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[104th Congress Public Law 114]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]

<DOC>
[DOCID: f:publ114.104]

[[Page 110 STAT. 785]]

Public Law 104-114
104th Congress

                                 An Act

 
 To seek international sanctions against the Castro government in Cuba, 
      to plan for support of a transition government leading to a 
        democratically elected government in Cuba, and for other 
            purposes. <<NOTE: Mar. 12, 1996 -  [H.R. 927]>> 

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: Cuban Liberty 
and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996.>> 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) <<NOTE: 22 USC 6021 note.>>  Short Title.--This Act may be cited 
as the ``Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 
1996''.

    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Purposes.
Sec. 4. Definitions.
Sec. 5. Severability.

   TITLE I--STRENGTHENING INTERNATIONAL SANCTIONS AGAINST THE CASTRO 
                               GOVERNMENT

Sec. 101. Statement of policy.
Sec. 102. Enforcement of the economic embargo of Cuba.
Sec. 103. Prohibition against indirect financing of Cuba.
Sec. 104. United States opposition to Cuban membership in international 
           financial institutions.
Sec. 105. United States opposition to termination of the suspension of 
           the Cuban Government from participation in the Organization 
           of American States.
Sec. 106. Assistance by the independent states of the former Soviet 
           Union for the Cuban Government.
Sec. 107. Television broadcasting to Cuba.
Sec. 108. Reports on commerce with, and assistance to, Cuba from other 
           foreign countries.
Sec. 109. Authorization of support for democratic and human rights 
           groups and international observers.
Sec. 110. Importation safeguard against certain Cuban products.
Sec. 111. Withholding of foreign assistance from countries supporting 
           Juragua nuclear plant in Cuba.
Sec. 112. Reinstitution of family remittances and travel to Cuba.
Sec. 113. Expulsion of criminals from Cuba.
Sec. 114. News bureaus in Cuba.
Sec. 115. Effect of Act on lawful United States Government activities.
Sec. 116. Condemnation of Cuban attack on American aircraft.

           TITLE II--ASSISTANCE TO A FREE AND INDEPENDENT CUBA

Sec. 201. Policy toward a transition government and a democratically 
           elected government in Cuba.
Sec. 202. Assistance for the Cuban people.
Sec. 203. Coordination of assistance program; implementation and reports 
           to Congress; reprogramming.
Sec. 204. Termination of the economic embargo of Cuba.
Sec. 205. Requirements and factors for determining a transition 
           government.
Sec. 206. Requirements for determining a democratically elected 
           government.

[[Page 110 STAT. 786]]

Sec. 207. Settlement of outstanding United States claims to confiscated 
           property in Cuba.

   TITLE III--PROTECTION OF PROPERTY RIGHTS OF UNITED STATES NATIONALS

Sec. 301. Findings.
Sec. 302. Liability for trafficking in confiscated property claimed by 
           United States nationals.
Sec. 303. Proof of ownership of claims to confiscated property.
Sec. 304. Exclusivity of Foreign Claims Settlement Commission 
           certification procedure.
Sec. 305. Limitation of actions.
Sec. 306. Effective date.

                  TITLE IV--EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN ALIENS

Sec. 401. Exclusion from the United States of aliens who have 
           confiscated property of United States nationals or who 
           traffic in such property.

SEC. 2. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6021.>>  FINDINGS.

    The Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The economy of Cuba has experienced a decline of at 
        least 60 percent in the last 5 years as a result of--
                    (A) the end of its subsidization by the former 
                Soviet Union of between 5 billion and 6 billion dollars 
                annually;
                    (B) 36 years of communist tyranny and economic 
                mismanagement by the Castro government;
                    (C) the extreme decline in trade between Cuba and 
                the countries of the former Soviet bloc; and
                    (D) the stated policy of the Russian Government and 
                the countries of the former Soviet bloc to conduct 
                economic relations with Cuba on strictly commercial 
                terms.
            (2) At the same time, the welfare and health of the Cuban 
        people have substantially deteriorated as a result of this 
        economic decline and the refusal of the Castro regime to permit 
        free and fair democratic elections in Cuba.
            (3) The Castro regime has made it abundantly clear that it 
        will not engage in any substantive political reforms that would 
        lead to democracy, a market economy, or an economic recovery.
            (4) The repression of the Cuban people, including a ban on 
        free and fair democratic elections, and continuing violations of 
        fundamental human rights, have isolated the Cuban regime as the 
        only completely nondemocratic government in the Western 
        Hemisphere.
            (5) As long as free elections are not held in Cuba, the 
        economic condition of the country and the welfare of the Cuban 
        people will not improve in any significant way.
            (6) The totalitarian nature of the Castro regime has 
        deprived the Cuban people of any peaceful means to improve their 
        condition and has led thousands of Cuban citizens to risk or 
        lose their lives in dangerous attempts to escape from Cuba to 
        freedom.
            (7) Radio Marti and Television Marti have both been 
        effective vehicles for providing the people of Cuba with news 
        and information and have helped to bolster the morale of the 
        people of Cuba living under tyranny.
            (8) The consistent policy of the United States towards Cuba 
        since the beginning of the Castro regime, carried out by both 
        Democratic and Republican administrations, has sought to keep 
        faith with the people of Cuba, and has been effective in 
        sanctioning the totalitarian Castro regime.

