Establishes an information and resource center within the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, Cuba, for use by independent NGO representatives or other eligible persons.
Authorizes the President to license on a case-by-case basis: (1) the importation of handicrafts or other hand-made goods produced by independent, self-employed Cubans; and (2) the remittance of up to $1,000 each quarter by a U.S. person or group to any Cuban to support microenterprise activities of independent, self-employed Cubans, or independent NGO activities.
Urges the President to take specified measures to support the transition to democracy in Cuba.
Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require the President to withhold for a fiscal year from assistance provided to an independent state of the former Soviet Union an amount equal to the amount of assistance and credits, if any, provided for the preceding fiscal year by such state in support of intelligence facilities in Cuba, including the intelligence facility at Lourdes, Cuba.
Urges the Secretary of State to authorize the travel and contacts of Cuban diplomatic personnel in the United States on a strictly reciprocal basis, taking into account Cuban restrictions against U.S. diplomatic personnel meeting with Cuban government officials.
[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 894 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 894
To authorize increased support to the democratic opposition and other
oppressed people of Cuba to help them regain their freedom and prepare
themselves for a democratic future, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 16 (legislative day, May 15), 2001
Mr. Helms (for himself, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Santorum, Mr. Graham, Mr.
Torricelli, Mr. Ensign, Mr. Allen, Mr. Craig, Mr. Nelson of Florida,
Mr. Shelby, Mr. Smith of New Hamphsire, Mr. Smith of Oregon, and Mr.
Reid) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred
to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize increased support to the democratic opposition and other
oppressed people of Cuba to help them regain their freedom and prepare
themselves for a democratic future, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Cuban Solidarity Act of 2001'' or
the ``SOLIDARIDAD Act of 2001''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The American people support a principled policy of
taking proactive measures to promote liberty and economic
opportunity for the Cuban people and to help them prepare
themselves for a better and more prosperous future after the
regime of Fidel Castro Ruz.
(2) The United States has a moral obligation to increase
its assistance to the democratic opposition in Cuba, providing
such assistance with the same intensity, creativity, and
decisiveness with which it supported the pro-democracy
Solidarnosc movement in Poland to defeat martial law and
communism.
(3) The economic and political transitions in Eastern
European countries can serve as models for Cubans seeking to
recover their country after the lost decades of the communist
dictatorship of Fidel Castro Ruz.
(4) The United States Government should redouble efforts to
overcome Fidel Castro's blockade on independent information in
and about Cuba, so that people in Cuba realize the
opportunities for fundamental change and that people in other
countries recognize their obligation to support such change.
(5) The regime of Fidel Castro Ruz denies the Cuban people
basic necessities of life as a means of political control,
compounding the hardship caused by the mismanagement that is
typical of all other failed Marxist, centrally planned
economies throughout history.
(6) Increasing assistance to the Cuban people will
undermine the control of Fidel Castro Ruz by promoting their
independence and strengthening relief groups that operate
independently of the Castro regime, if such increased
assistance is delivered directly to victims of political
repression by genuinely independent nongovernmental groups.
(7) Encouraging the growth in the number of independent,
self-employed Cubans will broaden and empower that segment of
the population that is surviving or prospering independent of
the Castro regime.
(8) The Castro regime requires the Cuban people to pay
United States dollars for basic necessities, including food and
medicine, as a means of diverting hard currency into the
coffers of the repressive state, imposing extraordinary
hardship on workers whom the state pays an average hourly wage
of 5 cents.
(9) The Castro regime refuses to import adequate medicine
and medical equipment for the Cuban people, despite the fact
that Cuba can purchase such material from many countries,
including the United States, which removed the embargo on
medicines and medical equipment in the Cuban Democracy Act of
1992.
(10) The people of the United States already provide more
humanitarian assistance to Cuba under present United States law
than all other nations of the world combined.
(11) Increasing assistance directly to the Cuban people is
consistent with the aims of the LIBERTAD Act of 1996 and the
Cuban Democracy Act of 1992.
