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Congressional bill would end ban on travel to Cuba
BY LIZA GROSS
[email protected]
A bipartisan bill calling for an end to the 46-year-old ban on travel to Cuba was introduced in Congress by a group of representatives led by William Delahunt of Massachusetts.
The Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act, introduced Feb. 4 and referred to the Foreign Relations Committee, prohibits the U.S. president from regulating or prohibiting travel to or from Cuba by U.S. residents, except in times of war between the two countries or of imminent danger to public health or the safety of U.S. travelers.
During his campaign, President Barack Obama announced that he would roll back the restrictions on travel to Cuba imposed by the Bush administration.
Under that policy, Cuban Americans can send up to $300 in cash every three months and are allowed to visit the island once every three years, although they can send gift packages of food, medicine and other items. Bush also tightened the restrictions on visits by academics, students and religious groups.
Americans with no family in Cuba generally cannot visit the island, and the Obama announcement remained unclear as to whether the easing of travel restrictions will apply to them.
The Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act would then go further than Obama's campaign promise by explicitly empowering U.S. citizens and legal residents to visit the island at will.
In addition to Delahunt, other sponsors of the bill include representatives Jeff Flakes,R-Ariz.; Rosa Delauro, D-Conn.; Jo-Ann Emerson, R-Mo.; James McGovern, D-Mass.; Jim Moran, R-Kansas; Donna Edwards, D-Md.; Ron Paul, R-Texas; and Sam Farr, D-Calif.
BY LIZA GROSS
[email protected]
A bipartisan bill calling for an end to the 46-year-old ban on travel to Cuba was introduced in Congress by a group of representatives led by William Delahunt of Massachusetts.
The Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act, introduced Feb. 4 and referred to the Foreign Relations Committee, prohibits the U.S. president from regulating or prohibiting travel to or from Cuba by U.S. residents, except in times of war between the two countries or of imminent danger to public health or the safety of U.S. travelers.
During his campaign, President Barack Obama announced that he would roll back the restrictions on travel to Cuba imposed by the Bush administration.
Under that policy, Cuban Americans can send up to $300 in cash every three months and are allowed to visit the island once every three years, although they can send gift packages of food, medicine and other items. Bush also tightened the restrictions on visits by academics, students and religious groups.
Americans with no family in Cuba generally cannot visit the island, and the Obama announcement remained unclear as to whether the easing of travel restrictions will apply to them.
The Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act would then go further than Obama's campaign promise by explicitly empowering U.S. citizens and legal residents to visit the island at will.
In addition to Delahunt, other sponsors of the bill include representatives Jeff Flakes,R-Ariz.; Rosa Delauro, D-Conn.; Jo-Ann Emerson, R-Mo.; James McGovern, D-Mass.; Jim Moran, R-Kansas; Donna Edwards, D-Md.; Ron Paul, R-Texas; and Sam Farr, D-Calif.
) that many Canadians at all......only a few. Many people from all over the world, China, Eastern Europe, Uruguay, etc. In fact, there's so many tourists there, it reminds me of Amsterdam at Easter.......
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