[[Page 110 STAT. 787]]

            (9) The United States has shown a deep commitment, and 
        considers it a moral obligation, to promote and protect human 
        rights and fundamental freedoms as expressed in the Charter of 
        the United Nations and in the Universal Declaration of Human 
        Rights.
            (10) The Congress has historically and consistently 
        manifested its solidarity and the solidarity of the American 
        people with the democratic aspirations of the Cuban people.
            (11) The Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 calls upon the 
        President to encourage the governments of countries that conduct 
        trade with Cuba to restrict their trade and credit relations 
        with Cuba in a manner consistent with the purposes of that Act.
            (12) Amendments to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 made 
        by the FREEDOM Support Act require that the President, in 
        providing economic assistance to Russia and the emerging 
        Eurasian democracies, take into account the extent to which they 
        are acting to ``terminate support for the communist regime in 
        Cuba, including removal of troops, closing military facilities, 
        and ceasing trade subsidies and economic, nuclear, and other 
        assistance''.
            (13) The Cuban Government engages in the illegal 
        international narcotics trade and harbors fugitives from justice 
        in the United States.
            (14) The Castro government threatens international peace and 
        security by engaging in acts of armed subversion and terrorism 
        such as the training and supplying of groups dedicated to 
        international violence.
            (15) The Castro government has utilized from its inception 
        and continues to utilize torture in various forms (including by 
        psychiatry), as well as execution, exile, confiscation, 
        political imprisonment, and other forms of terror and 
        repression, as means of retaining power.
            (16) <<NOTE: Fidel Castro.>> Fidel Castro has defined 
        democratic pluralism as ``pluralistic garbage'' and continues to 
        make clear that he has no intention of tolerating the 
        democratization of Cuban society.
            (17) The Castro government holds innocent Cubans hostage in 
        Cuba by no fault of the hostages themselves solely because 
        relatives have escaped the country.
            (18) Although a signatory state to the 1928 Inter-American 
        Convention on Asylum and the International Covenant on Civil and 
        Political Rights (which protects the right to leave one's own 
        country), Cuba nevertheless surrounds embassies in its capital 
        by armed forces to thwart the right of its citizens to seek 
        asylum and systematically denies that right to the Cuban people, 
        punishing them by imprisonment for seeking to leave the country 
        and killing them for attempting to do so (as demonstrated in the 
        case of the confirmed murder of over 40 men, women, and children 
        who were seeking to leave Cuba on July 13, 1994).
            (19) The Castro government continues to utilize blackmail, 
        such as the immigration crisis with which it threatened the 
        United States in the summer of 1994, and other unacceptable and 
        illegal forms of conduct to influence the actions of sovereign 
        states in the Western Hemisphere in violation of the Charter of 
        the Organization of American States and other international 
        agreements and international law.

[[Page 110 STAT. 788]]

            (20) The United Nations Commission on Human Rights has 
        repeatedly reported on the unacceptable human rights situation 
        in Cuba and has taken the extraordinary step of appointing a 
        Special Rapporteur.
            (21) The Cuban Government has consistently refused access to 
        the Special Rapporteur and formally expressed its decision not 
        to ``implement so much as one comma'' of the United Nations 
        Resolutions appointing the Rapporteur.
            (22) The United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution 
        47-139 on December 18, 1992, Resolution 48-142 on December 20, 
        1993, and Resolution 49-200 on December 23, 1994, referencing 
        the Special Rapporteur's reports to the United Nations and 
        condemning violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms 
        in Cuba.
            (23) Article 39 of Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter 
        provides that the United Nations Security Council ``shall 
        determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of 
        the peace, or act of aggression and shall make recommendations, 
        or decide what measures shall be taken . . ., to maintain or 
        restore international peace and security.''.
            (24) The United Nations has determined that massive and 
        systematic violations of human rights may constitute a ``threat 
        to peace'' under Article 39 and has imposed sanctions due to 
        such violations of human rights in the cases of Rhodesia, South 
        Africa, Iraq, and the former Yugoslavia.
            (25) In the case of Haiti, a neighbor of Cuba not as close 
        to the United States as Cuba, the United States led an effort to 
        obtain and did obtain a United Nations Security Council embargo 
        and blockade against that country due to the existence of a 
        military dictatorship in power less than 3 years.
            (26) United Nations Security Council Resolution 940 of July 
        31, 1994, subsequently authorized the use of ``all necessary 
        means'' to restore the ``democratically elected government of 
        Haiti'', and the democratically elected government of Haiti was 
        restored to power on October 15, 1994.
            (27) The Cuban people deserve to be assisted in a decisive 
        manner to end the tyranny that has oppressed them for 36 years, 
        and the continued failure to do so constitutes ethically 
        improper conduct by the international community.
            (28) For the past 36 years, the Cuban Government has posed 
        and continues to pose a national security threat to the United 
        States.

SEC. 3. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6022.>>  PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to assist the Cuban people in regaining their freedom 
        and prosperity, as well as in joining the community of 
        democratic countries that are flourishing in the Western 
        Hemisphere;
            (2) to strengthen international sanctions against the Castro 
        government;
            (3) to provide for the continued national security of the 
        United States in the face of continuing threats from the Castro 
        government of terrorism, theft of property from United States 
        nationals by the Castro government, and the political 
        manipulation by the Castro government of the desire of Cubans to 
        escape that results in mass migration to the United States;

[[Page 110 STAT. 789]]

            (4) to encourage the holding of free and fair democratic 
        elections in Cuba, conducted under the supervision of 
        internationally recognized observers;
            (5) to provide a policy framework for United States support 
        to the Cuban people in response to the formation of a transition 
        government or a democratically elected government in Cuba; and
            (6) to protect United States nationals against confiscatory 
        takings and the wrongful trafficking in property confiscated by 
        the Castro regime.

SEC. 4. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6023.>>  DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act, the following terms have the following 
meanings:
            (1) Agency or instrumentality of a foreign state.--The term 
        ``agency or instrumentality of a foreign state'' has the meaning 
        given that term in section 1603(b) of title 28, United States 
        Code.
            (2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on 
        International Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of 
        the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign 
        Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.
            (3) Commercial activity.--The term ``commercial activity'' 
        has the meaning given that term in section 1603(d) of title 28, 
        United States Code.
            (4) Confiscated.--As used in titles I and III, the term 
        ``confiscated'' refers to--
                    (A) the nationalization, expropriation, or other 
                seizure by the Cuban Government of ownership or control 
                of property, on or after January 1, 1959--
                          (i) without the property having been returned 
                      or adequate and effective compensation provided; 
                      or
                          (ii) without the claim to the property having 
                      been settled pursuant to an international claims 
                      settlement agreement or other mutually accepted 
                      settlement procedure; and
                    (B) the repudiation by the Cuban Government of, the 
                default by the Cuban Government on, or the failure of 
                the Cuban Government to pay, on or after January 1, 
                1959--
                          (i) a debt of any enterprise which has been 
                      nationalized, expropriated, or otherwise taken by 
                      the Cuban Government;
                          (ii) a debt which is a charge on property 
                      nationalized, expropriated, or otherwise taken by 
                      the Cuban Government; or
                          (iii) a debt which was incurred by the Cuban 
                      Government in satisfaction or settlement of a 
                      confiscated property claim.
            (5) Cuban government.--(A) The term ``Cuban Government'' 
        includes the government of any political subdivision of Cuba, 
        and any agency or instrumentality of the Government of Cuba.
            (B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term ``agency or 
        instrumentality of the Government of Cuba'' means an

