[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 148]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     STANDING AGAINST CASTRO REGIME

  (Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, President Obama's statement that he 
will reestablish diplomatic relations with the communist regime in Cuba 
takes away leverage that could have been used once that island nation 
one day begins to move towards democracy and freedom. But the Castro 
brothers have taken no such steps, nor will they. Raul Castro already 
stated that he will not change anything about his regime. That was 
Castro's official response to President Obama's unilateral concessions.
  The U.S. has given away the store, and it has not helped the Cuban 
opposition at all.
  Is there freedom of expression in Cuba now? No.
  Are there political parties in Cuba? No, just one party, the 
Communist Party.
  Is there freedom of assembly, freedom of the press, respect for human 
rights? No, no, and no.
  Will President Obama's sellout help bring about such freedoms? No. 
Quite the opposite, Mr. Speaker. It will provide an economic lifeline 
to the decrepit regime.
  The President has stated that he has asked for an official U.S. 
Embassy and a U.S. Ambassador to Cuba. This would lend legitimacy to a 
dictatorship that continues to pose a threat to U.S. national security.
  Let's work to stop this reckless and unwarranted action. Let's stand 
with the Cuban opposition and not with the Castro regime.

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