Senate Bill to End Travel Restrictions

Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Freedom for Americans to Travel to Cuba Act of 2019 Congressional Record

Mr. LEAHY. Today I am introducing, along with 45 Democratic and Republican cosponsors, the Freedom for Americans to Travel to Cuba Act of 2019.  Identical legislation is being introduced today by Representatives Jim McGovern and Tom Emmer in the House.

We are introducing this bill for one reason: so Americans can travel to Cuba in the same way that they can travel to every other country in the world except North Korea, to which President Trump banned travel by executive order.  Based on my conversations with other Senators, I am confident that if we were afforded the opportunity to vote on this bill, more than 60 Senators would support it.

It is indefensible that the federal government restricts American citizens and legal residents from traveling to a tiny country 90 miles away that poses no threat to us.  At a time when U.S. airlines are flying to Cuba, does anyone here honestly think that preventing Americans from traveling there is an appropriate role of the federal government?  Why only Cuba?  Why not Venezuela?  Or Russia?  Or Iran, or anywhere else?  It is a vindictive, discriminatory, self-defeating vestige of a time long passed.

This bill would end these Cold War restrictions on the freedom of Americans to travel.  It would not do away with the embargo. 

Americans overwhelmingly favor travel to Cuba.  The last poll I saw, a CBS poll, found that 81 percent of Americans support expanding travel to Cuba.  Officials in the White House, however, have a different agenda, driven by purely domestic political calculations.  They have not only rolled back steps taken by the previous administration to encourage engagement with Cuba, they have gone further by imposing even more onerous restrictions on the right of Americans to travel.  As a result, the number of Americans traveling to Cuba this year is projected to plummet by half, due to the policies of their own government.  And the thousands of private Cuban entrepreneurs, the taxi drivers, the Airbnb renters, restaurants, and shops that depend on American customers are struggling to survive.  It is a shortsighted, anachronistic policy that is beneath our democracy.

I and others, including Republicans, have traveled to Cuba many times over the past 20 years, met with Cuban officials, with Cubans who have been persecuted for opposing the government, and with many others.  Every one of us wants to see an end to political repression in Cuba.  The arrests and mistreatment of dissidents by the Cuban government should be condemned, just as we should condemn such abuses by other governments including some, like Egypt and Turkey, whose leaders have been welcomed at the White House and the State Department.  Americans can travel freely to Egypt, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, but not to Cuba.

The issue is how best to support the people of Cuba who struggle to make ends meet, and who want to live in a country where freedom of expression and association are protected.  Anyone who thinks that more economic pressure, or ultimatums, will force the Cuban authorities to stop arresting political dissidents and embrace democracy have learned nothing from history.  For more than half a century we tried a policy of unilateral sanctions and isolation, and it achieved neither of those goals.  Instead, it is the Cuban people who were hurt the most.  And it provided an opening in this hemisphere for Russia, China, and our other competitors. 

Change is coming to Cuba, and we can help support that process.  Or we can sit on the sidelines and falsely claim to be helping the Cuban people, while pursuing a failed policy of punitive sanctions.  The bipartisan bill I will introduce on Monday is about the right of Americans, not Cubans, to travel.  Every member of Congress, especially those who have been to Cuba, should oppose restrictions on American citizens that have no place in the law books of a free society.

# # # # #

Click here to view the text of the Freedom For Americans to Travel to Cuba Act of 2019.  https://www.leahy.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Freedom_for_Americans_to_Travel_to_Cuba_Act_of_2019.pdf

Press Contact

David Carle: 202-224-3693

 116TH CONGRESS

1ST  SESSION

S. _____

To allow United States citizens and legal residents to travel between the United States and Cuba.

IN  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES



Mr. LEAHY (for himself, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BENNET, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. BOOZMAN,  Mr.  BROWN,  Ms. CANTWELL,  Mr.  CARDIN,  Mr.  CARPER,  Mr. CASEY,  Ms.  COLLINS,  Mr.  COONS,  Ms.  DUCKWORTH,  Mr. DURBIN,  Mr. ENZI,  Mrs.  FEINSTEIN,  Mrs.  GILLIBRAND,  Ms.  HARRIS,  Ms.  HASSAN, Mr.  HEINRICH, Ms.  HIRONO,  Mr.  JONES,  Mr.  KAINE,  Mr.  KING,  Ms. KLOBUCHAR,  Mr.  MANCHIN,  Mr.  MARKEY,  Mr. MERKLEY,  Mr.  MORAN, Mr. MURPHY, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. PETERS, Mr. REED, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. SCHATZ,  Mr.  SCHUMER,  Mrs.  SHAHEEN,  Ms.  SMITH,  Ms.  STABENOW, Mr.  TESTER,  Mr.  UDALL,  Mr.  VAN  HOLLEN,  Mr.  WARNER,  Ms.  WARREN,  Mr.  WHITEHOUSE,  and  Mr.  WYDEN)  introduced  the  following  bill; which     was     read
   twice     and     referred     to     the     Committee     on ______

A  BILL

To allow United States citizens and legal residents to travel between the United States and Cuba.

