I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1239 

To designate the area between the intersections of 16th Street Northwest 

and Fuller Street Northwest and 16th Street Northwest and Euclid 

Street Northwest in Washington, District of Columbia, as ‘‘Oswaldo 

Paya ́ Way’’. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2023 

Mr. DIAZ-BALART (for himself, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. GIMENEZ, 

Ms. SALAZAR, and Ms. MALLIOTAKIS) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability 

A BILL 

To designate the area between the intersections of 16th 

Street Northwest and Fuller Street Northwest and 16th 

Street Northwest and Euclid Street Northwest in Washington, District of Columbia, as ‘‘Oswaldo Paya ́ Way’’. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds that— 

5 (1) the revolution led by Fidel Castro in Cuba 

6 in 1959 started 64 years of an ongoing dictatorship, 

7 systemic human rights abuses, and a lack of basic 


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1 freedom of press, religion, assembly, and association 

2 that continue to this day under the Communist rule 

3 of Rau ́l Castro and his successor, Miguel Dı ́az4 Canel; 

5 (2) Oswaldo Paya ́ Sardin ̃as was a Cuban polit6 ical dissident and activist dedicated to promoting 

7 democratic freedoms and human rights in Cuba; 

8 (3) the Communist Party of Cuba has always 

9 viewed individuals with a commitment to democracy 

10 and freedom as a threat to the existence of the Com11 munist Party of Cuba; 

12 (4) on July 22, 2012, a violent car crash, wide13 ly believed to have been carried out by the Castro re14 gime, took the lives of Oswaldo Paya ́ and Harold 

15 Cepero, another democratic activist; 

16 (5) Cuba’s official investigation into the crash 

17 has been demonstrated to be compromised, and the 

18 Cuban regime has blocked all efforts to conduct a 

19 credible and independent investigation into the 

20 crash, leaving the circumstances of the death of 

21 Oswaldo Paya ́ unknown; 

22 (6) opposition by Oswaldo Paya ́ to the Com23 munist Party of Cuba began at a young age, when 

24 he refused to become a member of the Young Com25 munist League as a primary school student, and 


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1 continued through high school, when he publicly 

2 criticized the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the So3 viet Union; 

4 (7) the Communist Party of Cuba responded to 

5 the opposition by Oswaldo Paya ́ to the invasion of 

6 Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union by sending 

7 Oswaldo Paya ́ to a labor camp for 3 years; 

8 (8) Oswaldo Paya ́ forewent a chance to escape 

9 Cuba in the 1980 Mariel boatlift, deciding instead to 

10 continue the fight for democracy in Cuba, saying, 

11 ‘‘This is what I am supposed to be, this is what I 

12 have to do.’’; 

13 (9) by creating the Varela Project in 1998, 

14 Oswaldo Paya ́ demonstrated his staunch commit15 ment to peacefully advocating for freedom of speech 

16 and freedom of assembly for his fellow Cubans; 

17 (10) in recognition of his determination for po18 litical reforms through peaceful protests, Oswaldo 

19 Paya ́ was awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom 

20 of Thought by the European Parliament in 2002 

21 and the W. Averell Harriman Democracy Award 

22 from the National Democratic Institute for Inter23 national Affairs in 2003 and was nominated for the 

24 Nobel Peace Prize by former Czech President 

25 Va1clav Havel in 2005; 


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1 (11) on April 11, 2018, the Senate unanimously 

2 passed S. Res. 224, recognizing the sixth anniver3 sary of the death of Oswaldo Paya ́ Sardin ̃as, com4 memorating his legacy and commitment to demo5 cratic values and principles, and calling on the 

6 Cuban Government to allow an impartial, third7 party investigation into the circumstances sur8 rounding his death; and 

9 (12) renaming the street in front of the Em10 bassy of Cuba in the District of Columbia after 

11 Oswaldo Paya ́ serves as an expression of solidarity 

12 between the people of the United States and the peo13 ple of Cuba, who are engaged in a long, nonviolent 

14 struggle for fundamental human rights. 

15 SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF OSWALDO PAYA ́ WAY. 

16 (a) DESIGNATION OF WAY.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The area between the inter18 sections of 16th Street Northwest and Fuller Street 

19 Northwest and 16th Street Northwest and Euclid 

20 Street Northwest in Washington, District of Colum21 bia, shall be known and designated as ‘‘Oswaldo 

22 Paya ́ Way’’. 

23 (2) REFERENCES.—Any reference in a law, 

24 map, regulation, document, paper, or other record of 

25 the United States to the area referred to in paraVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:37 Mar 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1239.IH H1239

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1 graph (1) shall be deemed to be a reference to 

2 Oswaldo Paya ́ Way. 

3 (b) DESIGNATION OF ADDRESS.— 

4 (1) DESIGNATION.—The address of 2630 16th 

5 Street Northwest, Washington, District of Columbia, 

6 shall be redesignated as 2630 Oswaldo Paya ́ Way. 

7 (2) REFERENCES.—Any reference in a law, 

8 map, regulation, document, paper, or other record of 

9 the United States to the address referred to in para10 graph (1) shall be deemed to be a reference to 2630 

11 Oswaldo Paya ́ Way. 

12 (c) SIGNS.—The District of Columbia shall construct 

13 2 street signs that shall— 

14 (1) contain the phrase ‘‘Oswaldo Paya ́ Way’’; 

15 (2) be placed immediately above existing signs 

16 at the intersections of 16th Street Northwest and 

17 Fuller Street Northwest and 16th Street Northwest 

18 and Euclid Street Northwest in Washington, District 

19 of Columbia; and 

20 (3) be similar in design to the signs used by the 

21 District of Columbia to designate the location of 

22 Metro stations. 

Æ 


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