McGovern/Skelton Amendment on Colombia:
Denoted “ForOps”
Reps. McGovern (D-MA) and Skelton (D-MO) sponsored an amendment to the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill that would have cut a portion of Colombia’s military aid for 2004 and transferred the money to global HIV/AIDS programs. The amendment, which was offered on July 24th, lost 195-226. Those who voted in favor of the amendment are denoted with an “X.” “NV” signifies that the member did not vote.

McGovern/Skelton/DeLauro Amendment on Iraq Supplemental Bill:
Denoted “Iraq Supp”
Reps. McGovern (D-MA), Skelton (D-MO) and DeLauro (D-CT) offered an amendment to the Iraq Supplemental Bill on April 3rd that would have cut a portion of the military aid for Colombia included in the bill and transferred that money to police and firefighter first responder programs in the United States. After heated debate, the amendment lost by a close vote of 209-216. Those who voted in favor of the amendment are denoted with an “X.”

Colombian Military-Paramilitary Ties Dear Colleague:
Denoted “Lantos”
These members, led by Rep. Lantos (D-CA), sent a letter to Colombian President Alvaro Uribe on September 23rd that urged him to address the links between sectors of the Colombian military and paramilitary groups. The letter also highlighted the importance of bringing human rights abusers to justice as an element of the current peace talks with paramilitary forces. The 57 signers to the letter to President Uribe are denoted with an “X.”

Juarez Murders Dear Colleague to Secretary Powell:
Denoted “Powell Letter”
Led by California Congresswoman Hilda Solis (D-CA), these members signed a letter to Secretary Powell, asking him to raise the issue of the Juarez murders in his meeting with high-level Mexican officials on November 12. The 66 signers to the letter to Secretary Powell are denoted with an “X.”

Juarez Murders Dear Colleague to President Fox:
Denoted “Fox Letter”
Also led by Congresswoman Hilda Solis, this letter was sent from 37 congressional offices to President Fox, expressing concern over the Juarez murders and asking for greater Mexican federal participation in the investigations. The signers of this letter are denoted with an “X.”

Cuba Travel Amendments:
Denoted “Travel”
The following amendments were offered to the Treasury-Transportation funding bill to modify portions of the ban on travel to Cuba. Rep. Flake (R-AZ) offered an amendment to ban use of funds for the enforcement of travel restrictions to Cuba. The Flake amendment passed by 227-188 votes. “F” means a vote for the Flake Amendment. Representative Jim Davis (D-FL) introduced an amendment that would have reinstated the people-to-people educational travel allowed until early this year. This measure passed 246-173. “D” means a vote for the Davis Amendment. “F(NV)” means the member did not vote on the Flake Amendment and a “D(NV)” means the member did not vote on the Davis Amendment.

Freestanding Cuba Travel Bill:
Denoted “HR 2071”
Representatives Flake and McGovern introduced HR-2071, the Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act of 2003, a freestanding bill to fully end the ban on travel to Cuba. Those representatives that are marked with an “X” co-sponsored this valuable bill, which has not been allowed to come to the floor of the House for debate or vote.

Bridges to the Cuban People Act of 2003:
Denoted “Bridges”
This bill, introduced by Representative Serrano (D-NY), would make comprehensive reforms to US-Cuba policy. Among the bill’s measures are the removal of restrictions for the sale of food and medicine to Cuba, lifting of all travel restrictions, awarding of scholarships to Cuban students to study in the U.S., and a lifting of the cap on remittances. No legislative action was taken on the bill this year. The members who are co-sponsoring the legislation are marked with an “X.”

Delahunt Remittances Amendment:
Denoted “Dela Amndt”
Representative Bill Delahunt (D-MA) introduced an amendment to the Transportation/Treasury bill that would end restrictions on remittances of money to Cuba. The measure passed 222-196, but was stripped from the final version of the bill. Those representatives who voted for it are marked with an X.

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