[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 22 (Thursday, February 26, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H670]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CONTINUATION OF NATIONAL EMERGENCY RELATING TO CUBA--MESSAGE FROM THE 
          PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (H. DOC. NO. 108-165)

  The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following message 
from the President of the United States; which was read and, together 
with the accompanying papers, without objection, referred to the 
Committee on International Relations and ordered to be printed:

To the Congress of the United States:
  Pursuant to section 1 of title I of Public Law 65-24, ch. 30, 50 
U.S.C. 191, and sections 201 and 301 of the National Emergencies Act, 
50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq., I hereby report that I have exercised my 
statutory authority to continue the national emergency declared in 
Proclamation 6867 of March 1, 1996, in response to the Cuban 
government's destruction of two unarmed U.S.-registered civilian 
aircraft in international airspace north of Cuba. Additionally, I have 
exercised my authority to expand the scope of the national emergency 
as, over the last year, the Cuban government, which is a designated 
state-sponsor of terrorism, has taken a series of steps to destabilize 
relations with the United States, including threatening to abrogate the 
Migration Accords with the United States and to close the U.S. 
Interests Section. This conduct has caused a sudden and worsening 
disturbance of U.S. international relations.
  In my proclamation (copy attached), I have authorized and directed 
the Secretary of Homeland Security to make and issue such rules and 
regulations that the Secretary may find appropriate to prevent 
unauthorized U.S. vessels from entering Cuban territorial waters.
  I have authorized these rules and regulations as a result of the 
Cuban government's demonstrated willingness to use reckless force, 
including deadly force, in the ostensible enforcement of its 
sovereignty. I have also authorized these rules and regulations in an 
effort to deny resources to the repressive Cuban government that may be 
used by that government to support terrorist activities and carry out 
excessive use of force against innocent victims, including U.S. 
citizens and other persons residing in the United States, and threaten 
a disturbance of international relations. Accordingly, I have continued 
and expanded the national emergency in response to these threats.
                                                      George W. Bush.  
The White House, February 26, 2004.

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