Cuba: U.S. Restrictions on Travel and Remittances Page: 2 of 45
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Cuba: U.S. Restrictions on Travel and Remittances
Summary
Restrictions on travel to Cuba have been a key and often contentious component in U.S. efforts to
isolate Cuba's communist government since the early 1960s. Under the George W. Bush
Administration, restrictions on travel and on private remittances to Cuba were tightened. In
March 2003, the Administration eliminated travel for people-to-people educational exchanges
unrelated to academic coursework. In June 2004, the Administration further restricted family and
educational travel, eliminated the category of fully-hosted travel, and restricted remittances so
that they could only be sent to the remitter's immediate family. Initially there was mixed reaction
to the Administration's June 2004 tightening of Cuba travel and remittance restrictions, but
opposition to the policy grew, especially within the Cuban American community regarding the
restrictions on family travel and remittances.
Obama Administration Policy
Under the Obama Administration, Congress took action in March 2009 by including two
provisions in the FY2009 omnibus appropriations measure (PL. 111-8) that eased restrictions on
family travel and travel related to marketing and sale of agricultural and medical goods to Cuba.
Subsequently, in April 2009, President Obama announced that his Administration would go
further and allow unlimited family travel and remittances. Regulations implementing these
changes were issued in September 2009. The new regulations also included the authorization of
general licenses for travel transactions for telecommunications-related sales and for attendance at
professional meetings related to commercial telecommunications.
In January 2011, the Obama Administration announced policy changes further easing restrictions
on travel and remittances. The measures (1) increase purposeful travel to Cuba related to
religious, educational, and people-to-people exchanges; (2) allow any U.S. person to send
remittances to non-family members in Cuba and make it easier for religious institutions to send
remittances for religious activities; and (3) permit all U.S. international airports to apply to
provide services to licensed charter flights. These new measures, with the exception of the
expansion of eligible airports, are similar to policies that were undertaken by the Clinton
Administration in 1999, but subsequently curtailed by the Bush Administration in 2003-2004.
Legislative Initiatives
There were several attempts in the 112th Congress aimed at rolling back the Obama
Administration's actions easing restrictions on travel and remittances, but none of these were
approved. Several legislative initiatives were also introduced that would have further eased or
lifted such restrictions altogether, but no action was taken on these measures.
In the 113th Congress, both the House and Senate versions of the FY2014 Financial Services and
General Government appropriations measure, H.R. 2786 and S. 1371, had provisions that would
have tightened and eased travel restrictions, respectively, but none of these provisions were
included in the FY2014 omnibus appropriations measure, H.R. 3547 (P.L. 113-76), signed into
law January 17, 2014. The House Appropriations Committee version of the bill, H.R. 2786
(H.Rept. 113-172), would have prohibited FY2014 funding used "to approve, license, facilitate,
authorize, or otherwise allow" people-to-people travel to Cuba. In contrast, the Senate version of
the measure, S. 1371(S.Rept. 113-80), would have expanded the current general license for
professional research and meetings in Cuba to allow U.S. groups to sponsor and organizeCongressional Research Service
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Sullivan, Mark P. Cuba: U.S. Restrictions on Travel and Remittances, report, August 19, 2014; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc820419/m1/2/?q=RL31139&rotate=0: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.