{"id":203331,"date":"2019-07-31T14:36:38","date_gmt":"2019-07-31T18:36:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=203331"},"modified":"2019-07-31T14:36:38","modified_gmt":"2019-07-31T18:36:38","slug":"senator-patrick-leahy-i-am-confident-that-if-we-were-afforded-the-opportunity-to-vote-it-would-be-law-for-americans-to-travel-freely-to-cuba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba-usa\/senator-patrick-leahy-i-am-confident-that-if-we-were-afforded-the-opportunity-to-vote-it-would-be-law-for-americans-to-travel-freely-to-cuba\/","title":{"rendered":"Senator Patrick Leahy: &#8220;I am confident that if we were afforded the opportunity to vote, it would be law for Americans to travel freely to Cuba&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy for the State of Vermont argued that &#8220;it is indefensible that the federal government restricts American citizens and legal residents from traveling to a tiny country 90 miles away that poses no threat to us.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is what he said in his official statement after presenting the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.leahy.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/Freedom_for_Americans_to_Travel_to_Cuba_Act_of_2019.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">bill<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for the Freedom for Americans to Travel to Cuba Act of 2019.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Here\u2019s the Senate bill number for my new bipartisan bill to give Americans the freedom to travel to <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Cuba?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Cuba<\/a>: S.2303.   <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ikI1Pqjney\">https:\/\/t.co\/ikI1Pqjney<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Sen. Patrick Leahy (@SenatorLeahy) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SenatorLeahy\/status\/1156242504146149382?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 30, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although the bill is bipartisan, that is, both Democratic and Republican representatives sponsor it, there are still several unknown factors to consider before a possible approval.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, that the Republicans currently control the Senate, and the presidents of the Republican committees are responsible for setting their committees\u2019 agendas. That means that only those Republicans decide if this bill is important enough to take it to debate and then to vote.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is why 46 cosponsors of both parties met to present the bill not only in the Senate but also in the United States Congress. The House is now controlled by the Democrats, and the equivalent bill (exactly the same)<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba-usa\/u-s-senators-and-representatives-present-bill-to-lift-travel-to-cuba-restrictions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was introduced<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by Congressman Jim McGovern last week.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"TR0oOPlCiK\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba-usa\/u-s-senators-and-representatives-present-bill-to-lift-travel-to-cuba-restrictions\/\">U.S. senators and representatives present bill to lift travel to Cuba restrictions<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;U.S. senators and representatives present bill to lift travel to Cuba restrictions&#8221; &#8212; OnCubaNews English\" src=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba-usa\/u-s-senators-and-representatives-present-bill-to-lift-travel-to-cuba-restrictions\/embed\/#?secret=Ar8iElzB5t#?secret=TR0oOPlCiK\" data-secret=\"TR0oOPlCiK\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Leahy also published an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.leahy.senate.gov\/press\/statement-of-senator-patrick-leahy-on-the-freedom-for-americans-to-travel-to-cuba-act-of-2019-congressional-record\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">official statement<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on Monday about the bill where he presents the main reasons for its approval.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;We are introducing this bill for one reason: so Americans can travel to Cuba in the same way that they can travel to every other country in the world except North Korea, to which President Trump banned travel by executive order,&#8221; he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For the Senator, who has traveled to the island on several occasions, it is incomprehensible that the only country to which Americans are banned from traveling is Cuba (with the exception of North Korea, recently added to the ban by executive order).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Why only Cuba?\u00a0 Why not Venezuela?\u00a0 Or Russia?\u00a0 Or Iran, or anywhere else?\u00a0 It is a vindictive, discriminatory, self-defeating vestige of a time long passed,&#8221; said Leahy, adding that if the bill is passed, the Cold War restrictions on the freedom of Americans to travel will end.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Leahy referred to a <em>CBS <\/em><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/cbs-news-poll-resuming-relations-with-cuba\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">poll<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> where 81 percent of Americans support expanding travel to Cuba, and that, however, those trips will be drastically reduced due to U.S. government policies &#8220;driven by purely domestic political calculations.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Thousands of private Cuban entrepreneurs, the taxi drivers, the Airbnb renters, restaurants, and shops that depend on American customers are struggling to survive.\u00a0 It is a shortsighted, anachronistic policy that is beneath our democracy,&#8221; he denounced.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"94d90DZo7m\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba-usa\/trumps-war-against-cuban-entrepreneurs\/\">Trump&#8217;s war against Cuban entrepreneurs<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;Trump&#8217;s war against Cuban entrepreneurs&#8221; &#8212; OnCubaNews English\" src=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba-usa\/trumps-war-against-cuban-entrepreneurs\/embed\/#?secret=FEz5c8B09Z#?secret=94d90DZo7m\" data-secret=\"94d90DZo7m\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;The issue is how best to support the people of Cuba who struggle to make ends meet, and who want to live in a country where freedom of expression and association are protected,&#8221; said Leahy and stressed that &#8220;for more than half a century we tried a policy of unilateral sanctions and isolation, and it achieved neither of those goals.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Leahy clarified that the bipartisan bill &#8220;is about the right of Americans, not Cubans, to travel. Every member of Congress, especially those who have been to Cuba, should oppose restrictions on American citizens that have no place in the law books of a free society.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_203334\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-203334\" style=\"width: 755px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Leahy-en-Cuba-Ismario-3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-203334\" src=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Leahy-en-Cuba-Ismario-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"755\" height=\"503\" srcset=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Leahy-en-Cuba-Ismario-3.jpg 755w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Leahy-en-Cuba-Ismario-3-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Leahy-en-Cuba-Ismario-3-750x500.jpg 750w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 755px) 100vw, 755px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-203334\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: Ismario Rodr\u00edguez.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Senator Leahy also answered <strong>OnCuba\u2019s<\/strong> questions about other issues concerning the bill.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>What exactly is the process for the bill to pass?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The bill is referred to the Foreign Relations Committee, which has the authority to report it to the full Senate.\u00a0 Then the bill has to be put on the Senate calendar for debate.\u00a0 The decision of whether and when to do that is made by Majority Leader McConnell.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>How long does it take?\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unfortunately, that is impossible to predict at this time.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>What real possibilities are there for it to be approved and applied, despite the embargo and the LIBERTY Act?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I am confident that if the bill is brought up for debate and a vote, it would pass the Senate.\u00a0 It already has 46 original cosponsors.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>If applicable, would other prior regulations such as the 2000\u00a0TSRA be ineffective?\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The bill supersedes prior legislation and regulations restricting travel by American citizens and nationals to Cuba.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><strong>The act does not only ask for freedom to travel to Cuba, but to have the possibility of financial transactions. How would that work while the current embargo is still active?\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It supersedes those restrictions, so financial transactions incident to travel by Americans would no longer be restricted.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><strong>If it is effectively approved and thousands of Americans begin to travel to Cuba, how would the fact that the American embassy has reduced staff and has almost no consular activity influence?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That is a separate issue that I and others are urging the White House to address.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy for the State of Vermont argued that &#8220;it is indefensible that the federal government restricts American citizens and legal residents from traveling to a tiny country 90 miles away that poses no threat to us.&#8221; This is what he said in his official statement after presenting the bill for the Freedom [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3096,"featured_media":203333,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13944],"tags":[14891,23988,20333],"ppma_author":[33549,7168],"class_list":["post-203331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cuba-usa","tag-cuba-usa-relations","tag-senator-patrick-leahy","tag-u-s-sanctions-against-cuba"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Senator Patrick Leahy: &quot;I am confident that if we were afforded the opportunity to vote, it would be law for Americans to travel freely to Cuba&quot; | OnCubaNews English<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" 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