Cubadebate

September 3, 2003
Dear Member of Congress:
As representatives of religious organizations, non-governmental organizations, policy groups, farm groups and businesses, we support the right of U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba free of restrictions. We write to express our support for the House and Senate bills to lift all restrictions on travel to Cuba (H.R.2071 and S.950), as well as any amendment to the Transportation/Treasury Appropriations bill that would end funding for enforcement of travel restrictions. We also support Senator Byron Dorgan's amendment to the Agriculture Appropriations bill that would grant a general license for trips to Cuba for any travel associated with U.S. agriculture and medical sales to Cuba. We strongly urge you to vote in
favor of any amendment that would ease restrictions on travel to Cuba and to co-sponsor H.R.2071.

Restricting U.S. travel to Cuba hurts U.S. citizens and the people of Cuba. It denies Americans their freedom to travel and limits the cultural and social benefits that come from unhindered interaction between our peoples. Recent changes to the Office of Foreign Assets Control's (OFAC) regulations on the embargo eliminated the category of people-to-people travel to Cuba, one of the most beneficial forms of educational travel to Cuba for the people of both countries. This is a serious blow to efforts to increase communication, understanding and exchange between the people of Cuba and the United States. In
addition, this policy is inconsistent with U.S. policy on citizen travel to other countries, including the communist nations of North Korea, China and Vietnam.
The burdensome process of licensing for travel associated with U.S. agricultural and medical sales to Cuba creates unnecessary roadblocks to legal sales of U.S. goods to Cuba. Increased travel to Cuba by U.S. citizens would also increase the demand for U.S. agricultural products in Cuba, which would help U.S. farmers.

The House and Senate travel bills and amendments in both chambers to ease Cuba travel restrictions seek to address these problems with U.S. policy on travel to Cuba. Numerous polls show that the majority of Americans and the majority of Cuban-Americans support an end to restrictions on Cuba travel. Please uphold the will of U.S. citizens by supporting any amendments to ease restrictions on travel to Cuba; helping to ensure that such amendments remain in the final Appropriations bills passed; and co-sponsoring and voting for H.R.2071.

Thank you.
Sincerely,

CUBAN-AMERICAN GROUPS
Delvis Fernández Levy
President
Cuban American Alliance Education Fund
Silvia Wilhelm
Executive and Founder
Puentes Cubanos
Eloy Gutiérrez-Menoyo
Founder and President
Cambio Cubano
Roberto Carballo, President
Alfredo Duran, Secretary
Marlene Arzola, Outreach Coordinator
Cuban Committee for Democracy
Alejandro Portes
Professor of Sociology
Director of the Center for Migration and
Development
Princeton University*