Tuesday
Mar312009
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.
“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.
tagged 
Americans, Americas Division of Human Rights Watch, Castro government, Jose Miguel Vivanco, Myron Brilliant, Senator Byron Dorgan, Senator Christopher Dodd, Senator Michael Enzi, The Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, U.S. Senate Committee on Environmental and Public Works, United States Senate Committee on Armed Services. afgha, cuba, senator dorgan, travelers in News/Commentary
Americans, Americas Division of Human Rights Watch, Castro government, Jose Miguel Vivanco, Myron Brilliant, Senator Byron Dorgan, Senator Christopher Dodd, Senator Michael Enzi, The Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, U.S. Senate Committee on Environmental and Public Works, United States Senate Committee on Armed Services. afgha, cuba, senator dorgan, travelers in News/Commentary
Dodd Proposes Partnership To Promote Green Initiatives
Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) held a hearing Tuesday to propose the Sustainable Communities Partnership. This partnership includes Secretary of Transportation (DOT), Ray LaHood, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Shaun Donovan, and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson.
The objective of the new alliance will be to publicize efforts to improve affordable housing, promote efficient and low cost transportation options, and to protect the environment during these changes. A $150 million dollar sustainable communities initiative will help fund the partnership.
“As the Chairman said, we need to synchronize climate change, energy, community development, housing and transportation policy in the most comprehensive way possible,” said Secretary Donovan. “Creating an office of sustainable housing and communities inside HUD to serve as a single point of contact with other federal agencies is the best way we can achieve that goal.”
The committee also stated that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will provide momentum with the $1.5 billion discretionary Tiger Grant program. This program will fund the Transportation Act that will promote sustainability and provide better transportation in rural and urban communities around the country.
The proposed program details six principles that will serve as the base for the agencies to work together. These include producing supplementary transportation options, advancing sustainable and affordable housing, increasing economic opportunities, revitalizing current communities, organizing funding and policies and enriching all communities.