House passes bill easing Cuba travel restrictions

[Judi Lynn]

Posted on Wednesday, 02.25.09
House passes bill easing Cuba travel restrictions

BY FRANCES ROBLES
[e-mail]

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a huge spending bill Wednesday that tweaked U.S-Cuba policy, making it easier for Cuban-Americans to get away with illegally traveling to the communist country. The bill -- which faces a rocky path in the Senate -- discontinues funding for enforcement of violations of the rules that limit how often Cubans living here can visit home.

The 2009 budget also contains several revisions to Cuba policy that signal a trend toward further engagement with Cuba and momentum that could lead to the end of more sanctions, Cuba-watchers said. The budget bill passed the House days after the Senate Foreign Relations committee and a senior Republican on the panel issued a strongly worded report which said the embargo's isolation of Cuba wasn't working.

Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar recommended increased engagement in drug trafficking and migration, but fell short of advocating a wholesale lifting of the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba. A group of well-known diplomats and academics at The Brookings Institute think tank is expected to issue a report Thursday that also calls for more dialogue with Cuba.

On Wednesday night, a group of African-American leaders was scheduled to meet with Cuban diplomats in Washington to discuss the state of U.S-Cuba relations.

More:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/story/921540.html

[rabs]

1. Odd wording in this story

Did a double-take when I read this:

"... making it easier for Cuban-Americans to get away with illegally traveling to the communist country."

Wouldn't that make the U.S. House an accessory to a crime? Nah, guess not.

Wonder if that massive spending bill also contained half-a-billion dollars for Plan Colombia?

[Judi Lynn]

2. Isn't that odd? I had the same reaction. Whaaaaa! Someone at the Herald's bias is showing,

someone who undoubtedly has backed every one of the hardliners' steps to make it harder and harder for Cubans to go home, including local, state bills to cut their housing and food stamps after they get back once it is learned they went to Cuba, and all manner of other penalties and hardships.

Rep. David Rivera has been hard on the trail of these travel "villains" for years:

Bill Punishes Cuba Travelers
Citing links to terrorism, State Rep. David Rivera announced a proposal to strip government benefits from Floridians who travel to Cuba, even if they do so legally.

Lesley Clark
The Miami Herald, 25 August 2004

A Miami Republican who prodded President Bush to get tougher on Fidel Castro is one-upping the president: He's proposing to strip food stamps and health insurance from those who travel to the island.

Dubbed the ''Travel and Commerce with Terrorist Nations Act,'' a bill proposed by State Rep. David Rivera, R-Miami, would punish those who travel -- even legally -- to Cuba by cutting off access to Medicaid, food stamps and housing assistance for a year.

More:
http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/display.article?id=4419

http://brechner.org.nyud.net:8090/2006%20Legislation/house/Components/Rep%27s%20Photos/Rivera.jpg

Republican Rep. David Rivera

"Don't go to Cuba or you'll
be sorry when you get back!"

[Judi Lynn]

3. Sorry for my oversight, I posted this before seeing magbana posted it earlier this evening.

Here's the first post, and link:

magbana
Wed Feb-25-09 09:44 PM

US House Votes to Ease Limits on Cuba Trade, Travel
Wed Feb 25, 2009 4:13pm EST

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=405x12156