[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 1]
[House]
[Pages 188-196]
[From the U.S. 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

[[Page 189]]

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.
  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,

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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 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

[[Page 191]]

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.
  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

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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 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.

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  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 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

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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 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

[[Page 195]]

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.
  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I wish to begin by saluting Congresswoman 
Barbara Lee for hosting this Special Order, as well as her three 
decades of advocating for the normalization of relations between the 
U.S. and Cuba; and to Congressman Sam Farr for devoting years of 
service to this issue, and working with so many individuals and 
organizations to bring down the walls of division between the two 
countries.
  On December 17, 2014, President Obama announced a major prisoner 
exchange with the Cuban government. Alan Gross, a USAID contractor who 
had been held captive for five years was finally reunited with his 
family, as were three Cuban intelligence agents who had been imprisoned 
in the U.S. since 1998. Rolando Sarraff Trujillo, a cryptographer in 
Cuba's Directorate of Intelligence who reportedly provided information 
to the FBI, was also freed in the prisoner exchange.
  This announcement was highly significant and it is historic as well.
  In a televised address that followed the exchange, the President 
announced a major shift in U.S. policy toward Cuba: the reestablishment 
of diplomatic relations that were severed in 1961, thus drawing a 
curtain on many of the provisions of the longest standing embargo in 
U.S. history. The President stated that while the embargo was rooted in 
the ``best intentions,'' it ultimately failed in its goal to incite 
change in the communist government and has only served to isolate and 
hurt the Cuban people.
  I continue to harbor deep concerns about the reported human rights 
abuses in Cuba and limitations of speech and political expression, but 
it is clear that our current policy has failed to end these practices.
  So just how will these policy changes positively affect the Cuban 
people and the United States?
  Remittances from the U.S. are a vital resource to millions of Cubans 
and to humanitarian projects in Cuba. Between $1.4 and $2 billion in 
remittances are transferred from the U.S. to Cuba each year, often from 
Cubans who immigrated to the U.S. to seek new opportunity. Cubans rely 
on this money to pay for food, monthly electricity bills, or for the 
daily expenses of life. And humanitarian projects receiving this aid 
provide food, clean water, essential infrastructure and education to 
Cubans. When the average monthly salary in Cuba is a mere $20, the 
significance of this transfer of money comes into full view. Limits on 
remittances have stifled real progress, and raising these limits from 
$500 to $2,000 per quarter will usher in a new wave of much needed aid 
to counter the Cuban government's infliction of serious harm to the 
well-being of its people.
  Despite harsh government regulations, Cuba does have a nascent 
burgeoning private sector economy. I saw this firsthand last year when 
I visited Cuba as part of a Congressional delegation. During the trip, 
I participated in a roundtable with a number of Cuban female 
entrepreneurs to hear their concerns and discuss what can be done to 
support their efforts to create new business. I believe this shift in 
U.S.-Cuba relations will act as a healthy seed for entrepreneurial 
growth in Cuba. From authorizing expanded commercial

[[Page 196]]

sales and exports, to facilitating an expansion of travel to Cuba from 
the U.S., we will do more to empower the Cuban people than we have in 
the over 50-year embargo.
  Today, Cuba imports approximately 80 percent of its food, a stunning 
statistic. American agriculture has long supported an opening of 
relations and now Cuba's economy will be bolstered and this in turn 
will bring enormous value to American farmers.
  Even more empowering is an emboldening tool of democratization, the 
Internet. As we've seen in countless other countries around the world, 
the Internet is an individual's megaphone. It is the place for 
discourse. For collaboration. For free speech. For democracy! By 
extending telecommunications and technology services to Cuba, the Cuban 
people will have access to a tremendous exchange of knowledge and ideas 
with unparalleled power to inspire change.
  These efforts by the U.S. are not exhaustive. Only our vigilance and 
continued assessment of our relations with Cuba will provoke lasting 
change for Cubans. But it is also imperative for Latin American 
countries to reinvigorate their ties with Cuba's civil and political 
leaders. Democratic Latin American countries, such as Mexico and 
Brazil, can send a strong signal of support to the Cuban Democratic 
movement by reinvigorating their relations with Cuba, just as the U.S. 
is doing.
  I have supported a change in U.S.-Cuba policy since I was elected to 
Congress in 1992, and I welcome and celebrate the decision of the 
President to make this a reality. It's very exciting to look forward to 
heralding a new era of opportunity and democratic values for Cuba, a 
pragmatic partnership with the U.S., support from other Latin American 
countries, and the abandonment of oppression of the Cuban people by the 
U.S. embargo, as well as the Cuban government itself.

                          ____________________