[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 28 (Tuesday, March 5, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S1510]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    CUBAN LIBERTY AND DEMOCRATIC SOLIDARITY [LIBERTAD] ACT OF 1996--
                           CONFERENCE REPORT

  The Senate continued with the consideration of the conference report.
  Mr. DOLE addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, as I understand, the vote is set for 2:15.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. That is correct.
  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, the Senate is taking a historic step today. 
We will soon vote on the conference report on the Cuban Liberty and 
Democratic Solidarity Act of 1996. It is a tragedy it took the brutal 
attack on unarmed American citizens in international airspace to 
overcome resistance to tightening the economic noose around Castro. 
Many of us believed legislation should have been enacted much sooner. 
Fifty-nine Senators voted for cloture on this bill last October. Though 
we were forced to delete a critical section to overcome the filibuster 
last year, that section has been restored in the conference report 
pending in the Senate.
  Castro still has a few supporters in the United States. The tired 
rhetoric defending his dictatorship is the last stand of the old left. 
But their voices are irrelevant. Their voices are drowned out by the 
overwhelming and uncontestable evidence of Castro's true nature. Castro 
is clearly determined to cling to power at all costs, but his days are 
numbered. Enactment of the Libertad bill will weaken, and eventually 
end, Castro's desperate dictatorship.
  There has been much said in the debate this morning about this bill. 
The key provisions deserve special mention. First, the Helms-Dole-
Burton Libertad bill codifies all regulations implementing the embargo 
on Cuba. This will ensure no more mixed signals will be sent from the 
United States--the Cuban embargo stays in place until a transition 
government is in place.
  Second, the Libertad bill requires entry to the United States be 
denied to all individuals who traffic in stolen property in Cuba. Entry 
into the United States is a privilege, not a right. Enactment of this 
bill will guarantee that the privilege of entry to the United States is 
not extended to those who profit from property stolen from American 
citizens.
  Third, effective August 1, 1996, the Helms-Dole-Burton bill creates 
legal recourse in American courts against firms and individuals who 
profit from property confiscated from Americans. Limited authority to 
suspend this provision is included in the conference report, but only 
for 6-month periods, only with advance notice to Congress, and only if 
the President certifies that such a suspension will expedite democratic 
change in Cuba.
  There are many other important provisions in the bill: Authorization 
to support democratic and human rights groups in Cuba, tough conditions 
on aid to the former Soviet states if they provide aid to Cuba, 
mandatory reductions in United States assistance and credits to any 
country which support completion of the nuclear reactors in Cuba, and 
tough requirements for United States Government action on American 
fugitives in Cuba.
  The Libertad bill is a comprehensive package which will cutoff 
Castro's foreign economic lifeline. The Libertad conference report will 
speed up democratic change in Cuba. It sends a clear message: The time 
of Fidel Castro has come and gone. It has been a long, hard road to get 
to the point of final Senate action. I wish we could have been here 
much sooner. I wish we could have acted without facing veto threats and 
filibusters.
  But today, these differences are behind us. President Clinton has 
endorsed the Helms-Burton bill--in its toughened form. President 
Clinton has asked all Members of Congress to support this legislation. 
In a letter to me this morning, he wrote:

       The conference report is a strong, bipartisan response that 
     tightens the economic embargo against the Cuban regime and 
     permits us to continue to promote democratic change in Cuba. 
     I urge Congress to pass the Libertad bill in order to send 
     Cuba a powerful message that the United States will not 
     tolerate further loss of American life.

  There can be no doubt that the signal from the United States is 
stronger when the Democratic White House and Republican Congress speak 
with the same voice. There can be no doubt that the signal from the 
United States is unmistakable: Democracy yes, dictatorship no.
  Now that the White House is on board with a tougher approach to the 
Castro regime, I hope they will enact unilateral steps to increase 
pressure on Castro--steps they could take today. The Clinton 
administration should beef up enforcement of the embargo, including 
opening a Treasury Department office in Miami. The Clinton 
administration should also instruct the FBI to crack down on Cuban 
agents in the United States including tougher restrictions on so-called 
diplomats and stronger steps to counter Cuban spies in Miami. The 
administration should also require strict compliance with the Foreign 
Agents Registration Act to ensure all of Castro's lobbyists are 
publicly disclosed. Measures like these will help demonstrate a genuine 
change of heart by the White House.
  Let there be no mistake: Castro's dictatorship will end. From Poland 
and Prague, from Moscow to Managua, from Kiev to Kazakhstan, Communist 
tyrants have fallen to the will of people. Castro stands alone as the 
last dictator in the hemisphere. When the history of the fall of Castro 
is written, today's action will have a central place. The atrocity over 
the Florida Straits--the murder of martyrs of February 24--has 
galvanized opposition to Castro. And it has overcome obstacles to 
passing their Libertad bill before us today.
  There is a long list of people who worked hard on the legislation 
before us. Senator Helms made enactment of this legislation a priority 
when he assumed the chairmanship of the Foreign Relations Committee. 
Senator Mack of Florida was critical in mobilizing Senate support for 
the bill.
  In the House, Congressman Burton played a critical role in 
shepherding the legislation to the overwhelming vote last September. 
Congressman Diaz-Balart and Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen were tireless in 
their work for the bill--in the House and in the Senate. Congressman 
Menendez of New Jersey was central in getting the Clinton 
administration to see the light on the legislation last week. All of 
these Members deserve credit for the Libertad conference report. 
Without their efforts, we would not be where we are today. Enactment of 
this legislation will end the debate over how to foster democratic 
change in Cuba. Enactment of this legislation will send a signal to our 
allies and our adversaries that the United States is united in opposing 
Fidel Castro. And enactment of this legislation will bring the end of 
Fidel Castro's reign of terror much closer. I urge my colleagues to 
support the Libertad bill to send the strongest possible message to the 
hemisphere's last dictator.
  The signals are clear. It is now nonpartisan, bipartisan, call it 
what you will. I hope with an overwhelming vote that Castro will 
finally get the message. And I think the administration has finally 
gotten the message. After cozying up to Castro in 1994 and 1995, they 
now see the error of their ways. And I am happy that they are now on 
board.
  I particularly want to thank the distinguished chairman of the 
committee, Senator Helms, for his tireless efforts throughout the past 
several months.

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