country that has 
        been exchanged, forgiven, or reduced in return for a grant by 
        the Cuban Government of an equity interest in a property, 
        investment, or operation of the Cuban Government or of a Cuban 
        national.
        (6) A description of the steps taken to assure that raw 
    materials and semifinished or finished goods produced by facilities 
    in Cuba involving foreign nationals do not enter the United States 
    market, either directly or through third countries or parties.
        (7) An identification of countries that purchase, or have 
    purchased, arms or military supplies from Cuba or that otherwise 
    have entered into agreements with Cuba that have a military 
    application, including--
            (A) a description of the military supplies, equipment, or 
        other material sold, bartered, or exchanged between Cuba and 
        such countries,
            (B) a listing of the goods, services, credits, or other 
        consideration received by Cuba in exchange for military 
        supplies, equipment, or material, and
            (C) the terms or conditions of any such agreement.

SEC. 109. AUTHORIZATION OF SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRATIC AND HUMAN RIGHTS 
              GROUPS AND INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS.

    (a) Authorization.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law 
(including section 102 of this Act), except for section 634A of the 
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2394-1) and comparable 
notification requirements contained in any Act making appropriations 
for foreign operations, export financing, and related programs, the 
President is authorized to furnish assistance and provide other support 
for individuals and independent nongovernmental organizations to 
support democracy-building efforts for Cuba, including the following:
        (1) Published and informational matter, such as books, videos, 
    and cassettes, on transitions to democracy, human rights, and 
    market economies, to be made available to independent democratic 
    groups in Cuba.
        (2) Humanitarian assistance to victims of political repression, 
    and their families.
        (3) Support for democratic and human rights groups in Cuba.
        (4) Support for visits and permanent deployment of independent 
    international human rights monitors in Cuba.
    (b) OAS Emergency Fund.--
        (1) For support of human rights and elections.--The President 
    shall take the necessary steps to encourage the Organization of 
    American States to create a special emergency fund for the explicit 
    purpose of deploying human rights observers, election support, and 
    election observation in Cuba.
        (2) Action of other member states.--The President should 
    instruct the United States Permanent Representative to the 
    Organization of American States to encourage other member states of 
    the Organization to join in calling for the Cuban Government to 
    allow the immediate deployment of independent human rights monitors 
    of the Organization throughout Cuba and on-site visits to Cuba by 
    the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
        (3) Voluntary contributions for fund.--Notwithstanding section 
    307 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2227) or any 
    other provision of law limiting the United States proportionate 
    share of assistance to Cuba by any international organization, the 
    President should provide not less than $5,000,000 of the voluntary 
    contributions of the United States to the Organization of American 
    States solely for the purposes of the special fund referred to in 
    paragraph (1).
    (c) Denial of Funds to the Cuban Government.--In implementing this 
section, the President shall take all necessary steps to ensure that no 
funds or other assistance is provided to the Cuban Government.

SEC. 110. IMPORTATION SAFEGUARD AGAINST CERTAIN CUBAN PRODUCTS.

    (a) Prohibition on Import of and Dealings in Cuban Products.--The 
Congress notes that section 515.204 of title 31, Code of Federal 
Regulations, prohibits the entry of, and dealings outside the United 
States in, merchandise that--
        (1) is of Cuban origin;
        (2) is or has been located in or transported from or through 
    Cuba; or
        (3) is made or derived in whole or in part of any article which 
    is the growth, produce, or manufacture of Cuba.
    (b) Effect of NAFTA.--The Congress notes that United States 
accession to the North American Free Trade Agreement does not modify or 
alter the United States sanctions against Cuba. The statement of 
administrative action accompanying that trade agreement specifically 
states the following:
        (1) ``The NAFTA rules of origin will not in any way diminish 
    the Cuban sanctions program. . . . Nothing in the NAFTA would 
    operate to override this prohibition.''.
        (2) ``Article 309(3) [of the NAFTA] permits the United States 
    to ensure that Cuban products or goods made from Cuban materials 
    are not imported into the United States from Mexico or Canada and 
    that United States products are not exported to Cuba through those 
    countries.''.
    (c) Restriction of Sugar Imports.--The Congress notes that section 
902(c) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (Public Law 99-198) requires 
the President not to allocate any of the sugar import quota to a 
country that is a net importer of sugar unless appropriate officials of 
that country verify to the President that the country does not import 
for reexport to the United States any sugar produced in Cuba.
    (d) Assurances Regarding Sugar Products.--Protection of essential 
security interests of the United States requires assurances that sugar 
products that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, 
into the customs territory of the United States are not products of 
Cuba.

SEC. 111. WITHHOLDING OF FOREIGN ASSISTANCE FROM COUNTRIES SUPPORTING 
              JURAGUA NUCLEAR PLANT IN CUBA.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress makes the following findings:
        (1) President Clinton stated in April 1993 that the United 
    States opposed the construction of the Juragua nuclear power plant 
    because of the concerns of the United States about Cuba's ability 
    to ensure the safe operation of the facility and because of Cuba's 
    refusal to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty or ratify the 
    Treaty of Tlatelolco.
        (2) Cuba has not signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of 
    Nuclear Weapons or ratified the Treaty of Tlatelolco, the latter of 
    which establishes Latin America and the Caribbean as a nuclear 
    weapons-free zone.
        (3) The State Department, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
    and the Department of Energy have expressed concerns about the 
    construction and operation of Cuba's nuclear reactors.
        (4) In a September 1992 report to the Congress, the General 
    Accounting Office outlined concerns among nuclear energy experts 
    about deficiencies in the nuclear plant project in Juragua, near 
    Cienfuegos, Cuba, including--
            (A) a lack in Cuba of a nuclear regulatory structure;
            (B) the absence in Cuba of an adequate infrastructure to 
        ensure the plant's safe operation and requisite maintenance;
            (C) the inadequacy of training of plant operators;
            (D) reports by a former technician from Cuba who, by 
        examining with x-rays weld sites believed to be part of the 
        auxiliary plumbing system for the plant, found that 10 to 15 
        percent of those sites were defective;
            (E) since September 5, 1992, when construction on the plant 
        was halted, the prolonged exposure to the elements, including 
        corrosive salt water vapor, of the primary reactor components; 
        and
            (F) the possible inadequacy of the upper portion of the 
        reactors' dome retention capability to withstand only 7 pounds 
        of pressure per square inch, given that normal atmospheric 
        pressure is 32 pounds per square inch and United States 
        reactors are designed to accommodate pressures of 50 pounds per 
        square inch.
        (5) The United States Geological Survey claims that it had 
    difficulty determining answers to specific questions regarding 
    earthquake activity in the area near Cienfuegos because the Cuban 
    Government was not forthcoming with information.
        (6) The Geological Survey has indicated that the Caribbean 
    plate, a geological formation near the south coast of Cuba, may 
    pose seismic risks to Cuba and the site of the power plant, and may 
    produce large to moderate earthquakes.
        (7) On May 25, 1992, the Caribbean plate produced an earthquake 
    numbering 7.0 on the Richter scale.
        (8) According to a study by the National Oceanic and 
    Atmospheric Administration, summer winds could carry radioactive 
    pollutants from a nuclear accident at the power plant throughout 
    all of Florida and parts of the States on the coast of the Gulf of 
    Mexico as far as Texas, and northern winds could carry the 
    pollutants as far northeast as Virginia and Washington, D.C.
        (9) The Cuban Government, under dictator Fidel Castro, in 1962 
    advocated the Soviets' launching of nuclear missiles to the United 
    States, which represented a direct and dangerous provocation of the 
    United States and brought the world to the brink of a nuclear 
    conflict.
        (10) Fidel Castro over the years has consistently issued 
    threats against the United States Government, most recently that he 
    would unleash another perilous mass migration from Cuba upon the 
    enactment of this Act.
        (11) Despite the various concerns about the plant's safety and 
    operational problems, a feasibility study is being conducted that 
    would establish a support group to include Russia, Cuba, and third 
    countries with the objective of completing and operating the plant.
    (b) Withholding of Foreign Assistance.--
        (1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
    the President shall withhold from assistance allocated, on or after 
    the date of the enactment of this Act, for any country an amount 
    equal to the sum of assistance and credits, if any, provided on or 
    after such date of enactment by that country or any entity in that 
    country in support of the completion of the Cuban nuclear facility 
    at Juragua, near Cienfuegos, Cuba.
        (2) Exceptions.--The requirement of paragraph (1) to withhold 
    assistance shall not apply with respect to--
            (A) assistance to meet urgent humanitarian needs, including 
        disaster and refugee relief;
            (B) democratic political reform or rule of law activities;
            (C) the creation of private sector or nongovernmental 
        organizations that are independent of government control;
            (D) the development of a free market economic system;
            (E) assistance for the purposes described in the 
        Cooperative Threat Reduction Act of 1993 (title XII of Public 
        Law 103-160); or
            (F) assistance under the secondary school exchange program 
        administered by the United States Information Agency.
        (3) Definition.--As used in paragraph (1), the term 
    ``assistance'' means assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 
    1961, credits, sales, guarantees of extensions of credit, and other 
    assistance under the Arms Export Control Act, assistance under 
    titles I and III of the Agricultural Trade Development and 
    Assistance Act of 1954, assistance under the FREEDOM Support Act, 
    and any other program of assistance or credits provided by the 
    United States to other countries under other provisions of law.

