Congressional Record, Volume 161 Issue 2 (Wednesday, January 7, 2015)

[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 7, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H96-H102]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

UNITED STATES-CUBAN RELATIONS

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 6, 2015, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) is
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.

General Leave

Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that Members may have 5
legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from California?
There was no objection.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, this evening I stand with my colleagues to
discuss an issue that is very important to this country, and that is
our country's relations with Cuba. It has been 50 years--five decades--
of a failed policy. Our wrongheaded policy toward Cuba, born of cold
war tensions, has failed. Our policies have been in dire need of
updating ever since. This island nation, which lies just 90 miles from
our shores, one of our closest neighbors, should be a partner in our
hemisphere, not an estranged country or enemy. Along with many of my
congressional colleagues, many of whom are gathered here tonight, we
have been fighting to make that a reality for decades.
I would now like to move toward and talk a little bit about some of
the issues that many of us have been involved in, and then I will yield
to my colleagues.
In the past, addressing our failed policies toward Cuba really had
strong and clear bipartisan support in Congress. Recent polling shows
it has bipartisan support amongst the American people. According to a
2014 survey commissioned by the Atlantic Council, more than 60 percent
of Americans support lifting the travel and economic restrictions on
Cuba, and 56 percent of Americans support changing overall United
States policy towards Cuba. That includes 63 percent of Floridians, 62
percent of Latinos, and 52 percent of Republicans.
Thanks to recent, very bold actions from President Obama, we have
finally made some headway in this fight. We have started down the long
and hard road towards ending our failed policies and establishing
policies that promote the freedoms of Americans and Cubans, encourage
trade and job creation here in the United States, and support the open
exchange of critical medical development and research to treat diseases
that afflict many Americans.
In December, the President announced that the United States will
reestablish diplomatic ties, facilitate travel, improve commercial
exchanges and telecommunications and a variety of other policies. This
is a welcomed and long-overdue response to our calls and the calls of
many advocates both in this body and outside, from Cuba, the United
States, and around the world.
Today we come to the floor first to thank President Obama for his
leadership and to discuss the important changes he has brought about
through his action; but at the same time, we are here to call on this
Congress to act to end the outdated embargo while maintaining our
Nation's unwavering commitment to human rights and democracy.
I personally began my efforts to end the embargo when I was a
congressional staffer for my predecessor and mentor, Congressman Ron
Dellums, in 1977. Since then, I have traveled to Cuba more than 20
times and have led several congressional delegations to that island.
Quite frankly, each time I am there, I am struck by how much both of
our nations would benefit from improved relations. Over the years, many
Members have been proud of their young people who have received their
medical education at the Latin American medical school, ELAM, which
allows students from low-income and disadvantaged backgrounds to study
medicine in Cuba for free, returning to the United States to practice
in underserved areas.
When I was chair of the Congressional Black Caucus in the 112th
Congress, I was honored to lead a delegation to talk with Cuban
officials, including President Raul Castro, to determine their
willingness to engage in dialogue with no preconditions in an effort to
move toward normalization of relations.
Recently, we led a bipartisan delegation to examine a new treatment
for diabetic foot ulcers that afflict millions of Americans every year.
Tragically, this condition often ends in amputations and sometimes
death for patients. This new treatment has been developed. It is highly
effective. Hopefully Americans can benefit from this treatment if we
end the embargo.

[[Page H97]]

So I will continue to work with my colleagues on both sides of the
aisle to ensure that this development and other areas of common
interest to the American and Cuban people are pursued and developed,
which I will review later in my closing statement.
Now I yield to the gentlelady from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson),
who has visited Cuba and really understands the trade and business
aspects and the job-creation aspects of why we need to move forward to
end this failed policy.
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the
gentlelady very much.
I rise in support of President Obama's recent announcement that
updates our diplomatic policy approach to Cuba. I am very pleased to
see that our outdated approach to U.S.-Cuban relations will end and we
will begin to normalize our relationship with Cuba. Not only does the
Obama administration's announcement reestablish positive diplomatic
ties with Cuba, it also helps to empower the Cuban people by updating
travel restrictions, remittance policies, and quality of life.
One of the most positive outcomes of the updated policy announcement
is the lifting of many trade restrictions between the United States and
Cuba. In my home State of Texas, the Texas Farm Bureau has long
supported improved trade policies with Cuba because of the potential to
export Texas farm products. This provision not only serves the U.S.
economy positively, but it is also very meaningful to the Cuban policy,
which has struggled tremendously in the past.
While trade provisions and helping to improve the livelihood of Cuban
people by allowing the Cuban economy to build are constructive
measures, we must focus on additional viable resources Cuba could
provide to the United States. For instance, with the opening of
diplomatic ties, I sincerely hope that our State medical boards in the
United States will consider the educational value that Cuban medical
schools provide to future health professionals who wish to practice
medicine in the United States. I have had students from my district
attend medical school in Cuba. I am aware that Cuba has offered nurses
and physicians around the world in needy countries where needed.
The aforementioned examples are only a few of the many ways that
opening our diplomatic relations with Cuba will be positive for our
country, and I urge my colleagues to support the Obama administration's
decision to update our relationship with our neighbor and future ally.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentlewoman from Florida
(Ms. Castor), who represents Tampa and has certainly been a bold leader
and understands clearly the economic benefits in her district as they
relate to ending the embargo.
Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlelady from
California for her longstanding leadership, her commitment to human
rights and change in a positive way for the relationship between the
United States of America and Cuba.
I also would be remiss if I didn't recognize some of my other
colleagues who have been in this, have encouraged a change in policy
for many, many years, if not decades: Congressman Farr, Congresswoman
DeLauro, Congressman McGovern, Congressman Van Hollen, Congressman
Polis, Congressman Meeks, and many others who have taken it upon
themselves to visit the island of Cuba, like the average American is
not allowed to do, and learn about the real situation on the ground
there.

