Agriculture Committee to Vote on Freedom Travel to Cuba on Wednesday, June 30

[Mika]

Agriculture Committee to Vote on Freedom Travel to Cuba on Wednesday, June 30
http://www.cubaheadlines.com/2010/06/26/22290/agriculture_committee_vote_freedom_travel_cuba_wednesday_june_30.html#ixzz0s3rfBk1w

If you live in Maryland, New York, Illinois or Texas, Maryland, New York,Illinois or Texas, Or if you live in Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina or Tennessee,

You are in a pivotal position to regain for U.S. citizens the right to travel to Cuba!

A few weeks ago you were informed about H.R. 4645, the latest version of the "Freedom to Travel to Cuba" Bill, now known as the "Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act" that will be voted on in the House Committee on Agriculture on June 30!

More information including the full text of HR 4645 and Talking Points at:
http://www.globalexchange.org/countries/americas/cuba/travel2009.html

This bill restores our Right To Travel to Cuba and lifts restrictions on agricultural sales to Cuba.

If H.R. 4645 passes out of the Agriculture Committee it will go to the Floor of the House of Representatives during the week after July 4 weekend.

Speaker Pelosi has said she will work to bring every possible undecided Democrat on board.

This is the best opportunity we've had in years to end the Cuba travel restrictions on U.S. citizens and may well be our last chance for the next several years!

This bill WILL PASS in the Senate with 62 YES votes! We need only an additional 13 votes in the House of Representatives to pass this legislation in the U.S. Congress, a truly unprecedented opportunity!

I. Here are the swing votes on the Agriculture Committee:

Cuellar D-TX-28
Halvorson D-IL-11
Kratovil D-MD-01
Murphy, Scott D-NY-20
Here are the NO votes on the Agriculture Commitee who need to be persuaded to vote YES:

Kissell D-NC-08
Roe R-TN-01
Schauer D-MI-07
Smith, Adrian R-NE-03
Rogers, Michael R-AL-03
Fortenberry R-NE-01
Marshall D-GA-08

II. Here are the swing votes on the Floor of the House, the "undecided" Representatives, 13 of whom must be persuaded to vote YES on H. R. 4645:

http://www.lawg.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=714&Itemid=9999999\9

If you are a constituent of one of these representatives, or know someone who is, you are in a powerful position to help pass H.R. 4645 and regain the right for U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba!

Please do the following on Monday, June 28 or Tuesday, June 29:

1) Call the Capitol Switchboard at [phone] and ask to be connected to your congressperson's office.

2) Ask to speak with the Legislative Director.

a.) Ask if the Congressperson is supporting H.R. 4645, and if so, thank him/her,and ask him/her to work to educate reluctant colleagues on the importance of H.R. 4645 during the next week.

If the Legislative Director isn't available,leave a voice message asking for a YES vote on H.R. 4645 and for him/her to call
you back.

b.) If your congressperson has not yet become a supporter of H.R. 4645, take a few extra steps: Email your Congressperson! Scroll down the page to the link,add your zip code, then follow the simple instructions. He/she needs to hear from you now!

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/625/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=3839.

c.) Immediately after you hit the send button, pick up the phone and CALL YOUR CONGRESSPERSON at [phone]. Follow the steps described above, and use this message:


If H.R. 4645 passes out of the Agriculture Committee and goes to the floor of the House, we will have between July 1 and July 5 to contact the swing votes in the full House of Representatives to secure their YES votes for the Floor vote.

Please check the list of swing votes and tell them to vote YES:

http://www.lawg.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=714&Itemid=9999999\9

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[Braulio]

1. I would pass it

With one proviso:

The Cuban government would have to allow US citizens to travel to Cuba under the same circumstances they travel to other nations - they could take books, magazines, and other printed material, as well as radios, cell phones, and computers, which they can give to Cubans as presents if they so choose. This will help the Cubans become more aware of what goes on outside of Cuba, and also allow them to begin issuing pamphlets and informational material to the population.

[Mika]

3. You know nothing about what is happening now.

People from all over the world bring in just those very items on your list, including Cuban-American/exiles.

If your contention is that Cuba somehow bans these items, then you are seriously ignorant on this topic.

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[Braulio]

5. I hear they are not allowed to bring them behind

Or they have to pay a ton of money. And let's say I were to bring in a suit case with 100 copies of a book by Valladares, about Cuban jails, and other material showing just how wrong Castro has been all these years. Would the communist dictatorship allow me to bring it in and distribute it? I don't think so. Why? Because they thrive by mind control, and keeping the truth away from the people.

[Judi Lynn]

6. It's sad watching you spinning your wheels. You're not going to make any converts here.

Many DU'ers are simply well-informed, well-balanced, don't appreciate hard-right gibberish.

[Braulio]

8. Hard right gibberish?

I take it you think discussing Castro's dictatorship is "hard right". Do you think Human Rights Watch is "hard right" too? By the way, this isn't about religion, I'm not converting anybody. I'm just stating what I know. Feel free to debate it.

So what do you think about Castro giving up on his communist brand, and allowing farmers to go private? It sure sounds like the communists are starting to see the light. I sure hope they don't turn into another China, because those Chinese are nasty. They're too capitalist for my taste, they are poisoning dogs, children, you name it, for the sake of profits.

[Mika]

9. "I'm just stating what I know."

"I'm just stating what I know."

Several of us have been pointing out that, aside from the RW talking points, what you know about Cuba is very little.

Heads up.... Cuba is Cuba, not China, not the old USSR, etc etc, only Cuba. Cuba is a small island and like a small boat in the ocean, radical shifts can cause the boat to sink. Careful deliberations and consultations with the electorate are how Cuba has managed so well marshaling their resources and conserving their environment despite the austere conditions of global poverty created by rapacious capitalism. This should be celebrated and understood, not simply torn down to be paved over by some corporate privatization raiders.

Cubans are well aware of the dangers of the corporate shark infested waters and this is why they overwhelmingly support and participate in/with their government.

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[Judi Lynn]

2. Mika, thanks for the news this chance is looming upon us right now!

Disappointing to see any Democratic names in there. Hope Nancy Pelosi will be able to apply successful pressure in these cases.

There's no reason whatsoever this absurdity should continue for another minute.

I recall hearing from an assistant in either my Senator, Pat Robert's office, or my Representative, Dennis Moore, that when his boss (they both have been to Cuba numerous times, Roberts, as a Republican, and Moore, as a Democrat) and whichever one it was said he was astonished to learn from a cab drive he got that the man knew what Cuba-related legislation was going on in the U.S. Congress at that very time. Never forgot learning that. Very cool!

Was reading just the other day that Cuba is one of the most politically aware countries around, as in daily conversation on the island. Is that consistant with anything you witnessed over the years?

Thank you for this timely news. There's something to look forward to right around the corner. Keeping fingers crossed.

[flamingdem]

4. Is there a chance for this to pass?

The numbers are improving ..

>>This bill WILL PASS in the Senate with 62 YES votes! We need only an additional 13 votes in the House of Representatives to pass this legislation in the U.S. Congress, a truly unprecedented opportunity!

[Mika]

7. I will bet dollars to donuts that any bill to end sanctions.....

.... will be killed off in reconciliation markup committees.

That way everyone gets to vote the way that best suits their campaign contribution profile. Few care about the actual effect of the bills other than the effect upon their vote on the resulting contributions (and future lobbying careers).

America has become a criminal enterprise.

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