SEC. 3. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to challenge the unrelenting, systematic repression of
the Castro regime by authorizing the President to--
(A) provide increased, decisive support to the
democratic opposition in Cuba; and
(B) take specific measures to bring about
fundamental political and economic change in Cuba;
(2) to ensure that expanded assistance is provided
oppressed persons in Cuba, including political prisoners and
their families and others, in order to undermine the deliberate
policies of the Cuban government to--
(A) deny food and medical care as a means of
intimidation and control; and
(B) isolate Cubans from those who support their
freedom;
(3) to strengthen independent nongovernmental organizations
in Cuba, including groups committed to the political and
spiritual liberation of the Cuban people;
(4) to encourage increased donations of food, medicine, and
other support by individuals and nongovernmental organizations
in the United States to the oppressed people of Cuba, who are
unable to obtain these necessities because of the failed
economic policies of the Castro regime; and
(5) to encourage the development of an independent and
self-sufficient economic sector comprised of independent, self-
employed Cubans.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
(a) Definitions in this Act.--In this Act:
(1) Cuban government.--The term ``Cuban government'' has
the meaning given the term in section 4(5) of the LIBERTAD Act
of 1996 (22 U.S.C. 6023(5)).
(2) Economic embargo of cuba.--The term ``economic embargo
of Cuba'' has the meaning given the term in section 4(7) of the
LIBERTAD Act of 1996 (22 U.S.C. 6023(7)).
(3) Independent nongovernmental organization.--The term
``independent nongovernmental organization'' means an
organization that is designated by the Secretary of State under
section 5.
(4) Independent, self-employed cuban.--The term
``independent, self-employed Cuban'' means a Cuban national in
Cuba who is self-employed, who is not an agent or
instrumentality of the Cuban government, and who is not in a
profit-sharing arrangement with the Cuban government.
(5) LIBERTAD Act of 1996.--The term ``LIBERTAD Act of
1996'' means the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity
(LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 (22 U.S.C. 6021 et seq.).
(6) Victims of political repression.--The term ``victims of
political repression'' means any Cuban nationals in Cuba,
including political prisoners and their families, who are not
officials of the Cuban government or of the ruling political
party in Cuba, as defined in section 4(10) of the LIBERTAD Act
of 1996 (22 U.S.C. 6023(10)).
(b) Definitions and Designations under the LIBERTAD Act of 1996.--
Section 109 of the LIBERTAD Act of 1996 (22 U.S.C. 6039) is amended by
adding at the end the following new subsections:
``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Independent nongovernmental organization.--The term
`independent nongovernmental organization' means an
organization that is designated by the Secretary of State under
subsection (e).
``(2) Victims of political repression.--The term `victims
of political repression' means any Cuban nationals in Cuba,
including political prisoners and their families, who are not
officials of the Cuban government or of the ruling political
party in Cuba, as defined in section 4(10) of the LIBERTAD Act
of 1996 (22 U.S.C. 6023(10)).
``(e) Designation of Independent NGOs.--For purposes of this
section, an organization shall be treated as an independent
nongovernmental organization if, not less than 15 days before any
obligation of funds under this section to the organization, the
Secretary of State--
``(1) determines that the organization is a charitable or
non-profit nongovernmental organization that is not an agency
or instrumentality of the Cuban government; and
``(2) so designates the organization, and the designation
is made in accordance with the procedures applicable to
reprogramming notifications under section 634A of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2394-1).''.
SEC. 5. DESIGNATION OF INDEPENDENT NGOS.
For purposes of this Act, an organization shall be treated as an
independent nongovernmental organization if, not less than 15 days
before any obligation of funds under this Act to the organization, the
Secretary of State--
(1) determines that the organization is a charitable or
non-profit nongovernmental organization that is not an agency
or instrumentality of the Cuban government; and
(2) so designates the organization, and the designation is
made in accordance with the procedures applicable to
reprogramming notifications under section 634A of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2394-1).
SEC. 6. AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FOR ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS OF POLITICAL
REPRESSION IN CUBA.