{time} 1600

I also commend the Obama administration and the President for his
bold move in finally moving this outdated, anachronistic policy towards
Cuba into a positive direction. Because just think about this: since
the embargo has been in place and our policy of isolation has been in
place, we had a war with Vietnam, but we have come to reconcile with
the Vietnamese, and now the Vietnamese people have seen great economic
reforms because America was engaged. Even after World War II, when we
had a world war against Germany, you have to turn the page and move on
in human history, and we were able to do that with one of our closest
allies now with Germany. So why not Cuba?
In the Tampa Bay area I represent a lot of Cuban-American families.
In fact, the bulk of my constituent work often involves family
unification. It is not uncommon every week to have a situation where
there is a dying grandmother in the United States and her grandchildren
in Cuba would like to come and visit. And yet over the past years, they
have been subjected to the worst kind of bureaucratic red tape that has
not allowed them to travel freely to America, and the same for American
citizens.
Did you know that Americans are not allowed to travel freely to Cuba?
Many people don't know that Cuba is really one of the only nations in
the entire world where our constitutional rights to travel are
restricted. And we think now with the Obama administration's move we
will begin to open the door to greater travel, in recognition of our
own human rights and constitutional rights.
But I think it is really for our families to be able to unify them.
It is only a 1-hour flight from Tampa to Havana. It is less than that,
and it is a beautiful flight. And yet it has been off limits for so
long. So thank you to the Obama administration for beginning to take
the steps to open this up.
I want folks to know Cuba is changing. Just like the Congresswoman
who has traveled there multiple times, I traveled on a fact-finding
mission not too long ago. There are meaningful economic reforms under
way. America needs to be there to encourage it, to move it along faster
and farther.
People now in Cuba can own some private property. There are new small
businesses and entrepreneurs that have the ability to step away from
government control and take control of their own lives. There is
decentralization of power. But unless America is engaged, we are not
going to be able to continue those economic reforms and press for
improvements in human rights.
This is also an important time for America to capitalize on the
changes in the world economy. Remember for a long time it was the
Soviet Union that supported Cuba, or it was Venezuela. Well, now with
the energy revolution in America, there has never been a better time
for America to use its influence in the world, its economic power, its
pressing for human rights, as Venezuela doesn't carry the day anymore.
Their economy is in turmoil. The same for Russia. The economic
conditions now play to our advantage, and we need to use it to improve
human rights on the island, to improve family unification, and begin to
establish those all important diplomatic ties.
In my hometown of Tampa, they have led the way. My Greater Tampa
Chamber of Commerce has traveled a number of times. They would like to
reestablish trade ties. There have been enormous numbers of cultural
exchanges. The Florida Orchestra had a multiyear exchange with the
Orchestra of Cuba. Ybor City businessmen have instituted art
celebrations with the Cuban people right in the heart of Tampa. The
University of Tampa's baseball team went and played the Cuban national
team. Yes, and the University of Tampa did prevail, much to the chagrin
of the Cubans.
But these are the ways that you build a relationship, a greater
foundation for economic reform and human rights reform. In fact, it is
the Saint Lawrence Catholic Church in Tampa that is going to fund the
first Catholic parish on the island of Cuba in the coming years. If we
cannot stand as leaders in the Western Hemisphere for religious
freedom, for human rights, for economic engagement and improvement, who
will? It is our time. I thank the leaders in this Congress that have
pressed for this change, I commend President Obama for taking this bold
move, and I encourage all Members of Congress to travel there and
listen to the people, listen to their cries for positive change. We
have it within our power to lift the embargo and begin to press on
these issues, and I hope that we will.
Ms. LEE. I thank the gentlewoman for laying out just really a glimpse
of the possibilities, and again, thank you for your leadership.
Now I would like to yield to Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee from
Texas, who has been a longtime supporter and advocate for ending the
embargo, who also, I was reminded earlier, in her role as the
Immigration

[[Page H98]]

