We are tremendously grateful to the hundreds of you who called your congressperson (and others) and then called or emailed us with the results of your calls. It was very helpful information in preparing for the debates today, but it will be even more important as we begin to analyze who changed her/his vote, who took money from the so-called “US-Cuba Democracy PAC”, who caved in to pressure from the three Cuban-American reps from south Florida (the two Diaz-Balarts and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen) and Rep. Bob Menendez from NJ. All four of them lobbied members of Congress ahead of the votes, spoke to the amendments on the floor, and applied pressure on swing voters.

House of Representatives: Although hundreds of members of Congress received multiple calls and emails, and though there were good debates on the House floor on five different Cuba policy amendments (Cuban-American travel, educational travel, end-the-embargo, religious travel, military personnel—Sgt. Carlos Lazo—travel), the Congress voted against the sentiments of the American people. The Flake military personnel amendment was prohibited on a point of order; the Davis Cuban-American travel amendment lost 208-211; the Flake religious travel amendment was withdrawn; the Lee education exchange amendment lost 187-233, and the Rangel “end-the-embargo” amendment lost 169-250. Here is our press release.

Here are the links to the Roll Call votes for the Cuba votes. Check out how your member voted on each amendment, and call them to task if they voted wrong. Especially for those of you who talked with an aide in your member’s office who indicated a “yes” vote, let them know how disappointed you are at the deception if they ended up voting “no.”

• http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll345.xml Davis Cuban-American family travel amendment
• http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll346.xml Lee educational exchange amendment
• http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll348.xml Rangel “end the embargo” amendment

This was disappointing, to say the least. We are especially distressed at the seeming “buying” of votes through contributions to the campaigns of many members who changed their votes from previous years. According to www.opensecrets.org , members of Congress were given $1,000 or more by the “U.S.-Cuba Democracy PAC”: Click here to see the list.

Follow the money, and see how your member voted after taking “embargo money.” Then follow up! Here’s an example of a letter one of our Cuba Advocates wrote to his congressperson in preparation for yesterday’s votes and in protest of the money that this congressperson accepted from the hard-line embargo-supporting PAC.

Dear Congressman:

Please vote for an end to the offensive ban against Americans traveling to Cuba, as well as an end to the embargo on trade with that country.

We know you received a $5,000 contribution from the U.S.-Cuba Democracy PAC, which supports the ban and embargo. Please change your vote and help restore normal relations with Cuba. 45 years is long enough. A Cuban exile community in Florida should not trump the interests of [your state] citizens in free trade and travel. The Cubans didn’t vote for you; we did.

Give the PAC back its $5,000, and let’s move forward.

We encourage you to write a similar letter (but changing it to reflect the vote cast) if your congressperson accepted embargo money. You can verify our $$ list by going to: http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/pacgot.asp?strID=C00387720&Cycle=2004 .

If your member of Congress voted differently on Cuba policy from previous years after accepting this money, expose him/her in your local press. If you don’t know your congressperson’s previous votes, give us a call or drop an email; we’ll help you research past votes. We’re going to be in touch with some of you directly to solicit your help with local media work to expose “bought votes.”

Write a letter to the editor, or write an op ed for your local newspaper. Send a copy of it to your congressperson. Demand an accounting of his/her actions.

Senate: While the House is terribly hypocritical, loudly touting family values and then voting to separate Cuban families, the Senate voted on June 28th on an amendment introduced by Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) to permit humanitarian travel to Cuba. The Dorgan amendment would have required the Treasury Department (OFAC) to issue a general license to individuals subject to U.S. jurisdiction and their immediate families to travel to Cuba to visit immediate family for humanitarian reasons. A point of order was raised against this amendment, apparently because the amendment was not germane to the Interior Appropriations bill where it was introduced, or because it was legislating on a spending bill. That meant that a 2/3 vote (64, in this case) was required to suspend the rules and consider the amendment anyway. Senator Dorgan didn’t achieve 64 votes, but he did get 60 votes on his amendment. The vote was 60-35: (Republicans 20-31; Democrats 39-4; Independents 1-0).

This is spectacular! It demonstrates that the Senate, a Republican body in its majority, is strongly supportive of family travel for Cuban Americans. It is probably an indication of the Senate’s opinion on travel overall, as well. You can see the Roll Call vote at

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00167 . Call your senators and register your reaction to their votes. Capitol Switchboard: 202.224.2131. Email: see www.senate.gov .

Next Steps: Certainly, it is NOT time to give up. The policy is more undemocratic and unethical than ever. The American people know that; Congress also knows that, but many chose to vote their party and their campaign contributions rather than their conscience or the interests of their constituents.

Congress is on recess now until July 11. This is the perfect time to gather a small group of constituents and meet with your congressperson in his/her home office. Don’t miss this opportunity! As always, we’d be glad to help with talking points and in planning your strategy. At the very least, call your members home office next week (we’ll remind you!) and comment on his/her vote.

Continue to encourage friends and colleagues to sign our travel petition; it is still useful with the Senate and with conference committee this fall. Our signatures are currently at 4,300; we’re still hoping for at least 10,000 (or more!) by the fall. Help us out! The link is: http://www.lawg.org/tools/petition.htm

Thanks again for your fantastic support and energy. Don’t give up!