RL31139
Cuba: U.S. Restrictions on Travel and Remittances
March 31, 2009

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Summary:

Restrictions on travel to Cuba have been a key and often contentious component in U.S. efforts to isolate Cubas communist government for much of the past 40 years. Under the Bush Administration, restrictions on travel and on private remittances to Cuba were tightened. In March 2003, the Administration eliminated travel for people-to-people educational exchanges unrelated to academic coursework. In June 2004, the Bush Administration further restricted family and educational travel, eliminated the category of fully-hosted travel, and restricted remittances so that they could only be sent to the remitters immediate family. Initially there was mixed reaction to the Bush Administrations June 2004 tightening of Cuba travel and remittance restrictions, but opposition to the policy grew, especially within the Cuban American community regarding the restrictions on family travel and remittances. Dating back to 2000, there have been numerous legislative efforts to ease restrictions on travel to Cuba in various ways. From 2000-2004, one or both houses of Congress approved amendments to appropriations bills that would have eased restrictions on travel, but these provisions ultimately were stripped out of final enacted measures. The Bush Administration regularly threatened to veto legislation if it contained provisions weakening Cuba sanctions. In the 110th Congress, several House and Senate committee versions of appropriations bills (H.R. 2829, S. 1859, H.R. 7323, S. 3260, and S. 3289) had provisions that would have eased restrictions on travel to Cuba in various ways, but no final action was taken before the end of the Congress. During the 2008 electoral campaign, President Obama pledged to lift restrictions on family travel to Cuba as well as restrictions on Cuban Americans sending remittances to Cuba. Senator Hillary Clinton reiterated President Obamas pledge during her confirmation hearing for Secretary of State on January 15, 2009, but indicated that the Administration did not yet have a timeline on the change. A number of observers expect that the Administration will fulfill President Obamas campaign pledge before the upcoming fifth Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago scheduled for April 17-19, 2009. The 111th Congress, however, already has taken action to ease some restrictions on travel to Cuba by including two provisions in the FY2009 omnibus appropriations measure (P.L. 111-8), signed into law on March 11, 2009. The first provision eases restrictions on family travel, which the Treasury Department implemented by issuing a general license for such travel as it existed prior to the Bush Administrations tightening of family travel restrictions in June 2004. Family travel is now allowed once every 12 months for an unlimited length of stay to visit a close relative who is no more than three generations removed from the traveler. The second provision eases travel restrictions related to the marketing and sale of agricultural and medical goods to Cuba, and requires the Treasury Department to issue a general license for such travel. The Treasury Department maintained that it would issue regulations in the coming weeks. Several additional initiatives have been introduced in the 111th Congress that would ease restrictions on travel to Cuba: H.R. 188 and H.R. 1530 would lift the embargo, including travel restrictions; H.R. 1531 would facilitate the export of U.S. agricultural products to Cuba and also prohibit restrictions on travel to Cuba; H.R. 874/S. 428 and H.R. 1528 would prohibit restrictions on travel to Cuba; and H.R. 332 would ease restrictions on educational travel. For additional information on Cuba, see CRS Report R40193, Cuba: Issues for the 111th Congress.