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 News from Around the Americas | July 2005 
US Votes Against Relaxing Cuban Travel Restrictions
 Andrew Taylor - Associated Press
Washington - The House voted yesterday against permitting Cuban-Americans to visit their families in Cuba more frequently and for retaining a trade embargo that has been in place since 1960.
The 211-to-208 vote reversed a trend in Congress in recent years toward relaxing some travel sanctions on Cuba. A similar vote last year - to permit Cubans who have claimed asylum in the United States to visit the island more frequently than every three years - produced a 225-to-174 tally to ease travel rules.
Congressional supporters of maintaining the US government's tough regimen of trade and travel sanctions credit a redoubled lobbying and education effort for their success - as well as continued bad behavior by communist dictator Fidel Castro.
''Castro's been our best friend in winning the votes around because his conduct has been so reprehensible in the past two years," said Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Republican of Florida. ''Cubans from all around the United States are doing a greater lobbying effort, more organized than before."
The votes were taken as the House passed, by a 405-to-18 vote, a bill funding the Transportation and Treasury departments for the budget year beginning Oct. 1. The Senate has yet to act on the bill.
Earlier in June, the House voted, 216 to 210, against relaxing rules on the shipment of gift parcels to Cuba.
Last year the House had voted to ease rules on such parcels, which US relatives often use to ship toiletries and staples to Cuba.
The chamber also voted, 250 to 169, yesterday to keep the economic embargo in place.
President Bush and GOP leaders in the House and Senate are stout supporters of economic sanctions against the Castro regime, and Bush has vowed to veto any effort to weaken the embargo.
When the House has adopted measures to relax sanctions on Cuba, such as lifting the ban on travel, they have invariably been dropped during negotiations with the Senate. |
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