Subcommittee ranking member, she was very instrumental in the Elian
Gonzalez case and was able to really help forge a path forward to
return Elian to Cuba.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, as you notice, Members who are on the
floor today have come from a variety of States, a variety of political
philosophies and positions. I think it is appropriate to acknowledge
Congresswoman Barbara Lee for galvanizing Members on both sides of the
aisle on an important and enormous leap of change that we have made
over the years by her determination and persistence and knowledge. So I
thank her very much for that kind of leadership, allowing many of us to
travel to Cuba on any number of occasions, meeting with Fidel Castro,
speaking about issues of government and the needs of the Cuban people
and the needs of the American people.
To my colleagues, everyone who has visited, they have found the Cuban
people hospitable and friendly, desiring peace, and respecting America.
If there is ever one impression that you have when you leave Cuba, it
is the desire for strong relationships and the connectedness between
Cubans, Cuban-Americans, and Americans.
As a Representative from Texas, I can assure you that over the years
I have heard often from members of my agricultural community about
their desire to begin engaging with trade in Cuba. And they do so as
proud Americans, as Americans who have sent young men and now young
women to faraway shores in military uniform to defend this Nation.
What they see in Cuba, as has been indicated, is a friend with which
we had disagreements, but a friend with which we now can find a pathway
forward. As was mentioned, we had engaged in a war in Vietnam, we have
engaged in a war in Iraq and Afghanistan, soldiers coming home now with
few soldiers left behind. And, Mr. Speaker, we are engaging in
diplomatic relations with Iraq, Afghanistan, and certainly Vietnam. How
in the world can an island 90 miles away be held in such contempt that
we cannot find a pathway forward.
So I strongly support the executive order of this President, and I
will tell you why in just a few minutes of the time that I have
remaining. I serve on the Homeland Security Committee, and previously
on Judiciary, on which I continue. My colleague is correct. At the time
of the young boy by the name of Elian Gonzalez, who was found near the
shores of our great Nation, his mother deceased trying to escape, of
course, from Cuba with a number of others, there was this custody
fight, if you will, about whether or not his relatives here or his
father should have custody over him, his father being in Cuba. What a
sensitive question for a very young boy who could not make a decision
on his own. What a traumatic experience in those difficult waters
watching his mother not survive.

So as a member of that committee, working with my fellow colleagues
and working then with the Clinton administration and then Attorney
General Janet Reno, though it was not, if I might say, a clear and
pretty scene, we knew that in the best interest of the child the parent
was the best custodian or guardian, whether or not that child was, in
fact, having to go to Cuba.
But as I said earlier, the Cuban people are peaceful people. Every
country has had a revolutionary path, and Cuba has as well. But it was
a right decision for Elian, who is now a young man, and to all accounts
is performing his duties as a responsible adult. But that was a very
tough incident in our political life, if you will, to see a child
snatched by officials of this government to take him home to Cuba.
Maybe that was, in fact, the first statement of an altered policy.
Let me close by saying why I believe the President's executive order
is legitimate in the context of his legal authority, and I am excited
about the beginning of the change in diplomatic relationships between
Cuba and the United States.
Mr. Speaker, would you not want to know who is 90 miles away from you
in this time of franchise terrorism? Wouldn't we want to know who our
allies are in the Caribbean, or who our allies are in fighting horrific
drug trafficking? Well, I think we can find that in the entity of the
Cuban government. We know that we have not seen a terrorist incident in
that particular country. That is why we need to normalize relations.
I am grateful for Mr. Gross' return, who was brought out by many
Members of Congress, including my colleagues here, including
Congresswoman Lee, and as well some of the other political prisoners
who have been released, including some in recent days.
And then lastly let me say, let us celebrate the Cuban people for the
magnificent export that they have: medicine, medical research, and
physicians. Everyone knows that in the Ebola fight, the largest
contingent, or one of the largest contingents of medical professionals,
doctors fighting against Ebola on the continent of Africa, is and has
been Cuban doctors alongside of the international workforce of medical
professionals, Good Samaritans who sacrifice their lives to fight this
deadly disease. But every single medical crisis in the world, you can
count on Cuban doctors being there, as well as in conflicts and wars,
such as over in the Mideast, Cuban doctors go to save lives.
I want to thank the gentlewoman for this Special Order. I look
forward to joining her in further codels to visit and to be part of the
continued normalization. I say this not out of disrespect of the
feelings of others who have experienced a crisis in their relationship
with Cuba, but only to say that now may be the time for peaceful
reconciliation, for families to be reconciled and for us to begin this
peaceful journey with the nation of Cuba. Let me thank you, thank
President Obama, and thank those who are very much a part of this.
Ms. LEE. Let me thank you, Congresswoman Jackson Lee, for being with
us here tonight and reminding us of much of the history that cannot be
forgotten as we move toward normal relations with Cuba.
Also with regard to Alan Gross. Yesterday, Alan and his wife, Judy,
they were with us, and we all were so thrilled to see Alan Gross, and
we are pleased that the President's action actually resulted in the
long overdue return of our friend Mr. Gross.
Every time that many of us went to Cuba we wanted to meet with Alan.
It was important to learn more about his case, but more importantly to
do what we could do to help with humanitarian relief and to encourage
and lift his spirits.
One of those individuals who has been so key in this is Congressman
Gregory Meeks from New York, who has consistently talked about the
importance of normalized relations with Cuba in the context of Latin
American policies, our policy role in the Western Hemisphere.

{time} 1615

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Barbara Lee for her
steadfastness, for her tenacity, for her consistency in trying to bring
a change in a policy that has been faulty, for it has been the policy
that we have been doing over and over and over again, we have had over
and over again and getting the same results: zero.
I want to thank Barbara for her hard work on this. I look forward to
continuing to work with her as the President has opened up the
opportunity for diplomatic relations with Cuba again, but we know that
we still have a lot of work to do, and I look forward to working side
by side with her until we have the kind of relationship and we have the
kind of movement in this Congress where we really end the embargo, so
that we can come together and make sure that change has happened within
our relationships.
I want to thank President Obama for his bold move, for indeed the
camera of history is rolling and has brought us to this historic point
which will take the United States of America and Cuba in a new and more
positive direction after over five decades of severed diplomatic
relations.
American policy towards Cuba since 1961 has left our Nation out of
sync with our neighbors in the Americas--for that matter, out of sync
with our friends and allies all over the world.
Our outdated policy, highlighted by our trade embargo, which has
lasted for over half a century, has not only been ineffective but has
blocked investment and trade opportunities for U.S. businessmen and
farmers, it has kept families apart, and has done virtually nothing to
change Cuba's policies.

