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Summary

Restrictions on travel to Cuba have been a key and often contentious component in U.S. efforts to isolate the communist government of Fidel Castro for much of the past 40 years. Over time, there have been numerous changes to the restrictions, and for 5 years, from 1977 until 1982, there were no restrictions on travel to Cuba. This report surveys changes to the travel restrictions dating back to the 1960s, summarizes major arguments for and against lifting such restrictions, and tracks legislative initiatives to ease restrictions on travel to Cuba. Major arguments made for lifting the Cuba travel ban are it hinders efforts to influence conditions in Cuba and may be aiding Castro by helping restrict the flow of information; it abridges the rights of ordinary Americans; and Americans can travel to other countries with communist or authoritarian governments. Major arguments in opposition to lifting the Cuba travel ban are American tourist travel would support Castro's rule by providing his government with millions of dollars in tourist receipts; there are legal provisions allowing travel to Cuba for humanitarian purposes that are used by thousands of Americans each year; and the President should be free to restrict travel for foreign policy reasons. In the 107th Congress, while there were various measures introduced that would have eliminated or eased restrictions on travel to Cuba, and while the House voted in both the first and second sessions to prohibit spending to administer the travel regulations, no legislative action was completed before Congress adjourned. In the second session, the House-approved version of the FY2003 Treasury Department appropriation measure, H.R. 5120, contained a provision stating that no funds could be used to administer or enforce Treasury Department regulations with respect to Cuba travel; the Senate Appropriations Committee version of the measure, S. 2740 included a similar provision as well as a provision to expedite the Treasury Department's license approval process within 90 days. In the 108th Congress, the Senate version of the FY2003 omnibus appropriations measure, H.J.Res. 2, approved January 23, 2003, included funding for Treasury Department appropriations. Although the Senate version did not include the Senate Appropriations Committee provision from the 107th Congress that would have eased travel restrictions by prohibiting any funding for enforcing the Cuba travel regulations, it did include the provision to expedite action on travel license applications. However, the provision was dropped in the conference report (H.Rept. 108-10) on the omnibus measure. The White House had threatened to veto H.J.Res. 2 if it contained provisions weakening the embargo. This report will be updated to reflect major developments. For additional information, see CRS Report RL31740, Cuba: Issues for the 108th Congress. For a comparison of countries for which the U.S. government also maintains travel restrictions ­ Cuba, Iraq, Libya, and North Korea ­ see CRS Report RS21003, Travel Restrictions: U.S. Government Limits on American Citizens' Travel Abroad.

Related Legislation:
• H.R.5120
• S.2740
• H.J.RES.2
• S.2100

Related Reports:
• RL31139
• RL31139

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