US House Votes to Ease Limits on Cuba Trade, Travel

[magbana]

House votes to ease limits on Cuba trade, travel

Wed Feb 25, 2009 4:13pm EST

By Susan Cornwell

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. restrictions on trade with Cuba and family travel to the island would be eased under legislation passed by the House of Representatives on Wednesday but the changes could encounter trouble in the Senate.

Supporters hope congressional action will be the first step toward reviewing and possibly reversing the decades-old U.S. policy of shunning Cuba. Tucked into a larger spending bill, most of the changes would expire on September 30 unless there is a move to extend them by Congress or President Barack Obama.

Obama has made clear he favors relaxing limits on family travel and cash remittances by Cuban Americans to Cuba, although he has said the U.S. trade embargo against that country should stay in place to press for democratic reforms.

The legislation approved by the House does not lift the overall embargo. But it would prohibit the Treasury Department from enforcing Bush administration rules requiring payment of cash in advance for agricultural sales to Cuba.

Analysts believe that U.S. rice sales to Cuba will soar if the provision becomes law. Rice sales declined every year after the cash-in-advance rules were imposed in 2005, because Cuba could turn to Vietnam -- a country with which it has close ties -- for rice on easier terms.

The House-passed legislation also would provide for general travel licenses for travel to and from Cuba for marketing and selling agricultural products. And it would allow Americans with relatives in Cuba to travel there more frequently and for longer periods of time.

But the measure must pass the Senate before becoming law, and Florida Republican Senator Mel Martinez, a Cuban-American, opposes the changes, an aide said. Martinez could try to use Senate procedural hurdles to stop the bill.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said last month the Obama administration wants to ease travel restrictions on families wishing to visit relatives in Cuba, and she pledged a review of Cuba policy.

New York Democratic Representative Jose Serrano denied lawmakers were trying to pressure or get ahead of the Obama administration on Cuba policy. A veto threat from then-President George W. Bush kept the bill from being voted on until now.

"I think if this passes and gets signed into law, it will send the message, or at least alleviate any concerns the White House may have that Congress is not on board" with easing U.S. policy toward Cuba, Serrano said.

Last year, nearly one-fourth of Congress wrote to the Bush administration urging a review of Cuba policy after Fidel Castro, who seized power in a 1959 revolution, retired due to poor health. His brother Raul took over as president.

Washington broke off diplomatic relations with Havana in 1961, two years after Fidel Castro seized power, and imposed the trade embargo in 1962.

(Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE51O7AG20090225

[Judi Lynn]

1. Floridians at odds over Cuba travel

Floridians at odds over Cuba travel
> Posted by William Gibson at 11:16 AM

Floridians in Congress, like many of their constituents, are divided over legislation to loosen limits on travel to Cuba.

Congresswoman Kathy Castor of Tampa said Cuban-Americans should be allowed to visit their families on the island at least once a year.

`Many of our neighbors are barred from visiting their sick and dying loved ones because of these burdensome restrictions,’’ Castor said this week. ``As Americans, we cannot allow our policies to bring more hardship to those we intend to help. As Floridians, we cannot expect the Cuban people, many of whom are family to us, to endure more pain.’’

The Tampa area she represents, like South Florida, has a large Cuban-American population.

This stance puts Castor at odds with fellow Democrat Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Weston, who is angry that the huge spending bill passed by the House on Wednesday includes a provision to ease travel rules for Cuban-Americans.

The Cuba provision would block funding to enforce limits imposed by then-President Bush in 2004, which allow Cuban-American visits only once every three years.

Wasserman Schultz, a member of the Appropriations Committee that drafted the bill, noted that the provision prevents enforcement only through this fiscal year, which ends in September.

She voted for the bill, which contains money for local projects she worked hard to include, but vowed to block future attempts to undercut the Bush rules.

More:
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/dcblog/2009/02/floridians_at_odds_over_cuba_t.html

Can you BELIEVE this tool is a Democrat? She claims she is loyal to Mario Diaz-Balart because he was in her freshman group at the Florida House of Representatives. Sure, so loyal she's glad to stab the Democratic Party in the back. What a complete asshole.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com.nyud.net:8090/_NUZ_fM-TQKQ/SIdt3nIXqZI/AAAAAAAAGt0/SIRTztCeguk/s400/wasserman-shultz+Ros-Lehinen.jpg http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NUZ_fM-TQKQ/SLSVhCqrcdI/AAAAAAAAHOs/4BFH58BncA4/s320/Snapshot+2008-03-24+08-46-08.jpg http://cache.daylife.com.nyud.net:8090/imageserve/0gpUduz0Xo51a/610x.jpg