[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 123 (Monday, July 30, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1651]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               FARM, NUTRITION AND BIOENERGY ACT OF 2007

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 27, 2007

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2419) to 
     provide for the continuation of agricultural programs through 
     fiscal year 2012, and for other purposes:

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of the Rangel 
Amendment and thank the gentlemen for offering such a forward-thinking 
measure.
  This amendment will remove the banking restrictions that require 
prepayment for agricultural goods, that keep Cuban families from 
purchasing food from American family farmers. And frankly it's past 
time.
  It's past time to leave outdated cold war era thinking on United 
States-Cuban relations out where they belong--in the cold.
  It's past time to reach out to the Cuban people and allow them to 
engage our democratic free markets.
  It's past time to restore the rights of the American family farmer's 
access to upwards of $300 million dollars in sales to the Cuban market.
  It makes no sense to me to allow agricultural exports into Cuba on 
one hand and then turn around and set up bureaucratic banking 
restrictions that severely limit those very exports on the other.
  I commend Chairman Rangel for his leadership on this issue and I hope 
to work with him to bring some common sense to Cuba policy.

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