1           Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-

2   tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3   SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4           This  Act  may  be  cited  as  the  ‘‘Freedom  for  Ameri-

5   cans to Travel to Cuba Act of 2019’’.


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2

1   SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2           Congress makes the following findings:

3                   (1)  During  the  more  than  50  years  since  the

4           United States initially restricted travel by Americans

5           to Cuba—

6                           (A)  the  Soviet  Union  has  dissolved  into  a

7                   dozen independent states; and

8                           (B)  the  United  States  has  resumed  diplo-

9                   matic  and  trade  relations  with  the  communist

10                   governments of China and of Vietnam.

11                   (2)  There  are  no  such  restrictions  on  travel  by

12           Americans to any other country except North Korea.

13                   (3) While restrictions on travel by Cuban Amer-

14           icans  were  lifted  in  2009,  continuing  restrictions  on,

15           and   requirements   of   licenses   for,   travel   by   non-

16           Cuban   Americans   are   discriminatory   and   without

17           justification.

18                   (4) Since 2013, the Government of Cuba—

19                           (A) has ended restrictions on foreign travel

20                   for most Cubans;

21                           (B)  has  permitted  Cubans  to  buy  and  sell

22                   real property;

23                           (C)  has  permitted  hundreds  of  thousands

24                   of   Cubans   to   work   as   private   entrepreneurs;

25                   and


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                         S.L.C.

3

1                           (D)  has  greatly  expanded  public  access  to

2                   the Internet.

3                   (5) Restrictions on travel by Americans to Cuba

4           have  resulted  in  a  significant  loss  of  revenue  for  pri-

5           vate   Airbnb   hosts,   restaurants,   taxi   drivers,   and

6           other small businesses in Cuba.

7                   (6)  Many  companies  in  Europe,  Canada,  Rus-

8           sia,  and  other  countries  regularly  send  their  rep-

9           resentatives to Cuba, while American companies can-

10           not do so, preventing American companies, including

11           banks   and   credit   card   companies,   from   providing

12           services  to  Americans  who  travel  to  Cuba  under  a

13           general  license  issued  by  the  Office  of  Foreign  As-

14           sets Control of the Department of the Treasury.

15                   (7)  A  majority  of  Americans  from  every  region

16           of  the  country  and  in  both  major  political  parties

17           consistently support normalizing travel by Americans

18           to Cuba.

19                   (8)  Ending  restrictions  on  travel  to  Cuba,  and

20           transactions incident to such travel would—

21                           (A)  pose  no  threat  to  the  security  of  the

22                   United States;

23                           (B)  advance  United  States  national  inter-

24                   ests in the hemisphere; and


MDM19793                                                                                         
                         S.L.C.

4

1                           (C) foster free enterprise and democracy in

2                   Cuba.

3   SEC. 3. TRAVEL TO CUBA.

4           Subject to section 4, on or after the date of the enact-

5   ment of this Act—

6                   (1)  the  President  may  not  prohibit  or  otherwise

7           restrict travel to or from Cuba by United States citi-

8           zens or legal residents, or any of the transactions in-

9           cident to such travel, including banking transactions;

10           and

11                   (2)  any  law,  regulation,  or  policy  in  effect  on

12           such  date  of  enactment  that  prohibits  or  otherwise

13           restricts  travel  to  or  from  Cuba  by  United  States

14           citizens  or  legal  residents,  or  any  of  the  transactions

15           incident   to   such   travel,   including   banking   trans-

16           actions, shall cease to have any force or effect.

17   SEC. 4. EXCEPTIONS.

18           (a)  SAVINGS  PROVISIONS.—Nothing  in  this  Act  may

19   be construed to limit the authority of the President to re-

20   strict travel described in section 3, or any transaction inci-

21   dent  to  such  travel,  on  a  case-by-case  basis,  if  the  Presi-

22   dent determines that such restriction—

23                   (1)  is  necessary  to  protect  the  national  security

24           of the United States; or


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                         S.L.C.

5

1                   (2)  is  necessary  to  protect  the  health  or  safety

2           of  United  States  citizens  or  legal  residents  resulting

3           from traveling to or from Cuba.