(a) Availability of Funds.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in subsection (b), of
the total amounts made available under chapter 1 of part I of
the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (relating to development
assistance) and chapter 4 of part II of that Act (relating to
the economic support fund) in any fiscal year beginning on or
after October 1, 2001, not less than $25,000,000 may be
available each such fiscal year to carry out activities under
section 109(a) of the LIBERTAD Act of 1996 (22 U.S.C. 6039(a)),
including assistance to victims of political repression in Cuba
through independent nongovernmental organizations.
(2) Congressional notification procedures.--Funds made
available under paragraph (1) shall be subject to notification
of the appropriate congressional committees in accordance with
the procedures applicable to reprogramming notifications under
section 634A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C.
2394-1).
(b) Ineligibility for Assistance.--Assistance may not be provided
under this section to the Cuban government, to any organization or
person affiliated with the Cuban government (including the state
security apparatus and the Communist Party of Cuba), or to any
organization or person that has violated any law or regulation of the
United States prohibiting or restricting trade or other financial
transactions with Cuba.
(c) Eligibility for Assistance.--Assistance under this section may
include, but is not limited to, assistance provided to--
(1) political prisoners and members of their families;
(2) persons persecuted or harassed for their dissident
activities;
(3) persons persecuted or harassed for seeking to flee Cuba
and repatriated to Cuba under the May 2, 1995 ``United States-
Cuba Joint Statement on Migration'';
(4) independent libraries;
(5) independent workers' rights activists;
(6) independent agricultural cooperatives;
(7) independent associations of independent, self-employed
Cubans;
(8) independent journalists;
(9) independent youth organizations;
(10) independent environmental groups;
(11) independent economists, medical doctors, and other
professionals;
(12) an information and resource center in Havana, Cuba, as
described in subsection (e);
(13) pro-democracy programs of the National Endowment for
Democracy that are related to Cuba;
(14) nongovernmental programs to facilitate access to the
Internet, subject to section 102(g) of the LIBERTAD Act of 1996
(22 U.S.C. 6032(g));
(15) nongovernmental charitable programs that provide
nutrition and basic medical care to persons most at risk,
including children and elderly persons; or
(16) nongovernmental charitable programs to assist the
reintegration into civilian life of persons who have abandoned,
resigned from, or been expelled from the Cuban armed forces for
ideological reasons.
(d) Information and Resource Center in Havana, Cuba.--The center
referred to in subsection (c)(12) is an information and resource center
to be established, maintained, and equipped within the United States
Interests Section in Havana, Cuba, for use by representatives of
independent nongovernmental organizations or other persons that are
eligible for assistance under this section.
(e) Assistance Defined.--In this section, the term ``assistance''
means food, medicines, medical supplies, medical equipment, office
supplies and equipment, educational supplies and materials, telephones,
telefax machines, or other material or financial assistance.
SEC. 7. SUPPORT FOR INDEPENDENT, SELF-EMPLOYED CUBANS AND FOR
INDEPENDENT NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS.
(a) Exception for the Importation of Certain Cuban Products Made by
Independent, Self-Employed Cubans.--Notwithstanding the economic
embargo of Cuba, the President is authorized to license on a case-by-
case basis--
(1) the importation of handicrafts or other hand-made goods
produced by independent, self-employed Cubans, if the President
determines and reports to Congress that doing so will
strengthen the economic and political independence of
independent, self-employed Cubans; and
(2) the remittance of up to $1,000 each quarter by a United
States person or group to any individual in Cuba to support--
(A) the activities of microenterprise activities of
an independent, self-employed Cuban; or
(B) the activities of an independent
nongovernmental organization.
(b) Suspension.--The President shall, in consultation with
Congress, suspend any of the transactions authorized in this section if
the President determines that the Cuban government is diverting
significant resources by reason of these transactions for its own
purposes.
SEC. 8. EMERGENCY MEASURES TO SUPPORT DEMOCRACY; REPORTS.