[[Page H99]]

In fact, just 90 miles away, if we had these trade agreements, if we
were able to trade and bring markets and food to the shores of Cuba, it
would be the humanitarian thing to do because people are starving
simply because they don't have that opportunity on the island of Cuba.
Clearly, when you think about the world which is smaller now--and one
of the things that we should have learned by now is that unilateral
sanctions don't work; if anything, they have further isolated us from
the global community. We have got to work collectively with others, not
just doing something out on our own. It has not worked. It does not
work.
As mentioned, denying American citizens the freedom to travel to Cuba
to visit its many historic and cultural attractions, to meet its
people, has been a stain on our democracy. I think the gentlelady from
Florida talked about where we, as Members of Congress, have
opportunities to go when we have travel.
I can recall traveling, for example, not only to Havana, but Santiago
de Cuba, and feeling the rich heritage and culture and looking at the
people in Santiago who were poor, but I saw something when I looked in
their faces: they were poor, but they were not hopeless. They were not
destitute.
They welcomed us into their homes to see how they were living. They
had music playing, and they had hope for a better tomorrow and a better
relationship with the United States of America. In fact, they scratched
their heads, did not understand why they didn't have this better
relationship with the United States of America, so I say that so that
they want us to come. Others are going; we should permit our citizens
to do the same.
Now, the question is what is happening here in America. Well, a
December 17 through 21 ABC News and Washington Post poll of adults
nationwide showed that 64 percent of Americans supported establishing
diplomatic relations with Cuba, with 31 percent opposed; 68 percent
supported ending the trade embargo, while 74 percent supported ending
restrictions on travel to Cuba. Americans support the President's
actions to normalize relations with Cuba.
The United States International Trade Commission has concluded that
if U.S. restrictions on financing and travel to Cuba were lifted in
2008, U.S. agricultural exports to Cuba would have increased between
$216 million and $478 million, and the U.S. share of Cuba's
agricultural imports would have increased from 38 percent to 49 and 64
percent, which also would prevent some of the hunger that is taking
place in Cuba.
U.S. wheat, rice, soy, and meat producers have said that their
industries will benefit from normalized relations with Cuba, now that
trade financing restrictions are to be alleviated. President Obama's
plan to establish relations and facilitate trade and commerce is a
major market opportunity.
It is good for Cubans, but it is also good for Americans because when
you do that, you are also creating jobs for Americans right here in the
United States, so it is a win-win because we are all about creating
jobs in the United States. We are all about that commerce.
We are also all about making sure that trade facilitation helps us in
America, but it also can help people who have a great need on that
island called Cuba.
President Obama's actions to open the relationship and reestablish
diplomatic relations with Cuba will bring us closer, as Barbara Lee
indicated, to our allies in the region who have pursued more open
relationship with Cuba while we have not.
I serve on the Foreign Affairs Committee; I sit on the Western
Hemisphere Subcommittee. I have had the opportunity to have dialogue
and conversations with heads of states from throughout the hemisphere.
For example, one of our closest allies, Colombia, one of our
strongest partners, they are negotiating with the FARC on the island of
Cuba; and when I talk to many of their individuals, they said the one
thing that they think could help the entire hemisphere is for the
United States to change its relationship with Cuba.
Now, Colombia is one of our strongest, one of our most reliable
allies, but they, too, have engaged with Cuba and are asking and
looking and saying that our engagement with Cuba will change and help
the hemisphere.
Panama has invited President Castro to the Summit of the Americas,
and the rest of our hemisphere wants this change, and our antiquated
policy has been holding us back and hampering our ability to cooperate
with countries in the region on a wide range of issues.
Let me begin to conclude by saying this: the President's historic
announcement has been universally well received by the region, which is
heralding it as a major step forward in regional integration.
The Presidents of Brazil, Argentina, and--as I said--Colombia and
Mexico have praised President Obama's announcement. The announcement
has also been applauded by regional organizations, including the Union
of South American Nations and the Organization of American States.
I conclude by saying that I have visited Cuba many times. I have
worked tirelessly throughout my years in Congress to foster an improved
relationship between United States and Cuba, and I believe the
President's actions are good for both our countries and our hemisphere.
American businesses will benefit, U.S. citizens will be able to
travel to Cuba on a more regular basis and send remittances to their
relatives by reopening our Embassy in Havana. We will be a safer place,
and finally--finally--the world often looks to the United States to be
a leader militarily. We should be proud that the world can also look at
us as champions of diplomacy.
Through our President's new Cuba policy, we have shown our neighbors
in the Western Hemisphere--and indeed the rest of the world--that we
are committed to building new partnerships and that we will not be
beholden to antiquated policies and that we are optimistic about what
is possible through dialogue and diplomacy, and I thank the chairman.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from New York for
his very comprehensive statement and overview, but also for his
tremendous leadership and key policy initiatives on the Subcommittee on
the Western Hemisphere; and as a member of the Foreign Affairs
Committee, you are so critical in this overall movement for us, so
thank you again for being here tonight.
I want to yield to Congresswoman Jackson Lee who wants to say
something before I yield to Congressman Polis.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Having written a letter to join with other
colleagues for the release of Alan Gross, I want to make sure the
record said Alan Gross and not Alan Grossman. Best to his wife and him
at this time.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, how much time do we have remaining?
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Allen). 24 minutes.
Ms. LEE. I now yield to someone who has been very interested in and a
tremendous leader on this whole issue of trade and ending the embargo,
the gentleman from Colorado, Congressman Jared Polis. Thank you again.
Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Lee for her constant
leadership on this issue.
When I was born in 1975, the embargo with Cuba was already more than
a decade old. I never knew a time when Americans could go to Cuba or
legally import goods and products from Cuba.
Growing up, I remember the end of the cold war, when the Soviet Union
fell. The last real excuse for the treatment of Cuba was that they were
allied with the Soviet Union during the cold war.
Well, the Soviet Union fell, Soviet subsidies and support for Cuba
ended, and I really began to wonder why we continued this failed cold
war policy of an embargo--travel embargo and trade embargo against
Cuba. Presumably, it was designed to bring Fidel Castro's regime down.
Now, again, this policy predates my birth by 10 years. It actually
means that he is the longest-serving head of state in the entire world.
Obviously, it didn't work. It didn't work. Are we going to keep doing
the same thing? Maybe a different path would have worked, and that is
what the President has now proposed.
For more than 50 years, we have isolated our southern neighbor,
restricting trade, travel, commerce, as well as