[[Page 110 STAT. 790]]

        agency or instrumentality of a foreign state as defined in 
        section 1603(b) of title 28, United States Code, with each 
        reference in such section to ``a foreign state'' deemed to be a 
        reference to ``Cuba''.
            (6) Democratically elected government in cuba.--The term 
        ``democratically elected government in Cuba'' means a government 
        determined by the President to have met the requirements of 
        section 206.
            (7) Economic embargo of cuba.--The term ``economic embargo 
        of Cuba'' refers to--
                    (A) the economic embargo (including all restrictions 
                on trade or transactions with, and travel to or from, 
                Cuba, and all restrictions on transactions in property 
                in which Cuba or nationals of Cuba have an interest) 
                that was imposed against Cuba pursuant to section 620(a) 
                of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 
                2370(a)), section 5(b) of the Trading with the Enemy Act 
                (50 U.S.C. App. 5(b)), the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 
                (22 U.S.C. 6001 and following), or any other provision 
                of law; and
                    (B) the restrictions imposed by section 902(c) of 
                the Food Security Act of 1985.
            (8) Foreign national.--The term ``foreign national'' means--
                    (A) an alien; or
                    (B) any corporation, trust, partnership, or other 
                juridical entity not organized under the laws of the 
                United States, or of any State, the District of 
                Columbia, or any commonwealth, territory, or possession 
                of the United States.
            (9) Knowingly.--The term ``knowingly'' means with knowledge 
        or having reason to know.
            (10) Official of the cuban government or the ruling 
        political party in cuba.--The term ``official of the Cuban 
        Government or the ruling political party in Cuba'' refers to any 
        member of the Council of Ministers, Council of State, central 
        committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, or the Politburo of 
        Cuba, or their equivalents.
            (11) Person.--The term ``person'' means any person or 
        entity, including any agency or instrumentality of a foreign 
        state.
            (12) Property.--(A) The term ``property'' means any property 
        (including patents, copyrights, trademarks, and any other form 
        of intellectual property), whether real, personal, or mixed, and 
        any present, future, or contingent right, security, or other 
        interest therein, including any leasehold interest.
            (B) For purposes of title III of this Act, the term 
        ``property'' does not include real property used for residential 
        purposes unless, as of the date of the enactment of this Act--
                    (i) the claim to the property is held by a United 
                States national and the claim has been certified under 
                title V of the International Claims Settlement Act of 
                1949; or
                    (ii) the property is occupied by an official of the 
                Cuban Government or the ruling political party in Cuba.
            (13) Traffics.--(A) As used in title III, and except as 
        provided in subparagraph (B), a person ``traffics'' in 
        confiscated property if that person knowingly and 
        intentionally--

[[Page 110 STAT. 791]]

                    (i) sells, transfers, distributes, dispenses, 
                brokers, manages, or otherwise disposes of confiscated 
                property, or purchases, leases, receives, possesses, 
                obtains control of, manages, uses, or otherwise acquires 
                or holds an interest in confiscated property,
                    (ii) engages in a commercial activity using or 
                otherwise benefiting from confiscated property, or
                    (iii) causes, directs, participates in, or profits 
                from, trafficking (as described in clause (i) or (ii)) 
                by another person, or otherwise engages in trafficking 
                (as described in clause (i) or (ii)) through another 
                person,
        without the authorization of any United States national who 
        holds a claim to the property.
            (B) The term ``traffics'' does not include--
                    (i) the delivery of international telecommunication 
                signals to Cuba;
                    (ii) the trading or holding of securities publicly 
                traded or held, unless the trading is with or by a 
                person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury to be 
                a specially designated national;
                    (iii) transactions and uses of property incident to 
                lawful travel to Cuba, to the extent that such 
                transactions and uses of property are necessary to the 
                conduct of such travel; or
                    (iv) transactions and uses of property by a person 
                who is both a citizen of Cuba and a resident of Cuba, 
                and who is not an official of the Cuban Government or 
                the ruling political party in Cuba.
            (14) Transition government in cuba.--The term ``transition 
        government in Cuba'' means a government that the President 
        determines is a transition government consistent with the 
        requirements and factors set forth in section 205.
            (15) United states national.--The term ``United States 
        national'' means--
                    (A) any United States citizen; or
                    (B) any other legal entity which is organized under 
                the laws of the United States, or of any State, the 
                District of Columbia, or any commonwealth, territory, or 
                possession of the United States, and which has its 
                principal place of business in the United States.

SEC. 5. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6024.>>  SEVERABILITY.

    If any provision of this Act or the amendments made by this Act or 
the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, 
the remainder of this Act, the amendments made by this Act, or the 
application thereof to other persons not similarly situated or to other 
circumstances shall not be affected by such invalidation.

