[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 27, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H3917-H3918]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                CALLING FOR FREEDOM AND LIBERTY IN CUBA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from West 
Virginia (Mr. Mooney) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MOONEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to address the topic of the recent 
protests in Cuba, where individuals there are simply asking for freedom 
and liberty.
  My mother is one of 14 children. Her maiden name is Suarez, Eulalia 
Maria Suarez. She came from Cuba at 20 years old in 1961. My mother and 
my father raised me to defend freedom, freedom of speech. My father 
fought in Vietnam against the communist advance there.
  What we in America sometimes don't realize is, many other countries, 
especially communist countries that are tyrannical like Cuba, do not 
enjoy the basic human rights that we enjoy in this country and many 
other people in the world enjoy.
  Those rights, such as free speech and uncensored internet access, 
they don't have that in Cuba. Freedom of the press, freedom to protest, 
freedom to criticize your government, the right to vote in an actual 
election with more than one candidate who doesn't get 100 percent of 
the vote, they don't have those rights in Cuba.
  What they have is a tyrannical, evil regime that oppresses their 
people every day. They arrest demonstrators. We saw brave men and women 
in Cuba for the first time since 1994, almost 30 years, thousands of 
brave men and women, people in Cuba, protesting against their 
government, asking for freedoms, asking for basic rights like the ones 
I just mentioned that they don't have.
  What did they do? They all got arrested. They put them in jail. They 
say it is for a year. When that year goes by, when the regime in Cuba 
hopes nobody else is looking, they are going to make it 5 years. And 
they abuse them in jail. That is what happens to protesters in these 
types of countries.
  Now, look, I want to say that I actually agree with Joe Biden on 
this, on what he said. Joe Biden said, on July 12, this year, and I am 
going to quote him: ``We stand with the Cuban people and their clarion 
call for freedom and relief from the tragic grip of the pandemic and 
from the decades of repression and economic suffering to which they 
have been subjected by Cuba's authoritarian regime. The Cuban people 
are bravely asserting fundamental and universal rights.''
  President Biden continues: ``Those rights, including the right of 
peaceful protest and the right to freely determine their own future, 
must be respected. The United States calls on the Cuban regime to hear 
their people and serve their needs at this vital moment rather than 
enriching themselves.''

[[Page H3918]]

  


                              {time}  1100

  Look, President Biden and, unfortunately not all, but many, Democrats 
and Republicans agree on this issue, but we need aggressive solutions 
to the issue.
  If the United States of America does not lead, no one else will. They 
are looking to us for leadership. They are looking to President Biden 
for leadership. They are looking to Congress for leadership. We need 
every freedom-loving country to condemn this evil, tyrannical regime 
and their constant abuses of their people.
  America and other countries should not do business with this 
Communist regime. As Biden himself said, they will only ``enrich 
themselves,'' and that is what they do. Instead, we should use every 
pressure point we can to defend freedom and the basic rights for the 
Cuban people.
  This is a heartfelt issue for many. We enjoy these freedoms, and 
sometimes we forget how tough it is and how much support people need in 
struggling countries like Cuba. Right now is the time to show strong 
support for the people of Cuba and for their basic human rights.

                          ____________________