More than 50 senators support eliminating restrictions on travel to Cuba

More than 50 senators support eliminating restrictions on travel to Cuba
BY NORA GÁMEZ TORRES
ngameztorres@elnuevoherald.com

As the Cuba policy review reaches its final stage, politicians,
companies and organizations that support the policy of engagement are
making an extra effort to send this message to Donald Trump: Mr.
President, don't eliminate opportunities to travel to the island.

Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) and Jeff Flake (R-Arizona)
reintroduced a bill Thursday to eliminate all prohibitions on travel to
Cuba. The bill, which had only eight cosponsors when first filed in
2015, now has the support of 55 senators from both parties.

"As the administration is finalizing its Cuba policy review, it is
important to show that a bipartisan majority in the Senate supports not
only not rolling back the measures that President Obama took to expand
travel, but to go even further and remove all restrictions," James
Williams, president of Engage Cuba, told el Nuevo Herald. Engage Cuba is
a coalition of companies and organizations that lobby to eliminate
sanctions on Cuba.

The bill would remove all restrictions for U.S. citizens and residents
on travel to Cuba, and will authorize associated banking transactions
made by travelers. A similar proposal was presented in the House but
with fewer sponsors.

Even if the bill is not discussed on the Senate floor, said Williams, it
sends a strong message to the White House that there is support for the
current policy of engagement.

In a separate move to push the agenda forward, another piece of
legislation was introduced on Friday to lift the trade embargo. The
Freedom to Export to Cuba Act of 2017 was introduced by Sens. Leahy,
Flake, Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) and Mike Enzi (R-Wyoming).

"This bipartisan legislation would benefit the people of both our
countries by boosting American exports and creating opportunity for the
Cuban people," said Klobuchar. "We need to turn the page on the failed
policy of isolation and build on the progress we have made to open up
engagement with Cuba by ending the embargo once and for all."

On travel to the island, former President Barack Obama expanded to 12
the number of authorized categories under which travelers may visit
Cuba. But the removal of all travel restrictions requires an act of
Congress.

As a result of Obama's measures, the number of Americans who traveled to
the island soared. Cuban authorities reported 118-percent growth through
March, compared to the same period last year. In 2016, more than 280,000
Americans traveled to the island.

But those who support the current policies fear that travel to Cuba may
be in jeopardy. Although the review of the Cuba policy is being carried
out by different federal agencies and coordinated by the National
Security Council, Cuban-American lawmakers Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep.
Mario Díaz-Balart — who favor the elimination of what they see as
concessions to the Cuban government — are playing a significant role in
the process.

"Recognizing the inherent right of Americans to travel to Cuba isn't a
concession to dictators, it is an expression of freedom. It is Americans
who are penalized by our travel ban, not the Cuban government," said Flake.

"Lifting the ban on U.S. citizens traveling to Cuba can pave the way to
meaningful change by increasing contact between Cubans and everyday
Americans, and it is certain to have positive benefits for the island's
burgeoning entrepreneurial and private sector," he added.

In a statement in support of the bill, the Cuban Study Group, a
Cuban-American nonprofit organization that backed Obama's changes,
stressed that the elimination of the restrictions would have a
"substantial" effect on the lives of Cubans, especially those who have
joined the private sector.

"Instead of being forced to use the government as an intermediary,
hundreds of thousands of Cubans who work in independent restaurants, bed
and breakfasts, and a wide range of other service professions would have
direct access to U.S. currency," the organization said.

Some 40 companies and associations organizing trips to Cuba also sent a
letter to Trump asking him to prioritize economic "growth and job
creation" in the policy review.

The letter signers, including former charter flight companies as well as
the American Society of Travel Agents, the National Tour Association and
the United States Tour Operators Association, say the increase in U.S.
visitors to Cuba has allowed them to "hire more American employees," in
a nod to Trump's America First theme.

"U.S. travelers are the best representatives of American beliefs, ideas
and values," said Collin Laverty, president of Cuba Educational Travel,
who coordinated the letter. "The Trump administration should put U.S.
companies and travelers in a position to compete with Chinese, Russian
and Venezuelan influence on the island."

Follow Nora Gámez Torres on Twitter: @ngameztorres

Source: More than 50 senators support eliminating restrictions on travel
to Cuba | Miami Herald -
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article152831714.html