House Rejects Rule on Sending Goods to Cuba :46 Republicans Rebuff Bush on

[Judi Lynn]

House Rejects Rule on Sending Goods to Cuba
46 Repubs.Rebuff Bush on Initiative
By Peter Slevin and Dan Morgan
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, July 9, 2004; Page A07


In a sharp blow to President Bush's stringent new Cuba policy, 46 Republicans in Congress joined Democrats to declare that rules banning the personal shipment of such items as clothing, deodorant and seeds to the island went too far.

By a vote of 221 to 194, the House decided late Wednesday to block the Bush administration from enforcing the new rules. Opponents argued that the regulations would do more to hurt ordinary Cubans than to squeeze Fidel Castro's one-party government.
(snip)

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, who chaired the presidential commission that developed the new policy, interceded on behalf of several dozen U.S. medical students from low-income backgrounds who would have been barred from accepting a free education in Cuba under new regulations.

The fate of the House initiative remains unclear. Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.), a leading advocate of eased travel and trade with Cuba, yesterday predicted strong rejection of the gift-package rules if the Senate is allowed to vote on them. Dorgan cautioned that Republicans would work to keep the language out of final legislation -- the appropriations bill for the departments of Commerce, Justice and State -- sent to the president for signature.

Both houses voted last year to lift a travel ban to the island, but Republican leaders removed the measure from the final bill.
(snip/...)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37648-2004Jul8.html
(I think free registration is required now at the Washington Post)

[jmcgowanjm]

1. Good mrning JudiLyn, could you tell me if the House met all nite

and what they're doing right now on CSPAN?

I can't recall seeing Barney Frank or anyone
else at this time of day in session.

[Vogon_Glory]

2. This Bill Still Has To Go Through Committees

This bill still has to go through committee to get through the Senate--and again if someone modifies this legislation or tacks it on to another bill, so Cuban families shouldn't celebrate yet.

Cuban exiles might also want to remember what happened to legislation that would have relaxed travel restrictions to Cuba a few years ago. The measures sailed through Congress, then morphed into legislation that tightened travel restrictions instead. So this legislation might yet quietly turn into something that would tighten the screws on their loved ones in Cuba even more than the Powell commission's policy proposes to do.

[Judi Lynn]

3. I'm in the dark about what this means today, still

I think I'm going to call my Representative's office on Monday. He's on the Congressional Working Group on Cuba, and I'm sure they will help. I didn't see what happened on C-Span, only saw a few minutes, had to leave, didn't get the rest. I DID get to hear Florida Republican Cuban "exile" Ileana Ros-Lehtinen start yelling and she butted into someone's speech, but that's par. That's low-key for that crowd. That's their raison d'etre. If they lost the conflict with Cuba, they'd be outta work!

Sorry I don't know more, jcmcgowanjm. I'll be right back here when I find out!

VogonGlory, you're right about things getting ripped to shreds in committee. That was the way _Bush was able to avoid facing the country/world and explaining why he was going to veto previous bills on ending the travel ban and embargo. Committee sabotage saved his hide.

There's still a lot of work to do presently, I think. This will also be coming up again this fall. No one's going to let this slide. _Bush should be prepared to keep fighting for the right to abuse Cubans. A lot of Americans are dead set against it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

House Votes to Overturn Cuba Parcel Rules
Wed Jul 7, 2004 11:09 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday voted in favor of overturning new Bush Administration rules banning items including clothing, seeds and soap from being sent in parcels to Cuba.
Last month the U.S. Department of Commerce issued new rules on parcel contents after an interagency report recommended them as a way to hasten the demise of the Communist government in Cuba by denying the island of much-needed cash and resources.

Food, medicines, medical supplies and receive-only radios are still allowed but other items such as veterinary medicines and fishing equipment were banned.

The House voted 221 to 194 to approve the amendment to a $40 billion bill funding the Departments of State, Justice and Commerce for 2005.
(snip/...)

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=5614492

[MaineDem]

4. Good news

I like the "rebuff Bush" part especially.