4           (b)   WRITTEN   JUSTIFICATION.—Not   later   than   5

5   days  before  restricting  travel  described  in  section  3  or  a

6   transaction  incident  to  such  travel,  pursuant  to  the  au-

7   thority  referred  to  in  subsection  (a),  the  President  shall

8   submit a written justification for such restriction to—

9                   (1)  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Relations  of  the

10           Senate;

11                   (2)   the   Committee   on   Appropriations   of   the

12           Senate;

13                   (3)  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs  of  the

14           House of Representatives; and

15                   (4)   the   Committee   on   Appropriations   of   the

16           House of Representatives.

17   SEC. 5. INAPPLICABILITY.

18           The   provisions   of   this   Act   shall   apply   notwith-

19   standing  section  102(h)  of  the  Cuban  Liberty  and  Demo-

20   cratic  Solidarity  (LIBERTAD)  Act  of  1996  (22  U.S.C.

21   6032(h))  and  section  910(b)  of  the  Trade  Sanctions  Re-

22   form  and  Export  Enhancement  Act  of  2000  (22  U.S.C.

23   7209(b)).


Full Senate list annotated

Senators marked in yellow are not cosponsors.  Their Washington and state offices should be targeted with calls, letters and e-mails.  They should be put on a spot in every public forum, receive delegations and demonstrations at their offices, and be the subject of letters to the editor, call-ins and on-line petitions.

Cosponsors should be congratulated at every opportunity.


Murkowski, Lisa - (R - AK) Class III
522 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-6665
Contact: www.murkowski.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact

Sullivan, Dan - (R - AK) Class II
302 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-3004
Contact: www.sullivan.senate.gov/contact/email

Jones, Doug - (D - AL) Class II
330 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-4124
Contact: www.jones.senate.gov/content/contact-senator

Shelby, Richard C. - (R - AL) Class III
304 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5744
Contact: www.shelby.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/emailsenatorshelby

Boozman, John - (R - AR) Class III
141 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-4843
Contact: www.boozman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact

Cotton, Tom - (R - AR) Class II
326 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-2353
Contact: www.cotton.senate.gov/?p=contact

McSally, Martha - (R - AZ) Class III
404 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
202-224-2235
Contact: www.mcsally.senate.gov/contact_martha

Sinema, Kyrsten - (D - AZ) Class I
317 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-4521
Contact: www.sinema.senate.gov/contact-kyrsten

Feinstein, Dianne - (D - CA) Class I
331 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-3841
Contact: www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/e-mail-me

Harris, Kamala D. - (D - CA) Class III
112 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-3553
Contact: www.harris.senate.gov/contact

Bennet, Michael F. - (D - CO) Class III
261 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5852
Contact: www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact

Gardner, Cory - (R - CO) Class II
354 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5941
Contact: www.gardner.senate.gov/contact-cory/email-cory

Blumenthal, Richard - (D - CT) Class III
706 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-2823
Contact: www.blumenthal.senate.gov/contact/

Murphy, Christopher - (D - CT) Class I
136 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-4041
Contact: www.murphy.senate.gov/contact

Carper, Thomas R. - (D - DE) Class I
513 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-2441
Contact: www.carper.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/email-senator-carper

Coons, Christopher A. - (D - DE) Class II
218 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5042
Contact: www.coons.senate.gov/contact

Rubio, Marco - (R - FL) Class III
284 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-3041
Contact: www.rubio.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact

Scott, Rick - (R - FL) Class I
716 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5274
Contact: www.rickscott.senate.gov/contact_rick

Isakson, Johnny - (R - GA) Class III
131 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-3643
Contact: www.isakson.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/email-me

Perdue, David - (R - GA) Class II
455 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-3521
Contact: www.perdue.senate.gov/connect/email

Hirono, Mazie K. - (D - HI) Class I
713 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-6361
Contact: www.hirono.senate.gov/contact

Schatz, Brian - (D - HI) Class III
722 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-3934
Contact: www.schatz.senate.gov/contact

Ernst, Joni - (R - IA) Class II
730 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-3254
Contact: www.ernst.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact

Grassley, Chuck - (R - IA) Class III
135 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-3744
Contact: www.grassley.senate.gov/contact

Crapo, Mike - (R - ID) Class III
239 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-6142
Contact: www.crapo.senate.gov/contact

Risch, James E. - (R - ID) Class II
483 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-2752
Contact: www.risch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Email

Duckworth, Tammy - (D - IL) Class III
524 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-2854
Contact: www.duckworth.senate.gov/content/contact-senator

Durbin, Richard J. - (D - IL) Class II
711 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-2152
Contact: www.durbin.senate.gov/contact/

Braun, Mike - (R - IN) Class I
374 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-4814
Contact: www.braun.senate.gov/contact-mike

Young, Todd - (R - IN) Class III
185 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5623
Contact: www.young.senate.gov/contact

