Dear Member of Congress:
As representatives of religious organizations, non-governmental organizations, policy groups, farm groups and businesses, we support the right of U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba free of restrictions. We write to express our support for the House and Senate bills to lift all restrictions on travel to Cuba (H.R.2071 and S.950), as well as any amendment to the Transportation/Treasury Appropriations bill that would end funding for enforcement of travel restrictions. We also support Senator Byron Dorgan’s amendment to the Agriculture Appropriations bill that would grant a general license for trips to Cuba for any travel associated with U.S. agriculture and medical sales to Cuba. We strongly urge you to vote in favor of any amendment that would ease restrictions on travel to Cuba and to co-sponsor H.R.2071.
Restricting U.S. travel to Cuba hurts U.S. citizens and the people of Cuba. It denies Americans their freedom to travel and limits the cultural and social benefits that come from unhindered interaction between our peoples. Recent changes to the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s (OFAC) regulations on the embargo eliminated the category of people-to-people travel to Cuba, one of the most beneficial forms of educational travel to Cuba for the people of both countries. This is a serious blow to efforts to increase communication, understanding and exchange between the people of Cuba and the United States. In addition, this policy is inconsistent with U.S. policy on citizen travel to other countries, including the communist nations of North Korea, China and Vietnam.
The burdensome process of licensing for travel associated with U.S. agricultural and medical sales to Cuba creates unnecessary roadblocks to legal sales of U.S. goods to Cuba. Increased travel to Cuba by U.S. citizens would also increase the demand for U.S. agricultural products in Cuba, which would help U.S. farmers.
The House and Senate travel bills and amendments in both chambers to ease Cuba travel restrictions seek to address these problems with U.S. policy on travel to Cuba. Numerous polls show that the majority of Americans and the majority of Cuban-Americans support an end to restrictions on Cuba travel. Please uphold the will of U.S. citizens by supporting any amendments to ease restrictions on travel to Cuba; helping to ensure that such amendments remain in the final Appropriations bills passed; and co-sponsoring and voting for H.R.2071.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Cuban-American Groups
Business and Trade Organizations
Churches and Religious Organizations
Human Rights and International Relations Organizations
CUBAN-AMERICAN GROUPS
Delvis Fernández Levy
President
Cuban American Alliance Education Fund
Silvia Wilhelm
Executive and Founder
Puentes Cubanos
Eloy Gutiérrez-Menoyo
Founder and President
Cambio Cubano
Roberto Carballo, President
Alfredo Duran, Secretary
Marlene Arzola, Outreach Coordinator
Cuban Committee for Democracy
Alejandro Portes
Professor of Sociology
Director of the Center for Migration and Development
Princeton University*
Julio V. Ruíz, MD
Cuban American Geriatric Foundation
J. I. Fernández
President and Founder
Hope for Cuba Foundation
Elena R. Freyre
Executive Director
Cuban American Defense League
Dr. Alberto N. Jones
President
Caribbean American Children Foundation
Antonio Zamora
The Time is Now Coalition
José A. González Guardado
Partner
ConnectCuba, LLC
Jorge Milanes
President
West Coast Cuban American Alliance
María Luísa Gastón
Program Director
Latina Resource Center/Catholic Charities
Omaha, Nebraska
Joseph Soileau
United States Navy, retired*
Bertram Stiller
MediCuba
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BUSINESSES AND TRADE ASSOCIATIONS
William A. Reinsch
President
National Foreign Trade Council
Robert W. Haines
Chairman
USA*Engage
A. J. Reixach
Executive Port Director
Port Freeport (Texas)
America Farm Bureau Federation
Americans for Humanitarian Trade with Cuba
United Egg Producers
USA Poultry and Egg Export Council
National Association of Wheat Growers
Barbara Spangler
Executive Director
Wheat Export Trade Education Committee
William Roenigk
Senior Vice President
National Chicken Council
Brent Gibadlo
President
Association of Travel-Related Industry Professionals (ATRIP)
Robert Guild
Program Director
Marazul Charters
Gloria Vilaret Gonzalez
President
Caribbean Travel Services, Inc.
Michael Sykes
President
Cuba Cultural Travel
Merriam Ansara
Director
Common Ground Education & Travel Services
Sean Greene
Chief Executive Officer
The Away Network (web-based travel business)
Cynthia Thomas
President
TriDimension Strategies, LLC.
Dallas, Texas
Jeffrey A. Ensminger
Chief Executive Officer
Bahama-Meridian ITL
Arlene Alligood
President
CaribExports
Kirby Jones
President
Alamar Associates and U.S.-Cuba Trade Association
Gregory T. Absten
President
Professional Medical Education Assn., Inc.
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CHURCH AND RELIGIOUS GROUPS
Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar
General Secretary
National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA
Brenda Girton-Mitchell
Washington Director
National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA
Rev. A. Roy Medley
General Secretary
American Baptist Churches USA
Rev. Elenora Giddings Ivory
Director, Washington Office
Presbyterian Church (USA)
Jaydee Hanson
Assistant General Secretary
Public Witness and Advocacy
General Board of Church and Society
United Methodist Church
Mark B. Brown
Assistant Director for International Affairs and Human Rights
Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Dr. David Engelhard, General Secretary
Dr. Peter Borgdorff, Executive Director of Ministries,
Christian Reformed Church
Rev. John Thomas
General Minister and President
United Church of Christ
Stan Hastey
Executive Director
Alliance of Baptists
Dr. Charlie Clements
President
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC)
Rev. Ruth Chavez Wallace
Program Associate, Latin America and the Caribbean
United Church of Christ and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada
Phil Jones
Coordinator
Church of the Brethren, Washington Office
Brian Hinman
Washington Representative
Church World Service
Esther Pineda, CSJ
Acting National Coordinator
NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
J. Daryl Byler
Director, Washington Office
Mennonite Central Committee U.S.
