Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

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Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss our country's
relationship with Cuba. I have long advocated modernizing our
relationship with Cuba. The current embargo has been in place for 50 years, and it
has greatly constrained opportunities for American businesses by
restricting commerce, by restricting our exports--things that are made
in America--from going to a place that is only 90 miles off our shores
and has 11 million people.

That is why today I introduce the bipartisan Freedom to Export to
Cuba Act with Senators Enzi, Stabenow, Flake, Leahy, and Durbin. This
bill lifts the trade embargo on Cuba and knocks down the legal barriers
to Americans doing business in Cuba. This bill will help open up new
economic opportunities for American businesses, which will mean more
jobs. It will also boost opportunities for farmers--something the Chair
knows well coming from the State of North Dakota, as we know well in
the State of Minnesota. This will also allow Cubans to have access to
these products, which we believe is good for their country, good for
their people so that they can become a different country.

Freeing our businesses to pursue opportunities for development could
greatly help the people of Cuba. Consider for example that Cuba only
has a 2G cellular network and that only about one-fourth of the
population has Internet access. Ultimately, I believe this legislation
will help usher in a new era for Americans and Cubans shaped by
opportunities for the future rather than simply a story of the past.

The process the President has jump-started to normalize our ties with
Cuba is a positive step forward. My home State of Minnesota exported
about $20 million in agricultural products to Cuba in 2013. I think
people are surprised by that, but as many of us know, there are
humanitarian exceptions to the current embargo. So our country is
already exporting, and my State alone exported $20 million in products.
With the President's action alone, the Minnesota Department of
Agriculture estimates that exports could increase by another $20
million. The United States is already the fourth largest source of
imports to Cuba based solely on authorized shipments of agriculture and
medical supplies. Over the past decade we have been one of Cuba's top
suppliers of food products. So it is not as if we don't already do
business there, but unlike every other country, including our own
neighbor to the north, Canada, we hamstring our businesses seeking to
export their products there. Export and travel restrictions have
continued to prevent Americans from seeking opportunities in Cuba, and
the embargo prevents Cubans from obtaining food and other goods we take
for granted in our country.

Cuban human rights activist Yoani Sanchez wrote:

It is impossible for Cubans to buy staples like eggs or
cooking oil without turning to the underground market.
Rationing forces people to stand in line for hours for
poultry and fish. On the Cuban government's 50th anniversary
in 2009, it provided families with an extra half pound of
ground beef, but that beef was not from the U.S. It was
sponsored by the Venezuelan government . . . a meager gift
nicknamed ``Hugo Chavez's Hamburger'' by everyday Cubans.

I say it is time for America to stop ceding credit for the hamburger
to Venezuela. It is time that we made our hamburger accessible in Cuba.
The Freedom to Export to Cuba Act will help us do that. It is simply a
targeted repeal of the provisions in current law that keep the embargo
in place, including restrictions that prevent American businesses from
financing their own exports to the island and requirements for American
farms to seek special licenses for any transaction with Cuba.

It is also important to emphasize what this bill does not do. There
are many outstanding issues that many of my colleagues have discussed
between our two countries that must be dealt with, especially our
concerns about the Cuban Government's repressive policies. That is why
this bill does not repeal provisions of current law that address human
rights in Cuba or that allow individuals and businesses to pursue
claims against the Cuban Government for property.

None of us is under any illusion about the nature of the Cuban
Government. The Cuban Government must take serious steps to reform
politically and economically. It must free political prisoners and stop
arbitrarily arresting people for political speech. It must also take
steps to liberalize its state-centric economic system if it truly hopes
to allow its people to prosper and to benefit from growing commerce
with the United States.

We do not minimize the importance of those issues, but we also know
the embargo has not helped to solve them. Members on both sides of the
aisle recognize that continuing along the same path with respect to
Cuba has not achieved our objectives and in fact has constrained
Americans' freedom to pursue business opportunities abroad. It has
hindered our freedom to travel, which is why I also cosponsored the
Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act recently introduced by Senator Flake.

Both that bill and the Freedom to Export to Cuba Act that I have
introduced today with a bipartisan group of Senators shows that we can
work together in this new Congress to support a commonsense
relationship between the United States and Cuba.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation. It is
a chance to build on our current progress and take additional actions
to forge a practical and positive relationship with the people of Cuba
and the people of America.

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