   TITLE I--STRENGTHENING INTERNATIONAL SANCTIONS AGAINST THE CASTRO 
                               GOVERNMENT

SEC. 101. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6031.>>  STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the sense of the Congress that--

[[Page 110 STAT. 792]]

            (1) the acts of the Castro government, including its 
        massive, systematic, and extraordinary violations of human 
        rights, are a threat to international peace;
            (2) the President should advocate, and should instruct the 
        United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations to 
        propose and seek within the Security Council, a mandatory 
        international embargo against the totalitarian Cuban Government 
        pursuant to chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, 
        employing efforts similar to consultations conducted by United 
        States representatives with respect to Haiti;
            (3) any resumption of efforts by any independent state of 
        the former Soviet Union to make operational any nuclear 
        facilities in Cuba, and any continuation of intelligence 
        activities by such a state from Cuba that are targeted at the 
        United States and its citizens will have a detrimental impact on 
        United States assistance to such state; and
            (4) in view of the threat to the national security posed by 
        the operation of any nuclear facility, and the Castro 
        government's continuing blackmail to unleash another wave of 
        Cuban refugees fleeing from Castro's oppression, most of whom 
        find their way to United States shores, further depleting 
        limited humanitarian and other resources of the United States, 
        the President should do all in his power to make it clear to the 
        Cuban Government that--
                    (A) the completion and operation of any nuclear 
                power facility, or
                    (B) any further political manipulation of the desire 
                of Cubans to escape that results in mass migration to 
                the United States,
        will be considered an act of aggression which will be met with 
        an appropriate response in order to maintain the security of the 
        national borders of the United States and the health and safety 
        of the American people.

SEC. 102. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6032.>>  ENFORCEMENT OF THE ECONOMIC EMBARGO OF 
            CUBA.

    (a) Policy.--
            (1) Restrictions by other countries.--The Congress hereby 
        reaffirms section 1704(a) of the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992, 
        which states that the President should encourage foreign 
        countries to restrict trade and credit relations with Cuba in a 
        manner consistent with the purposes of that Act.
            (2) Sanctions on other countries.--The Congress further 
        urges the President to take immediate steps to apply the 
        sanctions described in section 1704(b)(1) of that Act against 
        countries assisting Cuba.

    (b) Diplomatic Efforts.--The Secretary of State should ensure that 
United States diplomatic personnel abroad understand and, in their 
contacts with foreign officials, are communicating the reasons for the 
United States economic embargo of Cuba, and are urging foreign 
governments to cooperate more effectively with the embargo.
    (c) <<NOTE: President.>>  Existing Regulations.--The President shall 
instruct the Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney General to 
enforce fully the Cuban Assets Control Regulations set forth in part 515 
of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations.

    (d) Trading with the Enemy Act.--

[[Page 110 STAT. 793]]

            (1) Civil penalties.--Subsection (b) of section 16 of the 
        Trading with the Enemy Act (50 U.S.C. App. 16(b)), as added by 
        Public Law 102-484, is amended to read as follows:

    ``(b)(1) A civil penalty of not to exceed $50,000 may be imposed by 
the Secretary of the Treasury on any person who violates any license, 
order, rule, or regulation issued in compliance with the provisions of 
this Act.
    ``(2) Any property, funds, securities, papers, or other articles or 
documents, or any vessel, together with its tackle, apparel, furniture, 
and equipment, that is the subject of a violation under paragraph (1) 
shall, at the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, be forfeited 
to the United States Government.
    ``(3) The penalties provided under this subsection may be imposed 
only on the record after opportunity for an agency hearing in accordance 
with sections 554 through 557 of title 5, United States Code, with the 
right to prehearing discovery.
    ``(4) Judicial review of any penalty imposed under this subsection 
may be had to the extent provided in section 702 of title 5, United 
States Code.''.
            (2) Conforming amendment; criminal forfeiture.--Section 16 
        of the Trading with the Enemy Act is further amended by striking 
        subsection (b), as added by Public Law 102-393.
            (3) Clerical amendments.--Section 16 of the Trading with the 
        Enemy Act is further amended--
                    (A) by inserting ``Sec. 16.'' before ``(a)''; and
                    (B) in subsection (a) by striking ``participants'' 
                and inserting ``participates''.

    (e) Denial of Visas to Certain Cuban Nationals.--It is the sense of 
the Congress that the President should instruct the Secretary of State 
and the Attorney General to enforce fully existing regulations to deny 
visas to Cuban nationals considered by the Secretary of State to be 
officers or employees of the Cuban Government or of the Communist Party 
of Cuba.
    (f) Coverage of Debt-for-Equity Swaps by Economic Embargo of Cuba.--
Section 1704(b)(2) of the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 
6003(b)(2)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (A);
            (2) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (C); 
        and
            (3) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following new 
        subparagraph:
                    ``(B) includes an exchange, reduction, or 
                forgiveness of Cuban debt owed to a foreign country in 
                return for a grant of an equity interest in a property, 
                investment, or operation of the Government of Cuba 
                (including the government of any political subdivision 
                of Cuba, and any agency or instrumentality of the 
                Government of Cuba) or of a Cuban national; and''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following flush sentence:
        ``As used in this paragraph, the term `agency or instrumentality 
        of the Government of Cuba' means an agency or instrumentality of 
        a foreign state as defined in section 1603(b) of title 28, 
        United States Code, with each reference in such section to `a 
        foreign state' deemed to be a reference to `Cuba'.''.

    (g) Telecommunications Services.--Section 1705(e) of the Cuban 
Democracy Act of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 6004(e)) is amended by adding at the 
end the following new paragraphs:

[[Page 110 STAT. 794]]

            ``(5) Prohibition on investment in domestic 
        telecommunications services.--Nothing in this subsection shall 
        be construed to authorize the investment by any United States 
        person in the domestic telecommunications network within Cuba. 
        For purposes of this paragraph, an `investment' in the domestic 
        telecommunications network within Cuba includes the contribution 
        (including by donation) of funds or anything of value to or for, 
        and the making of loans to or for, such network.
            ``(6) <<NOTE: President.>>  Reports to congress.--The 
        President shall submit to the Congress on a semiannual basis a 
        report detailing payments made to Cuba by any United States 
        person as a result of the provision of telecommunications 
        services authorized by this subsection.''.

    (h) <<NOTE: Effective date.>>  Codification of Economic Embargo.--
The economic embargo of Cuba, as in effect on March 1, 1996, including 
all restrictions under part 515 of title 31, Code of Federal 
Regulations, shall be in effect upon the enactment of this Act, and 
shall remain in effect, subject to section 204 of this Act.

SEC. 103. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6033.>>  PROHIBITION AGAINST INDIRECT FINANCING 
            OF CUBA.