[[Page H100]]

the flow of ideas, discussion, cultural exchange, the very things that
can lead to a change and more support for human rights within Cuba.
It really defies logic to expect that the status quo that has led to
Fidel Castro being the longest regime and head of state in the world
will somehow lead to the end of the very regime that it has actually
helped to preserve.
Unfortunately, the sanctions have hurt everyday Cubans without
mobilizing political change or expanding their freedoms. Our policy of
isolation was counterproductive, and it only prolonged the suffering
and lack of freedom of the Cuban people. Our present landscape is
particularly promising for restoring the U.S.-Cuba relationship.
Now, let me be clear. Just as there are many countries that we have
normal relations with that we continue to make sure we are outspoken
about any human rights violations, of course, if there are political
dissidents or others that are improperly jailed in Cuba, you will hear
Members of this body, including myself, speaking out, just as we do for
the oppression of Tibetans in China, while we continue to support
ongoing normalized relationships with China, just as we do in countries
where we want stronger labor laws or stronger anti-child labor laws,
yet continue to have a basic trade and travel relationship.
Cuba can do better. Frankly, Mr. Speaker, America can do better with
regard to human rights, and we discussed that in different contexts
about expanding civil liberties for all Americans; but, yes, Cuba
should do better.
Guess what? The way to help show and lead Cuba to the promised lands
of human rights and democracy is by engaging the Cuban people and by
engaging the regime and showing them the many benefits that dealing
with their neighbor to the north can bring.
Now, let us make sure we are not mistaken here; the President's
actions don't end the embargo. That requires congressional action, as
outlined in the Helms-Burton Act of 1996. What President Obama did is
he exercised his legal right to establish diplomatic relations and
expand travel, facilitate remittances, and promote commerce.
Congress does need to act. The President's step alone is a great step
in the right direction, but to fully normalize our relationship with
Cuba, Congress will need to act, and I continue to sponsor legislation
that will help that occur.
Of course, we should continue to call for transparency with regard to
Cuba's human rights record, to speak out for political dissidents, just
as we do in dozens and hundreds of countries that we have normal trade
and diplomatic relations with.
I was proud to sign a letter authored by our great leader, Barbara
Lee, on this issue, encouraging President Obama to use the 2015 summit
as a platform for stimulating this type of productive, regional
dialogue.
Now, decades of adversity between the United States and Cuba cannot
be wiped away with a stroke of the pen. It will take time.

