For 50 years, the United States and Cuba have separately endured a travel restriction that has divided tourists. In April 2009, President Obama loosened constraints and allowed Cuban-Americans with family members in Cuba to travel without time restrictions, and last Wednesday the House Agricultural Committee voted 25-20 to lift the ban.
Now, the Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act (HR 4645) needs to pass through Foreign Affairs and Financial Services Committees in order to be considered by the full house. Only then, will the senate be able to act.
Senators Byron Dorgan (North Dakota) and Mike Enzi (Wyoming) are supporters of lifting the ban, and have worked toward progression since March 2007. They say that 60 other senators are behind them, which meets the necessary amount to achieve cloture and to avoid a filibuster. According to them, both Democrats and Republicans are in favor of the movement, which helps the validity of the movement.
Last week’s vote is the first major step toward congressional approval, and if it comes to fruition, American farmers would be allowed to sell produce in Cuba and have the opportunity to expand trade. Before the 1960 embargo, the United States accounted for 70 percent of Cuba’s international trade, and was the U.S.’s seventh largest market for exports.
Other changes include opening business with Cuban banks, and a push by Amnesty International for Cuba to release political prisoners.
Opponents argue that allowing American tourists to spend money in Cuba would eventually help Fidel and Raul Castro’s communist regime. Supporters respond by pointing toward the benefit that both Cuban and American tourists could gain, and question why citizens and tourists should be “punished” for the U.S. government’s issues with the Cuban government.
