[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 15]
[House]
[Pages 21404-21405]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              LAUNCH OF THE BIPARTISAN CUBA WORKING GROUP

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 6, 2015, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) is 
recognized for the remainder of the hour as the designee of the 
minority leader.
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding and, 
really, thank the Progressive Caucus for allowing me to use the 
remainder of this time. Thank you for your very steady and clear and 
very powerful leadership.
  Let me say, Mr. Speaker, that today, myself and Congressman Farr, we 
rise to mark 1 year since President Obama's historic announcement that 
started the process of normalizing relations with Cuba. On December 17, 
2014, the President took a very bold step to end more than five decades 
of failed policy and, instead, chart a new path for relations between 
the United States and our Cuban neighbors.
  For more than half of a century, the United States pursued a 
shortsighted isolationist policy born of Cold War tensions. This policy 
was wrongheaded and ineffective. It alienated us from our allies and 
estranged us from one of our nearest neighbors.
  Yet, through the President's persistence and very bold leadership, we 
are finally making some headway in reversing this, and Congress is 
finally beginning to catch up. Yesterday, I was proud to join nine of 
my colleagues, both Democrats and Republicans, in announcing the launch 
of a bipartisan Cuba Working Group that will promote a commonsense 
United States-Cuba policy that reflects the interests of the American 
people engaged with Cuba.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to my friend and colleague from Monterey, 
California (Mr. Farr), who has been such a leader on so many issues, 
but especially on ending the embargo and normalizing relations with 
Cuba. He understands that this is good for trade, that this is good for 
jobs in America, that this is good, basically, for our foreign policy, 
and it is in our national security interest that we normalize relations 
with Cuba.
  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman and congratulate her 
on probably being the Member of Congress who has been to Cuba more 
times than anyone else, has done more to lift the nuances of the 
embargo, and to, essentially, start the end of the cold war that we 
faced in Cuba.
  For Cubans today, I would like to say Feliz Cumpleanos. For the 
Americans, I would like to also say Happy Birthday. And I would like to 
include that as a Happy Birthday to my wife, Shary Farr, whose birthday 
is today, because her biggest wish has been that she could go to Cuba 
before she dies. And guess what? Now she can go. This is a great 
birthday present to her that she will be able to visit Cuba, after 55 
years of failed foreign policy where our government prohibited American 
citizens from traveling to Cuba.

                              {time}  1600

  So with this lift, I would also like to thank President Obama, and I 
would like to thank President Raul Castro. I think what you saw were 
two nation leaders getting together and doing what nation leaders 
should do: figure out how to get along rather than how to fight.
  What we have done in Congress has not progressed, not helped.
  I would like to have, Barbara, your comments on this, too, because we 
imposed legislatively in law these embargoes that say: Americans, you 
can't travel; Americans, you can't trade; Americans, you can't use your 
dollars; Americans, you can't use your credit cards; Banks, you can't 
do it; Farmers, you can't sell.
  We have created all these barriers, and the Presidents of each 
country don't--at least the President of our country doesn't have the 
ability to just use his administrative authorities as he has in being 
able to do some wonderful things. Fifty-five years of frozen policy has 
changed. You can't do it all and change everything in 12 months.
  We have been able to open up embassies for the first time. It was 
delightful to be in Washington, D.C., last night at

[[Page 21405]]