{time} 1630

But together we can build bonds of trust between the Cuban people and
ourselves, and we can overcome the decades of mistrust and propaganda
on both sides to lead to the betterment of the relationship between the
Cuban people and the American people and the greater prosperity to both
peoples through trade and commerce.
I strongly support continuing to move forward to engage with Cuba and
will continue to support the President's actions and similar
legislative action here.
Welcome to our new Cuban friends--bienvenidos a nuestros amigos
nuevos Cubanos.
Ms. LEE. Thank you--muchas gracias. I thank the gentleman from
Colorado for that very succinct and clear statement and for your
continuing leadership for a policy that really is in the United States'
best interest. So thank you again.
I now yield to my friend from California, Congressman Sam Farr, who
has really forged a path toward where we are today for many, many years
with the administration as it relates to establishing diplomatic
relations, someone who has visited Cuba, who has the respect of the
Cuban people, but also the respect of our own administration, and
someone who continues to plug away each and every day for normal
relations with Cuba and ending the embargo.
Mr. FARR. Thank you very much, my dear colleague from California and
our distinguished Member of Congress, Barbara Lee. And I can't think of
any other Member who has made more trips and taken more people and
influenced this change of policy in the United States Congress than
Barbara Lee.
I have had the pleasure of traveling to Cuba on six different mission
trips and each one of them has been very interesting, one with my
constituents in Santa Cruz, California, who have a sister city
relationship with an area called Guama, and it looks much like the
California coastline, and a very interesting area of trying to help
rural people with a better connection by learning about their rural
delivery of medicine, which far exceeds the way we treat rural people
in this country, and learning from them how we might be doing a better
job, at the same time improving the facilities they have, and things
like that, just a cultural exchange.
I find that every time I am there, whether it is Havana or other
parts of Cuba, that there is always kind of a curiosity of learning
about another country, a very well-educated country, a sophisticated
country, yet a very, very poor country.
I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Latin America, in Colombia. I lived
in barrios without water and without lights. People in Cuba might have
access to water and lights, but the living conditions that they live in
are really restricted, and some of the conditions in Havana are the
greatest poverty I have seen in the world.
So this will change when you get people that are well-educated and
get an economy growing. I think that the action of President Obama is
absolutely awesome. It is real diplomatic leadership. It is the ability
to change the United States' isolated, backward, close-the-door policy
to opening it up with all the other Presidents of this hemisphere.
As we prepare to go to Panama in the spring, President Obama now will
be joining every President of this hemisphere, 36 different countries
in the Western Hemisphere, all of whom have diplomatic relationships,
travel relationships, normal relationships with Cuba, except the United
States of America, and he is going to be applauded for his leadership
in joining the hemispheric unity.
When you think about the opportunities of this hemisphere, we can get
along in this hemisphere in three languages: Spanish, English, and
Portuguese, a little bit of French. We are not at war with anybody.
This is a magnificent hemisphere to unify, and to be isolated from that
unification by having this archaic policy towards Cuba is just wrong.
So, Mr. President, you are a hero, and I look forward to you being
welcomed as a hero at the hemispheric summit this spring.
I would also like to say, I am ranking member on the Agriculture
Subcommittee of Appropriations, and this is an opportunity for 11
million people living in Cuba and hungry, and really hungry. Cuba has
to import almost everything. They have trade importations from the
United States, so buying agriculture products isn't new. What is going
to be new is the ability to trade in normal functions, in using the
financial instruments that all trade negotiants have.
It is very difficult to export to Cuba because of the requirements
that we make in the United States. We are not allowed, as Americans, to
use credit cards or to get credit. All the other countries can. So what
happens is these other countries are taking away market share where we
could be in there with our products.
I am very proud, in agriculture, to see the leadership of our States,
our agricultural States, the Governors--bipartisan. This is not
Democratic. This is a bipartisan, sort of the American outreach, and we
have formed a coalition of agricultural groups to work on, really,
opening up the trade.
I am very proud to say that the International Dairy--I am going to
read off this list. The International Dairy Foods Association, National
Association of State Departments of Agriculture, National Association
of

[[Page H101]]

Wheat Growers, National Barley Growers, National Chicken Council,
National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, National Milk Producers
Federation, National Turkey Federation, North American Meat Institute,
the U.S. Dairy Export Council, the U.S. Wheat Associates, the USA Rice
Federation, et cetera, et cetera, are all interested in helping promote
our relationship with Cuba.
So congratulations, President Obama. You are a true leader in this
hemisphere.
Thank you, Barbara Lee, for setting aside this time for us to discuss
it.
I want to personally thank Barbara Lee for inviting Alan Gross to be
here yesterday when we were sworn in. I was fortunate to be able to
meet with Alan Gross when he was incarcerated in Cuba. I brought him
salami from the Eastern Market here and he just loved that. So last
night he gave me a bracelet that he made when he was incarcerated. It
is so nice to see him back in the United States in the Halls of the
United States Congress.
America is changing, and this is a big step.
Thank you.
Ms. LEE. Let me thank you, Congressman Farr, for that really very
positive, upbeat statement, also for your leadership on so many issues.
I just want to remind this body that Cuba still finds itself on the
list of state-sponsored terror countries, and Congressman Farr along
with other Members have really led in trying to get our administration
to really understand, as William Cohen issued a white paper in 1998
saying that there is no conventional threat by the Cuban military--that
has decreased; there is none--and this should be lifted very quickly.
So thank you, Congressman Farr.
I now yield to Congressman Cohen from Tennessee, who understands very
clearly the importance of lifting the embargo not only for our foreign
policy goals, but also in terms of his constituents and in terms of the
benefits to American businesses and the efforts in our job creation and
economic revitalization efforts.

