U.S. lawmaker sees Cuba embargo gone by late 2010

U.S. lawmaker sees Cuba embargo gone by late 2010
Reuters
Tue May 5, 7:33 pm ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Congress will most likely lift a
five-decades-old embargo on Cuba before the end of 2010, a senior
Democratic lawmaker said Tuesday.

House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles
Rangel told reporters he believed the current Congress, which goes
through next year, would lift the trade ban.

Rangel, a long time critic of the embargo and head of the House's
powerful tax and trade policy committee, made the comment in response to
a question.

He was at an event with other lawmakers to push for action on
legislation to ease U.S. restrictions on trade and travel to Cuba. Asked
how likely it was the overall embargo would come off in this Congress,
Rangel said: "Most likely."

However, action on that would take a back seat to work in the near term
on reforming the U.S. health care system, said Rangel, a New York Democrat.

Last month, President Barack Obama took a step toward improved relations
with the communist-run island by easing restrictions on family travel to
Cuba.

Obama then urged Cuba to release political prisoners and improve human
rights to get more concessions from Washington.

Cuban President Raul Castro and his brother, former Cuban leader Fidel
Castro, both have expressed a willingness to talk with the United States.

But they publicly insist that Cuba does not have to make concessions to
move the diplomatic process forward.

Representative William Delahunt told reporters he did not expect a vote
until November on his bill to allow all U.S. citizens to travel freely
to Cuba.

"We're building up support. We have 138 co-sponsors," Delahunt, a
Massachusetts Democrat, said.

But Democratic congressional leaders had to decide when and how to
proceed with Cuba legislation, he said. Meanwhile embargo supporters are
"spending huge amounts of money" to defeat the travel bill, Delahunt said.

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk told Reuters Tuesday Obama was
waiting for Cuba to make the next move.

"What the president has said now it's time for Cuba to demonstrate its
willingness to take some steps and show some progress and change in
philosophy as it relates to human rights and perhaps releasing some of
the prisoners," Kirk said.

(Reporting by Susan Cornwell and Doug Palmer; editing by Cynthia Osterman)

U.S. lawmaker sees Cuba embargo gone by late 2010 (6 May 2009)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090505/pl_nm/us_usa_cuba_trade_1