[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 927 Introduced in House (IH)]
104th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 927
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.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 14, 1995
Mr. Burton of Indiana (for himself, Mr. Diaz-Balart, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen,
Mr. Torricelli, Mr. Menendez, Mr. DeLay, Mr. Ballenger, Mr. Solomon,
Mr. Goss, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. King, Mr. Ewing, Mr. Gallegly,
Mr. Deutsch, Mr. Hansen, Mr. Barton of Texas, Mr. Rohrabacher, Mr.
Funderburk, Mr. Sam Johnson of Texas, Mrs. Vucanovich, Mr. Petri, Mrs.
Meek of Florida, and Mr. Gilchrest) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on International Relations, and in
addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, the Judiciary, and
Banking and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
April 18, 1995
Additional sponsors: Mr. Engel, Mr. Knollenberg, Mr. Wilson, Mr. Foley,
and Mr. Bartlett of Maryland
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
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 1995''.
(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.
TITLE I--SEEKING 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 the Castro
dictatorship.
Sec. 104. United States opposition to Cuban membership in international
financial institutions.
Sec. 105. Assistance by the independent states of the former Soviet
Union of the Government of Cuba.
Sec. 106. Television broadcasting to Cuba.
Sec. 107. Reports on assistance and commerce received by Cuba from
other foreign countries.
Sec. 108. Importation sanction against certain Cuban trading partners.
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. Authorization of assistance for the Cuban people.
Sec. 203. Coordination of assistance program; implementation and
reports to Congress; reprogramming.
Sec. 204. Authorization of appropriations.
Sec. 205. Termination of the economic embargo of Cuba.
Sec. 206. Requirements for a transition government.
Sec. 207. Requirements for a democratically elected government.
TITLE III--PROTECTION OF AMERICAN PROPERTY RIGHTS ABROAD
Sec. 301. Exclusion from the United States of aliens who have
confiscated property of United States
nationals.
Sec. 302. Liability for trafficking in property confiscated from United
States nationals.
Sec. 303. Claims to confiscated 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 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 violation of
fundamental human rights has 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) The 1992 FREEDOM Support Act requires 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 Government of Cuba 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 Government of Cuba 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
1992/70 on December 4, 1992, Resolution 1993/48/142 on December
20, 1993, and Resolution 1994/49/544 on October 19, 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.
SEC. 3. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are as follows:
(1) To seek international sanctions against the Castro
government in Cuba.
(2) To encourage the holding of free and fair, democratic
elections in Cuba, conducted under the supervision of
internationally recognized observers.
(3) To develop a plan for furnishing assistance to a
transition government and, subsequently, to a democratically
elected government when such governments meet the eligibility
requirements of this Act.
(4) To protect property rights abroad of United States
nationals.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this Act, the following terms have the following
meanings:
(1) 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.
(2) Confiscated.--The term ``confiscated'' refers to the
nationalization, expropriation, or other seizure of ownership
or control of property by governmental authority--
(A) without adequate and effective compensation or
otherwise in violation of the law of the place where
the property was situated when the confiscation
occurred; and
(B) without the claim to the property having been
settled pursuant to an international claims settlement
agreement.
(3) Cuban government.--The term ``Cuban government''
includes the government of any political subdivision, agency,
or instrumentality of the Government of Cuba.
(4) Democratically elected government in cuba.--The term
``democratically elected government in Cuba'' means a
government described in section 207.
(5) Economic embargo of cuba.--The term ``economic embargo
of Cuba'' refers to the economic embargo 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 International Emergency
Economic Powers Act, and the Export Administration Act of 1979.
(6) Property.--The term ``property'' means--
(A) any property, right, or interest, including any
leasehold interest,
(B) debts owed by the Cuban government or by any
enterprise which has been confiscated by the Cuban
government; and
(C) debts which are a charge on property
confiscated by the Cuban government.
(7) Traffics.--The term ``traffics'' means to sell,
transfer, distribute, dispense, or otherwise dispose of
property, or to purchase, receive, possess, obtain control of,
manage, or use property.
(8) Transition government in cuba.--The term ``transition
government in Cuba'' means a government described in section
206.
(9) United states person.--The term ``United States
person'' means (A) any United States citizen, and (B) any
corporation, trust, partnership, or other juridical entity 50
percent or more beneficially owned by United States citizens.
