[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 119 (Tuesday, July 21, 2026)]
[House]
[Pages H4692-H4693]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       CUBAN BLOCKADE IS INHUMANE

  (Mr. Pocan of Wisconsin was recognized to address the House for 5 
minutes.)
  Mr. POCAN. Mr. Speaker, I just got back from a fact-finding trip to 
Cuba a week ago after having visited the country 30 years ago and 3\1/
2\ years ago, as well. Let me tell you what I found on this trip.
  The United States' blockade of Cuba is crushing the Cuban people. We 
are hurting the very people who we profess to care about, and we are 
not doing so for national security reasons but for political reasons.
  Here is what I saw. Our blockade is inhumane. Food, medicine, fuel 
for energy, literally everything you need to live and thrive, is 
blocked by us. It is not just us. We forced the world into an 
involuntary global blockade, as well, as we will punish anyone who does 
business with these sanctions.
  Our boot is on the throats of the Cuban people after over 65 years of 
blockading their government. The definition of insanity is doing the 
same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Our 
punishing of the people of Cuba has not brought the regime change that 
some politicians want, but we are pushing our boot harder onto the 
necks of the people. Insanity.
  Mr. Speaker, we had a period of time of lifting the restrictions 
under Barack Obama. Guess what. Americans visited Cuba. The people of 
the country thrived and loved our country, and America was no less 
safe.
  All of that got taken away by Donald Trump. In fact, we didn't just 
go back to the same old repression. Instead, we went to new levels of 
sadism against the Cuban people. Ships can't bring supplies due to our 
blockade. Goods can't be exchanged with the Cuban people because of our 
blockade. Medicine--even in war, we allow medicine through. Medicine 
and medical parts can't get to the Cuban people due to our blockade.
  Cuba is a nation that trains doctors who serve around the world, 
especially in Central and South America. Yet, in Cuban hospitals, MRI 
and CAT scan machines sit idly because they can't get the parts they 
need to fix them. I have seen it with my own eyes.
  The infant mortality rate has doubled due to the tightening of the 
blockade. Nearly 14,000 kids and 100,000 adults are waiting for 
surgeries.
  When the power goes out, which it does quite often due to our oil 
ban, surgeons finish surgeries with the light from their cell phones 
because of our blockade.
  In fact, while I was there, the power went out across the country for 
the second time that week: 42 hours down, then 1\1/2\ hours of power, 
and then a shutdown again. Garbage is lining the streets because 
garbage trucks can't pick up trash, causing additional health hazards.
  We say that we want to transform the country with a more robust 
private sector, yet we make it harder for small businesses to open and 
thrive. I have talked to small business owners there, one who went from 
400 employees to 12 due to our blockade. The government in Cuba 
announced 176 reforms for helping private businesses, but our 
government refuses to acknowledge a single one. Bluntly, the U.S. 
Government is lying to the American people about Cuba.
  I met with some ambassadors from other countries, and one thing 
really stuck. One said that it was like a silent Gaza. No, there aren't 
bombs destroying buildings and neighborhoods, but there is a 
destruction of the power system. There is a devastation to their 
healthcare system. There is an attack on their ability to educate their 
children.
  The people of Cuba are hurting economically more than ever, all due 
to the U.S. sanctions and blockade, not because of the Cuban 
Government.
  Mr. Speaker, their governing system certainly isn't ours. We disagree 
with some of their actions, for sure. Unfortunately, Secretary of State 
Marco Rubio is making this personal and political rather than about the 
best interests of the United States.
  The State Department just published a ridiculous report about the 
threat to America from Cuba. It may be the stupidest, most fantastical, 
most biased thing I have ever read from a government agency. Enough.
  The people of America are tired of war and regime change. We want 
things in our country addressed, like being able to make a good wage 
and have groceries, healthcare, and gas be more affordable. Yet, 
starting another conflict while in a quagmire in Iran is the last thing 
we need.
  We don't want another Gaza in Cuba. We need to end the blockade.

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