(a) Emergency Measures To Support the Democratic Transition in
Cuba.--Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act,
the President--
(1) should instruct the heads of all relevant agencies of
the United States Government to increase support for democratic
opposition groups in Cuba;
(2) should instruct the United States Permanent
Representative to the United Nations to introduce a resolution
in the United Nations Security Council calling upon the Cuban
government to immediately respect all human rights, free all
political prisoners, legalize independent political parties,
allow independent trade unions, and conduct internationally
monitored and freely contested elections;
(3) should instruct personnel of Radio Marti, Television
Marti, and the Voice of America to propose and implement
measures, and should seek additional funds for these activities
as necessary, to increase the availability of their broadcasts
on the island of Cuba;
(4) may provide up to $5,000,000 of the total amounts made
available for voluntary contributions to international
organizations to the Organization of American States (OAS) in
fiscal year 2002, for--
(A) the fund for the deployment of human rights
observers, election support, and election observation
in Cuba that is described in section 109(b)(1) of the
LIBERTAD Act of 1996 (22 U.S.C. 6039(b)(1)); and
(B) scholarships for Cuban students attending
colleges, universities, or other educational programs
in member states of the OAS;
(5) should instruct the Secretary of the Treasury, acting
through the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department
of the Treasury, to propose and implement measures, and should
seek additional funds for these activities as necessary, to
more vigorously enforce the economic embargo of Cuba and to
expeditiously license lawful transactions involving Cuba; and
(6) should instruct the Attorney General to--
(A) investigate thoroughly--
(i) the culpability of officials of the
Cuban government in the willful, premeditated
attack on 2 unarmed ``Brothers to the Rescue''
humanitarian aircraft on February 24, 1996,
which resulted in the death of four individuals
on such aircraft, Pablo Morales, Carlos Costa,
Mario de la Pena, and Armando Alejandre; and
(ii) the involvement of officials of the
Cuban government in the trafficking of illicit
narcotics and in money laundering; and
(B) take every available legal measure to bring to
justice those officials of the Cuban government
involved in the planning, authorization, and execution
of the crimes described in subparagraph (A).
(b) Reports.--
(1) Report on implementation by the president.--Not later
than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the
President shall submit to Congress a detailed written report on
steps United States agencies have taken as of the date of the
report, and steps those agencies will take in the 12 months
following the date of the report, to implement each of the
measures set forth in subsection (a).
(2) Report regarding cuba.--Not later than 120 days after
the date of enactment of this Act, and every 12 months
thereafter, the Secretary of State shall submit to each Member
of Congress, and disseminate through all United States
diplomatic and consular missions, unclassified written reports
(with classified annexes as required) on the following
subjects:
(A) Assistance the United States is prepared to
provide to a transition government or a democratically
elected government, in accordance with title II of the
LIBERTAD Act of 1996.
(B) Exploitative labor conditions that exist in
Cuba (including the denial of rights of independent
trade unions as set forth in conventions 87 and 98 of
the International Labor Organization).
(C) The policy of the Cuban government to coerce
certain categories of poor, less educated, and rural
women to submit to induced abortions.
(D) The role of the Cuban government or any of its
agents in international narcotics trafficking or money
laundering.
(E) The impact on and threat to the national
security or national interests of the United States
posed by--
(i) Russian intelligence facilities in
Cuba, including the intelligence facility at
Lourdes, Cuba (including details on the
presence at that facility of personnel from the
Russian Federation, including advisers,
technicians, and military personnel);
(ii) efforts by the Cuban government to
produce biological weapons or other technology
with military or economic warfare applications;
and
(iii) completion of the Cienfuegos nuclear
facility at Juragua, Cuba (including support
for such completion, if any, by the Russian
Federation).
(F) Measures of the Cuban government to persecute,
discourage, or restrict the spiritual and charitable
activities of churches and other religious
organizations in Cuba.
(G) The plight of political prisoners and prisoners
of conscience in Cuba, including--
(i) a list of all persons who are
imprisoned or detained in Cuba and the crimes,
if any, with which they have been charged;
(ii) a description of prison conditions and
treatment of prisoners by Cuban authorities;
and
(iii) a list, to the extent practicable, of
all persons who have been imprisoned or
executed for political reasons by authorities
of the Cuban government at any time on or after
January 1, 1959.
