“I get so excited when you travel with me”…to Cuba!
It’s a lyric from Beyonce’s song, “Hello” — but I added the mention of Cuba in honor of her recent trip there with her husband, Jay-Z. And it’s creating quite a stir in Washington. Some lawmakers in Congress are wondering how Beyonce and Jay-Z got permission from the Treasury Department to go to Cuba.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen explained: “If the tourist activities undertaken by Beyonce and Jay-Z in Cuba are classified as an educational exchange trip, then it is clear that the Obama Administration is not serious about denying the Castro regime an economic lifeline that US tourism will extend to it. That was a wedding anniversary vacation that was not even disguised as a cultural program.”
Federal law expressly prohibits “tourist activities” in Cuba. However, educational opportunities sponsored by approved organizations, such as the American Museum of Natural History, National Geographic or various universities, are allowed.
Bills Related to Cuba
In this rare occasion, when mainstream news, policy wonks and entertainment gossip blogs are all covering the same story, we thought we’d jump in too! Here are the bills that Congress is considering about Cuba. Add your voice to the mix — and share this list with your friends and networks!
- HR 214 Cuba Reconciliation Act: To lift the trade embargo on Cuba.
- HR 215 Baseball Diplomacy Act: To waive certain prohibitions with respect to nationals of Cuba coming to the United States to play organized professional baseball.
- HR 871 Export Freedom to Cuba Act: To allow travel between the United States and Cuba.
- HRes 121 Honoring Yoani Sanchez, a courageous blogger and activist for freedom in Cuba.
- HR 872 Free Trade With Cuba Act: To lift the trade embargo on Cuba.
- HR 873 Promoting American Agricultural and Medical Exports to Cuba Act: To facilitate the export of US agricultural products to Cuba as authorized by the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000, to remove impediments to the export to Cuba of medical devices and medicines, to allow travel to Cuba by US legal residents, to establish an agricultural export promotion program with respect to Cuba.
Please keep in mind that highlighting a bill doesn’t imply a POPVOX endorsement in any way. Rather, we’re simply trying to offer one more way to stay informed of an overwhelmingly complex legislative system.
