Get your bags packed for Cuba

by Christina Lovato, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service

“We ought not punish the American people. We ought to have the freedom to travel to Cuba and that is what the Freedom to Travel Act provides,” said Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.)

Today in a press conference Senators Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.), Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) and Dorgan introduced The Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act, S. 428, which would end the current ban on travel by Americans to Cuba. The U.S. government allows Americans to travel almost anywhere in the world except for Cuba, the only exceptions are in time of war between the U.S. and Cuba or imminent danger to the public health or physical safety of U.S. travelers.

“Every time that we have brought up one of these bills there’s a downside to it. The downside to it is that Castro has always done something that really violated human rights and raised the ire of the American people who said ‘how can you possibly eliminate any of the restrictions on Cuba?’ Well that’s exactly why they do those things. They don’t want us to reduce any of those restrictions. They don’t want the inter- operation or inter-communication with American citizens.... That’s what we’re doing with this bill, we’re trying something just a little different and I think it will make a huge impact. It will change Cuba and it will change other of our policies,” said Senator Enzi.

Myron Brilliant, the Senior Vice President of International Affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said that this act would help elevate our relationships in Latin America and change perceptions of foreign policy around the world. “We have been a long standing opponent of the embargo with Cuba. We see the end of the travel ban as an important first step but ultimately what we want to see is also an end of the trade embargo.... You can continue to count on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to oppose unilateral economic sanctions, they do not wok,” he stated.

Senator Dorgan said that this issue is a failed policy that has failed for 50 years and he is confident that this Act will pass through Congress. “We hope for greater human rights in Cuba. We have no interest in the Castro government except to find a way to replace it at some point in the future so that the Cuban people have the freedoms they deserve,” concluded Dorgan.

“Cuba has consistently stood out as the one country in the western hemisphere that represses nearly all forms of political dissent..... The dismal state of human rights in Cuba has not improved since the hand over of power from Fidel to Raul Castro.... We urge the U.S. government to use this bill’s introduction to begin a broader re-evaluation and reform of its polices toward Cuba,” said Jose Miguel Vivanco, the Executive Director of the Americas Divison of Human Rights Watch.

There is hope coming for prescription consumers

by Christina Lovato, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service


Today in a press conference held by Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), John McCain (R-AZ), and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) an announcement was made about the introduction of  a drug importation legislation that will reduce the cost of prescription drugs in the United States.  The “Pharmaceutical Market Access and Drug Safety Act” the Senators stated will bring consumers immediate relief and will force the pharmaceutical industry to lower drug prices in the United States.

The bill, which is the same as last year’s proposal by President Obama, will allow U.S. drug wholesalers and licensed pharmacies to import FDA-approved medications from Australia, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and Japan. The costs in these countries, which are 35 to 55 percent lower than in the U.S. will allow Americans to benefit from these prices also. The legislation only applies to FDA-approved prescription drugs produced in FDA-approved plants from countries with the same safety standards. 

At the conference Senator Dorgan pointed out a comparison between the drug Lipitor that is made in Ireland which gets distributed to both Canada and the United States. “I have in fact two bottles here, the only difference is in color, one is red and one is blue...The only difference is the U.S. consumer gets to pay more than twice as much for the identical pill put in the same bottle. That’s unfair we believe.”

Senator Stabenow stated “This is not like buying a pair of shoes or buying some other commodity when you cant get your medicine, it literally is life threatening so this is a very serious issue for people and we can make a dramatic difference by passing this legislation.”

Senator Dorgan said that he is confident that President Obama and his administration will support this bill because Obama introduced the exact piece of legislation last year. “He and his chief of staff co-sponsored this identical bill...You would expect a President that signed up as a member of senate for this identical bill to support it as he already has done in his budget message.” Dorgan concluded.