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Rep. Serrano Speaks Out on Cuba Travel Restrictions

 

To watch the speech via streaming video follow the links below.

The following is the text of the speech.

7/7/04

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.
Mr. Chairman, I am somewhat surprised at some of the supporters of this amendment and the way that they are supporting the amendment, as I will. They actually sound like this is on the level. They actually debate this like this is for real.

Let me refresh Members' memories, those who support my position in favor of the Flake amendment on how this happened. A group of Florida legislators wrote the White House and said, if you do not tighten up on Cuba, you are going to lose votes in Florida. That is what happened. That is the truth. So I am surprised that some of my colleagues would actually debate this as if this was real and on the level. This is not on the level.

If you arrived from the moon tomorrow and did not know this was an election year and Florida was in play, how would you have a hint that it was an election year and Florida was in play? Tighten up on Cuba to make Florida not in play, but fall into one column. That is why we bring up Elian Gonzalez, who is playing soccer in Cuba minding his own business. That is why we have decided that Castro stands at the gate and every single dollar and every single tampon and every single Kleenex that goes in Cuba he grabs for himself, and that is why he is the richest guy in the hemisphere, except there is no sign that he is going anywhere and he is nearing 80, so I do not know when he is going to spend all of this money he accumulated.

In 1950, my family came from Puerto Rico. We were not coming from a foreign country, but we felt like we were, and in some cases, we were treated like we were. What do I remember the most? I remember the cold of New York. That was new to me. I arrived in short pants. My father dressed us for Puerto Rico and not for New York.

And I remember my father made $40 a week, and every single Friday upon being paid, he ran to the post office and bought a green money order that he sent back to the folks that we left behind.

So I grew up not understanding a policy that says, to bring about political change, you bring pain to the people you left behind. I do not understand that. That is not right and not correct.

Now, I realize there are rules in the House about how one deals with other Members, and I am one of the most respectful Members when it comes to that, but it was nice to see the majority leader come to the floor and denounce this policy when he is always a leader on trade with China. So whenever he denounces policies like this towards Cuba, I try to see if he is crossing his fingers behind his back since he is such a strong supporter of trading with China.

What are we saying here, that to bring down a government you will deny a family member the ability to visit but once every 3 years. What are we saying, that you are so intent on bringing down a government that has lasted, for whatever reason, for whatever reason, for over 40 years, because you will not allow a cousin toothpaste? Is that who we are as a people? Is that what we believe in?

The gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) is like a brother to me, one of the most humane Members in this Congress, and I know the role he has to play on this amendment, just like he understands the role I play on other amendments. But he cannot really believe we are hurting people in the Government of Cuba by denying toothpaste to people in Cuba. That is not what we are doing.

Mr. Chairman, what we are doing is looking for votes. And you know something? It might work. But there are hollow victories, and this may be one of those. This may be one of those victories where you say, Sure, I won, but the people lost, and I was supposed to be representing the people.

And so in memory of my father, remembering that $10, $5 check that he sent back every week to help those who stayed behind, in respect to the Dominicans and so many people in my district and Mexican Americans who send money back every day, in respect for all of those folks and for what they stand for, I cannot be part of this policy. The only change now is that I am no longer alone here. There was a time when the Ron Dellums and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) and I were totally alone. Now I am glad to say that all those ideas are now Republican ideas, and I welcome that. I love these Republican amendments that try to deal with Cuba in any way.

But, Mr. Chairman, we cannot continue down this route. We are not going anywhere. We are just making enemies of everybody that we can find in Cuba, and that is not the way to do it.

And one last point. Yes, I have seen TV, Spanish radio interviews with dissidents in Cuba who are saying if we want to help them do not do this, that we are just alienating them. And there is one good sign. And it is the hope; it is the future. A significant number in Florida of Cuban-Americans are saying this is wrong. This is not the way to win. This is not the way to help me. Let me talk to my cousin. Let me visit my grandmother. Let me close to the family I left behind because I am in this country, they are not, and I do not want them to miss out on some of the things I have.