We need your help this week!

On January 14, President Obama announced that some restrictions would be lifted on Cuba travel for certain sectors of US citizens:  college students and travelers sponsored by a religious organization will be able to travel to Cuba more freely. Freelance journalists can also apply for a license.

In addition, it appears that non profit organizations like Global Exchange will again be able to apply for a license to organize “people to people” Cuba Reality Tours, as we did for 15 years, prior to the onerous restrictions imposed by the Bush Administration in 2003.

We applaud the Obama Administration for taking this democratic step!

But as with many things, the devil is in the details.  At this time, staff from the Departments of State and Treasury are writing up the “guidelines” for these new categories of legal travel, determining which regulations will be interpreted liberally, allowing more US citizens to travel freely to Cuba, and which will be interpreted in a more rigid way, denying or obstructing the right to travel for US citizens.

The best way to ensure that the guidelines reflect a more liberal Cuba travel policy, especially for the “people to people” license, is for you, our Global Exchange members and supporters, to contact your Congressional delegation and ask them to contact the appropriate staff at the State and Treasury Departments and convey the wishes of their constituents to travel freely to Cuba.

Contact your Congressional delegate today in order to help regain People to People travel to Cuba.

Telephoning your Representative and Senators can be especially effective!
U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121

Thank you for all your help to push to lift the travel restrictions to Cuba. We will keep you informed of our progress on the Global Exchange People-to-People blog.

Yesterday afternoon the much-awaited mark-up and vote on HR 4645 in the House Committee on Foreign Affairs was postponed. Here is the statement from Chairman Howard Berman, upon announcing the postponement:

Statement of Chairman Howard L. Berman on H.R. 4645

Washington, DC – Congressman Howard L. Berman (D-CA), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, released the following statement regarding the markup of H.R. 4645, the Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act:

“For a very long time, I have either led or supported efforts to repeal restrictions on the freedom of Americans to travel. The current prohibition on Americans traveling to Cuba is the last obstacle to the full enjoyment of this right. I strongly support H.R.4645, the Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act, which would eliminate the Cuba travel restrictions.

“The Committee had been scheduled to consider this legislation tomorrow, but it now appears that Wednesday will be the last day that Congress is in session before an extended district work period. That makes it increasingly likely that our discussion of the bill will be disrupted or cut short by votes or other activity on the House floor. Accordingly, I am postponing consideration of H.R. 4645 until a time when the Committee will be able to hold the robust and uninterrupted debate this important issue deserves. I firmly believe that when we debate and vote on the merits of this legislation, and I intend for it to be soon, the right to travel will be restored to all Americans.”

We’d be kidding you if we said we were only a little disappointed that the committee postponed consideration of HR 4645, which, if passed, would have allowed all of us to travel to Cuba whenever we want. We are disappointed big time. Big time.

We felt so good about the direction in which the committee’s vote commitments were going, and we were so impressed and grateful for the tremendous effort you all put into this campaign. Democracy was really working; citizens were expressing their views to their elected officials; members of Congress were listening. While only the Chairman knew the hard-clad, private commitments he had received, we expected to win. But the reality of action on the last day of the session before recess for campaigning took its toll. Members wanted to leave town; we needed ALL of them to show up to cast their votes in order to be successful.

The bottom line right now is:  you did GREAT and valiant work on this campaign to restore our right to travel to Cuba. You made significant progress, and we feel very good about that. Neither Congress nor the President has responded to this opportunity; nor have they reacted appropriately to what is currently happening in Cuba.

We aren’t finished yet in calling them to act on our behalf!

We are delayed, but we are not defeated.

We’ll be back to you in October. Don’t hang up your hats yet.

Sincerely,
Kirsten, Malia, Drea, Leslie and Pam
The Global Exchange Cuba Team, San Francisco, CA
and
Mavis, Paulo, and Emily
The Latin America Working Group Cuba Team, Washington, DC

The House Committee on Foreign Affairs (HCFA) will vote on HR 4645 on Wednesday, September 29, at noon. This means that they will be considering whether to lift the travel ban on Cuba . . . or not.

Global Exchange has provided you with all the information you need to understand HR 4645 and what you can do to make it pass!

We can win this, just like we won in the House Committee on Agriculture, with your help! . . . but we do need YOU, again! TAKE ACTION TODAY.

We’ve asked, for months now, for you to contact your congressperson about HR 4645. Every time we’ve asked you’ve delivered, above our highest expectations.

At each step of this drawn-out process — to end this ridiculous travel ban — your persistence with Congress has proven fruitful. We’ve gotten hearings, we’ve broadened our spectrum of support, we’ve racked-up co-sponsors, and we passed HR 4645 through the Agriculture Committee. Now we come to you again, expressing the same sense of urgency, and asking you help us take the next BIG step on the path to end the travel ban.

If your member of Congress serves on the Foreign Affairs Committee, your voice is supremely important. Find out if your member is part of this committee.

