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. In March 2003, the Administration eased restrictions on those visiting close family members in Cuba, while at the same time it eliminated travel for people-to-people educational exchanges unrelated to academic course work. 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 108th Congress, several bills have been introduced that would lift or ease restrictions on travel to Cuba, and there has been House action on the Treasury appropriations bill to ease Cuba sanctions. The House approved version of the FY2004 Transportation-Treasury appropriations bill, H.R. 2989, has provisions that would prevent funds from being used to administer or enforce restrictions on travel and remittances, and from being used to eliminate the travel category of people-to-people educational exchanges. Similar Cuba language is expected to be offered during Senate floor consideration of the Senate version of the Treasury appropriations measure, S. 1589.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 12, 2003
- Accession Number
- ADA487711
Entities
People
- Mark P. Sullivan
Organizations
- Library of Congress