SEC. 112. REINSTITUTION OF FAMILY REMITTANCES AND TRAVEL TO CUBA.

    It is the sense of the Congress that the President should--
        (1)(A) before considering the reinstitution of general licenses 
    for family remittances to Cuba, insist that, prior to such 
    reinstitution, the Cuban Government permit the unfettered operation 
    of small businesses fully empowered with the right to hire others 
    to whom they may pay wages and to buy materials necessary in the 
    operation of the businesses, and with such other authority and 
    freedom as are required to foster the operation of small businesses 
    throughout Cuba; and
        (B) if licenses described in subparagraph (A) are reinstituted, 
    require a specific license for remittances described in 
    subparagraph (A) in amounts of more than $500; and
        (2) before considering the reinstitution of general licenses 
    for travel to Cuba by individuals resident in the United States who 
    are family members of Cuban nationals who are resident in Cuba, 
    insist on such actions by the Cuban Government as abrogation of the 
    sanction for departure from Cuba by refugees, release of political 
    prisoners, recognition of the right of association, and other 
    fundamental freedoms.

SEC. 113. EXPULSION OF CRIMINALS FROM CUBA.

    The President shall instruct all United States Government officials 
who engage in official contacts with the Cuban Government to raise on a 
regular basis the extradition of or rendering to the United States all 
persons residing in Cuba who are sought by the United States Department 
of Justice for crimes committed in the United States.

SEC. 114. NEWS BUREAUS IN CUBA.

    (a) Establishment of News Bureaus.--The President is authorized to 
establish and implement an exchange of news bureaus between the United 
States and Cuba, if the exchange meets the following conditions:
        (1) The exchange is fully reciprocal.
        (2) The Cuban Government agrees not to interfere with the 
    establishment of news bureaus or with the movement in Cuba of 
    journalists of any United States-based news organizations, 
    including Radio Marti and Television Marti.
        (3) The Cuban Government agrees not to interfere with decisions 
    of United States-based news organizations with respect to 
    individuals assigned to work as journalists in their news bureaus 
    in Cuba.
        (4) The Department of the Treasury is able to ensure that only 
    accredited journalists regularly employed with a news gathering 
    organization travel to Cuba under this subsection.
        (5) The Cuban Government agrees not to interfere with the 
    transmission of telecommunications signals of news bureaus or with 
    the distribution within Cuba of publications of any United States-
    based news organization that has a news bureau in Cuba.
    (b) Assurance Against Espionage.--In implementing this section, the 
President shall take all necessary steps to ensure the safety and 
security of the United States against espionage by Cuban journalists it 
believes to be working for the intelligence agencies of the Cuban 
Government.
    (c) Fully Reciprocal.--As used in subsection (a)(1), the term 
``fully reciprocal'' means that all news services, news organizations, 
and broadcasting services, including such services or organizations 
that receive financing, assistance, or other support from a 
governmental or official source, are permitted to establish and operate 
a news bureau in the United States and Cuba.

SEC. 115. EFFECT OF ACT ON LAWFUL UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES.

    Nothing in this Act prohibits any lawfully authorized 
investigative, protective, or intelligence activity of a law 
enforcement agency, or of an intelligence agency, of the United States.

SEC. 116. CONDEMNATION OF CUBAN ATTACK ON AMERICAN AIRCRAFT.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress makes the following findings:
        (1) Brothers to the Rescue is a Miami-based humanitarian 
    organization engaged in searching for and aiding Cuban refugees in 
    the Straits of Florida, and was engaged in such a mission on 
    Saturday, February 24, 1996.
        (2) The members of Brothers to the Rescue were flying unarmed 
    and defenseless planes in a mission identical to hundreds they have 
    flown since 1991 and posed no threat whatsoever to the Cuban 
    Government, the Cuban military, or the Cuban people.
        (3) Statements by the Cuban Government that Brothers to the 
    Rescue has engaged in covert operations, bombing campaigns, and 
    commando operations against the Government of Cuba have no basis in 
    fact.
        (4) The Brothers to the Rescue aircraft notified air traffic 
    controllers as to their flight plans, which would take them south 
    of the 24th parallel and close to Cuban airspace.
        (5) International law provides a nation with airspace over the 
    12-mile territorial sea.
        (6) The response of Fidel Castro's dictatorship to Saturday's 
    afternoon flight was to scramble 2 fighter jets from a Havana 
    airfield.
        (7) At approximately 3:24 p.m., the pilot of one of the Cuban 
    MiGs received permission and proceeded to shoot down one Brothers 
    to the Rescue airplane more than 6 miles north of the Cuban 
    exclusion zone, or 18 miles from the Cuban coast.
        (8) Approximately 7 minutes later, the pilot of the Cuban 
    fighter jet received permission and proceeded to shoot down the 
    second Brothers to the Rescue airplane almost 18.5 miles north of 
    the Cuban exclusion zone, or 30.5 miles from the Cuban coast.
        (9) The Cuban dictatorship, if it truly felt threatened by the 
    flight of these unarmed aircraft, could have and should have 
    pursued other peaceful options as required by international law.
        (10) The response chosen by Fidel Castro, the use of lethal 
    force, was completely inappropriate to the situation presented to 
    the Cuban Government, making such actions a blatant and barbaric 
    violation of international law and tantamount to cold-blooded 
    murder.
        (11) There were no survivors of the attack on these aircraft, 
    and the crew of a third aircraft managed to escape this criminal 
    attack by Castro's Air Force.
        (12) The crew members of the destroyed planes, Pablo Morales, 
    Carlos Costa, Mario de la Pena, and Armando Alejandre, were United 
    States citizens from Miami flying with Brothers to the Rescue on a 
    voluntary basis.
        (13) It is incumbent upon the United States Government to 
    protect the lives and livelihoods of United States citizens as well 
    as the rights of free passage and humanitarian missions.
        (14) This premeditated act took place after a week-long wave of 
    repression by the Cuban Government against Concilio Cubano, an 
    umbrella organization of human rights activists, dissidents, 
    independent economists, and independent journalists, among others.
        (15) The wave of repression against Concilio Cubano, whose 
    membership is committed to peaceful democratic change in Cuba, 
    included arrests, strip searches, house arrests, and in some cases 
    sentences to more than 1 year in jail.
    (b) Statements by the Congress.--(1) The Congress strongly condemns 
the act of terrorism by the Castro regime in shooting down the Brothers 
to the Rescue aircraft on February 24, 1996.
    (2) The Congress extends its condolences to the families of Pablo 
Morales, Carlos Costa, Mario de la Pena, and Armando Alejandre, the 
victims of the attack.
    (3) The Congress urges the President to seek, in the International 
Court of Justice, indictment for this act of terrorism by Fidel Castro.

