[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 161 (Wednesday, October 18, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S15277-S15278]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                  VOTE

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is, Is it the sense of the Senate 
that debate on the substitute amendment No. 2898 to H.R. 927, the Cuban 
Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act, shall be brought to a close?
  The yeas and nays are required under the rule.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from Illinois [Ms. Moseley-
Braun] is necessarily absent.

[[Page S 15278]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
who desire to vote?
  The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 98, nays 0, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 491 Leg.]

                                YEAS--98

     Abraham
     Akaka
     Ashcroft
     Baucus
     Bennett
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Bradley
     Breaux
     Brown
     Bryan
     Bumpers
     Burns
     Byrd
     Campbell
     Chafee
     Coats
     Cochran
     Cohen
     Conrad
     Coverdell
     Craig
     D'Amato
     Daschle
     DeWine
     Dodd
     Dole
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Exon
     Faircloth
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Ford
     Frist
     Glenn
     Gorton
     Graham
     Gramm
     Grams
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hatfield
     Heflin
     Helms
     Hollings
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Jeffords
     Johnston
     Kassebaum
     Kempthorne
     Kennedy
     Kerrey
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lott
     Lugar
     Mack
     McCain
     McConnell
     Mikulski
     Moynihan
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nickles
     Nunn
     Pell
     Pressler
     Pryor
     Reid
     Robb
     Rockefeller
     Roth
     Santorum
     Sarbanes
     Shelby
     Simon
     Simpson
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stevens
     Thomas
     Thompson
     Thurmond
     Warner
     Wellstone

                             NOT VOTING--1

       
     Moseley-Braun
      
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote the yeas are 98, the nays are 
zero. Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn having voted 
in the affirmative, the motion is agreed to.
  The Chair announces that amendment 2915 is nongermane and therefore 
falls.
  The Senator from North Carolina.
  Mr. HELMS. I thank the Chair.


                Amendment No. 2936 to Amendment No. 2898

  (Purpose: To strengthen international sanctions against the Castro 
     government in Cuba, to develop a plan to support a transition 
government leading to a democratically elected government in Cuba, and 
                          for other purposes)

  Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I lay before the Senate amendment No. 2936 
which includes title I and title II of the Libertad Act only. I ask it 
be stated.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from North Carolina [Mr. Helms] proposes an 
     amendment numbered 2936 to amendment No. 2898.

  Mr. HELMS. I ask unanimous consent that further reading of the 
amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (The text of the amendment is printed in today's Record under 
``Amendments Submitted.'')
  Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, title I of the Libertad Act strengthens 
sanctions against the Castro government. Some of the principal 
provisions of that title include: urging the President to seek an 
international embargo against the Castro dictatorship; authorizing the 
President to support democracy-building efforts in Cuba and to help the 
victims of Castro's repression; prohibiting financing to any person to 
finance transactions involving U.S. property confiscated by the Cuban 
Government; and ensuring that U.S. foreign aid to former Soviet states 
is not being used to subsidize Castro's regime.
  Title II of the Libertad Act lays out a proactive strategy to support 
Cuba's transition to a democratically elected government. The 
provisions of title II include instructing the President to develop a 
plan for providing support to the Cuban people during a transition to a 
democratically elected government. This title also authorizes 
assistance to meet the emergency and basic humanitarian needs of the 
Cuban people during the transition period; and it gives the President 
flexibility to suspend the economic embargo during a transition and to 
terminate the embargo once a democratically elected government is in 
office in Cuba.
  Mr. President, the Libertad bill sends a clear message to the Cuban 
people, and to other nations, that the United States will not do 
business with Castro's dictatorship.
  Mr. President, I strongly urge Senators to support this legislation. 
I believe that enactment of the Libertad Act will help bring about 
Castro's departure from power, making Cuba free and democratic. The 
people of Cuba deserve freedom, and we must not desert them now.
  Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  Mr. HELMS. I thank the Chair.
  Mr. GRAMM addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
  Mr. GRAMM. Mr. President, I rise in strong support of this 
legislation. Like many of our colleagues, I am profoundly disappointed 
that title III of this bill will be dropped today. I am disappointed 
that we could not get the 60 votes we need to break a filibuster by 
those who are not willing to tighten the noose tighter around Fidel 
Castro's neck.
  It would be one of the great tragedies of history if the tidal wave 
of freedom that has covered the planet in the last 5 years were allowed 
to subside before it drowned Fidel Castro.
  My basic objective here today, Mr. President, is to pass the Helms 
bill and go to conference, and then in conference bring back the title 
III provisions, the provisions which will deny Castro the ability to 
entice foreign private investment to prolong his life as dictator in 
Cuba which would prolong the misery of the Cuban people.
  I believe that the bill that is now before us is an improvement over 
our current situation. It does strengthen the embargo. It does set up a 
procedure whereby we make it more difficult for Castro's Cuba to get 
funding through the United Nations or the world financial 
organizations. The bill gives us the ability to link our aid to 
Russia's actions as they relate to Cuba, both in Russia's trade 
relationship and in their intelligence gathering. So I think the Helms 
bill, as it now is before the Senate, is an improvement on current law. 
What remains of that bill does not do the job the original bill did. We 
are all disappointed that we could not break the filibuster on that 
bill.
  Yet, I am supportive of the remaining Helms provisions. I want to see 
them adopted. I want to see us go to conference. I want to put title 
III back in the bill and bring it back to the Senate and fight for its 
passage. I think it would be a great tragedy for our country, it would 
be a great tragedy for everything we stand for in the world, it would 
be a great tragedy for the Cuban people, if we do not do everything in 
our power to get rid of Fidel Castro.
  The original Helms-Burton bill was an important step in the right 
direction. I am for that bill. I intend to continue to fight for it. I 
urge my colleagues to support this measure today so that we can go to 
conference and get back the original bill.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. LIEBERMAN addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.
  Mr. LIEBERMAN. I ask unanimous consent that I may be allowed to 
proceed as in morning business for up to 10 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. LIEBERMAN. I thank the Chair.

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