Moran, Jerry - (R - KS) Class III
521 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-6521
Contact: www.moran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/e-mail-jerry

Roberts, Pat - (R - KS) Class II
109 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-4774
Contact: www.roberts.senate.gov/public/?p=EmailPat

McConnell, Mitch - (R - KY) Class II
317 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-2541
Contact: www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=contact

Paul, Rand - (R - KY) Class III
167 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-4343
Contact: www.paul.senate.gov/connect/email-rand

Cassidy, Bill - (R - LA) Class II
520 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5824
Contact: www.cassidy.senate.gov/contact

Kennedy, John - (R - LA) Class III
416 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-4623
Contact: www.kennedy.senate.gov/public/email-me

Markey, Edward J. - (D - MA) Class II
255 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-2742
Contact: www.markey.senate.gov/contact

Warren, Elizabeth - (D - MA) Class I
309 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-4543
Contact: www.warren.senate.gov/?p=email_senator

Cardin, Benjamin L. - (D - MD) Class I
509 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-4524
Contact: www.cardin.senate.gov/contact/

Van Hollen, Chris - (D - MD) Class III
110 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-4654
Contact: www.vanhollen.senate.gov/contact/email

Collins, Susan M. - (R - ME) Class II
413 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-2523
Contact: www.collins.senate.gov/contact

King, Angus S., Jr. - (I - ME) Class I
133 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5344
Contact: www.king.senate.gov/contact

Peters, Gary C. - (D - MI) Class II
724 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-6221
Contact: www.peters.senate.gov/contact/email-gary

Stabenow, Debbie - (D - MI) Class I
731 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-4822
Contact: www.stabenow.senate.gov/contact

Klobuchar, Amy - (D - MN) Class I
425 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-3244
Contact: www.klobuchar.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact

Smith, Tina - (D - MN) Class II
720 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5641
Contact: www.smith.senate.gov/contact-tina

Blunt, Roy - (R - MO) Class III
260 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5721
Contact: www.blunt.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact-roy

Hawley, Josh - (R - MO) Class I
212 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-6154
Contact: www.hawley.senate.gov/contact-senator-hawley

Hyde-Smith, Cindy - (R - MS) Class II
702 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5054
Contact: www.hydesmith.senate.gov/content/contact-senator

Wicker, Roger F. - (R - MS) Class I
555 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-6253
Contact: www.wicker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact

Daines, Steve - (R - MT) Class II
320 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-2651
Contact: www.daines.senate.gov/connect/email-steve

Tester, Jon - (D - MT) Class I
311 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-2644
Contact: www.tester.senate.gov/?p=email_senator

Burr, Richard - (R - NC) Class III
217 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-3154
Contact: www.burr.senate.gov/contact/email

Tillis, Thom - (R - NC) Class II
113 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-6342
Contact: www.tillis.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/email-me

Cramer, Kevin - (R - ND) Class I
400 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-2043
Contact: www.cramer.senate.gov/contact_kevin

Hoeven, John - (R - ND) Class III
338 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-2551
Contact: www.hoeven.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/email-the-senator

Fischer, Deb - (R - NE) Class I
454 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-6551
Contact: www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact

Sasse, Ben - (R - NE) Class II
107 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-4224
Contact: www.sasse.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/email-ben

Hassan, Margaret Wood - (D - NH) Class III
324 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-3324
Contact: www.hassan.senate.gov/content/contact-senator

Shaheen, Jeanne - (D - NH) Class II
506 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-2841
Contact: www.shaheen.senate.gov/contact/contact-jeanne

Booker, Cory A. - (D - NJ) Class II
717 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-3224
Contact: www.booker.senate.gov/?p=contact

Menendez, Robert - (D - NJ) Class I
528 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-4744
Contact: www.menendez.senate.gov/contact

Heinrich, Martin - (D - NM) Class I
303 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5521
Contact: www.heinrich.senate.gov/contact

Udall, Tom - (D - NM) Class II
531 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-6621
Contact: www.tomudall.senate.gov/?p=contact

Cortez Masto, Catherine - (D - NV) Class III
516 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-3542
Contact: www.cortezmasto.senate.gov/contact

Rosen, Jacky - (D - NV) Class I
144 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-6244
Contact: www.rosen.senate.gov/contact_jacky

Gillibrand, Kirsten E. - (D - NY) Class I
478 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-4451
Contact: www.gillibrand.senate.gov/contact/email-me

Schumer, Charles E. - (D - NY) Class III
322 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-6542
Contact: www.schumer.senate.gov/contact/email-chuck

Brown, Sherrod - (D - OH) Class I
503 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-2315
Contact: www.brown.senate.gov/contact/

Portman, Rob - (R - OH) Class III
448 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-3353
Contact: www.portman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact?p=contact...

