Cuba

Floor Speech

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Mr. MORAN. Madam President, I rise this evening to express my support for the Cuban people who have taken to the streets of their country to advocate for a government that can meet their basic needs of food, medicine, and political rights.

The Cuban Government is attempting to deflect responsibility for the plight of its own people by blaming the United States of America. It is not our country that denies basic political freedoms to ordinary Cubans. The oppression is underscored by the fact that these are the first significant protests in Cuba in 25 years.

The people of Cuba cannot be blamed for the actions of a Cuban Government that greets those who speak out for a different future with violent crackdowns. In response to the latest protests, the regime says it is ``prepared to do anything'' to protect the current system.

Along with most all American people, I stand in solidarity with the demonstrating Cubans, and in a particular way, I seek to improve their lives by leading bipartisan legislation that would lift our country's 60-year-old trade embargo with Cuba. While this legislation would provide a new market for our own farmers, ranchers, and manufacturers, it also deprives the Cuban Government of its false talking point that the United States is somehow the cause of the misery of the Cuban people.

After 60 years of communist rule, 11 million Cubans deserve better. They deserve freedom. They deserve dignity. They deserve hope. We have witnessed this intense desire in a powerful way this weekend. The courage of Cubans who are risking their livelihoods--and possibly their lives--does not go unnoticed. They stand alongside those in Hong Kong, in Minsk, and in Moscow who challenge governments that disregard inalienable rights.

As demonstrations to enact change in Havana continue, I pray they be peaceful and effective at bringing about a brighter tomorrow for the citizens of Cuba.

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