          TITLE II--ASSISTANCE TO A FREE AND INDEPENDENT CUBA

SEC. 201. POLICY TOWARD A TRANSITION GOVERNMENT AND A DEMOCRATICALLY 
              ELECTED GOVERNMENT IN CUBA.

    The policy of the United States is as follows:
        (1) To support the self-determination of the Cuban people.
        (2) To recognize that the self-determination of the Cuban 
    people is a sovereign and national right of the citizens of Cuba 
    which must be exercised free of interference by the government of 
    any other country.
        (3) To encourage the Cuban people to empower themselves with a 
    government which reflects the self-determination of the Cuban 
    people.
        (4) To recognize the potential for a difficult transition from 
    the current regime in Cuba that may result from the initiatives 
    taken by the Cuban people for self-determination in response to the 
    intransigence of the Castro regime in not allowing any substantive 
    political or economic reforms, and to be prepared to provide the 
    Cuban people with humanitarian, developmental, and other economic 
    assistance.
        (5) In solidarity with the Cuban people, to provide appropriate 
    forms of assistance--
            (A) to a transition government in Cuba;
            (B) to facilitate the rapid movement from such a transition 
        government to a democratically elected government in Cuba that 
        results from an expression of the self-determination of the 
        Cuban people; and
            (C) to support such a democratically elected government.
        (6) Through such assistance, to facilitate a peaceful 
    transition to representative democracy and a market economy in Cuba 
    and to consolidate democracy in Cuba.
        (7) To deliver such assistance to the Cuban people only through 
    a transition government in Cuba, through a democratically elected 
    government in Cuba, through United States Government organizations, 
    or through United States, international, or indigenous 
    nongovernmental organizations.
        (8) To encourage other countries and multilateral organizations 
    to provide similar assistance, and to work cooperatively with such 
    countries and organizations to coordinate such assistance.
        (9) To ensure that appropriate assistance is rapidly provided 
    and distributed to the people of Cuba upon the institution of a 
    transition government in Cuba.
        (10) Not to provide favorable treatment or influence on behalf 
    of any individual or entity in the selection by the Cuban people of 
    their future government.
        (11) To assist a transition government in Cuba and a 
    democratically elected government in Cuba to prepare the Cuban 
    military forces for an appropriate role in a democracy.
        (12) To be prepared to enter into negotiations with a 
    democratically elected government in Cuba either to return the 
    United States Naval Base at Guantanamo to Cuba or to renegotiate 
    the present agreement under mutually agreeable terms.
        (13) To consider the restoration of diplomatic recognition and 
    support the reintegration of the Cuban Government into Inter-
    American organizations when the President determines that there 
    exists a democratically elected government in Cuba.
        (14) To take steps to remove the economic embargo of Cuba when 
    the President determines that a transition to a democratically 
    elected government in Cuba has begun.
        (15) To assist a democratically elected government in Cuba to 
    strengthen and stabilize its national currency.
        (16) To pursue trade relations with a free, democratic, and 
    independent Cuba.

SEC. 202. ASSISTANCE FOR THE CUBAN PEOPLE.

    (a) Authorization.--
        (1) In general.--The President shall develop a plan for 
    providing economic assistance to Cuba at such time as the President 
    determines that a transition government or a democratically elected 
    government in Cuba (as determined under section 203(c)) is in 
    power.
        (2) Effect on other laws.--Assistance may be provided under 
    this section subject to an authorization of appropriations and 
    subject to the availability of appropriations.
    (b) Plan for Assistance.--
        (1) Development of plan.--The President shall develop a plan 
    for providing assistance under this section--
            (A) to Cuba when a transition government in Cuba is in 
        power; and
            (B) to Cuba when a democratically elected government in 
        Cuba is in power.
        (2) Types of assistance.--Assistance under the plan developed 
    under paragraph (1) may, subject to an authorization of 
    appropriations and subject to the availability of appropriations, 
    include the following:
            (A) Transition government.--(i) Except as provided in 
        clause (ii), assistance to Cuba under a transition government 
        shall, subject to an authorization of appropriations and 
        subject to the availability of appropriations, be limited to--
                (I) such food, medicine, medical supplies and 
            equipment, and assistance to meet emergency energy needs, 
            as is necessary to meet the basic human needs of the Cuban 
            people; and
                (II) assistance described in subparagraph (C).
            (ii) Assistance in addition to assistance under clause (i) 
        may be provided, but only after the President certifies to the 
        appropriate congressional committees, in accordance with 
        procedures applicable to reprogramming notifications under 
        section 634A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, that such 
        assistance is essential to the successful completion of the 
        transition to democracy.
            (iii) Only after a transition government in Cuba is in 
        power, freedom of individuals to travel to visit their 
        relatives without any restrictions shall be permitted.
            (B) Democratically elected government.--Assistance to a 
        democratically elected government in Cuba may, subject to an 
        authorization of appropriations and subject to the availability 
        of appropriations, consist of economic assistance in addition 
        to assistance available under subparagraph (A), together with 
        assistance described in subparagraph (C). Such economic 
        assistance may include--
                (i) assistance under chapter 1 of part I (relating to 
            development assistance), and chapter 4 of part II (relating 
            to the economic support fund), of the Foreign Assistance 
            Act of 1961;
                (ii) assistance under the Agricultural Trade 
            Development and Assistance Act of 1954;
                (iii) financing, guarantees, and other forms of 
            assistance provided by the Export-Import Bank of the United 
            States;
                (iv) financial support provided by the Overseas Private 
            Investment Corporation for investment projects in Cuba;
                (v) assistance provided by the Trade and Development 
            Agency;
                (vi) Peace Corps programs; and
                (vii) other appropriate assistance to carry out the 
            policy of section 201.
            (C) Military adjustment assistance.--Assistance to a 
        transition government in Cuba and to a democratically elected 
        government in Cuba shall also include assistance in preparing 
        the Cuban military forces to adjust to an appropriate role in a 
        democracy.
    (c) Strategy for Distribution.--The plan developed under subsection 
(b) shall include a strategy for distributing assistance under the 
plan.
    (d) Distribution.--Assistance under the plan developed under 
subsection (b) shall be provided through United States Government 
organizations and nongovernmental organizations and private and 
voluntary organizations, whether within or outside the United States, 
including humanitarian, educational, labor, and private sector 
organizations.
    (e) International Efforts.--The President shall take the necessary 
steps--
        (1) to seek to obtain the agreement of other countries and of 
    international financial institutions and multilateral organizations 
    to provide to a transition government in Cuba, and to a 
    democratically elected government in Cuba, assistance comparable to 
    that provided by the United States under this Act; and
        (2) to work with such countries, institutions, and 
    organizations to coordinate all such assistance programs.
    (f) Communication With the Cuban People.--The President shall take 
the necessary steps to communicate to the Cuban people the plan for 
assistance developed under this section.
    (g) Report to Congress.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the President shall transmit to the 
appropriate congressional committees a report describing in detail the 
plan developed under this section.
    (h) Report on Trade and Investment Relations.--
        (1) Report to congress.--The President, following the 
    transmittal to the Congress of a determination under section 
    203(c)(3) that a democratically elected government in Cuba is in 
    power, shall submit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House 
    of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate and 
    the appropriate congressional committees a report that describes--
            (A) acts, policies, and practices which constitute 
        significant barriers to, or distortions of, United States trade 
        in goods or services or foreign direct investment with respect 
        to Cuba;
            (B) policy objectives of the United States regarding trade 
        relations with a democratically elected government in Cuba, and 
        the reasons therefor, including possible--
                (i) reciprocal extension of nondiscriminatory trade 
            treatment (most-favored-nation treatment);
                (ii) designation of Cuba as a beneficiary developing 
            country under title V of the Trade Act of 1974 (relating to 
            the Generalized System of Preferences) or as a beneficiary 
            country under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act, 
            and the implications of such designation with respect to 
            trade with any other country that is such a beneficiary 
            developing country or beneficiary country or is a party to 
            the North American Free Trade Agreement; and
                (iii) negotiations regarding free trade, including the 
            accession of Cuba to the North American Free Trade 
            Agreement;
            (C) specific trade negotiating objectives of the United 
        States with respect to Cuba, including the objectives described 
        in section 108(b)(5) of the North American Free Trade Agreement 
        Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 3317(b)(5)); and
            (D) actions proposed or anticipated to be undertaken, and 
        any proposed legislation necessary or appropriate, to achieve 
        any of such policy and negotiating objectives.
        (2) Consultation.--The President shall consult with the 
    Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the 
    Committee on Finance of the Senate and the appropriate 
    congressional committees and shall seek advice from the appropriate 
    advisory committees established under section 135 of the Trade Act 
    of 1974 regarding the policy and negotiating objectives and the 
    legislative proposals described in paragraph (1).