    (a) Prohibition.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no 
loan, credit, or other financing may be extended knowingly by a United 
States national, a permanent resident alien, or a United States agency 
to any person for the purpose of financing transactions involving any 
confiscated property the claim to which is owned by a United States 
national as of the date of the enactment of this Act, except for 
financing by the United States national owning such claim for a 
transaction permitted under United States law.
    (b) Suspension and Termination of Prohibition.--
            (1) Suspension.--The President is authorized to suspend the 
        prohibition contained in subsection (a) upon a determination 
        made under section 203(c)(1) that a transition government in 
        Cuba is in power.
            (2) Termination.--The prohibition contained in subsection 
        (a) shall cease to apply on the date on which the economic 
        embargo of Cuba terminates as provided in section 204.

    (c) Penalties.--Violations of subsection (a) shall be punishable by 
such civil penalties as are applicable to violations of the Cuban Assets 
Control Regulations set forth in part 515 of title 31, Code of Federal 
Regulations.
    (d) Definitions.--As used in this section--
            (1) the term ``permanent resident alien'' means an alien 
        lawfully admitted for permanent residence into the United 
        States; and
            (2) the term ``United States agency'' has the meaning given 
        the term ``agency'' in section 551(1) of title 5, United States 
        Code.

SEC. 104. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6034.>>  UNITED STATES OPPOSITION TO CUBAN 
            MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS.

    (a) Continued Opposition to Cuban Membership in International 
Financial Institutions.--
            (1) <<NOTE: President.>>  In general.--Except as provided in 
        paragraph (2), the Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the 
        United States executive director of each international financial 
        institution to use the voice and vote of the United States to 
        oppose the admission of Cuba as a member of such institution 
        until the

[[Page 110 STAT. 795]]

        President submits a determination under section 203(c)(3) that a 
        democratically elected government in Cuba is in power.
            (2) Transition government.--Once the President submits a 
        determination under section 203(c)(1) that a transition 
        government in Cuba is in power--
                    (A) the President is encouraged to take steps to 
                support the processing of Cuba's application for 
                membership in any international financial institution, 
                subject to the membership taking effect after a 
                democratically elected government in Cuba is in power, 
                and
                    (B) the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to 
                instruct the United States executive director of each 
                international financial institution to support loans or 
                other assistance to Cuba only to the extent that such 
                loans or assistance contribute to a stable foundation 
                for a democratically elected government in Cuba.

    (b) Reduction in United States Payments to International Financial 
Institutions.--If any international financial institution approves a 
loan or other assistance to the Cuban Government over the opposition of 
the United States, then the Secretary of the Treasury shall withhold 
from payment to such institution an amount equal to the amount of the 
loan or other assistance, with respect to either of the following types 
of payment:
            (1) The paid-in portion of the increase in capital stock of 
        the institution.
            (2) The callable portion of the increase in capital stock of 
        the institution.

    (c) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term 
``international financial institution'' means the International Monetary 
Fund, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the 
International Development Association, the International Finance 
Corporation, the Multilateral Investment Guaranty Agency, and the Inter-
American Development Bank.

SEC. 105. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6035.>>  UNITED STATES OPPOSITION TO 
            TERMINATION OF THE SUSPENSION OF THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT FROM 
            PARTICIPATION IN THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES.

    The President should instruct the United States Permanent 
Representative to the Organization of American States to oppose and vote 
against any termination of the suspension of the Cuban Government from 
participation in the Organization until the President determines under 
section 203(c)(3) that a democratically elected government in Cuba is in 
power.

SEC. 106. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6036.>>  ASSISTANCE BY THE INDEPENDENT STATES 
            OF THE FORMER SOVIET UNION FOR THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT.

    (a) <<NOTE: President.>>  Reporting Requirement.--Not later than 90 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall 
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report detailing 
progress toward the withdrawal of personnel of any independent state of 
the former Soviet Union (within the meaning of section 3 of the FREEDOM 
Support Act (22 U.S.C. 5801)), including advisers, technicians, and 
military personnel, from the Cienfuegos nuclear facility in Cuba.

    (b) Criteria for Assistance.--Section 498A(a)(11) of the Foreign 
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2295a(a)(11)) is amended by striking 
``of military facilities'' and inserting ``military and intel

[[Page 110 STAT. 796]]

ligence facilities, including the military and intelligence facilities 
at Lourdes and Cienfuegos''.
    (c) Ineligibility for Assistance.--
            (1) In general.--Section 498A(b) of that Act (22 U.S.C. 
        2295a(b)) is amended--
            (A) by striking ``or'' at the end of paragraph (4);
            (B) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (6); and
            (C) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following new 
        paragraph:
            ``(5) for the government of any independent state effective 
        30 days after the President has determined and certified to the 
        appropriate congressional committees (and Congress has not 
        enacted legislation disapproving the determination within that 
        30-day period) that such government is providing assistance for, 
        or engaging in nonmarket based trade (as defined in section 
        498B(k)(3)) with, the Cuban Government; or''
            (2) Definition.--Subsection (k) of section 498B of that Act 
        (22 U.S.C. 2295b(k)) is amended by adding at the end the 
        following new paragraph:
            ``(3) Nonmarket based trade.--As used in section 498A(b)(5), 
        the term `nonmarket based trade' includes exports, imports, 
        exchanges, or other arrangements that are provided for goods and 
        services (including oil and other petroleum products) on terms 
        more favorable than those generally available in applicable 
        markets or for comparable commodities, including--
                    ``(A) exports to the Cuban Government on terms that 
                involve a grant, concessional price, guaranty, 
                insurance, or subsidy;
                    ``(B) imports from the Cuban Government at 
                preferential tariff rates;
                    ``(C) exchange arrangements that include advance 
                delivery of commodities, arrangements in which the Cuban 
                Government is not held accountable for unfulfilled 
                exchange contracts, and arrangements under which Cuba 
                does not pay appropriate transportation, insurance, or 
                finance costs; and
                    ``(D) the exchange, reduction, or forgiveness of 
                debt of the Cuban Government in return for a grant by 
                the Cuban Government of an equity interest in a 
                property, investment, or operation of the Cuban 
                Government or of a Cuban national.
            ``(4) Cuban government.--(A) The term `Cuban Government' 
        includes the government of any political subdivision of Cuba, 
        and any agency or instrumentality of the Government of Cuba.
            ``(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term `agency or 
        instrumentality of the Government of Cuba' means an agency or 
        instrumentality of a foreign state as defined in section 1603(b) 
        of title 28, United States Code, with each reference in such 
        section to `a foreign state' deemed to be a reference to 
        `Cuba'.''.
            (3) Exception.--Section 498A(c) of the Foreign Assistance 
        Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2295A(c)) <<NOTE: 22 USC 2295a.>>  is 
        amended by inserting after paragraph (3) the following new 
        paragraph:

[[Page 110 STAT. 797]]

            ``(4) The assistance is provided under the secondary school 
        exchange program administered by the United States Information 
        Agency.''.

