FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, September 15, 2004

Congressman Flake Withdraws Amendment Lifting Cuba Travel Ban

Policy Effort Being Mired in Election Years Politics

Washington, D.C. - Arizona Congressman Jeff Flake, a member of the House International Relations Committee, today gave the following statement on the floor of the House of Representatives regarding his decision to withdraw his amendment that would effectively lift the ban on Americans traveling to Cuba:

"Mr. Speaker, for the past four years I have stood to offer this same amendment, an amendment to restore the basic right of Americans to travel to Cuba. The Flake amendment has, for the past three years, enjoyed broad bipartisan support in the Congress, and for good reason. For the past 45 years we have attempted to bring about regime change in Cuba, only to see Fidel Castro outlast nine U.S. presidents. All the while, his countrymen have been denied their most basic human rights.

"A compelling case could be made that our policy of isolating Cuba made sense during the Cold War. As a pawn of the Soviet Union, Cuba was actively exporting the revolution with its troops around the world. But we are more than a decade removed from the Cold War. We face new challenges, challenges that, it can be safely said, don't include the spread of Cuban-style communism.

"Our challenge is to export freedom to Cuba, and for this cause our current policy is as outdated as the cars that ply the highways of Havana. How can we promote liberty in Cuba with a policy that denies our own citizens the right to travel to the island? How can we foster respect for basic human dignity when we tell Cuban Americans that they can no longer send soap and toothpaste to their long-suffering relatives in Cuba?

"Have we become so blinded by short-term politics that we fail to see the long-term consequences of our policy? In a word, yes. I should note that this blindness does not only affect the Republican Party. The Democratic leadership hasn't offered a vision that is much clearer. Unfortunately, neither party can see past Florida when trying to decide what to do about Cuba.

"With this bill today, and in other bills this year, we will appropriate tens of millions of dollars relating to Cuba. It is fitting that we ask, for what purpose? So that think tanks in Miami can churn out more reports telling the Congress, unsurprisingly, that we ought to continue the current policy, which includes giving them money? So that daily television programs can be produced in Miami that Cubans will never see? So that a little-league team in Arizona won't be able to play baseball with their peers in Cuba? So that faith-based groups in Indiana distributing bibles in Cuba can be fined for their evangelical zeal? So that a grieving daughter in South Carolina won't be able to attend her mother's funeral in Cuba? As a Republican, I fail to see anything conservative about these policies.

"There is a saying, "No man is an island," yet our policy assumes that Fidel Castro is Cuba's only resident. The people of Cuba have suffered decades under his rule. Our policies, particularly those enacted just months ago which limit family charity, have only added to their burdens.

"Unfortunately, the timing of this legislation this year does not lend itself to a reasoned and thoughtful debate about our policy toward Cuba. Our efforts in this area have always been bipartisan in nature. But, with elections so close and politics so raw, this debate would not receive the thoughtful deliberation it deserves.

"I want to thank those members of Congress on both sides of the aisle who are working so hard for a more effective and reasonable Cuba policy - those who believe that promoting freedom in Cuba is best achieved by giving Americans more freedom. Our efforts will resume as soon as the electoral smoke clears.

"It is my understanding that Congressman Davis of Florida will offer an amendment to roll back the new restrictions on family travel by Cuban Americans. My colleagues and I look forward to helping Congressman Davis with his worthy efforts.

"With that, Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my amendment."

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