SEC. 203. COORDINATION OF ASSISTANCE PROGRAM; IMPLEMENTATION AND 
              REPORTS TO CONGRESS; REPROGRAMMING.

    (a) Coordinating Official.--The President shall designate a 
coordinating official who shall be responsible for--
        (1) implementing the strategy for distributing assistance 
    described in section 202(b);
        (2) ensuring the speedy and efficient distribution of such 
    assistance; and
        (3) ensuring coordination among, and appropriate oversight by, 
    the agencies of the United States that provide assistance described 
    in section 202(b), including resolving any disputes among such 
    agencies.
    (b) United States-Cuba Council.--Upon making a determination under 
subsection (c)(3) that a democratically elected government in Cuba is 
in power, the President, after consultation with the coordinating 
official, is authorized to designate a United States-Cuba council--
        (1) to ensure coordination between the United States Government 
    and the private sector in responding to change in Cuba, and in 
    promoting market-based development in Cuba; and
        (2) to establish periodic meetings between representatives of 
    the United States and Cuban private sectors for the purpose of 
    facilitating bilateral trade.
    (c) Implementation of Plan; Reports to Congress.--
        (1) Implementation with respect to transition government.--Upon 
    making a determination that a transition government in Cuba is in 
    power, the President shall transmit that determination to the 
    appropriate congressional committees and shall, subject to an 
    authorization of appropriations and subject to the availability of 
    appropriations, commence the delivery and distribution of 
    assistance to such transition government under the plan developed 
    under section 202(b).
        (2) Reports to congress.--(A) The President shall transmit to 
    the appropriate congressional committees a report setting forth the 
    strategy for providing assistance described in section 202(b)(2) 
    (A) and (C) to the transition government in Cuba under the plan of 
    assistance developed under section 202(b), the types of such 
    assistance, and the extent to which such assistance has been 
    distributed in accordance with the plan.
        (B) The President shall transmit the report not later than 90 
    days after making the determination referred to in paragraph (1), 
    except that the President shall transmit the report in preliminary 
    form not later than 15 days after making that determination.
        (3) Implementation with respect to democratically elected 
    government.--The President shall, upon determining that a 
    democratically elected government in Cuba is in power, submit that 
    determination to the appropriate congressional committees and 
    shall, subject to an authorization of appropriations and subject to 
    the availability of appropriations, commence the delivery and 
    distribution of assistance to such democratically elected 
    government under the plan developed under section 202(b).
        (4) Annual reports to congress.--Not later than 60 days after 
    the end of each fiscal year, the President shall transmit to the 
    appropriate congressional committees a report on the assistance 
    provided under the plan developed under section 202(b), including a 
    description of each type of assistance, the amounts expended for 
    such assistance, and a description of the assistance to be provided 
    under the plan in the current fiscal year.
    (d) Reprogramming.--Any changes in the assistance to be provided 
under the plan developed under section 202(b) may not be made unless 
the President notifies the appropriate congressional committees at 
least 15 days in advance in accordance with the procedures applicable 
to reprogramming notifications under section 634A of the Foreign 
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2394-1).

SEC. 204. TERMINATION OF THE ECONOMIC EMBARGO OF CUBA.

    (a) Presidential Actions.--Upon submitting a determination to the 
appropriate congressional committees under section 203(c)(1) that a 
transition government in Cuba is in power, the President, after 
consultation with the Congress, is authorized to take steps to suspend 
the economic embargo of Cuba and to suspend the right of action created 
in section 302 with respect to actions thereafter filed against the 
Cuban Government, to the extent that such steps contribute to a stable 
foundation for a democratically elected government in Cuba.
    (b) Suspension of Certain Provisions of Law.--In carrying out 
subsection (a), the President may suspend the enforcement of--
        (1) section 620(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
    U.S.C. 2370(a));
        (2) section 620(f) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
    U.S.C. 2370(f)) with respect to the ``Republic of Cuba'';
        (3) sections 1704, 1705(d), and 1706 of the Cuban Democracy Act 
    of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 6003, 6004(d), and 6005);
        (4) section 902(c) of the Food Security Act of 1985; and
        (5) the prohibitions on transactions described in part 515 of 
    title 31, Code of Federal Regulations.
    (c) Additional Presidential Actions.--Upon submitting a 
determination to the appropriate congressional committees under section 
203(c)(3) that a democratically elected government in Cuba is in power, 
the President shall take steps to terminate the economic embargo of 
Cuba, including the restrictions under part 515 of title 31, Code of 
Federal Regulations.
    (d) Conforming Amendments.--On the date on which the President 
submits a determination under section 203(c)(3)--
        (1) section 620(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
    U.S.C. 2370(a)) is repealed;
        (2) section 620(f) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
    U.S.C. 2370(f)) is amended by striking ``Republic of Cuba'';
        (3) sections 1704, 1705(d), and 1706 of the Cuban Democracy Act 
    of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 6003, 6004(d), and 6005) are repealed; and
        (4) section 902(c) of the Food Security Act of 1985 is 
    repealed.
    (e) Review of Suspension of Economic Embargo.--
        (1) Review.--If the President takes action under subsection (a) 
    to suspend the economic embargo of Cuba, the President shall 
    immediately so notify the Congress. The President shall report to 
    the Congress no less frequently than every 6 months thereafter, 
    until he submits a determination under section 203(c)(3) that a 
    democratically elected government in Cuba is in power, on the 
    progress being made by Cuba toward the establishment of such a 
    democratically elected government. The action of the President 
    under subsection (a) shall cease to be effective upon the enactment 
    of a joint resolution described in paragraph (2).
        (2) Joint resolutions.--For purposes of this subsection, the 
    term ``joint resolution'' means only a joint resolution of the 2 
    Houses of Congress, the matter after the resolving clause of which 
    is as follows: ``That the Congress disapproves the action of the 
    President under section 204(a) of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic 
    Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 to suspend the economic embargo 
    of Cuba, notice of which was submitted to the Congress on ____.'', 
    with the blank space being filled with the appropriate date.
        (3) Referral to committees.--Joint resolutions introduced in 
    the House of Representatives shall be referred to the Committee on 
    International Relations and joint resolutions introduced in the 
    Senate shall be referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
        (4) Procedures.--(A) Any joint resolution shall be considered 
    in the Senate in accordance with the provisions of section 601(b) 
    of the International Security Assistance and Arms Export Control 
    Act of 1976.
        (B) For the purpose of expediting the consideration and 
    enactment of joint resolutions, a motion to proceed to the 
    consideration of any joint resolution after it has been reported by 
    the appropriate committee shall be treated as highly privileged in 
    the House of Representatives.
        (C) Not more than 1 joint resolution may be considered in the 
    House of Representatives and the Senate in the 6-month period 
    beginning on the date on which the President notifies the Congress 
    under paragraph (1) of the action taken under subsection (a), and 
    in each 6-month period thereafter.

