[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 141 (Friday, October 9, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H10343-H10344]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO THE CUBAN DEMOCRACY ACT OF 1992--MESSAGE 
                FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Shimkus) laid before the House the 
following message from the President of

[[Page H10344]]

the United States; which was read and, without objection, referred to 
the Committee on International Relations, and ordered to be printed:
To the Congress of the United States:
  This report is submitted pursuant to 1705(e)(6) of the Cuban 
Democracy Act of 1992, 22 U.S.C. 6004(e)(6) (the ``CDA''), as amended 
by section 102(g) of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity 
(LIBERTAD) Act of 1996, Public Law 104-114 (March 12, 1996), 110 Stat. 
785, 22 U.S.C. 6021-91 (the ``LIBERTAD Act''), which requires that I 
report to the Congress on a semiannual basis detailing payments made to 
Cuba by any United States person as a result of the provision of 
telecommunications services authorized by this subsection.
  The CDA, which provides that telecommunications services are 
permitted between the United States and Cuba, specifically authorizes 
the President to provide for payments to Cuba by license. The CDA 
states that licenses may be issued for full or partial settlement of 
telecommunications services with Cuba, but may not require any 
withdrawal from a blocked account. Following enactment of the CDA on 
October 23, 1992, a number of U.S. telecommunications companies 
successfully negotiated agreements to provide telecommunications 
services between the United States and Cuba consistent with policy 
guidelines developed by the Department of State and the Federal 
Communications Commission.
  Subsequent to enactment of the CDA, the Department of the Treasury's 
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) amended the Cuban Assets 
Control Regulations, 31 C.F.R. Part 515 (the ``CACR''), to provide for 
specific licensing on a case-by-case basis for certain transactions 
incident to the receipt or transmission of telecommunications between 
the United States and Cuba, 31 C.F.R. 515.542(c), including settlement 
of charges under traffic agreements.
  The OFAC has issued eight licenses authorizing transactions incident 
to the receipt or transmission of telecommunications between the United 
States and Cuba since the enactment of the CDA. None of these licenses 
permits payments to the Government of Cuba from a blocked account. For 
the period January 1 through June 30, 1998, OFAC-licensed U.S. carriers 
reported payments to the Government of Cuba in settlement of charges 
under telecommunications traffic agreements as follows:

AT&T Corporation (formerly, American Telephone and Telegraph 
  Company)..................................................$12,795,658
AT&T de Puerto Rico.............................................292,229
Global One (formerly, Sprint Incorporated)....................3,075,733
IDB WorldCom Services, Inc. (formerly, IDB Communications, Inc4,402,634
MCI International, Inc. (formerly, MCI Communications Corporat8,468,743
Telefonica Larga Distancia de Puerto Rico, Inc..................129,752
WilTel, Inc. (formerly, WilTel Underseas Cable, Inc.).........4,983,368
WorldCom, Inc. (formerly, LDDS Communications, Inc.)..........5,371,531
                                                             __________
                                                             39,519,648
  I shall continue to report semiannually on telecommunications 
payments to the Government of Cuba from United States persons.
                                                  William J. Clinton.  
  The White House, October 8, 1998.

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