Inhofe, James M. - (R - OK) Class II
205 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-4721
Contact: www.inhofe.senate.gov/contact

Lankford, James - (R - OK) Class III
316 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5754
Contact: www.lankford.senate.gov/contact/email

Merkley, Jeff - (D - OR) Class II
313 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-3753
Contact: www.merkley.senate.gov/contact/

Wyden, Ron - (D - OR) Class III
221 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5244
Contact: www.wyden.senate.gov/contact/

Casey, Robert P., Jr. - (D - PA) Class I
393 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-6324
Contact: www.casey.senate.gov/contact/

Toomey, Patrick J. - (R - PA) Class III
248 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-4254
Contact: www.toomey.senate.gov/?p=contact

Reed, Jack - (D - RI) Class II
728 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-4642
Contact: www.reed.senate.gov/contact/

Whitehouse, Sheldon - (D - RI) Class I
530 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-2921
Contact: www.whitehouse.senate.gov/contact/email-sheldon

Graham, Lindsey - (R - SC) Class II
290 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5972
Contact: www.lgraham.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/e-mail-senator-gr...

Scott, Tim - (R - SC) Class III
104 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-6121
Contact: www.scott.senate.gov/contact/email-me

Rounds, Mike - (R - SD) Class II
502 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5842
Contact: www.rounds.senate.gov/contact/email-mike

Thune, John - (R - SD) Class III
511 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-2321
Contact: www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact

Alexander, Lamar - (R - TN) Class II
455 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-4944
Contact: www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Email

Blackburn, Marsha - (R - TN) Class I
357 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-3344
Contact: www.blackburn.senate.gov/contact_marsha

Cornyn, John - (R - TX) Class II
517 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-2934
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Cruz, Ted - (R - TX) Class I
127A Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5922
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Lee, Mike - (R - UT) Class III
361A Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5444
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Romney, Mitt - (R - UT) Class I
124 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5251
Contact: www.romney.senate.gov/contact-senator-romney

Kaine, Tim - (D - VA) Class I
231 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
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Warner, Mark R. - (D - VA) Class II
703 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-2023
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Leahy, Patrick J. - (D - VT) Class III
437 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
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Sanders, Bernard - (I - VT) Class I
332 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5141
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Cantwell, Maria - (D - WA) Class I
511 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-3441
Contact: www.cantwell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/email-maria

Murray, Patty - (D - WA) Class III
154 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-2621
Contact: www.murray.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contactme

Baldwin, Tammy - (D - WI) Class I
709 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
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Johnson, Ron - (R - WI) Class III
328 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5323
Contact: www.ronjohnson.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/email-the-sena...

Capito, Shelley Moore - (R - WV) Class II
172 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-6472
Contact: www.capito.senate.gov/contact/contact-shelley

Manchin, Joe, III - (D - WV) Class I
306 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-3954
Contact: www.manchin.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact-form

Barrasso, John - (R - WY) Class I
307 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-6441
Contact: www.barrasso.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact-form

Enzi, Michael B. - (R - WY) Class II
379A Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-3424
Contact: www.enzi.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact?p=e-mail-sen...

House Bill to End Travel Restrictions

McGovern Introduces Bipartisan Legislation to End Cuba Travel Ban

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Washington, July 25, 2019 | 0 comments

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Legislation Would Remove All Restrictions on U.S. Travel to Cuba

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman James P. McGovern (D-MA), Chairman of the House Rules Committee and Co-Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, introduced bipartisan legislation alongside Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) in the House of Representatives to lift all restrictions on travel to Cuba by American citizens and legal residents.

Full Text of Bill Available Here (PDF)         https://mcgovern.house.gov/uploadedfiles/mcgove_005_xml.pdf

The legislation, which was cosponsored by Kathy Castor (D-FL), Eric A. “Rick” Crawford (R-AR), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Darin LaHood (R-IL), José E. Serrano (D-NY), Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), Donald S. Beyer, Jr. (D-VA), Denver Riggleman (R-VA), would also lift restrictions on transactions in conjunction with such travel, such as banking transactions.

Updated cosponsor list available here.

Last month, the Trump administration further cracked down on travel to Cuba – implementing regulatory changes to ban “people-to-people” travel, the most common legal method of American travel to Cuba for non-family visits. The administration’s changes also bar all U.S. cruise vessels from entering Cuba.

“Every single American should have the freedom to travel as they see fit. Yet the travel ban deliberately punishes the American people – our very best ambassadors – and prevents them from engaging directly with the Cuban people,” said Congressman McGovern. “It is a Cold-War relic that serves only to isolate the United States from our allies and partners in the region, while strengthening the control of ideological hardliners in both countries.  It’s time for us to listen to the majority of Americans, Cuban-Americans, and Cubans who do not support the travel ban, and get rid of it once and for all.”

The Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act (TSRA) of 2000 codified a ban on tourist travel to Cuba for U.S. nationals. It is the only country in the world for which the U.S. maintains a statutory travel ban. Currently, Americans can travel to China, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Russia, Iran and Syria – each with human rights records arguably as bad or worse than Cuba’s.  Until just recently, Americans could even travel to North Korea.

Ironically, continued efforts to further restrict the right of Americans to travel to Cuba have had devastating consequences for Cuba’s fledgling private sector – the very people the United States aims to help. Until these harsher measures were imposed, Cuba’s private sector had grown to be approximately 30 percent of Cuban economy.

A companion bill will also be introduced on Monday in the Senate by a broad bipartisan group of 47 senators led by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT).

Senate text with cosponsors can be seen here.

 https://mcgovern.house.gov/uploadedfiles/mcgove_005_xml.pdf

116TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. ll

To allow United States citizens and legal residents to travel between the

United States and Cuba.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Mr. MCGOVERN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on 

A BILL

To allow United States citizens and legal residents to travel

between the United States and Cuba.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Freedom for Ameri5 cans to Travel to Cuba Act of 2019’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress makes the following findings:

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1 (1) During the more than 50 years since the

2 United States initially restricted travel by Americans

3 to Cuba—

4 (A) the Soviet Union has dissolved into a

5 dozen independent states; and

6 (B) the United States has resumed diplo7 matic and trade relations with the communist

8 governments of China and of Vietnam.

9 (2) There are no such restrictions on travel by

10 Americans to any other country except North Korea.

11 (3) While restrictions on travel by Cuban Amer12 icans were lifted in 2009, continuing restrictions on,

13 and requirements of licenses for, travel by non14 Cuban Americans are discriminatory and without

15 justification.

16 (4) Since 2013, the Government of Cuba—

17 (A) has ended restrictions on foreign travel

18 for most Cubans;

19 (B) has permitted Cubans to buy and sell

20 real property;

21 (C) has permitted hundreds of thousands

22 of Cubans to work as private entrepreneurs;

23 and

24 (D) has greatly expanded public access to

25 the Internet.

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3

1 (5) Restrictions on travel by Americans to Cuba

2 have resulted in a significant loss of revenue for pri3 vate Airbnb hosts, restaurants, taxi drivers, and

4 other small businesses in Cuba.

5 (6) Many companies in Europe, Canada, Rus6 sia, and other countries regularly send their rep7 resentatives to Cuba, while American companies can8 not do so, preventing American companies, including

9 banks and credit card companies, from providing

10 services to Americans who travel to Cuba under a

11 general license issued by the Office of Foreign As12 sets Control of the Department of the Treasury.

13 (7) A majority of Americans from every region

14 of the country and in both major political parties

15 consistently support normalizing travel by Americans

16 to Cuba.

17 (8) Ending restrictions on travel to Cuba, and

18 transactions incident to such travel would—

19 (A) pose no threat to the security of the

20 United States;

21 (B) advance United States national inter22 ests in the hemisphere; and

23 (C) foster free enterprise and democracy in

24 Cuba.

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1 SEC. 3. TRAVEL TO CUBA.

2 Subject to section 4, on or after the date of the enact3 ment of this Act—

4 (1) the President may not prohibit or otherwise

5 restrict travel to or from Cuba by United States citi6 zens or legal residents, or any of the transactions in7 cident to such travel, including banking transactions;

8 and

9 (2) any law, regulation, or policy in effect on

10 such date of enactment that prohibits or otherwise

11 restricts travel to or from Cuba by United States

12 citizens or legal residents, or any of the transactions

13 incident to such travel, including banking trans14 actions, shall cease to have any force or effect.

15 SEC. 4. EXCEPTIONS.

16 (a) SAVINGS PROVISIONS.—Nothing in this Act may

17 be construed to limit the authority of the President to re18 strict travel described in section 3, or any transaction inci19 dent to such travel, on a case-by-case basis, if the Presi20 dent determines that such restriction—

21 (1) is necessary to protect the national security

22 of the United States; or

23 (2) is necessary to protect the health or safety

24 of United States citizens or legal residents resulting

25 from traveling to or from Cuba; or

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1 (b) WRITTEN JUSTIFICATION.—Not later than 5

2 days before restricting travel described in section 3 or a

3 transaction incident to such travel, pursuant to the au4 thority referred to in subsection (a), the President shall

5 submit a written justification for such restriction to—

6 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the

7 Senate;

8 (2) the Committee on Appropriations of the

9 Senate;

10 (3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the

11 House of Representatives; and

12 (4) the Committee on Appropriations of the

13 House of Representatives.

14 SEC. 5. INAPPLICABILITY.

15 The provisions of this Act shall apply notwith16 standing section 102(h) of the Cuban Liberty and Demo17 cratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 (22 U.S.C.