    (d) Facilities at Lourdes, Cuba.--
            (1) Disapproval of credits.--The Congress expresses its 
        strong disapproval of the extension by Russia of credits 
        equivalent to $200,000,000 in support of the intelligence 
        facility at Lourdes, Cuba, in November 1994.
            (2) Reduction in assistance.--Section 498A of the Foreign 
        Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2295a) is amended by adding at 
        the end the following new subsection:

    ``(d) <<NOTE: President.>>  Reduction in Assistance for Support of 
Intelligence Facilities in Cuba.--
            ``(1) Reduction in assistance.--Notwithstanding any other 
        provision of law, the President shall withhold from assistance 
        provided, on or after the date of the enactment of this 
        subsection, for an independent state of the former Soviet Union 
        under this Act an amount equal to the sum of assistance and 
        credits, if any, provided on or after such date by such state in 
        support of intelligence facilities in Cuba, including the 
        intelligence facility at Lourdes, Cuba.
            ``(2) Waiver.--(A) The President may waive the requirement 
        of paragraph (1) to withhold assistance if the President 
        certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that the 
        provision of such assistance is important to the national 
        security of the United States, and, in the case of such a 
        certification made with respect to Russia, if the President 
        certifies that the Russian Government has assured the United 
        States Government that the Russian Government is not sharing 
        intelligence data collected at the Lourdes facility with 
        officials or agents of the Cuban Government.
            ``(B) <<NOTE: Reports.>>  At the time of a certification 
        made with respect to Russia under subparagraph (A), the 
        President shall also submit to the appropriate congressional 
        committees a report describing the intelligence activities of 
        Russia in Cuba, including the purposes for which the Lourdes 
        facility is used by the Russian Government and the extent to 
        which the Russian Government provides payment or government 
        credits to the Cuban Government for the continued use of the 
        Lourdes facility.
            ``(C) The report required by subparagraph (B) may be 
        submitted in classified form.
            ``(D) For purposes of this paragraph, the term `appropriate 
        congressional committees' includes the Permanent Select 
        Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives and 
        the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate.
            ``(3) Exceptions to reductions in assistance.--The 
        requirement of paragraph (1) to withhold assistance shall not 
        apply with respect to--
                    ``(A) assistance to meet urgent humanitarian needs, 
                including disaster and refugee relief;
                    ``(B) democratic political reform or rule of law 
                activities;
                    ``(C) technical assistance for safety upgrades of 
                civilian nuclear power plants;
                    ``(D) the creation of private sector or 
                nongovernmental organizations that are independent of 
                government control;
                    ``(E) the development of a free market economic 
                system;

[[Page 110 STAT. 798]]

                    ``(F) assistance under the secondary school exchange 
                program administered by the United States Information 
                Agency; or
                    ``(G) assistance for the purposes described in the 
                Cooperative Threat Reduction Act of 1993 (title XII of 
                Public Law 103-160).''.

SEC. 107. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6037.>>  TELEVISION BROADCASTING TO CUBA.

    (a) Conversion to UHF.--The Director of the United States 
Information Agency shall implement a conversion of television 
broadcasting to Cuba under the Television Marti Service to ultra high 
frequency (UHF) broadcasting.
    (b) Periodic Reports.--Not later than 45 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and every three months thereafter until the 
conversion described in subsection (a) is fully implemented, the 
Director of the United States Information Agency shall submit a report 
to the appropriate congressional committees on the progress made in 
carrying out subsection (a).
    (c) Termination of Broadcasting Authorities.--Upon transmittal of a 
determination under section 203(c)(3), the Television Broadcasting to 
Cuba Act (22 U.S.C. 1465aa and following) and the Radio Broadcasting to 
Cuba Act (22 U.S.C. 1465 and following) are repealed.

SEC. 108. <<NOTE: President. 22 USC 6038.>>  REPORTS ON COMMERCE WITH, 
            AND ASSISTANCE TO, CUBA FROM OTHER FOREIGN COUNTRIES.

    (a) Reports Required.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and by January 1 of each year thereafter until 
the President submits a determination under section 203(c)(1), the 
President shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional 
committees on commerce with, and assistance to, Cuba from other foreign 
countries during the preceding 12-month period.
    (b) Contents of Reports.--Each report required by subsection (a) 
shall, for the period covered by the report, contain the following, to 
the extent such information is available:
            (1) A description of all bilateral assistance provided to 
        Cuba by other foreign countries, including humanitarian 
        assistance.
            (2) A description of Cuba's commerce with foreign countries, 
        including an identification of Cuba's trading partners and the 
        extent of such trade.
            (3) A description of the joint ventures completed, or under 
        consideration, by foreign nationals and business firms involving 
        facilities in Cuba, including an identification of the location 
        of the facilities involved and a description of the terms of 
        agreement of the joint ventures and the names of the parties 
        that are involved.
            (4) A determination as to whether or not any of the 
        facilities described in paragraph (3) is the subject of a claim 
        against Cuba by a United States national.
            (5) A determination of the amount of debt of the Cuban 
        Government that is owed to each foreign country, including--
                    (A) the amount of debt exchanged, forgiven, or 
                reduced under the terms of each investment or operation 
                in Cuba involving foreign nationals; and
                    (B) the amount of debt owed the foreign country that 
                has been exchanged, forgiven, or reduced in return for