SEC. 205. REQUIREMENTS AND FACTORS FOR DETERMINING A TRANSITION 
              GOVERNMENT.

    (a) Requirements.--For the purposes of this Act, a transition 
government in Cuba is a government that--
        (1) has legalized all political activity;
        (2) has released all political prisoners and allowed for 
    investigations of Cuban prisons by appropriate international human 
    rights organizations;
        (3) has dissolved the present Department of State Security in 
    the Cuban Ministry of the Interior, including the Committees for 
    the Defense of the Revolution and the Rapid Response Brigades; and
        (4) has made public commitments to organizing free and fair 
    elections for a new government--
            (A) to be held in a timely manner within a period not to 
        exceed 18 months after the transition government assumes power;
            (B) with the participation of multiple independent 
        political parties that have full access to the media on an 
        equal basis, including (in the case of radio, television, or 
        other telecommunications media) in terms of allotments of time 
        for such access and the times of day such allotments are given; 
        and
            (C) to be conducted under the supervision of 
        internationally recognized observers, such as the Organization 
        of American States, the United Nations, and other election 
        monitors;
        (5) has ceased any interference with Radio Marti or Television 
    Marti broadcasts;
        (6) makes public commitments to and is making demonstrable 
    progress in--
            (A) establishing an independent judiciary;
            (B) respecting internationally recognized human rights and 
        basic freedoms as set forth in the Universal Declaration of 
        Human Rights, to which Cuba is a signatory nation;
            (C) allowing the establishment of independent trade unions 
        as set forth in conventions 87 and 98 of the International 
        Labor Organization, and allowing the establishment of 
        independent social, economic, and political associations;
        (7) does not include Fidel Castro or Raul Castro; and
        (8) has given adequate assurances that it will allow the speedy 
    and efficient distribution of assistance to the Cuban people.
    (b) Additional Factors.--In addition to the requirements in 
subsection (a), in determining whether a transition government in Cuba 
is in power, the President shall take into account the extent to which 
that government--
        (1) is demonstrably in transition from a communist totalitarian 
    dictatorship to representative democracy;
        (2) has made public commitments to, and is making demonstrable 
    progress in--
            (A) effectively guaranteeing the rights of free speech and 
        freedom of the press, including granting permits to privately 
        owned media and telecommunications companies to operate in 
        Cuba;
            (B) permitting the reinstatement of citizenship to Cuban-
        born persons returning to Cuba;
            (C) assuring the right to private property; and
            (D) taking appropriate steps to return to United States 
        citizens (and entities which are 50 percent or more 
        beneficially owned by United States citizens) property taken by 
        the Cuban Government from such citizens and entities on or 
        after January 1, 1959, or to provide equitable compensation to 
        such citizens and entities for such property;
        (3) has extradited or otherwise rendered to the United States 
    all persons sought by the United States Department of Justice for 
    crimes committed in the United States; and
        (4) has permitted the deployment throughout Cuba of independent 
    and unfettered international human rights monitors.

SEC. 206. REQUIREMENTS FOR DETERMINING A DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED 
              GOVERNMENT.

    For purposes of this Act, a democratically elected government in 
Cuba, in addition to meeting the requirements of section 205(a), is a 
government which--
        (1) results from free and fair elections--
            (A) conducted under the supervision of internationally 
        recognized observers; and
            (B) in which--
                (i) opposition parties were permitted ample time to 
            organize and campaign for such elections; and
                (ii) all candidates were permitted full access to the 
            media;
        (2) is showing respect for the basic civil liberties and human 
    rights of the citizens of Cuba;
        (3) is substantially moving toward a market-oriented economic 
    system based on the right to own and enjoy property;
        (4) is committed to making constitutional changes that would 
    ensure regular free and fair elections and the full enjoyment of 
    basic civil liberties and human rights by the citizens of Cuba;
        (5) has made demonstrable progress in establishing an 
    independent judiciary; and
        (6) has made demonstrable progress in returning to United 
    States citizens (and entities which are 50 percent or more 
    beneficially owned by United States citizens) property taken by the 
    Cuban Government from such citizens and entities on or after 
    January 1, 1959, or providing full compensation for such property 
    in accordance with international law standards and practice.

SEC. 207. SETTLEMENT OF OUTSTANDING UNITED STATES CLAIMS TO CONFISCATED 
              PROPERTY IN CUBA.

    (a) Report to Congress.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall provide a 
report to the appropriate congressional committees containing an 
assessment of the property dispute question in Cuba, including--
        (1) an estimate of the number and amount of claims to property 
    confiscated by the Cuban Government that are held by United States 
    nationals in addition to those claims certified under section 507 
    of the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949;
        (2) an assessment of the significance of promptly resolving 
    confiscated property claims to the revitalization of the Cuban 
    economy;
        (3) a review and evaluation of technical and other assistance 
    that the United States could provide to help either a transition 
    government in Cuba or a democratically elected government in Cuba 
    establish mechanisms to resolve property questions;
        (4) an assessment of the role and types of support the United 
    States could provide to help resolve claims to property confiscated 
    by the Cuban Government that are held by United States nationals 
    who did not receive or qualify for certification under section 507 
    of the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949; and
        (5) an assessment of any areas requiring legislative review or 
    action regarding the resolution of property claims in Cuba prior to 
    a change of government in Cuba.
    (d) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress that the 
satisfactory resolution of property claims by a Cuban Government 
recognized by the United States remains an essential condition for the 
full resumption of economic and diplomatic relations between the United 
States and Cuba.

  TITLE III--PROTECTION OF PROPERTY RIGHTS OF UNITED STATES NATIONALS

SEC. 301. FINDINGS.