Thank you again for being here with us.
Mr. COHEN. You are very welcome, Representative Lee, and I thank you
for bringing this Special Order. You have indeed, as people have said,
been the leader on this issue for many years, and I appreciate that and
so many other issues you have been a leader on, but this in particular.
Also, Mr. Rangel has been an important leader on this issue, as have
Mr. Meeks and others.
I had written the President and talked to Valerie Jarrett about what
I considered the three Cs that he could engage in with executive
authority, one of which was Cuba, and I commend him for taking this
leadership role; the second of which was commutations, which he has not
done nearly enough to commute unjust sentences here in this country;
and the third is cannabis, which should be rescheduled to a schedule
III drug so we could do research on medical marijuana and Charlotte's
Web, that can help children with epilepsy who otherwise are either
dying are not being treated.
But I commend the President for his actions toward Cuba. This is a
policy that many have mentioned has been a failed policy for over 50
years. We do have engagements and diplomatic relations with China,
where the Maoists are getting more and more power, with Vietnam and
with Russia. Why should we not have relations with Cuba? There was no
reason. The only reason was Florida and electoral votes. So I commend
the President for rising above politics and doing the right thing for
human beings and for Americans.
As Representative Castor said, so many Americans want to travel to
Cuba; and for many years I thought it was absurd that I couldn't travel
to Cuba, because I wanted to and I couldn't because my country was
stopping me from doing it.
People were going through Canada or going through Mexico and other
countries and getting in and subverting the law, but that wasn't right.
If you were going to follow the laws of your country, you couldn't go
and you didn't go. It was wrong.
I did the have the opportunity to visit Cuba as a Member, and I found
the Cuban people very, very, very friendly. As I was walking around
Havana, I thought: This is so strange. I am supposed to think that
these people aren't going to like me, that this is our enemy. They are
on the terrorist list. I should be concerned.
But I felt as safe as I was anyplace in the United States or anyplace
in the world, and people were very friendly and very nice. It was no
different than being anywhere else in the hemisphere.
I really like the old cars, the old fifties cars that are all over
Havana, and they are kind of part of the culture now. While I like them
because I remember as a child those cars and my parents having them and
seeing them and thinking fondly upon them, I also thought about
AutoZone in my district and all the parts they could be selling in
Havana to make those cars work more efficiently and maybe have less
impact on the environment.
I also thought about Federal Express and how many packages that might
be shipped in and out of Cuba by America's number one and the world's
number one carrier of products. I thought about the hotel industry that
is located in my community--we used to have Holiday Inn; we have still
got Hilton--and the hotels that could be built there. Other countries--
mostly, I think, Spain and Sweden and Canada and even Israel--had
hotels and restaurants and businesses, but not America. So it made no
sense.
I remember Katrina and the great tragedy just south of Memphis in New
Orleans and when Cuba offered medical aid, doctors and medical aid, and
we turned it down. How foolish of us to turn down an offer of
humanitarian aid, but we did. And they offered aid after 9/11 as well.
Now, my appreciation for Cuba goes back to my childhood. In 1955, I
was befriended by a baseball player whose name was Minnie Minoso. His
real name was Aurelio Saturnino Armas Minoso, the Cuban Comet, number 9
with the White Sox, with the Indians, a little bit later with the
Cardinals and the Washington Senators. Minnie befriended me and gave me
a baseball when I was just 5 years of age. It was in the segregated
Memphis, Tennessee, so the player who gave me the baseball originally
was a White player named Tom Poholsky. I guess I didn't have to say he
was White when his name was Tom Poholsky, but he was.
I went to thank him. I had crutches at the time. I had just gotten
out of the hospital some months earlier from polio and had a White Sox
T-shirt and cap--it was an exhibition game--and thanked him. He said:
You don't need to thank me. You should thank number 9 over there, the
darkest player on the field.
And so Minoso came over and we thanked him.
What it was is he was kind of inhibited from the segregation laws in
the South of being the nicest guy on the baseball field and coming up
and giving me a ball. He became my buddy. I have known Minnie Minoso
ever since. He is my nom de plume on some email sites and some phone
books and some other things where I need kind of an alias, and he has
been my friend and we have visited back and forth.
He was a Cuban player who was beloved in Chicago, and I think is the
most beloved player in Chicago today. A lot of Cuban players have gone
to play in Chicago, and they play great baseball. We could have a great
baseball relationship with Cuba, a great tourism relationship, a great
cultural relationship and medical care.
In traveling to Latin America as a Congressman, I have been told the
biggest impediment to our relations with Latin American countries is
our treatment of Cuba. The President, by starting to formalize
relations with Cuba, has helped America in Latin America, which is our
number one--South America, Central America--our number one trading
partner. It makes a lot of sense economically as well as humanely.
I look forward to the time when all Americans can visit Cuba, the
great culture, and exchange good wishes. They are our friends.
Thank you, Representative Lee, for having this session on this
program which shows President Obama's leadership.
Ms. LEE. I want to thank the gentleman from Tennessee for being with
us this evening and really laying out many of the benefits to your
constituents, to America, as they relate to ending the embargo against
Cuba, but also

[[Page H102]]

just for being here and kind of sharing your stories, because I think
it is very important that we hear the stories of Americans who have had
relationships with Cuban people who really don't and can't figure out
why everyone can't have these normal relations with the people of Cuba
as we do with people around the world. So thank you again very much.
I now yield to the gentlewoman from Connecticut, Congresswoman
DeLauro, who has visited Cuba several times, who really has been very
focused on the business aspects, the agricultural benefits to our own
country and to Cuba as they relate to ending the embargo, also on
women's issues and so many issues that really require us to normalize
relations with Cuba. She has been in this fight a long time and still
continues each and every day to move us forward.
I really thank you again for your leadership, for being here and for
being with some of us when we have been in Cuba and really raising
these issues to a level that really, I think the Cuban people
understand that Americans are spirited and they really want to be there
and to help move Cuba forward as well as our own country forward. So
thank you again.