[[Page 110 STAT. 799]]

                a grant by the Cuban Government of an equity interest in 
                a property, investment, or operation of the Cuban 
                Government or of a Cuban national.
            (6) A description of the steps taken to assure that raw 
        materials and semifinished or finished goods produced by 
        facilities in Cuba involving foreign nationals do not enter the 
        United States market, either directly or through third countries 
        or parties.
            (7) An identification of countries that purchase, or have 
        purchased, arms or military supplies from Cuba or that otherwise 
        have entered into agreements with Cuba that have a military 
        application, including--
                    (A) a description of the military supplies, 
                equipment, or other material sold, bartered, or 
                exchanged between Cuba and such countries,
                    (B) a listing of the goods, services, credits, or 
                other consideration received by Cuba in exchange for 
                military supplies, equipment, or material, and
                    (C) the terms or conditions of any such agreement.

SEC. 109. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6039.>>  AUTHORIZATION OF SUPPORT FOR 
            DEMOCRATIC AND HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS AND INTERNATIONAL 
            OBSERVERS.

    (a) Authorization.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law 
(including section 102 of this Act), except for section 634A of the 
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2394-1) and comparable 
notification requirements contained in any Act making appropriations for 
foreign operations, export financing, and related programs, the 
President is authorized to furnish assistance and provide other support 
for individuals and independent nongovernmental organizations to support 
democracy-building efforts for Cuba, including the following:
            (1) Published and informational matter, such as books, 
        videos, and cassettes, on transitions to democracy, human 
        rights, and market economies, to be made available to 
        independent democratic groups in Cuba.
            (2) Humanitarian assistance to victims of political 
        repression, and their families.
            (3) Support for democratic and human rights groups in Cuba.
            (4) Support for visits and permanent deployment of 
        independent international human rights monitors in Cuba.

    (b) OAS Emergency Fund.--
            (1) For support of human rights and elections.--The 
        President shall take the necessary steps to encourage the 
        Organization of American States to create a special emergency 
        fund for the explicit purpose of deploying human rights 
        observers, election support, and election observation in Cuba.
            (2) Action of other member states.--The President should 
        instruct the United States Permanent Representative to the 
        Organization of American States to encourage other member states 
        of the Organization to join in calling for the Cuban Government 
        to allow the immediate deployment of independent human rights 
        monitors of the Organization throughout Cuba and on-site visits 
        to Cuba by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

[[Page 110 STAT. 800]]

            (3) Voluntary contributions for fund.--Notwithstanding 
        section 307 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 
        2227) or any other provision of law limiting the United States 
        proportionate share of assistance to Cuba by any international 
        organization, the President should provide not less than 
        $5,000,000 of the voluntary contributions of the United States 
        to the Organization of American States solely for the purposes 
        of the special fund referred to in paragraph (1).

    (c) <<NOTE: President.>>  Denial of Funds to the Cuban Government.--
In implementing this section, the President shall take all necessary 
steps to ensure that no funds or other assistance is provided to the 
Cuban Government.

SEC. 110. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6040.>>  IMPORTATION SAFEGUARD AGAINST CERTAIN 
            CUBAN PRODUCTS.

    (a) Prohibition on Import of and Dealings in Cuban Products.--The 
Congress notes that section 515.204 of title 31, Code of Federal 
Regulations, prohibits the entry of, and dealings outside the United 
States in, merchandise that--
            (1) is of Cuban origin;
            (2) is or has been located in or transported from or through 
        Cuba; or
            (3) is made or derived in whole or in part of any article 
        which is the growth, produce, or manufacture of Cuba.

    (b) Effect of NAFTA.--The Congress notes that United States 
accession to the North American Free Trade Agreement does not modify or 
alter the United States sanctions against Cuba. The statement of 
administrative action accompanying that trade agreement specifically 
states the following:
            (1) ``The NAFTA rules of origin will not in any way diminish 
        the Cuban sanctions program. . . . Nothing in the NAFTA would 
        operate to override this prohibition.''.
            (2) ``Article 309(3) [of the NAFTA] permits the United 
        States to ensure that Cuban products or goods made from Cuban 
        materials are not imported into the United States from Mexico or 
        Canada and that United States products are not exported to Cuba 
        through those countries.''.

    (c) Restriction of Sugar Imports.--The Congress notes that section 
902(c) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (Public Law 99-198) requires the 
President not to allocate any of the sugar import quota to a country 
that is a net importer of sugar unless appropriate officials of that 
country verify to the President that the country does not import for 
reexport to the United States any sugar produced in Cuba.
    (d) Assurances Regarding Sugar Products.--Protection of essential 
security interests of the United States requires assurances that sugar 
products that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, 
into the customs territory of the United States are not products of 
Cuba.

SEC. 111. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6041.>>  WITHHOLDING OF FOREIGN ASSISTANCE FROM 
            COUNTRIES SUPPORTING JURAGUA NUCLEAR PLANT IN CUBA.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) President Clinton stated in April 1993 that the United 
        States opposed the construction of the Juragua nuclear power 
        plant because of the concerns of the United States about Cuba's 
        ability to ensure the safe operation of the facility and because

