Freedom to Travel to Cuba bill introduced to Congress

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A bipartisan group of Congressional representatives has jumped the gun on speculation over whether President Obama might move to lift U.S. travel restrictions vis-a-vis Cuba.

Last Wednesday, four Democrats and four Republicans co-sponsored House Bill H.R. 874, introduced by William Delahunt (D-MA), to restore the right of U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba. The bill was proposed in a previous session of Congress, but never came up for debate.

Early in his election campaign, Obama called for an end to the restrictions. Although he later modified his position, calling solely for easing restrictions on Cuban-Americans to travel to Cuba, the current sense among analysts is that he would sign H.R. 874 if passed by Congress.

I urge everyone to contact their Congressional representatives to support this bill. Contact the Latin American Working Group (424 C St. NE, Washington, DC 20002, 202/546-7010), which campaigns to lift the travel restrictions and U.S. embargo, monitors legislation, and can advise on how representatives have voted on Cuban-related issues.

Here’s the text of the bill…

H. R. 874
To allow travel between the United States and Cuba.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 4, 2009
Mr. DELAHUNT (for himself, Mr. FLAKE, Ms. DELAURO, Mrs. EMERSON, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MORAN of Kansas, Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland, Mr. PAUL, and Mr. FARR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
________________________________________
A BILL
To allow travel between the United States and Cuba.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act'.

SECTION. 2. TRAVEL TO CUBA.
On and after the date of the enactment of this Act, and subject to section 3--
(1) the President may not regulate or prohibit, directly or indirectly, travel to or from Cuba by United States citizens or legal residents, or any of the transactions incident to such travel; and
(2) any regulation in effect on such date of enactment that regulates or prohibits travel to or from Cuba by United States citizens or legal residents or transactions incident to such travel shall cease to have any force or effect.

SECTION 3. EXCEPTIONS.
Section 2 shall not apply in a case in which the United States is at war with Cuba, armed hostilities between the two countries are in progress, or there is imminent danger to the public health or the physical safety of United States travelers.

SECTION 4. APPLICABILITY.
This Act applies to actions taken by the President before the date of the enactment of this Act that are in effect on such date of enactment, and to actions taken on or after such date.

SECTION 5. INAPPLICABILITY OF OTHER PROVISIONS.
The provisions of this Act apply notwithstanding section 102(h) of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 (22 U.S.C. 6032(h)) and section 910(b) of the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7210(b)).

Rep DeLauro, Rosa L. [CT-3] - 2/4/2009
Rep Edwards, Donna F. [MD-4] - 2/4/2009
Rep Emerson, Jo Ann [MO-8] - 2/4/2009
Rep Farr, Sam [CA-17] - 2/4/2009
Rep Flake, Jeff [AZ-6] - 2/4/2009
Rep McGovern, James P. [MA-3] - 2/4/2009
Rep Moran, Jerry [KS-1] - 2/4/2009
Rep Paul, Ron [TX-14] - 2/4/2009