TITLE I--SEEKING 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 government of
Cuba pursuant to chapter VII of the Charter of the United
Nations, which is similar to measures taken by United States
representatives with respect to Haiti; and
(3) any resumption or commencement of efforts by any state
to make operational the nuclear facility at Cienfuegos, Cuba,
will have a detrimental impact on United States assistance to
and relations with such state.
SEC. 102. ENFORCEMENT OF THE ECONOMIC EMBARGO OF CUBA.
(a) Policy.--(1) The Congress hereby reaffirms section 1704(a) of
the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 that states the President should
encourage foreign countries to restrict trade and credit relations with
Cuba.
(2) The Congress further urges the President to take immediate
steps to apply the sanctions described in section 1704(b) of such Act
against countries assisting Cuba.
(b) Diplomatic Efforts.--The Secretary of State shall ensure that
United States diplomatic personnel abroad understand and, in their
contacts with foreign officials are--
(1) communicating the reasons for the United States
economic embargo of Cuba; and
(2) urging foreign governments to cooperate more
effectively with the embargo.
(c) Existing Regulations.--The President should instruct the
Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney General to enforce fully the
Cuban Assets Control Regulations in part 515 of title 31, Code of
Federal Regulations.
(d) Violations of Restrictions on Travel to Cuba.--The penalties
provided for in section 16 of the Trading with the Enemy Act (50 U.S.C.
App. 16) shall apply to all violations of the Cuban Assets Control
Regulations (part 515 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations)
involving transactions incident to travel to and within Cuba,
notwithstanding section 16(b)(2) (the first place it appears) and
section 16(b)(3) and (4) of such Act.
SEC. 103. PROHIBITION AGAINST INDIRECT FINANCING OF THE CASTRO
DICTATORSHIP.
(a) Prohibition.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no
loan, credit, or other financing may be extended by a United States
person or by a United States agency to a foreign person that traffics
in any property confiscated by the Cuban government the claim to which
is owned by a United States person as of the date of enactment of this
Act.
(b) Termination of Sanction.--The sanction of subsection (a) shall
cease to apply on the date of termination of the economic embargo of
Cuba.
(c) Penalties.--Violations of subsection (a) shall be punishable by
the same penalties as are applicable to similar violations of the Cuban
Assets Control Regulations in part 515 of title 31, Code of Federal
Regulations.
(d) Definitions.--As used in this section--
(1) the term ``foreign person'' means (A) an alien, and (B)
any corporation, trust, partnership, or other juridical entity
that is not 50 percent or more beneficially owned by United
States citizens; and
(2) the term ``United States agency'' has the same meaning
given to 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) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the
Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States executive
director to 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 Cuba holds free and fair, democratic
elections, conducted under the supervision of internationally
recognized observers.
(2) During the period that a transition government is in power in
Cuba, the President shall 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 is in power in Cuba.
(b) Reduction in United States Payments to International Financial
Institutions.--If any international financial institution approves a
loan or other assistance to Cuba 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 to the Cuban government, with respect to each 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. ASSISTANCE BY THE INDEPENDENT STATES OF THE FORMER SOVIET
UNION OF THE GOVERNMENT OF CUBA.
(a) Reporting Requirement.--Not later than 90 days after the date
of enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report detailing progress towards 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)(1)) 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) 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:
``(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 the
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 Government of Cuba; or''.
(2) Subsection (k) of section 498B of that Act (22 U.S.C.
2295b(k)), is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(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 Government of Cuba on terms
that involve a grant, concessional price, guaranty,
insurance, or subsidy;
``(B) imports from the Government of Cuba at
preferential tariff rates; and
``(C) exchange arrangements that include advance
delivery of commodities, arrangements in which the
Government of Cuba is not held accountable for
unfulfilled exchange contracts, and arrangements under
which Cuba does not pay appropriate transportation,
insurance, or finance costs.''.
(d) Facilities at Lourdes, Cuba.--(1) The Congress expresses its
strong disapproval of the extension by Russia of credits equivalent to
approximately $200,000,000 in support of the intelligence facility at
Lourdes, Cuba, in November 1994.
(2) 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 Military and
Intelligence Facilities in Cuba.--(1) Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, the President shall withhold from assistance
allocated for an independent state of the former Soviet Union under
this chapter an amount equal to the sum of assistance and credits, if
any, provided by such state in support of military and intelligence
facilities in Cuba, including the intelligence facility at Lourdes,
Cuba.
