[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 33 (Wednesday, February 22, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2974-S2975]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


          CUBAN LIBERTY AND DEMOCRATIC SOLIDARITY ACT--S. 381

 Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I am pleased to join several of 
my colleagues as a cosponsor of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic 
Solidarity Act, although I have reservations concerning the trade 
sanctions included in the legislation. Fidel Castro's 36-year 
dictatorship has been catastrophic for Cuba's society and economy. 
Agricultural and industrial production have been stymied by 
authoritarian state control. Many of Cuba's most skilled and talented 
citizens have chosen to risk their lives to achieve freedom elsewhere, 
including the United States. Meanwhile, living standards for those who 
remained have fallen steadily. The backward direction of Cuba's 
development stands in sharp contrast to other states in Central and 
South America, who have flourished under policies of market and 
democratic liberalization. Castro is among the last adherents to the 
bankrupt philosophy of Communist authoritarianism. The Cuban people 
cannot move forward to the prosperity which their human and natural 
resources entitle them as long as Castro's authoritarian rule remains 
intact. The United States must continue to do what it can to help the 
Cuban people in their struggle for economic and political freedom and 
to reestablish the rule of law.
  We also have an obligation to American citizens, many of whom have 
unresolved property claims against the Castro government, to work for 
justice on their behalf. At the same time, I believe the United States 
must balance its goals in Cuba with other important foreign policy 
objectives, such as free trade and support for market and political 
reforms in other countries. Accordingly, I associate myself with the 
objectives of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act and look 
forward to working with my colleagues to improve the bill particularly 
in the 
[[Page S2975]] trade areas as it receives further 
consideration.


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