September 17, 2002

Let me begin by thanking Sam Gibbons and Bob Stallman for organizing and co-chairing this truly special summit today.

I would also like to thank my Congressional colleagues who participated in today's summit – Representatives Jeff Flake, Bill Delahunt, George Nethercutt, former Congressman Bob Edgar, and Senator Chuck Hagel – as well as all of the distinguished panelists and participants who presented informed and compelling arguments in support of a long-overdue new approach for U.S. foreign policy toward Cuba.

Let me say at the outset – I am not here as an apologist for the Cuban government. Nor are any of my Congressional colleagues who have participated in this event. We all readily acknowledge that the government of Fidel Castro is an oppressive regime that does not serve the interests of its people.

Former President Jimmy Carter – one of the world's most highly respected advocates for human rights – took Fidel Castro to task for his failure to respect the human rights of the Cuban people. He also publicly praised those who have organized the so called Varela project – an effort by those in Cuba to peacefully promote democratic change on the island. President Carter also rightly stressed that the US policy of isolation is outdated and counterproductive.

I know many of you here today will be meeting with Members of Congress and with White House officials tomorrow in a day of lobbying on behalf of initiatives and policies that will help us begin to build new bridges between the American people and the Cuban people, and spark a new dawn in American-Cuban relations.

I would like to thank all of you in the audience for getting involved in this issue – it is your passion and your energy that will bring about positive change in America's relationship with Cuba, and positive change in the lives of the Cuban people.

Your voice matters a great deal in this debate, and your power to help correct the wayward course of American foreign policy toward Cuba is today more needed – and more appreciated – than ever.

For far too long, America's embargo against Cuba has been a taboo issue. For far too long, questioning America's embargo against Cuba was off limits. But, with your help, we are finally beginning to expose the truth – the truth that the embargo has failed to bring about the changes in Cuba that all of us wish to see, such as freedom, and democracy, and prosperity.

I believe that what has made this summit so important is the diverse, bi-partisan nature of the people who have come together in support of a common objective – to help bring American foreign policy toward Cuba into the 21st century, and to help bring about an American foreign policy toward Cuba that will truly benefit those who need it most – the people of Cuba.

We have come together today to take America's head out of the sand and call American policy toward Cuba exactly what it is – a failed policy. The fact is, our 40-plus year old embargo has done nothing to improve the lives of ordinary Cubans, and has done nothing to help bring about a democratic Cuba.

Like many of you here today, I have experienced first hand the effects of American policies on the daily lives of the people of Cuba.

In 1998 I visited Cuba for the first time in more than 20 years – the city of Havana looked very much as it did when I was there in the seventies, although the physical decay was clearly more evident. In many ways, Havana is a city that has remained frozen in the 1960s – just as U.S. policy has.

I believe that, at its core, our policy toward Cuba is one that severely limits the availability of medicine and medical supplies to the Cuban people.

It is a policy that denies U.S. citizens the right to travel where they choose.

It is a policy that prevents Cuban and American diplomats from establishing meaningful channels of communication to improve our relationship and prevent misunderstandings.

It is a policy that denies American companies and businesses access to an important and potentially enormous new market for American goods, services, and ideas.

It is a policy that prohibits a country ninety miles from our shores from being a partner in our global effort to thwart terrorism, to counter drug traffickers, or protected our overlapping ecosystems.

In short – it is a policy that is inconsistent both with America's values and America's self-interest.

I share the common goal of everyone in this room – and the common goal of the Cuban exile community – to bring democracy to Cuba. I share the common goal of seeing to it that Cuba enters the community of nations and the people of Cuba enjoy the blessings of political freedom and economic prosperity.

But I believe that American policy has been – for decades – harming the cause of democracy in Cuba, by weakening the will of the Cuban people and strengthening the power of those most opposed to freedom and democracy.

In Cuba today, you will not find people "inspired" by our embargo aimed at the removal of Fidel Castro from power, but rather you will find hungry families living in unnecessary poverty.

In Cuba today, you will not find a Fidel Castro weakened by our 40-year embargo, but a Cuban leadership solidified by what can only be thought of as bullying tactics by the world's strongest superpower against one of our hemisphere's poorest nations.

Most importantly, the summit today has exposed America's policy toward Cuba as profoundly hypocritical – during the 40 years that we have maintained our embargo against Cuba, the U.S. has normalized trade relations with Russia, China and even Vietnam.

The fact is, free trade and economic development is the best route to ensuring political freedom and democracy in all developing countries, including Cuba.

The summit today has also helped expose the myth that a majority of Cuban-Americans favor maintaining a complete embargo. The fact is, most members of the Cuban exile community support, at the very least, an easing of travel restrictions and lifting dollar limitations on the remittances that Cuban Americans can send to their loved ones on the island.

The more we try to prevent contacts between Cuba and America, the more we are robbing ourselves of the benefit of our most powerful and influential ambassadors – our own people. Elsewhere in our hemisphere, it has been such person-to-person contact that has encouraged democracy and forged lasting connections between nations.

I must say, that I believe that this summit, and other events like it are why I am optimistic that a new day is coming with respect to US/Cuba policy. I predict that in the not too distant future a new era of U.S.-Cuba relations will be upon us – an era when walls come crashing down and bridges are built in their place.

I am optimistic because over the past few years, there has been growing support in the United States Congress for making changes to U.S. policy. And there have been some successes. Thanks to provisions enacted into law two years ago, American farmers have now been able to sell more than $100 million of their harvests to Cuba, albeit in a more cumbersome manner than necessary.

This year, the House has already debated and supported easing restrictions on travel, remittances and credit sales of agricultural commodities during consideration of the FY 2003 Treasury, Post Office Appropriations bill. The Senate will soon debate the companion appropriations bill and is likely to adopt similar provisions.

The adoption of these amendments would never have happened even five years ago.

This year the votes weren't even close.

What is even more remarkable is the vote that occurred on an amendment offered by Congressman Charles Rangel to lift the embargo entirely. Had only twelve votes changed – that amendment would have prevailed as well.

Whether the House Leadership will once again hijack the process and continue to thwart the will of the Majority in both legislative bodies remains to be seen. There is a certain irony that those most concerned about the lack of democracy in Cuba are prepared to resort to undemocratic methods to prevent legislative changes to our policy.

It falls to people like yourselves in the audience today to hold your elected officials accountable. You must make it clear to Members of Congress and to Administration officials that the time is now to move forward with a new policy toward Cuba. You must make it clear that 40-years of a failed policy is enough. You must make it clear that the people of Cuba deserve better.

Once again, I thank you all for being here today, and I thank and congratulate Sam and Bob for helping to make this summit so very special, and so very successful. I look forward to working with all of you in coming months as we begin a new and exciting era in American-Cuban relations.

Thank you.

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