18 6032(h)) and section 910(b) of the Trade Sanctions Re19 form and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C.

20 7209(b)).

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Impact on Cuban Private Sector of Bolton/Claver-Carone restrictions

Cuba feels the pinch of the Trump administration’s travel restrictions

A Royal Caribbean cruise ship departs Havana on June 5, a day after the Trump administration announced that Americans could no longer travel to Cuba on cruise ships.

(Adalberto Roque / AFP/Getty Images)

By Mimi Whitefield

Aug. 11, 2019

3 AM

HAVANA — 

When a bus packed with Spanish tourists pulled into her restaurant in the picturesque Viñales Valley in mid-July, Rosa Isabel Hernandez Pino was grateful. But she was also worried.

That busload represented her last reservation for the summer. Americans aboard cruise ships that docked in Havana used to account for the bulk of her business. But on June 4, the Trump administration announced that Americans could no longer travel to Cuba on cruise ships, and also eliminated a category of travel called people-to-people group tours.

Reservations for Hernandez’s thatched-roof Doña Rosita’s restaurant, with views of oxen tilling fields and the limestone hills of the Viñales Valley, came via government tour agencies that paid her a negotiated rate of $15 a lunch for a home-cooked spread that included chicken, pork, yucca, rice and beans produced on the land that her family has farmed for six generations.

Hernandez and her family made a good living with the restaurant after President Obama made it far easier for Americans to travel to Cuba in 2015. The Trump administration began chipping away at the changes , and with the newest limitations on American travel, Hernandez said, “I think I will have to go out of business.”

Cuba’s fledgling private-sector workers — cab drivers, tour guides, souvenir sellers, restaurateurs, bed and breakfast operators — are already feeling the pinch.

The Trump administration contends the policy, which still allows for 11 categories of visits including for religious activities or professional research, is aimed at keeping U.S. dollars out of the hands of the Cuban military, ending what national security advisor John Bolton calls “veiled tourism.”

In a tweet the day the restrictions were announced, Bolton made clear they were also designed to punish Cuba for its support of Venezuela’s autocratic leader Nicolas Maduro: “Cuba has continued to prop up the illegitimate Maduro regime in Venezuela and will be held responsible for the man-made crisis. President Trump has made it clear that we stand with the Cuban and Venezuela people as they fight for freedom.”

Trump, in a June 2017 speech in Miami, declared his new policies toward Cuba would bypass “the military and government to help the Cuban people form businesses and pursue much better lives.”

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Many Cubans say, however, that their private businesses have slowed to a crawl as many relatively free-spending Americans are removed from the visitor mix.

At Fusterlandia, where artist Jose Fuster has covered practically every inch of his home and workshop in mosaic tile and begun to cover walls, bus stops and nearby homes as well, the neighborhood on the outskirts of Havana is hurting.

As Fuster’s art installation gained fame, a cottage industry had sprung up and his neighbors began selling coconut water, pina coladas and all manner of souvenirs.

“I would say business is down 60% since the cruises stopped,” said Adrian Alberto, a vendor, as he sat forlorn on a mosaic-encrusted bench in front of Fuster’s house.

“Business is down so much you can practically weep,” echoed fellow vendor Yoan Perdomo Viort.

“This street used to be so full of tour buses and taxis you almost couldn’t walk,” he said. At 10:30 on a recent morning, only one tour bus and a few cars were parked outside.

“It’s been a very slow year,” sighed Andrea Gallina, who runs Paseo 206, a private 10-room boutique hotel in a 1930s mansion in Havana’s Vedado district, with his wife, Diana. In early 2017, Americans represented about 55% of their customers. Now, he said, they make up only about 30%.

“The Irma-Trump combination hasn’t been good,” added Gallina, an Italian who quit his job at the World Bank and came to the island with his Cuban wife in 2012 as former President Raul Castro began opening the economy to the private sector.

Hurricane Irma hit Cuba’s north coast hard in September 2017, causing widespread flooding. Even though the government and private entrepreneurs made it a priority to quickly clean up damage at tourist facilities, bookings were canceled and the storm put a damper on the 2018 winter season.

That coupled with Trump’s moves has sowed confusion, Gallina said. “In any market when you create confusion, people are reluctant to come.”

His solution: Market more and diversify his customer base to include more Europeans and Latin Americans.

