Last month, the Senate voted 59-36 to include an amendment that would eliminate funding for the enforcement of the Cuba travel ban. The House included the identical amendment in September by a vote of 227-188. In a further show of strong Senate bipartisan support for ending the travel ban, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a bill, S. 950, to lift the Cuba travel ban entirely, by a vote of 13-5.

The purpose of a conference committee is to reconcile differences between the House and Senate versions of a particular bill. The margins of support on the issue of travel to Cuba reflected a clear and undeniable statement of policy intent by Congress. Since both Houses of Congress passed the same amendment, there was nothing for the conferees to reconcile.

ACTION 1: Call your two senators and your representative to loudly protest this subversion of democracy. Talking points:
* Polls show that the American people want the travel ban to Cuba to end.
* It is the bipartisan will of the Congress that the travel ban end.
* It would benefit the Cuban people for the travel ban to end.
* The White House and the Republican leadership should not have the power to
remove the amendment against the will of the people and of the Congress.
* This is an undemocratic action. We protest.

The US Capitol Switchboard number is 202.224.3121, or look your member up on the internet at www.house.gov or www.senate.gov. You can also try a toll free line to the Capitol Switchboard, but it is often busy: 1.800.839.5276. If the switchboard is busy when you call, please try to reach your members directly by phone, fax, or email.

ACTION 2: Contact President Bush to protest pandering to Florida electoral votes. Same talking points.

Phone numbers:
Comments: 202.456.1111
Switchboard: 202.456.1414
Fax: 202.456.2461

TTY/TDD
Comments: 202.456.6213

Email: President George W. Bush president@whitehouse.gov
White House Comment Mail Web: https://sawho14.eop.gov/PERSdata/intro.htm
Mailing address: The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington,
DC 20500

Thanks for all you do with us to end the embargo on Cuba. We'll keep you informed about what happens next. Supporters of the Cuba travel amendment have said that if the conferees produced a conference report that excluded their amendment, they would consider all parliamentary options available to them to respond to that eventuality. The final word may not have been written yet.

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