Cuba: Issues and Legislation in the 106th Congress (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Jan. 11, 2001 |
| Report Number |
RL30628 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Mark P. Sullivan and Maureen Taft-Morales, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
Cuba remains a hard-line Communist state, with a poor record on human rights. Fidel Castro
has
ruled since he led the Cuban Revolution, ousting the corrupt government of Fulgencio Batista from
power in 1959. With the cutoff of assistance from the former Soviet Union, Cuba experienced
severe economic deterioration from 1989-1993, although there has been some improvement since
1994 as Cuba has implemented limited reforms.
Since the early 1960s, U.S. policy toward Cuba has consisted largely of isolating the island
nation through comprehensive economic sanctions. The Clinton Administration essentially continued
this policy of isolating Cuba. The principal tool of policy remains comprehensive sanctions, which
were made stronger with the Cuban Democracy Act (CDA) in 1992 and the Cuban Liberty and
Democratic Solidarity Act in 1996, often referred to as the Helms/Burton legislation. Another
component of U.S. policy consists of support measures for the Cuban people. This includes private
humanitarian donations and U.S.-sponsored radio and television broadcasting to Cuba. Under this
rubric of support for the Cuban people, President Clinton announced several policy actions in March
1998. These included the resumption of direct charter flights and cash remittances to Cuba, and the
streamlining of licensing procedures for the sale of medicines. In January 1999, the President
announced additional measures, including a broadening of permissible cash remittances, increasing
direct charter flights, expanding people-to-people contact, and authorizing the sale of food and
agricultural inputs to independent entities in Cuba.
Although U.S. policymakers agree on the overall objective of U.S. policy toward Cuba to
help bring democracy and respect for human rights to the island there have been several schools
of thought about how to achieve that objective. Some advocate a policy of keeping maximum
pressure on the Cuban government until reforms are enacted, while continuing current U.S. efforts
to support the Cuban people. Others argue for an approach, sometimes referred to as constructive
engagement, that would lift some U.S. sanctions that they believe are hurting the Cuban people, and
move toward engaging Cuba in dialogue. Still others call for a swift normalization of U.S.-Cuban
relations by lifting the U.S. embargo.
Numerous measures were introduced in the 106th Congress that reflected the range of views on
U.S. policy toward Cuba. Legislative initiatives proposed both easing and increasing sanctions
against Cuba. In the end, legislation passed reflected both approaches: it allowed the export of food
and medicine to Cuba, but prohibited any U.S. financing, both public and private, of such exports.
Travel to Cuba for tourism was also prohibited. Another law facilitated enforcement of anti-
terrorism judgments in U.S. courts to allow for the payment of a $187.6 million 1997 judgment
against Cuba to be paid from Cuba's frozen assets in the United States to the families of three U.S.
Citizens killed when Cuba shot down two U.S. planes in 1996. President Clinton waived the
provision, however, upon signing the rest of the bill into law.
