[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 122 (Wednesday, October 4, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9844-S9845]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              VISIT BY FORMER MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TO CUBA

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, today I join with my colleague Senator 
Roberts to draw attention to a most interesting report on our country's 
policy toward Cuba. Some of my colleagues may know that a bipartisan 
group of former Members of Congress traveled to Cuba in September on a 
fact-finding mission for the United States Association of Former 
Members of Congress. These four former members, John Brademas, Larry 
LaRocco, Fred Grandy, and Jack Buechner, did not travel as a group 
officially invited by the Cuban Government, but rather traveled on 
tourist visas, a distinction that allowed the delegation more 
flexibility to meet with representatives of a wide cross section of 
Cuban society, including religious and cultural leaders, as well as 
ordinary Cuban citizens.
  Upon returning to the United States, the delegation wrote a detailed 
report concerning their visit to Cuba, and their recommendations on 
U.S.-Cuban policy. Remarkably, the recommendations contained in the 
report were unanimous, and were markedly similar to the recommendations 
made by two previous delegations in 1996, and 1999.
  The report, which was released on September 5, states that ``United 
States policy toward Cuba should be addressed on the basis first, of 
what is best for U.S. national interests, and second, what is best for 
Cuba and the Cuban people.'' It goes on to observe that, as a policy 
aimed at bringing about political change in Cuba, the regimen of 
comprehensive sanctions and the embargo have become increasingly 
anachronistic. It calls upon Congress and the Administration to begin a 
phased reduction of sanctions against Cuba, and a first step, 
recommends that current legislation on Capitol Hill to remove all 
restrictions on the sales or gifts of food and medicines be enacted. 
The report concludes with the observation that the delegation found 
``solid support among key independents'' in Cuba for this action.
  Among other recommendations, the delegation suggested that the United 
States establish a bank in Havana to authorize the sale of food and 
medicine, that additional direct flights between the U.S. and Cuba be 
facilitated, and steps taken to improve Internet communication between 
the two countries.

[[Page S9845]]

  These recommendations were based on the perception by the traveling 
delegation that the embargo on food and medicine is hurting common 
Cuban citizens while failing to advance U.S. national security 
interests on the island. The consensus in Cuba is that Fidel Castro is 
not being affected by this embargo--he has all the food and medicine he 
needs. The Cuban people recognize that the embargo hurts only 
themselves, and are actively seeking help from the United States.
  As we approach the final days of this session, hard-fought progress 
toward an easing of the embargo may still bear fruit. While the Senate 
considers important legislation in this area, I urge my colleagues to 
read both the excerpts of the report at the end of my speech and the 
full text of the Association report, which is available from the United 
States Association of Former Members of Congress at 330 A Street, N.W., 
Washington, D.C. 20002. With that, Mr. President, I ask unanimous 
consent that portions of the delegation's report be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

      The United States Association of Former Members of Congress

       We, the four members of a delegation of the United States 
     Association of Former Members of Congress (AFMC), visited 
     Cuba from May 26 to June 3, 2000, to explore first-hand the 
     current political, social and economic realities in that 
     country and to consider what steps might be taken to improve 
     relations between Cuba and the United States. Before 
     traveling we were briefed by officials in the Department of 
     State, key Members of Congress, leaders of non-governmental 
     organizations (NGOs) and officials of the Cuban Interests 
     Section in Washington, DC. The report you hold in your hands 
     reflects the collective deliberations of the delegation, and 
     lists six specific recommendations that we all endorse. As 
     you will see, we did not attempt to tackle every issue 
     involved in relations between our countries; in order to make 
     concrete and well-founded recommendations, we focused on a 
     core of matters that seemed particularly significant to us.
       This fact-finding trip was the third and last in a series 
     funded by a grant from the Ford Foundation to the AFMC. The 
     other two trips were made in December 1996 and January 1999. 
     Our recommendations closely parallel those of the previous 
     two bipartisan delegations. To date, 15 former Members of 
     Congress (eight Republicans and seven Democrats) have 
     traveled to Cuba on these Ford Foundation-sponsored missions. 
     The recommendations of all three delegations have been 
     unanimous and are remarkably similar in terms of their 
     implications for U.S. policy.
       Unlike the two previous delegations, we did not travel as a 
     group officially invited by the Cuban Government. We had the 
     appropriate documentation from the United States Government, 
     including a license from the Department of Treasury's Office 
     of Foreign Assets Control. Although the Cuban government did 
     not extend an official invitation to the delegation, we were 
     issued tourist visas.
       The unofficial character of the visit allowed us to control 
     our own time, to have a wide variety of meetings and to gain 
     a much better idea of what a cross-section of the Cuban 
     population thinks. Unencumbered by the protocol demands that 
     normally accompany an officially approved trip, we were free 
     to visit a range of independent organizations, art centers, 
     church and church-sponsored groups and research centers. We 
     were also able to attend church services, visit markets, 
     travel into the countryside and talk freely to private 
     citizens. The people we met with ranged from an average woman 
     attending an Elian Gonzalez rally whom we engaged in 
     spontaneous conversation to Cuba's Minister of Foreign 
     Affairs; from the tour guide of the Partagas cigar factory in 
     Old Havana to the Papal Nuncio; from the director of the 
     government-sponsored cultural organization Casa de las 
     Americas to the head of the Roman Catholic relief 
     organization, Caritas; from an urban planner sympathetic to 
     the current regime in Cuba to some of the most controversial 
     figures--including Marta Beatriz Roque, Rene Gomez Manzano, 
     and Felix Bonne--and independent journalists living in that 
     country today.
       On the ground in Cuba, we heard a remarkably diverse array 
     of voices and observed a highly complex set of political and 
     social circumstances; nonetheless, we submit this report in 
     the conviction that the implementation of our recommendations 
     can only further the interests of both the United States and 
     the people of Cuba.
     John Brademas,
       D--Indiana.
     J. Buechner,
       R--Missouri.
     Fred Grandy,
       R--Iowa.
     Larry LaRocco,
       D--Idaho.


                            recommendations

       Our recommendations are based on our extensive discussions 
     during our trip to Cuba. Our recommendations closely parallel 
     those of the two previous bipartisan delegations of the U.S. 
     Association of Former Members of Congress.
       1. Congress and the administration should begin a phased 
     reduction of sanctions legislation, as defined in the Cuban 
     Democracy Act of 1992 (PL 102-484) and the Cuban Liberty and 
     Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 (Helms-Burton, 
     PL 104-114). As a first step, current legislation on Capitol 
     Hill (H.R. 3140 and S. 2382) to remove all restrictions on 
     the sales (for gifts) of food and medicines should be 
     enacted.
       2. Serious consideration should be given to the 
     establishment of a U.S. bank in Havana if legislation to 
     authorize the sales of food and medicine is approved by 
     Congress and the Administration.
       3. Opportunities for people-to-people contact between 
     citizens of the United States and Cuba should be expanded, 
     particularly through two-way exchanges in the fields of 
     education and culture. More links between educational, 
     cultural and non-governmental institutions in our two 
     countries should also be established.
       4. The current ceilings on annual remittances from the 
     United States to Cuba should be raised significantly, if not 
     eliminated.
       5. Steps should be taken to facilitate direct fights 
     between the United States and Cuba.
       6. Steps should be taken to improve Internet communication 
     between the citizens of both countries. Initiatives aimed at 
     enabling Cuban citizens to gain greater access to the 
     Internet should be encouraged, and support should be given to 
     individuals and entities involved in the creation of websites 
     and other electronic platforms aimed at improving mutual 
     understanding between the peoples of the United States and 
     Cuba.

                          ____________________