Cuba: U.S. Restrictions on Travel and Legislative Initiatives Page: 2 of 22
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Cuba: U.S. Restrictions on Travel
and Legislative Initiatives
Summary
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 coursework. Enforcement of U.S.
restrictions on Cuba travel has increased under the Bush Administration. On October
10, 2003, President Bush instructed the Department of Homeland Security to enforce
the trade and travel embargo more strictly.
Major arguments made for lifting the Cuba travel ban are it hinders efforts to
influence conditions in Cuba and may be aiding Castro by helping restrict the flow
of information; 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 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, both the House- and Senate-approved versions of the
FY2004 Transportation-Treasury appropriations bill, H.R. 2989, had nearly identical
provisions that would have prevented funds from being used to administer or enforce
restrictions on travel or travel-related transactions. But the provisions were dropped
in the conference report to the FY2004 Consolidated Appropriations Act, P.L. 108-
199 (H.R. 2673, H.Rept. 108-401), which incorporated seven regular appropriations
acts, including Transportation-Treasury appropriations. The conference to H.R. 2673
also dropped two Cuba provisions from the House version of H.R. 2989 on
remittances and on people-to-people educational exchanges. In addition, the
conference dropped a provision from the Senate version of the FY2004 agriculture
appropriations bill that would have allowed travel to Cuba under a general license for
travel related to the sale of agricultural and medical goods. The White House had
threatened to veto any legislation that weakened economic sanctions against Cuba.
Among other Cuba measures introduced in the 108th Congress, two bills would
specifically lift restrictions on travel to Cuba, S. 950 (Enzi) and H.R. 2071 (Flake).
Three broader bills easing sanctions would also lift restrictions on travel: H.R. 188
(Serrano), S. 403 (Baucus), H.R. 1698 (Paul), and H.R. 3422 (Serrano).
This report will be updated to reflect major developments. For additional
information, see CRS Report RL31740, Cuba: Issues for the 108th Congress.
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Sullivan, Mark P. Cuba: U.S. Restrictions on Travel and Legislative Initiatives, report, January 29, 2004; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc808681/m1/2/?q=RL31139: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.