{time} 1645

Ms. DeLAURO. I want to thank the gentlewoman, first and foremost, for
her leadership. This is not an issue for the faint of heart or for
people who want to say, ``Oh, my gosh. If we don't see success
immediately, then we will wash our hands and go off and do some other
thing.'' This has required tenacity and courage and passion and deep
concern. We are grateful to you for your leadership in this area, and
it has been a pleasure for me to work with you.
Mr. Speaker, like my colleagues, we are no fans of the Castro regime.
This is not about the regime. It is about the Cuban people and what we
can do to help our near neighbors realize their aspirations for freedom
and prosperity. Judged against that worthy goal, our policy for the
last 54 years has been a dismal failure. It has not helped ordinary
Cubans one bit. In fact, the sanctions have harmed them and us by
holding back Cuba's democratic and economic development.
Back in 2007, I had the opportunity to chair the Agriculture
Appropriations Subcommittee. At that time, I led a bipartisan group of
Members on a trip to Cuba. On that trip, it was so interesting to me
that one of the things that one or two of my colleagues--and, again, in
a bipartisan way--wanted to do was to go to the port and see the
offloading of rice. The fact of the matter is that, instead of getting
their rice from the United States, which Cuba could do, they are
getting their rice from Malaysia. Imagine if we could make an economic
difference for our rice farmers, for our agricultural community, and
because of a policy that has been so shortsighted, we are putting our
own economic interests aside.
I had the honor of taking part in another delegation to the island
last year, led by our colleague Barbara Lee. What we saw on the visit
was an immense and an untapped potential. It was at that time as well
that I accompanied Congresswoman Lee to visit with Alan Gross and to
understand his plight. He was arrested and put in prison for 15 years,
having served 5 years. What destruction it was doing to him physically
and mentally, and unnecessarily so. We were so excited yesterday, when
we were sworn in as newly elected or just elected Members of Congress,
that Alan Gross and his wife, Judy, were in the audience to see it--
back home, here, in the United States, with family, and enjoying all of
the freedom that he deserves. Again, the immense benefits, the untapped
potential.
We also saw and met--and my colleague Barbara Lee will bear this
out--with entrepreneurs. There are many young women who have opened
stores; they have opened restaurants; they have opened other small
businesses. We spoke with people who are finding innovative ways to
improve their lives and the lives of their families; yet, because of a
lack of a financial infrastructure or the ability of U.S. banks to
participate in Cuba, they are held to a modicum of what they can do.
There is palpable hunger for change in Cuba. We need to do our best
to support it. Opening the economy will help to unleash the
entrepreneurial spirit of the Cuban people. We have engaged with the
Soviet Union and Communist China, both of which pose potentially severe
threats to our country. Cuba poses no such threat.
I applaud the President for his historic first step to normalize
relations between the United States and Cuba. We must stop persevering
in a senseless cold war policy. This Congress must act to end this
embargo.
I thank the gentlewoman for the time.
Mr. Speaker, like my colleagues, I am no fan of the Castro regime.
But this is not about the regime. It is about the Cuban people, and
what we can do to help our near neighbors realize their aspirations for
freedom and prosperity.
Judged against that worthy goal, our policy of the last fifty-four
years has been a dismal failure. It has not helped ordinary Cubans one
bit. In fact, the sanctions have harmed them--and us--by holding back
Cuba's democratic and economic development.
Back in 2007, when I chaired the Agriculture appropriations
subcommittee, I led a bipartisan group of members on a trip to Cuba.
This year, I took part in another delegation to the island. What we saw
on both visits was immense untapped potential.
I met entrepreneurs who have opened stores, restaurants, and other
small businesses. I spoke with people finding innovative ways to
improve their lives and the lives of their families.
There is a palpable hunger for change in Cuba. We should do our best
to support it. Opening the economy will help unleash the
entrepreneurial spirit of the Cuban people.
We engaged with the Soviet Union and Communist China, both of which
posed potentially severe threats to our country. Cuba poses no such
threat. Stonewalling the Cuban government only backs up the regime's
claim that the United States is the enemy. By contrast, engaging
diplomatically gives us the openings we need to address important
issues like democracy and human rights, as we have done with China and
many other countries.
So I applaud the President for his historic first step to normalize
relations between the United States and Cuba. This new direction will
benefit both nations. The President has done a great deal, within the
confines of his available powers, to reestablish diplomatic relations,
increase commerce, and advance shared humanitarian interests.
There is more he can do: for example, he should do away with a Bush
Administration policy that drains Cuban talent by encouraging doctors
to defect.
But lifting the embargo itself will require Congress to act. I have
been arguing for an end to sanctions for many years. The Cuban people
have suffered needlessly for too long. We ought to free them to join
the international community and participate in the global economy. For
our own businesses, lifting the embargo would ensure access to new
markets just 90 miles from our shores.
I am in favor of re-establishing formal diplomatic relations with
Cuba. But our best ambassadors would be the American people themselves.
Every American should have the right to travel freely to Cuba. The
resulting flood of contact would give Cubans access to America's most
valuable export: our nation's ideals and values. That is the surest
path to freedom for the Cuban people.
We must stop persevering this senseless Cold War policy. Congress
must act to end this embargo.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

____________________