Cuba: U.S. Restrictions on Travel and Legislative Initiatives

Abstract

Restrictions on travel to Cuba have been a key and often contentious component in U.S. efforts to isolate the communist government of Fidel Castro for much of the past 40 years. Over time, there have been numerous changes to the restrictions, and for 5 years, from 1977 until 1982, there were no restrictions on travel to Cuba. This report surveys changes to the travel restrictions dating back to the 1960s, summarizes major arguments for and against lifting such restrictions, and tracks legislative initiatives to ease restrictions on travel to Cuba. Major arguments made for lifting the Cuba travel ban are that it hinders efforts to influence conditions in Cuba and may be aiding Castro by helping to restrict the flow of information between the United States and Cuba, it abridges the rights of ordinary Americans, and Americans can travel to other countries with communist or authoritarian governments. Major arguments in opposition to lifting the Cuba travel ban are that American tourist travel would support Castro's rule by providing his government with millions of dollars in tourist receipts, there are legal provisions allowing travel to Cuba for humanitarian purposes that are used by thousands of Americans each year, and the President should be free to restrict travel for foreign policy reasons. In the 107th Congress, while there were various measures introduced that would have eliminated or eased restrictions on travel to Cuba, and while the House voted in both the first and second sessions to prohibit spending to administer the travel regulations, no legislative action was completed before Congress adjourned. In the second session, the House-approved version of the FY2003 Treasury Department appropriation measure, H.R. 5120, contained a provision stating that no funds could be used to administer or enforce Treasury Department regulations with respect to Cuba travel.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 24, 2003
Accession Number
ADA487628

Entities

People

  • Mark P. Sullivan

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Commerce
  • Communists
  • Congress
  • Department Of State
  • Foreign Policy
  • Governments
  • Human Rights
  • Law
  • National Security
  • New York
  • Passengers
  • Political Systems
  • Public Health
  • Regulations
  • Security
  • United States
  • Ussr

Readers

  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • East Asian Political and Security Studies within the Soviet Union
  • Economics