this celebratory time of the year, holiday season, and have the Cuban 
Embassy invite all the Members of Congress, staff, and people over to 
their Embassy for a holiday party and bring one of the best Cuban music 
groups--exciting, beautiful music--to celebrate all this. We couldn't 
have done that a year ago. We couldn't have done it a year ago today. 
But today is the day that will go down in Cuban history as the day that 
they remember the U.S. beginning to break the cold war relationships.
  We have sent Secretary Kerry. And did you know that Secretary Kerry's 
visit to Cuba was the first Secretary of State visit to Cuba in over 70 
years? We have begun bilateral discussions. We have created a bilateral 
steering commission, and Secretary Kerry was instrumental in getting 
both countries to sit down and discuss the differences in economic 
policy, in social policy, and in cultural issues. They have already 
done some work on joint environmental issues.
  Cuba is so close to American soil that the environmental policies in 
our country affect them and vice versa. It would be great to have them 
develop some really good ocean standards and marine standards as we are 
trying to do along the Florida coast.
  They have already done some work with law enforcement, of integrating 
information and trading, particularly on narcotics trafficking and 
things like that, and opened up mail service from the United States.
  They have lifted what they could on the travel ban. Americans are 
allowed to go. Today I am real excited to learn that both countries 
have agreed to begin commercial air service, scheduled air service. You 
have had to go on charter flights. I believe your city of Oakland, 
California, is one of those cities that is designated as a scheduled 
airline airport so people can fly directly from Oakland, California, to 
Havana to visit.
  We have opened up a claims process, and we need to do more 
particularly in Cuba on human rights processes. On global health, Cuba 
and the United States got together jointly to help the Haitians with 
the critical needs that Haiti has in their delivery of medicine and 
care to that really poor country so devastated by the earthquake.
  Mr. Speaker, what I am very excited about, frankly, is that Cuba has 
hosted probably one of the most important discussions going on in the 
world, and that is how to end the longest revolutionary war, the best 
financed revolutionary war in the history of the world, which is the 
FARC, supported by all the drugs in Colombia; and the Colombian 
Government and the FARC rebels have been sitting down in Cuba and 
working out a very complicated ``how do we end a war,'' ``how do we get 
you back into civil society,'' ``how do we stop the violence.''
  With that, and with the recognition of Cuba, it is the first time 
that an entire hemisphere, the higher hemisphere in this world, has 
been in diplomatic relations and peaceful relations with no country 
fighting another country within the hemisphere. What a great model for 
the rest of the world, and what a great model to show those countries 
in conflict, internal conflict, that if FARC and Colombian Government 
can sit down and work out a peaceful resolution, then any country can 
do that.
  So I want to thank you and celebrate today. December 17 will be a day 
I will not only remember as my wife's birthday. We will remember it as 
the day that the Cubans and the Americans started breaking the cold 
war, the frozen foreign policy.
  Barbara Lee, you had a lot to do with it.
  Ms. LEE. Thank you, Congressman Farr. Let me thank you for laying out 
much of the history and the rationale for what seems so simple, to 
normalize relations between our country and Cuba.
  And December 17 marks another milestone, and that is the release of 
our good friend, Alan Gross. He and Judy Gross, of course, are very 
excited about the forward agenda that we have here in Congress to lift 
the embargo and to lift the travel ban. Also, it is a day that we just 
want to say to Alan that a year later we are really pleased that he is 
home with his family. We salute Alan Gross, the people of Cuba, and our 
own government for making sure that this happened on December 17 of 
last year.
  Mr. FARR. Yes. You were so instrumental. Think about it. A year ago, 
Alan Gross was on a plane coming back after spending 5 years--longer--
in a Cuban prison. You and I had the chance to visit him there. As we 
knew, his state was frail, and if he hadn't gotten out, I really 
worried about him.
  I saw him the other day here on the Hill, and he looked just 
fantastic. His spirit is back, and what a great spokesman for America 
and for foreign policy that countries can resolve differences.
  Ms. LEE. Absolutely. Thank you, Congressman Farr.
  I now yield to Congresswoman Karen Bass, who has been a great leader 
for many, many years. In the day, I think Congresswoman Bass was really 
very clear on why we needed normal relations and should have normal 
relations between their country and the United States. It is in our own 
national interests to do that. She certainly knows that and has been 
before a lot of people very involved in ending the embargo.
  Ms. BASS. Thank you very much, Congresswoman Lee.
  I want to applaud your leadership and the leadership of Congressman 
Farr. We will miss him, as this is his last session in Congress.
  For years, you have worked to have normal relations between the 
United States and Cuba. Although I have only been here for 5 years, I 
know that you have put in many, many years working to see that our two 
nations cooperated. It is really amazing if you think that we are only 
90 miles away and where else is there in the world where we have two 
countries that are so close but yet we have not really been able to 
communicate and have normal relations? So I am happy to celebrate this 
1-year anniversary, and I look forward to our nations continuing to 
work together.
  There are a few things that I would like to mention: the fact that 
even in spite of the embargo and the travel ban, over 100,000 Americans 
visited Cuba every year before the policy change. But Americans had to 
go through all sorts of changes in order to have the opportunity to 
visit the island. Now, with travel opening up--and I am glad that the 
flights will go from your city, Congresswoman Lee. They will also go 
from Los Angeles, direct from Los Angeles to Havana.
  Oftentimes when we think of establishing and reestablishing relations 
in Cuba, we think about it from the vantage point of what the United 
States has to offer the island, and certainly we can talk long about 
that. But the Cubans actually have things to offer the United States. I 
can think of several examples.
  Right now, there are over 50 U.S. students that are studying medicine 
for free in Cuba. The only obligation that those students have is that, 
when they come back to the United States after graduating, they have to 
commit to practice medicine in an underserved area.
  The Cubans have been pioneering medication and a vaccine to prevent 
lung cancer. They have also been able to develop a medication that has 
helped reduce the need to amputate limbs secondary to diabetic 
neuropathy. They have developed this medication, and that is something 
that we could use from the Cubans.
  So I am looking forward to our continuing to establish and deepen our 
ties with the island.
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentlewoman from California, 
once again, for being here and for her leadership. We have legislation, 
H.R. 3238, to lift the embargo; H.R. 664; and H.R. 403, also to lift 
the embargo and travel ban.
  I yield back the balance of my time.

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