Rev. Jerrye G. Champion
National Board President
Church Women United
Marie Dennis
Director
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Edward W. Stowe, III
Legislative Secretary
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Krisanne Vaillancourt
Executive Director
Witness for Peace
Kathy Ogle
Co-Coordinator
EPICA (Ecumenical Program on Central America and the Caribbean)
Linda Mashburn
Executive Director
Sister Parish, Inc.
Stan De Boe, OSST
Director, Office of Justice and Peace
Conference of Major Superiors of Men
Margaret Swedish
Director
Religious Task Force on Central America and Mexico
Rev. Séamus P. Finn
Director, Justice and Peace Office
Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate
Sister Marie Lucey, OSF
Associate Director for Social Mission
Leadership Conference of Women Religious
Donna Graham, OSF
Director, Justice and Peace Office
Franciscan Friars of St. John the Baptist Province
Gary L. Cozette
Director
Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America
Dale Sorensen
Director
Marin Interfaith Task Force on the Americas (California)
Gail S. Phares
Director
Carolina Interfaith Task Force on Central America
Rev. Heather M. Robertson
Pastor
First Christian Church, Disciples of Christ
Ocala, Florida
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HUMAN RIGHTS AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS GROUPS
Joy Olson
Executive Director
Washington Office on Latin America
Raymond C. Offenheiser
President
Oxfam America
Wayne Smith, Senior Fellow
Anya Landau, Associate
Center for International Policy
Sarah Stephens
Director, Freedom to Travel Project
Center for International Policy
Sandra Levinson
President
Center for Cuban Studies, Inc.
Bruce D. Nestor, President
Heidi Boghosian, Executive Director
National Lawyers Guild
John McAuliff
Executive Director
Fund for Reconciliation and Development
Bob Schwartz
Executive Director
Disarm Education Fund
Nancy Chang
Attorney
Center for Constitutional Rights
Debra Preusch
Executive Director
Interhemispheric Resource Center
Dr. Peter Bourne
Chairman of the Board
American Association for World Health
Dr. Terry Gibbs
Director
North American Congress on Latin America
David C. Jehnsen
Chair
Institute for Human Rights and Responsibilities
Jeffrey Boutwell, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs*
Dr. Orval J. Gingerich
Associate Dean for International Programs
Center for Global Education at Augsburg College
Tom Miller, General Counsel
Ana Perez, Cuba Program Director
Carlos A. Prendes, Cuba Travel Coordinator
Global Exchange
Albert A. Fox, Jr.
President
Alliance for Responsible Cuba Policy
Kathleen G. Hower
Executive Director
Global Links
Stephen Hellinger
President
The Development GAP
Laura M. Furst
National Organizer
Committee for Inter-American Human Rights
Sandy Silver and Darien De Lu
Co-Presidents
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, United States Section
Mark Rasenick
President
Interamerican Consortium on Basic and Clinical Neuroscience*
Jeremy Landau
Director
AIDS Treatment Access – Cuba
Tom Miller
President
Fair Trade with Cuba
Cindy Domingo and Jan Strout
Co-Chairs
US Women and Cuba Collaboration Project
Marion Hunt-Badiner
Trustee
Roy A. Hunt Foundation
Atty. Micabil Díaz-Martínez
Chairperson
Individual Rights & Responsibilities Section, State Bar of Wisconsin
Christopher P. Baker
Author
National Geographic Traveler Cuba
Moon Handbooks' Cuba
Moon Handbooks' Havana
Netfa Freeman
Public Relations
No War on Cuba Movement
Buffy Donlon
President
AlaCaribe Initiative, Inc.
Mobile, Alabama
Ricardo González
President
Madison-Camaguey Sister City Association
Madison, Wisconsin
Raúl Galván
Milwaukee-Nuevitas Association
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Robert M. Schaefer
President
Society Mobile-La Habana
Mobile, Alabama
Art Heitzer
Spokesperson
Milwaukee Coalition to Normalize Relations with Cuba
Jeanne Parr Lemkau, PhD, MFA
Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health
Wright State University School of Medicine*
Barbara Moser Schaible
Lawrence-El Papaturro Friendship Committee
Lawrence, Kansas
Thomas W. Warner
Secretary
Seattle/Cuba Friendship Committee
Frank Pratka
President
Baltimore-Matanzas Sister City Association
Nancy Abbey
Chair
Cuba Study Group of Santa Cruz County (California)
Ellen Farmer
Chair
Alliance of Santa Cruz County and Guama Municipio, Cuba
(an affiliate of US/Cuba Sister Cities)
Robert W. Augelli, Ph.D.
Director
Rosa Blanca Project (Kansas)
B. Kwaku Duren, Esq.
Chairperson
New Panther Vanguard Movement
John J. Young
Director
Conchord Cayo Hueso, Inc.
Key West, Florida
Arnold Kaufman
Treasurer.
Peace Action – Wisconsin
Ardenne Bunde
State Secretary
Socialist Party, Wisconsin
Art Marburg
Organizer
A Job is a Right Campaign
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
*Organization listed for identification purposes only