    The Congress makes the following findings:
        (1) Individuals enjoy a fundamental right to own and enjoy 
    property which is enshrined in the United States Constitution.
        (2) The wrongful confiscation or taking of property belonging 
    to United States nationals by the Cuban Government, and the 
    subsequent exploitation of this property at the expense of the 
    rightful owner, undermines the comity of nations, the free flow of 
    commerce, and economic development.
        (3) Since Fidel Castro seized power in Cuba in 1959--
            (A) he has trampled on the fundamental rights of the Cuban 
        people; and
            (B) through his personal despotism, he has confiscated the 
        property of--
                (i) millions of his own citizens;
                (ii) thousands of United States nationals; and
                (iii) thousands more Cubans who claimed asylum in the 
            United States as refugees because of persecution and later 
            became naturalized citizens of the United States.
        (4) It is in the interest of the Cuban people that the Cuban 
    Government respect equally the property rights of Cuban nationals 
    and nationals of other countries.
        (5) The Cuban Government is offering foreign investors the 
    opportunity to purchase an equity interest in, manage, or enter 
    into joint ventures using property and assets some of which were 
    confiscated from United States nationals.
        (6) This ``trafficking'' in confiscated property provides badly 
    needed financial benefit, including hard currency, oil, and 
    productive investment and expertise, to the current Cuban 
    Government and thus undermines the foreign policy of the United 
    States--
            (A) to bring democratic institutions to Cuba through the 
        pressure of a general economic embargo at a time when the 
        Castro regime has proven to be vulnerable to international 
        economic pressure; and
            (B) to protect the claims of United States nationals who 
        had property wrongfully confiscated by the Cuban Government.
        (7) The United States Department of State has notified other 
    governments that the transfer to third parties of properties 
    confiscated by the Cuban Government ``would complicate any attempt 
    to return them to their original owners''.
        (8) The international judicial system, as currently structured, 
    lacks fully effective remedies for the wrongful confiscation of 
    property and for unjust enrichment from the use of wrongfully 
    confiscated property by governments and private entities at the 
    expense of the rightful owners of the property.
        (9) International law recognizes that a nation has the ability 
    to provide for rules of law with respect to conduct outside its 
    territory that has or is intended to have substantial effect within 
    its territory.
        (10) The United States Government has an obligation to its 
    citizens to provide protection against wrongful confiscations by 
    foreign nations and their citizens, including the provision of 
    private remedies.
        (11) To deter trafficking in wrongfully confiscated property, 
    United States nationals who were the victims of these confiscations 
    should be endowed with a judicial remedy in the courts of the 
    United States that would deny traffickers any profits from 
    economically exploiting Castro's wrongful seizures.

SEC. 302. LIABILITY FOR TRAFFICKING IN CONFISCATED PROPERTY CLAIMED BY 
              UNITED STATES NATIONALS.

    (a) Civil Remedy.--
        (1) Liability for trafficking.--(A) Except as otherwise 
    provided in this section, any person that, after the end of the 3-
    month period beginning on the effective date of this title, 
    traffics in property which was confiscated by the Cuban Government 
    on or after January 1, 1959, shall be liable to any United States 
    national who owns the claim to such property for money damages in 
    an amount equal to the sum of--
            (i) the amount which is the greater of--
                (I) the amount, if any, certified to the claimant by 
            the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission under the 
            International Claims Settlement Act of 1949, plus interest;
                (II) the amount determined under section 303(a)(2), 
            plus interest; or
                (III) the fair market value of that property, 
            calculated as being either the current value of the 
            property, or the value of the property when confiscated 
            plus interest, whichever is greater; and
            (ii) court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees.
        (B) Interest under subparagraph (A)(i) shall be at the rate set 
    forth in section 1961 of title 28, United States Code, computed by 
    the court from the date of confiscation of the property involved to 
    the date on which the action is brought under this subsection.
        (2) Presumption in favor of the certified claims.--There shall 
    be a presumption that the amount for which a person is liable under 
    clause (i) of paragraph (1)(A) is the amount that is certified as 
    described in subclause (I) of that clause. The presumption shall be 
    rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence that the amount 
    described in subclause (II) or (III) of that clause is the 
    appropriate amount of liability under that clause.
        (3) Increased liability.--(A) Any person that traffics in 
    confiscated property for which liability is incurred under 
    paragraph (1) shall, if a United States national owns a claim with 
    respect to that property which was certified by the Foreign Claims 
    Settlement Commission under title V of the International Claims 
    Settlement Act of 1949, be liable for damages computed in 
    accordance with subparagraph (C).
        (B) If the claimant in an action under this subsection (other 
    than a United States national to whom subparagraph (A) applies) 
    provides, after the end of the 3-month period described in 
    paragraph (1) notice to--
            (i) a person against whom the action is to be initiated, or
            (ii) a person who is to be joined as a defendant in the 
        action,
    at least 30 days before initiating the action or joining such 
    person as a defendant, as the case may be, and that person, after 
    the end of the 30-day period beginning on the date the notice is 
    provided, traffics in the confiscated property that is the subject 
    of the action, then that person shall be liable to that claimant 
    for damages computed in accordance with subparagraph (C).
        (C) Damages for which a person is liable under subparagraph (A) 
    or subparagraph (B) are money damages in an amount equal to the sum 
    of--
            (i) the amount determined under paragraph (1)(A)(ii), and
            (ii) 3 times the amount determined applicable under 
        paragraph (1)(A)(i).
        (D) Notice to a person under subparagraph (B)--
            (i) shall be in writing;
            (ii) shall be posted by certified mail or personally 
        delivered to the person; and
            (iii) shall contain--
                (I) a statement of intention to commence the action 
            under this section or to join the person as a defendant (as 
            the case may be), together with the reasons therefor;
                (II) a demand that the unlawful trafficking in the 
            claimant's property cease immediately; and
                (III) a copy of the summary statement published under 
            paragraph (8).
        (4) Applicability.--(A) Except as otherwise provided in this 
    paragraph, actions may be brought under paragraph (1) with respect 
    to property confiscated before, on, or after the date of the 
    enactment of this Act.
        (B) In the case of property confiscated before the date of the 
    enactment of this Act, a United States national may not bring an 
    action under this section on a claim to the confiscated property 
    unless such national acquires ownership of the claim before such 
    date of enactment.
        (C) In the case of property confiscated on or after the date of 
    the enactment of this Act, a United States national who, after the 
    property is confiscated, acquires ownership of a claim to the 
    property by assignment for value, may not bring an action on the 
    claim under this section.
        (5) Treatment of certain actions.--(A) In the case of a United 
    States national who was eligible to file a claim with the Foreign 
    Claims Settlement Commission under title V of the International 
    Claims Settlement Act of 1949 but did not so file the claim, that 
    United States national may not bring an action on that claim under 
    this section.
        (B) In the case of any action brought under this section by a 
    United States national whose underlying claim in the action was 
    timely filed with the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission under 
    title V of the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 but was 
    denied by the Commission, the court shall accept the findings of 
    the Commission on the claim as conclusive in the action under this 
    section.
        (C) A United States national, other than a United States 
    national bringing an action under this section on a claim certified 
    under title V of the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949, 
    may not bring an action on a claim under this section before the 
    end of the 2-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of 
    this Act.
        (D) An interest in property for which a United States national 
    has a claim certified under title V of the International Claims 
    Settlement Act of 1949 may not be the subject of a claim in an 
    action under this section by any other person. Any person bringing 
    an action under this section whose claim has not been so certified 
    shall have the burden of establishing for the court that the 
    interest in property that is the subject of the claim is not the 
    subject of a claim so certified.
        (6) Inapplicability of act of state doctrine.--No court of the 
    United States shall decline, based upon the act of state doctrine, 
    to make a determination on the merits in an action brought under 
    paragraph (1) .
        (7) Licenses not required.--(A) Notwithstanding any other 
    provision of law, an action under this section may be brought and 
    may be settled, and a judgment rendered in such action may be 
    enforced, without obtaining any license or other permission from 
    any agency of the United States, except that this paragraph shall 
    not apply to the execution of a judgment against, or the settlement 
    of actions involving, property blocked under the authorities of 
    section 5(b) of the Trading with the Enemy Act that were being 
    exercised on July 1, 1977, as a result of a national emergency 
    declared by the President before such date, and are being exercised 
    on the date of the enactment of this Act.
        (B) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and for 
    purposes of this title only, any claim against the Cuban Government 
    shall not be deemed to be an interest in property the transfer of 
    which to a United States national required before the enactment of 
    this Act, or requires after the enactment of this Act, a license 
    issued by, or the permission of, any agency of the United States.
        (8) Publication by attorney general.--Not later than 60 days 
    after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General 
    shall prepare and publish in the Federal Register a concise summary 
    of the provisions of this title, including a statement of the 
    liability under this title of a person trafficking in confiscated 
    property, and the remedies available to United States nationals 
    under this title.
    (b) Amount in Controversy.--An action may be brought under this 
section by a United States national only where the amount in 
controversy exceeds the sum or value of $50,000, exclusive of interest, 
costs, and attorneys' fees. In calculating $50,000 for purposes of the 
preceding sentence, the applicable amount under subclause (I), (II), or 
(III) of subsection (a)(1)(A)(i) may not be tripled as provided in 
subsection (a)(3).
    (c) Procedural Requirements.--
        (1) In general.--Except as provided in this title, the 
    provisions of title 28, United States Code, and the rules of the 
    courts of the United States apply to actions under this section to 
    the same extent as such provisions and rules apply to any other 
    action brought under section 1331 of title 28, United States Code.
        (2) Service of process.--In an action under this section, 
    service of process on an agency or instrumentality of a foreign 
    state in the conduct of a commercial activity, or against 
    individuals acting under color of law, shall be made in accordance 
    with section 1608 of title 28, United States Code.
    (d) Enforceability of Judgments Against Cuban Government.--In an 
action brought under this section, any judgment against an agency or 
instrumentality of the Cuban Government shall not be enforceable 
against an agency or instrumentality of either a transition government 
in Cuba or a democratically elected government in Cuba.
    (e) Certain Property Immune From Execution.--Section 1611 of title 
28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following 
new subsection:
    ``(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 1610 of this 
chapter, the property of a foreign state shall be immune from 
attachment and from execution in an action brought under section 302 of 
the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 to 
the extent that the property is a facility or installation used by an 
accredited diplomatic mission for official purposes.''.
    (f) Election of Remedies.--
        (1) Election.--Subject to paragraph (2)--
            (A) any United States national that brings an action under 
        this section may not bring any other civil action or proceeding 
        under the common law, Federal law, or the law of any of the 
        several States, the District of Columbia, or any commonwealth, 
        territory, or possession of the United States, that seeks 
        monetary or nonmonetary compensation by reason of the same 
        subject matter; and
            (B) any person who brings, under the common law or any 
        provision of law other than this section, a civil action or 
        proceeding for monetary or nonmonetary compensation arising out 
        of a claim for which an action would otherwise be cognizable 
        under this section may not bring an action under this section 
        on that claim.
        (2) Treatment of certified claimants.--(A) In the case of any 
    United States national that brings an action under this section 
    based on a claim certified under title V of the International 
    Claims Settlement Act of 1949--
            (i) if the recovery in the action is equal to or greater 
        than the amount of the certified claim, the United States 
        national may not receive payment on the claim under any 
        agreement entered into between the United States and Cuba 
        settling claims covered by such title, and such national shall 
        be deemed to have discharged the United States from any further 
        responsibility to represent the United States national with 
        respect to that claim;
            (ii) if the recovery in the action is less than the amount 
        of the certified claim, the United States national may receive 
        payment under a claims agreement described in clause (i) but 
        only to the extent of the difference between the amount of the 
        recovery and the amount of the certified claim; and
            (iii) if there is no recovery in the action, the United 
        States national may receive payment on the certified claim 
        under a claims agreement described in clause (i) to the same 
        extent as any certified claimant who does not bring an action 
        under this section.
        (B) In the event some or all actions brought under this section 
    are consolidated by judicial or other action in such manner as to 
    create a pool of assets available to satisfy the claims in such 
    actions, including a pool of assets in a proceeding in bankruptcy, 
    every claimant whose claim in an action so consolidated was 
    certified by the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission under title V 
    of the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 shall be 
    entitled to payment in full of its claim from the assets in such 
    pool before any payment is made from the assets in such pool with 
    respect to any claim not so certified.
    (g) Deposit of Excess Payments by Cuba Under Claims Agreement.--Any 
amounts paid by Cuba under any agreement entered into between the 
United States and Cuba settling certified claims under title V of the 
International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 that are in excess of the 
payments made on such certified claims after the application of 
subsection (f) shall be deposited into the United States Treasury.
    (h) Termination of Rights.--
        (1) In general.--All rights created under this section to bring 
    an action for money damages with respect to property confiscated by 
    the Cuban Government--
            (A) may be suspended under section 204(a); and
            (B) shall cease upon transmittal to the Congress of a 
        determination of the President under section 203(c)(3) that a 
        democratically elected government in Cuba is in power.
        (2) Pending suits.--The suspension or termination of rights 
    under paragraph (1) shall not affect suits commenced before the 
    date of such suspension or termination (as the case may be), and in 
    all such suits, proceedings shall be had, appeals taken, and 
    judgments rendered in the same manner and with the same effect as 
    if the suspension or termination had not occurred.
    (i) Imposition of Filing Fees.--The Judicial Conference of the 
United States shall establish a uniform fee that shall be imposed upon 
the plaintiff or plaintiffs in each action brought under this section. 
The fee should be established at a level sufficient to recover the 
costs to the courts of actions brought under this section. The fee 
under this subsection is in addition to any other fees imposed under 
title 28, United States Code.