Send another letter, make another phone call. Please.  Send another e-mail message. It works. It has gotten us this far.

We can’t make guarantees about this effort, but we can assure you that, day-in and day-out, dedicated progressive Cuba workers, who are part of our network, are on Capitol Hill doing everything they can to end the travel ban on Cuba. Partner with us, and we can win this.

So please click the link and send an email. It only takes a second, but that second can move mountains.

P.S.
We wish to thank our colleagues in Washington, DC at the Latin America Working Group (LAWG) who have done so much this year, and during the last decade, to keep us informed about upcoming legislation impacting U.S. Cuba Policy!

P.P.S. For those of you who live in four particular congressional districts, the “undecideds,” our sister organization Witness for Peace is arranging a group office visits with banners and press presence.  Here is the information for anyone who wants to join!  We strongly encourage your participation!

Brad Miller, Raleigh, North Carolina, District 13
Monday September 27 at 11 am
1300 St. Mary’s Street, Suite 504 Raleigh, NC 27605.
Contact: Gail Phares, gailphares@earthlink.net or phone 919-624-0646

Brad Sherman, Sherman Oaks California, District 27
Monday September  27 at 4 pm
5000 Van Nuys Blvd., Suite 420 Sherman Oaks, CA  91403
Contact: Tanya Cole, wfpsw@witnessforpeace.org or phone 805-421-9708

Gabby Giffords, Tucson, Arizona, District 8
Monday September  27 at 4 pm
1661 N. Swan, Suite 112 Tucson, AZ 85712
Contact: Tanya Cole, wfpsw@witnessforpeace.org or phone 805-421-9708

Elton Gallegly, Thousand Oaks, California, District 24
Tuesday September  28 at 4 pm
2829 Townsgate Road, Suite 315, Thousand Oaks, CA 91361-3018
Contact: Tanya Cole, wfpsw@witnessforpeace.org or phone 805-421-9708

In August, President Obama may decide to lift all restrictions on educational, cultural and humanitarian travel — the restrictions that Bush imposed in 2004.

In September, when Congress reconvenes after the Labor Day recess, HR 4645, the Freedom to Travel to Cuba and Agricultural Exports Act, will (hopefully) pass through the House Foreign Affairs Committee and on to the floor of the House of Representatives.

TAKE ACTION TODAY

• Send a message to President Obama that we want him to lift all restrictions on educational, cultural, humanitarian and “people to people” travel NOW!

It is widely believed that the Obama Administration must make some positive gesture toward Cuba now, in the wake of Cuba’s release of so many prisoners the US considers political.  Lifting the Bush-imposed restrictions on educational travel would be an easy move for him and an important sign to Cuba that the US is serious about restoring normal relations between our two countries.

• Send an E-mail to your congressperson, urging him or her to vote YES on HR 4645, in the Foreign Affairs Committee if your congressperson sits on that committee, and then on the floor of the House of Representatives.

We are very close to a YES vote in the House, only a few votes short of a majority at this point.  If your congressperson is “on the fence”, your email could be the one that pushes him/her over to the YES side!

Do let your voice be heard!

Adelante!

It’s not every day that we get to write you about a historic legislative victory for a more humane, sensible, and just U.S. policy towards Cuba; but today isn’t just any old day. In a thrilling “mark-up” session Wednesday in the House Committee on Agriculture, H.R. 4645, the “Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act” was passed by 25 votes to 20, putting us one step closer to ending the travel ban this year, in this Congress.

Wednesday’s mark-up session was quite the roller-coaster ride. It lasted three gut-wrenching hours and it seemed like everything, including the kitchen sink, was thrown at this bill by freedom to travel’s opponents. Visit our blog to see a play-by-play of the action in the committee.

This news is cause to celebrate (the long weekend ahead is the perfect time, no?), but the celebration can’t last long. Wednesday’s victory demonstrates that our collective efforts are making an impact. The members of the Agriculture Committee were bombarded with messages encouraging them to show up to this mark-up and to support the Chairman in his effort to do away with an anachronistic and isolationist policy. Agriculture Committee Chairman Peterson should be applauded for moving this bill forward in the House, but doing so didn’t come without a cost. Since we can’t count on the members who voted to report the bill out of committee to vote with us on the House floor, we need to thank them for their support now (you can bet the opposition is contacting these members, too, but the message isn’t as friendly). In Washington, it often takes courage to do what is right and we should acknowledge it when it happens.