``(2) Nothing in this subsection may be construed to apply to--
``(A) assistance provided under the Soviet Nuclear Threat
Reduction Act of 1991 (title II of Public Law 102-228) or the
Cooperative Threat Reduction Act of 1993 (title XII of Public
Law 103-160); or
``(B) assistance to meet urgent humanitarian needs under
section 498(1), including disaster assistance described in
subsection (c)(3) of this section.''.
SEC. 106. 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
enactment of this Act, and every three months thereafter until the
conversion described in subsection (a) is fully implemented, the
Director shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional
committees on the progress made in carrying out subsection (a).
SEC. 107. REPORTS ON ASSISTANCE AND COMMERCE RECEIVED BY CUBA FROM
OTHER FOREIGN COUNTRIES.
(a) Reports Required.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, and every year thereafter, the President shall
submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees on
assistance and commerce received by 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:
(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 whether or not any of the facilities
described in paragraph (3) is the subject of a claim against
Cuba by a United States person.
(5) A determination of the amount of Cuban debt owed to
each foreign country, including the amount of debt exchanged,
forgiven, or reduced under the terms of each investment or
operation in Cuba involving foreign nationals or businesses.
(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 or businesses do
not enter the United States market, either directly or through
third countries or parties.
SEC. 108. IMPORTATION SANCTION AGAINST CERTAIN CUBAN TRADING PARTNERS.
(a) Sanction.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, sugars,
syrups, and molasses, that are the product of a country that the
President determines has imported sugar, syrup, or molasses that is the
product of Cuba, shall not be entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for
consumption, into the customs territory of the United States, unless
the condition set forth in subsection (b) is met.
(b) Condition for Removal of Sanction.--The sanction set forth in
subsection (a) shall cease to apply to a country if the country
certifies to the President that the country will not import sugar,
syrup, or molasses that is the product of Cuba until free and fair
elections, conducted under the supervision of internationally
recognized observers, are held in Cuba. Such certification shall cease
to be effective if the President makes a subsequent determination under
subsection (a) with respect to that country.
(c) Reports to Congress.--The President shall report to the
appropriate congressional committees all determinations made under
subsection (a) and all certifications made under subsection (b).
(d) Reallocation of Sugar Quotas.--During any period in which a
sanction under subsection (a) is in effect with respect to a country,
the President may reallocate to other countries the quota of sugars,
syrups, and molasses allocated to that country, before the prohibition
went into effect, under chapter 17 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of
the United States.
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
emergency relief assistance to a transition government in Cuba
and long-term assistance to a democratically elected government
in Cuba that result from an expression of the self-
determination of the Cuban people.
(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, 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 emergency relief is rapidly implemented
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 there exists a
democratically elected government in Cuba.
(15) To assist a democratically elected government in Cuba
to strengthen and stabilize its national currency.
(16) To pursue the extension of the North American Free
Trade Agreement to a free, democratic, and independent Cuba or
to seek the creation of an economic community with a free,
democratic, and independent Cuba.
SEC. 202. AUTHORIZATION OF 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 (as determined under section
203(c)) is in power in Cuba.
(2) Effect on other laws.--
(A) Superseding other laws.--Subject to
subparagraph (B), assistance may be provided under this
section notwithstanding any other provision of law.
(B) Determination required regarding property taken
from united states persons.--Subparagraph (A) shall not
apply to section 620(a)(2) of the Foreign Assistance
Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2370(a)(2)).
(b) Plan for Assistance.--
(1) Development of plan.--The President shall develop a
plan for providing assistance under this section--
(A) to a transition government in Cuba; and
(B) to a democratically elected government in Cuba.
(2) Types of assistance.--Assistance under the plan
developed under paragraph (1) shall include the following:
(A) Transition government.--(i) Except as provided
in clause (ii), assistance under the plan to a
transition government in Cuba shall 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 under the plan to a transition
government in Cuba may include assistance for
activities comparable to those set forth in section 498
of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2295)
(other than paragraph (9) of such section).
(B) Democratically elected government.--Assistance
under the plan to a democratically elected government
in Cuba shall consist of additional economic
assistance, 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;
(vii) relief of Cuba's external debt; and
(viii) other appropriate assistance to
carry out the policy of section 201.