“After a new regulation, people are afraid. They think it’s illegal to go to Cuba,” agreed Camilo Condis, an outspoken advocate for private entrepreneurship in Cuba.

It’s not illegal. While Americans aren’t supposed to engage in vacations devoted solely to lounging on Cuban beaches, they can still travel to the island if, according to State Department guidelines, they engage in “activities intended to enhance contact with the Cuban people, support civil society in Cuba or promote the Cuban people’s independence from Cuban authorities, and that will result in meaningful interaction between the traveler and individuals in Cuba.”

Many travelers, however, aren’t sure what that means.

“For me, tourism isn’t a good sector anymore,” said Condis, who made his living by renting an apartment to visitors and working in a private port-area Havana restaurant called El Figaro. This year, he said, revenue at the restaurant, which sits along a street where dozens of Cubans have opened private businesses, is about 10% of what it was a year ago.

Now he plans to sell the apartment, quit his restaurant job and work in construction.

Despite the Trump sanctions that have included placing a number of hotels owned by the Cuban military on a prohibited list for Americans, construction cranes tower over Havana neighborhoods near the sea, and government-owned and joint venture hotel projects are moving forward.

Once shunned by the revolutionary government as bourgeois, tourism has become one of Cuba’s most important generators of foreign exchange since the 1990s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of its subsidies to Cuba.

During the peak year of 2017, it brought in $3.2 billion.

This year, 372,857 Americans visited the island by air and sea through June, ahead of last year’s 266,441, according to estimates by Cuban economist Jose Luis Perello. A surge in cruise passengers before the June restrictions accounted for much of the growth.

Perello said the change in U.S. policy meant 30,000 fewer cruise passengers visited in June alone, and the Cuban government has adjusted its goal of 5 million international visitors this year down to 4.3 million. In 2018, there were 4.7 million international visitors.

In the euphoria after the United States and Cuba reestablished diplomatic relations in 2015, many Cubans made decisions to renovate a room in their homes or buy buildings to open a business, thinking the steady stream of American visitors under the Obama administration would continue and grow.

Hernandez said her family spent around $6,000 to build the restaurant in Viñales, which is about a two-hour drive from Havana.

Laila Chaabon, a young Cuban fashion designer who opened a clothing store three months ago, also is feeling squeezed.

Chaabon had been working in a clothing factory in Ecuador, but she returned to the island in 2016 to start her own business.

But finding a building she and her mother could afford and renovating its street-facing living room for Capicua, her store, took longer than expected.

Capicua launched just before the new Trump travel sanctions. “I have some good days; other days I get panic attacks,” said Chaabon, who was wearing jeans and a flirty red top of her own creation. “The only consolation is the business is breaking even.”

But if things don’t pick up, she said, she’ll be lucky to hold on for a year.

“It’s been chaos [since the cruises ended]. It’s been tragic for a lot of people,” said freelance tour guide Zoila Alviles. “A lot of my friends who work for tour agencies haven’t worked at all this summer.”

Within days of the new travel restrictions, some private taxi drivers put their cars up for sale. Others who borrowed money to buy cars now worry about making the payments.

“In the end, it’s all sorts of Cubans who are impacted, not just the government or government officials,” said Giulio Ricci, a University of Havana economist.

Even businesses not particularly dependent on American visitors say they’ve been hit. Enrique Suarez, head chef and owner of the Tocamadera gastropub in Havana’s fashionable Miramar neighborhood, said affluent locals make up the bulk of the clientele in his 38-seat restaurant.

Many people who live in Miramar have houses or apartments for rent to visitors in Old Havana and with those earnings drying up, they are not eating out as much, he said. “They were here two or three times a week and now they’re not,” said Suarez.

Recent weeks have brought mixed news from the United States. A bipartisan group introduced legislation in the House of Representatives that would eliminate any restrictions on travel to Cuba by U.S. citizens and legal residents. It would also end prohibitions on travel-related banking transactions.

In the Senate, Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), joined by 45 co-sponsors, introduced a Freedom for Americans to Travel to Cuba Act.

“The Trump administration’s policy toward Cuba is completely at odds with its policies toward other countries,” said Leahy. “Freedom to travel is a right. It is part of who we are as Americans.”

But the U.S. State Department has instead added to its prohibited list of Cuban businesses and organizations, including two more hotels controlled by the Cuban military.

“The department remains committed to ensuring U.S. funds do not directly support Cuba’s state security apparatus, which not only violates the human rights of the Cuban people, but also exports this repression to Venezuela to support the corrupt Maduro regime,” it said.

Whitefield is a special correspondent.

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2019-08-10/cuba-feels-the-pinch-of-the-trump-administrations-travel-restrictions