[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 27, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H1282-H1283]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            IN UPPORT OF STRONG ACTION AGAINST FIDEL CASTRO

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Duncan). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Meek) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mrs. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I am one of the gentlewoman from 
Florida, along with my colleagues, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Lincoln 
Diaz-Balart. I am privileged to rise in strong support of the Helm-
Burton bill, which I am a cosponsor on, and also I signed the Cuban 
Democracy Act. But I did not just sign those bills just for the sake of 
it, Mr. Speaker, I signed on it because I believe very strongly in the 
Cuban people and what is happening to them in Castro's Cuba.
  From time to time, Mr. Speaker, we are called upon to take strong 
action against what we see as something that is anti-democratic and in 
my opinion, it is evil. In the past this body took strong action, an 
economic embargo, against the evil of apartheid. I strongly supported 
that. Apartheid in South Africa needed to be released. This country and 
this Congress came to their aid. Our efforts were successful, Mr. 
Speaker, and apartheid was ended.

[[Page H1283]]

  Only a few months ago I had the privilege of greeting the elected 
president of a free democracy and that is South Africa, President 
Nelson Mandela. If it were not for this Congress, we would not have 
been able to do this. I strongly supported the economic embargo against 
the military thugs who terrorized the nation of Haiti. Today Haiti is 
making strides and moving toward democracy. And I have had the 
privilege to greet the democratically elected President of Haiti.
  Mr. Speaker, the time has come that we take strong and decisive 
action against Fidel Castro's Cuba. I repeat, it is time that we take 
strong action. I am not an expert in foreign affairs. I cannot tell 
this Government what to do. But I am making a plea for strong action 
against Castro's Cuba.
  It is always difficult, Mr. Speaker, I think, for Americans to truly 
understand in a personal way the suffering of people in other 
countries. But I am from Miami, Mr. Speaker, which is only 90 miles 
from Castro's Cuba. The brutality of the situation in Cuba is something 
we live with every day. We see what happens with the Cuban people when 
atrocities are perpetrated against their families who are in Cuba. I do 
not think anyone that hears my voice would want this to happen to any 
of their families.
  So many of our constituents have fled from Castro's prisons. So many 
of our constituents still have relatives, mothers and fathers, brothers 
and sisters. I am asking this Congress to take that into consideration, 
to think this might be members of their families undergoing hardship 
and oppression.
  So many of my constituents have left everything they worked for. 
Whatever they had in Cuba, they do not have anymore. So it is important 
that we understand that, Mr. Speaker. Just as we helped the people of 
South Africa and the people of Haiti, we must now help the people of 
Cuba in the time of their greatest need and in the hour of their 
greatest hope.
  There are those who say that we should invest in Cuba and keep closer 
ties. This is certainly an option but I do not believe it would be 
effective. I do not think it will work. Foreign investments in Cuba are 
used to prop up Castro, not improve the lives of the Cuban people. 
Castro is desperate, as I perceive it, and I get all my information 
from people in my district. He is very desperate for foreign currency 
and he will say and do almost anything to get it. He needs that money. 
But we do not forget that there is no meaningful economic freedom in 
Cuba.

  Workers are prevented from organizing labor unions, a basic economic 
right we have taken for granted. In fact, under Cuban labor laws 
employees are actually assigned by the government, not hired by 
employers. And foreign trade is a monopoly reserved for the privileged 
friends of the regime.
  I could go on and on, Mr. Speaker, telling you the way I feel and the 
way my constituents feel back in Miami. How can we talk about investing 
in a regime where workers cannot organize, where employees and workers 
are exploited and people are still imprisoned for speaking their minds.
  We believe very strongly in the freedom of speech here in this 
country because we have a democracy. If it is a Communist regime, we 
cannot control it. Therefore, we must work hard to make Cuba into a 
democracy.
  We have been successful with that, Mr. Speaker, all over the world. 
So we must not break our record with Cuba. He is clinging to power. I 
think Castro's government is in its death throes, but it is going to 
need the help of the United States. The Cuban Liberty and Democracy 
Solidarity Act of 1995 would tighten this embargo against Castro as we 
did against the corrupt governments of South Africa and Haiti. I 
believe it will greatly hasten the fall of Castro's dictatorship.
  Mr. Speaker, I look forward to the time in the near future when I can 
greet here in this Capitol the democratically elected President of a 
free Cuba as I have greeted others, as I have the democratically 
elected President of a free South Africa and a free Haiti. They all are 
in the same situation, governed by a dictator. I strongly urge my 
colleagues to throw their strength behind the Helms-Burton bill. I do 
not care who developed this bill, Mr. Speaker. I do not care about the 
argument either in parties or wherever, whether this is a bipartisan 
issue or not. But I am saying, everyone who has any sense of 
humanitarian work should appeal and do whatever they can to help Cuba. 
So I urge Members to support Cuba. It will someday be free, 
democratically.

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