SEC. 303. PROOF OF OWNERSHIP OF CLAIMS TO CONFISCATED PROPERTY.

    (a) Evidence of Ownership.--
        (1) Conclusiveness of certified claims.--In any action brought 
    under this title, the court shall accept as conclusive proof of 
    ownership of an interest in property a certification of a claim to 
    ownership of that interest that has been made by the Foreign Claims 
    Settlement Commission under title V of the International Claims 
    Settlement Act of 1949 (22 U.S.C. 1643 and following).
        (2) Claims not certified.--If in an action under this title a 
    claim has not been so certified by the Foreign Claims Settlement 
    Commission, the court may appoint a special master, including the 
    Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, to make determinations 
    regarding the amount and ownership of the claim. Such 
    determinations are only for evidentiary purposes in civil actions 
    brought under this title and do not constitute certifications under 
    title V of the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949.
        (3) Effect of determinations of foreign or international 
    entities.--In determining the amount or ownership of a claim in an 
    action under this title, the court shall not accept as conclusive 
    evidence any findings, orders, judgments, or decrees from 
    administrative agencies or courts of foreign countries or 
    international organizations that declare the value of or invalidate 
    the claim, unless the declaration of value or invalidation was 
    found pursuant to binding international arbitration to which the 
    United States or the claimant submitted the claim.
    (b) Amendment of the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949.--
Title V of the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 (22 U.S.C. 
1643 and following) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section:


  ``determination of ownership of claims referred by district courts of 
                           the united states

    ``Sec. 514. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act and 
only for purposes of section 302 of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic 
Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996, a United State district court, for 
fact-finding purposes, may refer to the Commission, and the Commission 
may determine, questions of the amount and ownership of a claim by a 
United States national (as defined in section 4 of the Cuban Liberty 
and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996), resulting from the 
confiscation of property by the Government of Cuba described in section 
503(a), whether or not the United States national qualified as a 
national of the United States (as defined in section 502(1)) at the 
time of the action by the Government of Cuba.''.
    (c) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act or in section 514 of 
the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949, as added by subsection 
(b), shall be construed--
        (1) to require or otherwise authorize the claims of Cuban 
    nationals who became United States citizens after their property 
    was confiscated to be included in the claims certified to the 
    Secretary of State by the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission for 
    purposes of future negotiation and espousal of claims with a 
    friendly government in Cuba when diplomatic relations are restored; 
    or
        (2) as superseding, amending, or otherwise altering 
    certifications that have been made under title V of the 
    International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 before the date of the 
    enactment of this Act.

SEC. 304. EXCLUSIVITY OF FOREIGN CLAIMS SETTLEMENT COMMISSION 
              CERTIFICATION PROCEDURE.