(H) Actions taken by the Cuban government to
repress freedom of the press, including persecution or
exclusion of journalists, reprisals against journalists
or their sources, interruption of mass communication or
distribution of journalistic materials, or similar
measures.
(I) Actions by other governments and international
organizations, including but not limited to, Canada and
member states of the European Union, taken during the
preceding 6-month period, to encourage a process of
transition to pluralist democracy and respect for human
rights and fundamental economic and political freedoms
in Cuba.
(J) Efforts by the Cuban government to influence
United States policy toward Cuba through espionage,
other surreptitious means, or propaganda.
(K) The issuance of visas to enter the United
States to Cuban officials or persons affiliated with
the Cuban government, accompanied by a justification
for issuing each such visa, taking into account section
102(e) of the LIBERTAD Act of 1996 (22 U.S.C. 6032(e)).
(L) The bilateral sugar-for-petroleum agreement
between the Russian Federation and Cuba, including an
analysis of the banks and trading companies carrying
out such agreement, an analysis of the terms of such
agreement, and a determination of whether such
agreement and terms provide any economic subsidy to the
Cuban government.
(M) Cuban relations with other states that have
repeatedly provided support for acts of international
terrorism, as designated under section 6(j)(1)(A) of
the Export Administration Act of 1979.
(N) Action taken by the Department of Justice and
the Cuban government to extradite or otherwise
surrender to the United States Joanne Chesimard (also
known as ``Assata Shakur'', convicted in the United
States for the 1973 murder of New Jersey State Trooper
Werner Foerster and wounding of New Jersey State
Trooper James Hooper), Arletis Blanco, Cheri Dalton
(also known as ``Nehanda Abiodun''), William Lee Brent,
Charles Hill, Guillermo Morales, Luis Pena Soltren,
Frank Terpil, Robert Vesco, and other fugitives of
justice harbored by the Cuban government.
(3) Transmittal together with specified lists.--
(A) Exploitative labor conditions.--In the case of
the transmittal of reports described in paragraph
(2)(B), such reports shall be accompanied by a list of
foreign companies taking advantage of such exploitative
labor conditions and a description of the efforts of
the international free trade union movement to press
the Cuban government and foreign companies doing
business in Cuba to respect the rights of Cuban
workers.
(B) Actions by other governments and international
organizations.--In the case of the transmittal of
reports described in paragraph (2)(I), such reports
shall be accompanied by a list of commercial ventures
and bilateral agreements signed with the Cuban
government during the periods covered by the reports.
SEC. 9. REDUCTION IN ASSISTANCE TO THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION FOR SUPPORT
OF CUBAN INTELLIGENCE FACILITIES.
(a) Annual Withholding of Assistance.--Section 498A(d)(1) of the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2295a(d)(1)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``, on or after the date of enactment of
this subsection,'' and inserting ``for a fiscal year''; and
(2) by striking ``on or after such date'' and inserting
``for the preceding fiscal year''.
(b) Annual Transmittal of Certifications.--Section 498A(d)(2) of
the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2295a(d)(2)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (A)--
(A) by inserting ``for a fiscal year'' after
``withhold assistance'';
(B) by inserting ``prior to that fiscal year''
after ``committees'';
(C) by inserting ``for that fiscal year'' after
``such assistance''; and
(D) by inserting ``for a fiscal year'' after
``Russia''; and
(2) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ``for a fiscal year''
after ``with respect to Russia''.
SEC. 10. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of State should
authorize the travel and contacts of Cuban diplomatic personnel in
United States territory on a strictly reciprocal basis, taking into
account Cuban restrictions against United States diplomatic personnel
meeting with officials of the Cuban government at all levels.
SEC. 11. STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act or in section 109 of the LIBERTAD Act of 1996
(22 U.S.C. 6039) may be construed as authorizing the commercial sale or
export of food to Cuba or any other commercial transaction with Cuba
that is not otherwise authorized under law.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S5007-5008)
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
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