Idaho Statesman Logo

Push to end U.S. curbs on Cuba travel renewed | Idaho Statesman

×
  • E-edition
  • Home
    • Customer Service
    • Mobile & Apps
    • Archives
    • Buy Photos and Pages
    • Contact Us
    • Newsletters
    • Newspaper in Education
    • Subscribe
    • Subscriber Services

    • News
    • Boise
    • West Ada
    • Canyon County
    • Crime
    • State News
    • Nation/World News
    • Databases
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Idahoans in the Military
    • Weather
    • Traffic
    • Helping Works
    • In the Classroom
    • Our Community
    • Sports
    • Boise State Football
    • Boise State Basketball
    • Idaho Vandals
    • High Schools
    • Bronco Beat
    • Chadd Cripe
    • Varsity Extra Blog
    • NFL
    • NBA
    • NHL
    • MLB
    • Golf
    • Idaho Politics
    • Elections
    • Government and Business
    • Capitol & State
    • Letters from the West
    • National Politics
    • Business
    • Business Insider
    • Business Columns & Blogs
    • Personal Finance
    • Legal Notices
    • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Bill Manny
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Guest Opinion
    • Submit a Letter or Opinion
    • Entertainment
    • Events Calendar
    • Restaurant Reviews
    • Arts and Culture
    • Festivals
    • Movie Reviews
    • Movie Showtimes
    • Music
    • Television
    • Books
    • Comics
    • Puzzles & Games
    • Horoscopes
    • Puzzles
    • Words & Deeds
    • ArtsBeat
    • Outdoors
    • Playing Outdoors Blog
    • Biking
    • Camping
    • Fishing
    • Hiking and Trails
    • Hunting
    • Winter Recreation
    • Living
    • Food & Drink
    • Health & Fitness
    • Home & Garden
    • Treasure
    • Pets
    • Religion
    • Travel
    • Best of Treasure Valley
    • Heart of the Treasure Valley
    • Margaret Lauterbach
    • Tim Woodward
    • Carolyn Hax
  • Obituaries

  • Contests
  • Advertise
  • Classifieds
  • Jobs
  • Cars
  • Homes
  • Place An Ad

  • About Us
  • Mobile & Apps

News

Push to end U.S. curbs on Cuba travel renewed

Lesley Clark - McClatchy Newspapers

    ORDER REPRINT →

March 31, 2009 04:57 PM

WASHINGTON — Buoyed by a new administration, advocates for trade with Cuba unveiled a bill Tuesday that would lift travel restrictions to the island, allowing Americans to visit there freely.

The bipartisan group of senators, who've long pushed for increased trade with Cuba, say they think that momentum is now on their side, noting that President Barack Obama campaigned on a promise to change U.S.-Cuba policy.

The new bill would bar the president from regulating travel to Cuba, and its supporters said it would help bring changes to the communist-led nation, which for 50 years has been governed by Fidel Castro and now his younger brother, Raul.

Current U.S. policy "has done nothing to weaken the Castro regime," said the bill's chief champion, Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., who's introduced the bill since 2003. "It's long past the time to change this ill-advised policy."

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to The Idaho Statesman

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

Proponents of hard-line sanctions against the regime vowed to block the legislation, however — as they have for the past two sessions of Congress — saying that the bill would enrich Cuban government coffers by promoting tourism to the island.

"We should be siding with the oppressed, not with the oppressors," said Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla.

He suggested that the Senate was getting ahead of Obama, noting that Vice President Joe Biden said Saturday on a visit to Chile that the administration had no plans to lift the economic embargo against Cuba. Martinez also noted that Obama hasn't said he'd lift the travel ban but that he'd roll back President George W. Bush-era regulations that limit remittances sent to the island and bar Cuban-Americans from visiting family members on the island more often than every three years.

Proponents of the legislation argue that U.S. policy is a Cold War relic that should be scrapped. Dorgan was joined by Jose Miguel Vivanco, the director of the Americas division of Human Rights Watch, who argued that current U.S. policy "has neither weakened the Cuban government" nor improved conditions for Cuba's political prisoners. Business groups pledged to push for the legislation with Bob Stallman, the president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, saying that it would help farmers sell more products to Cuba, which he called an important market for soybeans, rice and poultry.

"I think we've finally reached a new watermark on this issue," Dorgan said, adding that he thinks that he has sufficient votes in the House of Representatives and the Senate to get the bill passed. "At some point this is a policy that is no longer justifiable. When something doesn't work for 50 years, clear-headed thinking has to say, 'You know what? It's time to change it.' "

Martinez scoffed at the suggestion that American tourists will usher in democratic change, noting that tourists from Canada, Italy, Spain and Germany have had little effect on the country's government.

Identical legislation will be introduced Thursday in the House. Speaker Nancy Pelosi supports the bill, but a Democratic aide said its passage was uncertain. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has opposed changes to U.S.-Cuba policy, but he said Tuesday that he expected a vote on the measure.

"It's rarely a year goes by since I've been in the Senate that we don't have a vote on Cuba, and I'm sure this year will be no different," he said.

MORE FROM MCCLATCHY

Vow to fight raises question: How long will Iraq's calm last?

Brazil confident that this time, it can weather economic crisis

Congress gives community service programs a boost

GM workers, dealers ponder what's next to save company

  Comments  

Videos

Planned Parenthood disputes Missouri’s new medication abortion law

Idaho Youth Ranch sees an uptick in donations due to popular Netflix show

View More Video

Trending Stories

Idaho internet speed? Nearly worst in U.S. Here’s how we improve (if this @%# page loads)

February 21, 2019 12:23 PM

Nampa may get Amazon’s 3,000 jobs. What will Meridian get? More traffic, mayor says

February 21, 2019 06:27 PM

Texas billionaires put more Idaho land on the market. Here’s how much they still own.

February 21, 2019 05:00 AM

Boise State parts ways with freshman guard after his arrest

February 21, 2019 08:01 PM

Suspects kept woman chained in Owyhee barn, and one man abused her child, authorities say

February 22, 2019 02:10 PM

Read Next

The Latest: Top presidential challenger votes in Nigeria

Nation & World

The Latest: Top presidential challenger votes in Nigeria

The Associated Press

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 23, 2019 02:15 AM

The Latest: Top presidential challenger votes in Nigeria, expects a 'successful transition'.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to The Idaho Statesman

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE NEWS

National Politics

Michigan among 4 states to lock up 17-year-olds as adults

February 23, 2019 02:11 AM

Idaho

A third congressperson for Idaho is not looking likely

February 23, 2019 02:05 AM

National Politics

Michigan Republicans meet to elect new leader at convention

February 23, 2019 02:01 AM

Nation & World

Pakistan FM’s letter to UN warns of security deterioration

February 23, 2019 02:00 AM
Gunfire heard in cities as Nigerians finally go to the polls

Nation & World

Gunfire heard in cities as Nigerians finally go to the polls

February 23, 2019 02:21 AM
AP PHOTOS: A selection of pictures from the past week

Nation & World

AP PHOTOS: A selection of pictures from the past week

February 23, 2019 01:31 AM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

Idaho Statesman App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
  • Archives
Advertising
  • Information
  • Place a Classified
  • Local Deals
  • Place an Obituary
  • Today's Circulars
Copyright
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story