[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 194 (Thursday, November 4, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1193]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                RESOLUTION RELATED TO CUBA, H. RES. 760

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                         HON. PETER A. DeFAZIO

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, November 4, 2021

  Mr. DeFAZIO. Madam Speaker, on November 3, 2021, I inadvertently 
voted in favor of H. Res. 760 when I intended to vote against it. Even 
though the resolution passed by a large margin in the House of 
Representatives, I oppose this resolution and am disappointed it passed 
the House.
  Let me be clear: I strongly support those in Cuba who are protesting 
against the repressive and anti-democratic Cuban regime, and I support 
this resolution's sentiment in solidarity with Cubans who are 
demonstrating peacefully for fundamental freedoms.
  However, this resolution is flawed and does not present real 
solutions for Cuba or its people. It completely ignores the U.S.'s 
decades-long failed policy toward Cuba and fails to acknowledge the 
negative impact that this failed U.S. policy has had on the Cuban 
people.
  Throughout my time in Congress, I have worked with my colleagues to 
change the decades-long failed U.S. policy toward Cuba. Among the goals 
I've worked toward are lifting the ban on U.S. citizens traveling to 
Cuba and lifting the restrictions on selling food and medicine to Cuba. 
I have supported legislation that would achieve these goals.
  I was also a supporter of former President Obama's proposals to allow 
U.S. companies to establish banking relations, ease travel 
restrictions, and export some goods including agricultural products--
and I strongly oppose former President Trump's reversal of these Obama-
era policies.
  At the beginning of President Biden's administration, I joined 
several of my colleagues in urging President Biden to take executive 
action to reverse the Trump administration's wrong-headed policies 
toward Cuba, return to the Obama administration's diplomatic proposals, 
and pursue an end to the nearly six-decade-long economic embargo of 
Cuba.
  As a longtime supporter of reviewing our country's position on Cuba, 
I will continue to support reform efforts.

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