    Title V of the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 (22 
U.S.C. 1643 and following), as amended by section 303, is further 
amended by adding at the end the following new section:


   ``exclusivity of foreign claims settlement commission certification 
                               procedure

    ``Sec. 515. (a) Subject to subsection (b), neither any national of 
the United States who was eligible to file a claim under section 503 
but did not timely file such claim under that section, nor any person 
who was ineligible to file a claim under section 503, nor any national 
of Cuba, including any agency, instrumentality, subdivision, or 
enterprise of the Government of Cuba or any local government of Cuba, 
nor any successor thereto, whether or not recognized by the United 
States, shall have a claim to, participate in, or otherwise have an 
interest in, the compensation proceeds or nonmonetary compensation paid 
or allocated to a national of the United States by virtue of a claim 
certified by the Commission under section 507, nor shall any district 
court of the United States have jurisdiction to adjudicate any such 
claim.
    ``(b) Nothing in subsection (a) shall be construed to detract from 
or otherwise affect any rights in the shares of capital stock of 
nationals of the United States owning claims certified by the 
Commission under section 507.''.

SEC. 305. LIMITATION OF ACTIONS.

    An action under section 302 may not be brought more than 2 years 
after the trafficking giving rise to the action has ceased to occur.

SEC. 306. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    (a) In General.--Subject to subsections (b) and (c), this title and 
the amendments made by this title shall take effect on August 1, 1996.
    (b) Suspension Authority.--
        (1) Suspension authority.--The President may suspend the 
    effective date under subsection (a) for a period of not more than 6 
    months if the President determines and reports in writing to the 
    appropriate congressional committees at least 15 days before such 
    effective date that the suspension is necessary to the national 
    interests of the United States and will expedite a transition to 
    democracy in Cuba.
        (2) Additional suspensions.--The President may suspend the 
    effective date under subsection (a) for additional periods of not 
    more than 6 months each, each of which shall begin on the day after 
    the last day of the period during which a suspension is in effect 
    under this subsection, if the President determines and reports in 
    writing to the appropriate congressional committees at least 15 
    days before the date on which the additional suspension is to begin 
    that the suspension is necessary to the national interests of the 
    United States and will expedite a transition to democracy in Cuba.
    (c) Other Authorities.--
        (1) Suspension.--After this title and the amendments of this 
    title have taken effect--
            (A) no person shall acquire a property interest in any 
        potential or pending action under this title; and
            (B) the President may suspend the right to bring an action 
        under this title with respect to confiscated property for a 
        period of not more than 6 months if the President determines 
        and reports in writing to the appropriate congressional 
        committees at least 15 days before the suspension takes effect 
        that such suspension is necessary to the national interests of 
        the United States and will expedite a transition to democracy 
        in Cuba.
        (2) Additional suspensions.--The President may suspend the 
    right to bring an action under this title for additional periods of 
    not more than 6 months each, each of which shall begin on the day 
    after the last day of the period during which a suspension is in 
    effect under this subsection, if the President determines and 
    reports in writing to the appropriate congressional committees at 
    least 15 days before the date on which the additional suspension is 
    to begin that the suspension is necessary to the national interests 
    of the United States and will expedite a transition to democracy in 
    Cuba.
        (3) Pending suits.--The suspensions of actions under paragraph 
    (1) shall not affect suits commenced before the date of such 
    suspension, and in all such suits, proceedings shall be had, 
    appeals taken, and judgments rendered in the same manner and with 
    the same effect as if the suspension had not occurred.
    (d) Rescission of Suspension.--The President may rescind any 
suspension made under subsection (b) or (c) upon reporting to the 
appropriate congressional committees that doing so will expedite a 
transition to democracy in Cuba.

                 TITLE IV--EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN ALIENS

SEC. 401. EXCLUSION FROM THE UNITED STATES OF ALIENS WHO HAVE 
              CONFISCATED PROPERTY OF UNITED STATES NATIONALS OR WHO 
              TRAFFIC IN SUCH PROPERTY.

    (a) Grounds for Exclusion.--The Secretary of State shall deny a 
visa to, and the Attorney General shall exclude from the United States, 
any alien who the Secretary of State determines is a person who, after 
the date of the enactment of this Act--
        (1) has confiscated, or has directed or overseen the 
    confiscation of, property a claim to which is owned by a United 
    States national, or converts or has converted for personal gain 
    confiscated property, a claim to which is owned by a United States 
    national;
        (2) traffics in confiscated property, a claim to which is owned 
    by a United States national;
        (3) is a corporate officer, principal, or shareholder with a 
    controlling interest of an entity which has been involved in the 
    confiscation of property or trafficking in confiscated property, a 
    claim to which is owned by a United States national; or
        (4) is a spouse, minor child, or agent of a person excludable 
    under paragraph (1), (2), or (3).
    (b) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following terms have 
the following meanings:
        (1) Confiscated; confiscation.--The terms ``confiscated'' and 
    ``confiscation'' refer to--
            (A) the nationalization, expropriation, or other seizure by 
        the Cuban Government of ownership or control of property--
                (i) without the property having been returned or 
            adequate and effective compensation provided; or
                (ii) without the claim to the property having been 
            settled pursuant to an international claims settlement 
            agreement or other mutually accepted settlement procedure; 
            and
            (B) the repudiation by the Cuban Government of, the default 
        by the Cuban Government on, or the failure of the Cuban 
        Government to pay--
                (i) a debt of any enterprise which has been 
            nationalized, expropriated, or otherwise taken by the Cuban 
            Government;
                (ii) a debt which is a charge on property nationalized, 
            expropriated, or otherwise taken by the Cuban Government; 
            or
                (iii) a debt which was incurred by the Cuban Government 
            in satisfaction or settlement of a confiscated property 
            claim.
        (2) Traffics.--(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), a 
    person ``traffics'' in confiscated property if that person 
    knowingly and intentionally--
            (i)(I) transfers, distributes, dispenses, brokers, or 
        otherwise disposes of confiscated property,
            (II) purchases, receives, obtains control of, or otherwise 
        acquires confiscated property, or
            (III) improves (other than for routine maintenance), 
        invests in (by contribution of funds or anything of value, 
        other than for routine maintenance), or begins after the date 
        of the enactment of this Act to manage, lease, possess, use, or 
        hold an interest in confiscated property,
            (ii) enters into a commercial arrangement using or 
        otherwise benefiting from confiscated property, or
            (iii) causes, directs, participates in, or profits from, 
        trafficking (as described in clause (i) or (ii)) by another 
        person, or otherwise engages in trafficking (as described in 
        clause (i) or (ii)) through another person,
    without the authorization of any United States national who holds a 
    claim to the property.
        (B) The term ``traffics'' does not include--
            (i) the delivery of international telecommunication signals 
        to Cuba;
            (ii) the trading or holding of securities publicly traded 
        or held, unless the trading is with or by a person determined 
        by the Secretary of the Treasury to be a specially designated 
        national;
            (iii) transactions and uses of property incident to lawful 
        travel to Cuba, to the extent that such transactions and uses 
        of property are necessary to the conduct of such travel; or
            (iv) transactions and uses of property by a person who is 
        both a citizen of Cuba and a resident of Cuba, and who is not 
        an official of the Cuban Government or the ruling political 
        party in Cuba.
    (c) Exemption.--This section shall not apply where the Secretary of 
State finds, on a case by case basis, that the entry into the United 
States of the person who would otherwise be excluded under this section 
is necessary for medical reasons or for purposes of litigation of an 
action under title III.
    (d) Effective Date.--
        (1) In general.--This section applies to aliens seeking to 
    enter the United States on or after the date of the enactment of 
    this Act.
        (2) Trafficking.--This section applies only with respect to 
    acts within the meaning of ``traffics'' that occur on or after the 
    date of the enactment of this Act.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.