Agriculture Committee members who voted in favor of H.R. 4645 and U.S. citizens’ right to travel to Cuba:
(If your member is on this list, please call the office and thank her/him heartily. Capitol Switchboard – 202.224.3121):

Boccieri (D, OH-16) Kagen (D, WI-8) Boswell (D, IA-3) Kratovil (D, MD-1) Bright (D, AL-2) Lummis (R, WY-At large) Cardoza (D, CA-18) Markey (D, CO-4) Cassidy (R, LA-6) Minnick (D, ID-1) Childers (D, MS-1) Moran, Jerry (R, KS-1) Costa (D, CA-20) Murphy, Scott (D, NY-20) Cuellar (D, TX-28) Owens (D, NY-23) Ellsworth (D, IN-8) Peterson, Collin (D, MN-7) Halvorson (D, IL-11) Pomeroy (D, ND-At large) Herseth-Sandlin (D, SD-At large) Scott, David (D, GA-13) Holden (D, PA-17) Walz (D, MN-1) Johnson, Tim (R- IL-15)

We must also make clear to those members who voted against the majority of U.S. citizens, major human rights organizations, the religious community, the business community, U.S. farmers, Cuban Americans, academics, and countless others, that their decision will not go unnoticed. Please register your disappointment with your member’s office if she/he appears on the list below.

Agriculture Committee members who voted against H.R. 4645 and U.S. citizens’ right to travel to Cuba:

Baca (D, CA-43) Neugebauer (R, TX-19) Conaway (R, TX-11) Roe (R, TN-1) Dahlkemper (D, PA-3) Rogers, Michael (R, AL-3) Fortenberry (R, NE-1) Rooney (R, FL-16) Goodlatte (R, VA-6) Schauer (D, MI-7) Graves (R, MO-6) Schmidt (R, OH-2) King (R, IA-5) Schrader (D, OR-5) Lucas (R, OK-3) Smith, Adrian (R, NE-3) Luetkemeyer (R, MO-9) Thompson, Glenn (R, PA-5) Marshall (D, GA-8) McIntyre (D, NC-7)

Your efforts made this victory possible; but, although this vote was historic, the ban on travel to Cuba is not yet history. The next step is to get this bill to the House floor before election fever kicks into full gear–and to do that, we’ll need to redouble our efforts in the coming weeks.

Congress will be in recess all next week, many in their home districts.  Their first full day of work will begin around July 13.  There will be further updates, after the July 4th holiday weekend on which Congress people to focus our attention on.

Stay tuned!

The next step for this bill is a vote on the floor of the House, which is scheduled for the week after the July 4th holiday weekend.  We are told we still need around 13 votes, and that Speaker Pelosi will help us get them.

The debate on the bill began at 2:00 pm, EST, was interrupted once for a floor vote on another issue, and survived five attempts at amendments which would have eliminated or weakened the travel portion of the bill, four from Republicans and one from a Democrat.

Fortunately, for three hours, Chairman Peterson (D- MN) held tightly to procedural rules.  Both parties were allowed to express their reservations, but ultimately the Chairman and his Democratic majority prevailed.

Tomorrow we will get word from our sister organizations in Washington DC about next steps for us in this struggle.  We still have to survive a vote on the full floor of the House and the Senate!

We’ll keep you posted!

Additional Resources:
Press Release from the House Agricultural Committee, House Agriculture Committee Approves Historic Legislation to Expand Agriculture Trade with Cuba.

Wondering where things stand with the Cuba travel ban and how you can make your voice heard? Pam Montanaro, Coordinator of Global Exchange’s Eco Cuba Exchange, with the support of Leslie Balog and Drea Hightower of Global Exchange’s Cuba Reality Tours, have summed it up for you:

Freedom to Travel to Cuba!
Now is the time to get every possible YES vote for H.R. 4645, the “Freedom to Travel to Cuba” Bill, now known as the Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act.

This bill restores our right to travel to Cuba and lifts restrictions on agricultural sales to Cuba. It will be voted on in the House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture during the month of June. Then it will move to the Floor of the House and Speaker Pelosi will bring every possible Democrat on board. President Barack Obama will then sign this bill into law.

This is the best opportunity we’ve had in years to end the Cuba travel restrictions and maybe our last chance for the next several years.

This bill will pass in the Senate with 62 YES votes! We now have 205 YES votes in the House. We only need 13 more votes!
If you’re wondering who’s on the fence, check out the swing votes.

Are you in a power position? If you are a constituent of one of the swing vote representatives, or know someone who is, you are in a powerful position to help pass this Bill!

Here’s what to do:

1) Go to the Global Exchange Cuba bill info page for more information on this bill and what you can do to help get it passed. There you will find the complete text of the bill, talking points, and exactly what to say to your Congressperson.

2) Help us spread the word by forwarding this post on to your friends, family, and colleagues. Include a personal note letting them know why this issue is important to you. Ask that they, too, email and call their congressperson’s office.

3) Forward the information here to any businesspeople, farmers,  farmers associations, travel agents,  travel associations, municipal and church leaders, or other influential constituents who’d be willing to weigh in with your congressperson along with your personal note.

Lifting the travel ban is within our grasp. It hasn’t been easy to get here. Let’s make sure that all the emails, calls, letters-to-the-editor, delegations to Cuba, and rallies over the last fifty years pay off this year, in this Congress, by acting today!