(C) Military adjustment assistance.--Assistance
under the plan 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.--The plan developed under subsection (b) shall
authorize assistance under the plan to be provided through
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.--
(1) The President shall take the necessary steps--
(A) 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
(B) to work with such countries, institutions, and
organizations to coordinate all such assistance
programs.
(2)(A) 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.
(B) 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.
(C) The President shall withhold from payment to the
Organization of American States not less than $5,000,000 of the
arrearages of the United States to the Organization of American
States as of the date of enactment of this Act until the
Organization of American States agrees to make available an
equivalent amount solely for the purposes of the special fund.
(f) Caribbean Basin Initiative.--The President shall determine, as
part of the assistance plan developed under subsection (b), whether or
not to designate Cuba as a beneficiary country under section 212 of the
Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act.
(2) Any designation of Cuba as a beneficiary country under section
212 of such Act may only be made after a democratically elected
government is in power. Such designation may be made notwithstanding
any other provision of law.
(3) The table contained in section 212(b) of the Caribbean Basin
Economic Recovery Act (19 U.S.C. 2702(b)) is amended by inserting
``Cuba'' between ``Costa Rica'' and ``Dominica''.
(g) Trade Agreements.--The President, upon transmittal to Congress
of a determination under section 203(c)(3) that a democratically
elected government in Cuba is in power--
(1) shall take the necessary steps to enter into a
preliminary agreement with such government in Cuba providing
for extension of the North American Free Trade Agreement to a
free and independent Cuba or to seek the creation of an
economic community with a free, democratic, and independent
Cuba; and
(2) is authorized to enter into negotiations with a
democratic government in Cuba to provide for the extension of
the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to Cuba or to
seek the creation of an economic community with a free,
democratic, and independent Cuba and to take such other steps
as will encourage renewed investment in Cuba.
(h) 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.
(i) 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.
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
under the plan developed under 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
under the plan, 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 is in power
in Cuba, the President, after consultation with the coordinating
official, shall 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 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 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.
SEC. 204. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the President such sums
as may be necessary to carry out this Act.
SEC. 205. TERMINATION OF THE ECONOMIC EMBARGO OF CUBA.
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.
SEC. 206. REQUIREMENTS FOR A TRANSITION GOVERNMENT.
For purposes of this Act, a transition government in Cuba is a
government in Cuba which--
(1) is demonstrably in transition from communist
totalitarian dictatorship to representative democracy;
(2) has legalized all political activity;
(3) has released all political prisoners and allowed for
investigations of Cuban prisons by appropriate international
human rights organizations;
(4) makes public commitments to and is making demonstrable
progress in--
(A) establishing an independent judiciary;
(B) dissolving 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;
(C) 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;
(D) effectively guaranteeing the rights of free
speech and freedom of the press;
(E) organizing free and fair elections for a new
government--
(i) to be held within 1 year after the
transition government assumes power;
(ii) 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
(iii) to be conducted under the supervision
of internationally recognized observers, such
as the Organization of American States, the
United Nations, and other elections monitors;
(F) assuring the right to private property;
(G) taking appropriate steps to return to United
States citizens and entities property taken by the
Government of Cuba from such citizens and entities on
or after January 1, 1959, or to provide equitable
compensation to such citizens and entities for such
property;
(H) granting permits to privately owned
telecommunications and media companies to operate in
Cuba; and
(I) allowing the establishment of an independent
labor movement and of independent social, economic, and
political associations;
(5) does not include Fidel Castro or Raul Castro;
(6) has given adequate assurances that it will allow the
speedy and efficient distribution of assistance to the Cuban
people; and
(7) permits the deployment throughout Cuba of independent
and unfettered international human rights monitors.
SEC. 207. REQUIREMENTS FOR A DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED GOVERNMENT.
For purposes of this Act, a democratically elected government in
Cuba, in addition to continuing to comply with the requirements of
section 206, is a government in Cuba which--
(1) results from free and fair elections conducted under
the supervision of internationally recognized observers;
(2) has permitted opposition parties ample time to organize
and campaign for such elections, and has permitted full access
to the media to all candidates in the elections;
(3) is showing respect for the basic civil liberties and
human rights of the citizens of Cuba;
(4) has made demonstrable progress in establishing an
independent judiciary;
(5) is substantially moving toward a market-oriented
economic system; and
(6) is committed to making constitutional changes that
would ensure regular free and fair elections that meet the
requirements of paragraph (2).
TITLE III--PROTECTION OF AMERICAN PROPERTY RIGHTS ABROAD
SEC. 301. EXCLUSION FROM THE UNITED STATES OF ALIENS WHO HAVE
CONFISCATED PROPERTY OF UNITED STATES NATIONALS.
(a) Additional Grounds for Exclusion.--Section 212(a)(9) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
``(D) Aliens who have confiscated american property
abroad and related persons.--(i) Any alien who--
``(I) has confiscated, or has directed or
overseen the confiscation of, property the
claim to which is owned by a United States
person, or converts or has converted for
personal gain confiscated property, the claim
to which is owned by a United States person;
``(II) traffics in confiscated property,
the claim to which is owned by a United States
person;
``(III) is a corporate officer, principal,
or shareholder of an entity which has been
involved in the confiscation, trafficking in,
or subsequent unauthorized use or benefit from
confiscated property, the claim to which is
owned by a United States person, or
``(IV) is a spouse or child of a person
described in subclause (I),
is excludable.
``(ii) The validity of claims under this
subparagraph shall be established in accordance with
section 303 of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic
Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1995.
``(iii) For purposes of this subparagraph, the
terms `confiscated', `traffics', and `United States
person' have the same meanings given to such terms
under section 4 of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic
Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1995.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall
apply to individuals entering the United States on or after the date of
enactment of this Act.
SEC. 302. LIABILITY FOR TRAFFICKING IN PROPERTY CONFISCATED FROM UNITED
STATES NATIONALS.
(a) Civil Remedy.--(1) Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and
(3), any person or government that traffics in property confiscated by
a foreign government shall be liable to the United States person who
owns the claim to the confiscated property for money damages in an
amount which is the greater of--
(A) the amount certified by the Foreign Claims Settlement
Commission under title V of the International Claims Settlement
Act of 1949, plus interest at the commercially recognized
normal rate;
(B) the amount determined under section 303(a)(2); or
(C) the fair market value of that property, calculated as
being the then current value of the property, or the value of
the property when confiscated plus interest at the commercially
recognized normal rate, whichever is greater.
(2) Except as provided in paragraph (3), any person or government
that traffics in confiscated property after having received (A) notice
of a claim to ownership of the property by the United States person who
owns the claim to the confiscated property, and (B) a copy of this
section, shall be liable to such United States person for money damages
in an amount which is treble the amount specified in paragraph (1).
(3)(A) Actions may be brought under paragraph (1) with respect to
property confiscated before, on, or after the date of enactment of this
Act.
(B) In the case of property confiscated before the date of
enactment of this Act, no United States person may bring an action
under this section unless such person acquired ownership of the claim
to the confiscated property before such date.
(C) In the case of property confiscated on or after the date of
enactment of this Act, in order to maintain the action, the United
States person who is the plaintiff must demonstrate to the court that
the plaintiff has taken reasonable steps to exhaust any available local
remedies.
(b) Jurisdiction.--Chapter 85 of title 28, United States Code, is
amended by inserting after section 1331 the following new section:
``Sec. 1331a. Civil actions involving confiscated property
``The district courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction, without
regard to the amount in controversy, of any action brought under
section 302 of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD)
Act of 1995.''.
(c) Waiver of Sovereign Immunity.--Section 1605 of title 28, United
States Code, is amended--
(1) by striking ``or'' at the end of paragraph (5);
(2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (6) and
inserting ``; or''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(7) in which the action is brought with respect to
confiscated property under section 302 of the Cuban Liberty and
Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1995.''.
SEC. 303. CLAIMS TO CONFISCATED PROPERTY.
(a) Evidence of Ownership.--For purposes of this Act, conclusive
evidence of ownership by the United States person of a claim to
confiscated property is established--
(1) when the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission certifies
the claim under title V of the International Claims Settlement
Act of 1949, as amended by subsection (b); or
(2) when the claim has been determined to be valid by a
court or administrative agency of the country in which the
property was confiscated.
(b) Amendment of the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949.--
Title V of the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 is amended
by adding at the end the following new section:
``additional claims
``Sec. 514. Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, a
United States national may bring a claim to the Commission for
determination and certification under this title of the amount and
validity of a claim resulting from actions taken by the Government of
Cuba described in section 503(a), whether or not the United States
national qualified as a United States national at the time of the Cuban
government action, except that, in the case of property confiscated
after the date of enactment of this section, the claimant must be a
United States national at the time of the confiscation.''.
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