[[Page 110 STAT. 801]]

        of Cuba's refusal to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty 
        or ratify the Treaty of Tlatelolco.
            (2) Cuba has not signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation 
        of Nuclear Weapons or ratified the Treaty of Tlatelolco, the 
        latter of which establishes Latin America and the Caribbean as a 
        nuclear weapons-free zone.
            (3) The State Department, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
        and the Department of Energy have expressed concerns about the 
        construction and operation of Cuba's nuclear reactors.
            (4) In a September 1992 report to the Congress, the General 
        Accounting Office outlined concerns among nuclear energy experts 
        about deficiencies in the nuclear plant project in Juragua, near 
        Cienfuegos, Cuba, including--
                    (A) a lack in Cuba of a nuclear regulatory 
                structure;
                    (B) the absence in Cuba of an adequate 
                infrastructure to ensure the plant's safe operation and 
                requisite maintenance;
                    (C) the inadequacy of training of plant operators;
                    (D) reports by a former technician from Cuba who, by 
                examining with x-rays weld sites believed to be part of 
                the auxiliary plumbing system for the plant, found that 
                10 to 15 percent of those sites were defective;
                    (E) since September 5, 1992, when construction on 
                the plant was halted, the prolonged exposure to the 
                elements, including corrosive salt water vapor, of the 
                primary reactor components; and
                    (F) the possible inadequacy of the upper portion of 
                the reactors' dome retention capability to withstand 
                only 7 pounds of pressure per square inch, given that 
                normal atmospheric pressure is 32 pounds per square inch 
                and United States reactors are designed to accommodate 
                pressures of 50 pounds per square inch.
            (5) The United States Geological Survey claims that it had 
        difficulty determining answers to specific questions regarding 
        earthquake activity in the area near Cienfuegos because the 
        Cuban Government was not forthcoming with information.
            (6) The Geological Survey has indicated that the Caribbean 
        plate, a geological formation near the south coast of Cuba, may 
        pose seismic risks to Cuba and the site of the power plant, and 
        may produce large to moderate earthquakes.
            (7) On May 25, 1992, the Caribbean plate produced an 
        earthquake numbering 7.0 on the Richter scale.
            (8) According to a study by the National Oceanic and 
        Atmospheric Administration, summer winds could carry radioactive 
        pollutants from a nuclear accident at the power plant throughout 
        all of Florida and parts of the States on the coast of the Gulf 
        of Mexico as far as Texas, and northern winds could carry the 
        pollutants as far northeast as Virginia and Washington, D.C.
            (9) The Cuban Government, under dictator Fidel Castro, in 
        1962 advocated the Soviets' launching of nuclear missiles to the 
        United States, which represented a direct and dangerous 
        provocation of the United States and brought the world to the 
        brink of a nuclear conflict.
            (10) Fidel Castro over the years has consistently issued 
        threats against the United States Government, most recently

[[Page 110 STAT. 802]]

        that he would unleash another perilous mass migration from Cuba 
        upon the enactment of this Act.
            (11) Despite the various concerns about the plant's safety 
        and operational problems, a feasibility study is being conducted 
        that would establish a support group to include Russia, Cuba, 
        and third countries with the objective of completing and 
        operating the plant.

    (b) Withholding of Foreign Assistance.--
            (1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
        the President shall withhold from assistance allocated, on or 
        after the date of the enactment of this Act, for any country an 
        amount equal to the sum of assistance and credits, if any, 
        provided on or after such date of enactment by that country or 
        any entity in that country in support of the completion of the 
        Cuban nuclear facility at Juragua, near Cienfuegos, Cuba.
            (2) Exceptions.--The requirement of paragraph (1) to 
        withhold assistance shall not apply with respect to--
                    (A) assistance to meet urgent humanitarian needs, 
                including disaster and refugee relief;
                    (B) democratic political reform or rule of law 
                activities;
                    (C) the creation of private sector or 
                nongovernmental organizations that are independent of 
                government control;
                    (D) the development of a free market economic 
                system;
                    (E) assistance for the purposes described in the 
                Cooperative Threat Reduction Act of 1993 (title XII of 
                Public Law 103-160); or
                    (F) assistance under the secondary school exchange 
                program administered by the United States Information 
                Agency.
            (3) Definition.--As used in paragraph (1), the term 
        ``assistance'' means assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act 
        of 1961, credits, sales, guarantees of extensions of credit, and 
        other assistance under the Arms Export Control Act, assistance 
        under titles I and III of the Agricultural Trade Development and 
        Assistance Act of 1954, assistance under the FREEDOM Support 
        Act, and any other program of assistance or credits provided by 
        the United States to other countries under other provisions of 
        law.

SEC. 112. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6042.>>  REINSTITUTION OF FAMILY REMITTANCES 
            AND TRAVEL TO CUBA.

    It is the sense of the Congress that the President should--
            (1)(A) before considering the reinstitution of general 
        licenses for family remittances to Cuba, insist that, prior to 
        such reinstitution, the Cuban Government permit the unfettered 
        operation of small businesses fully empowered with the right to 
        hire others to whom they may pay wages and to buy materials 
        necessary in the operation of the businesses, and with such 
        other authority and freedom as are required to foster the 
        operation of small businesses throughout Cuba; and
            (B) if licenses described in subparagraph (A) are 
        reinstituted, require a specific license for remittances 
        described in subparagraph (A) in amounts of more than $500; and
            (2) before considering the reinstitution of general licenses 
        for travel to Cuba by individuals resident in the United States

[[Page 110 STAT. 803]]

        who are family members of Cuban nationals who are resident in 
        Cuba, insist on such actions by the Cuban Government as 
        abrogation of the sanction for departure from Cuba by refugees, 
        release of political prisoners, recognition of the right of 
        association, and other fundamental freedoms.

SEC. 113. <<NOTE: President. 22 USC 6043.>>  EXPULSION OF CRIMINALS FROM 
            CUBA.

    The President shall instruct all United States Government officials 
who engage in official contacts with the Cuban Government to raise on a 
regular basis the extradition of or rendering to the United States all 
persons residing in Cuba who are sought by the United States Department 
of Justice for crimes committed in the United States.

SEC. 114. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6044.>>  NEWS BUREAUS IN CUBA.

    (a) Establishment of News Bureaus.--The President is authorized to 
establish and implement an exchange of news bureaus between the United 
States and Cuba, if the exchange meets the following conditions:
            (1) The exchange is fully reciprocal.
            (2) The Cuban Government agrees not to interfere with the 
        establishment of news bureaus or with the movement in Cuba of 
        journalists of any United States-based news organizations, 
        including Radio Marti and Television Marti.
            (3) The Cuban Government agrees not to interfere with 
        decisions of United States-based news organizations with respect 
        to individuals assigned to work as journalists in their news 
        bureaus in Cuba.
            (4) The Department of the Treasury is able to ensure that 
        only accredited journalists regularly employed with a news 
        gathering organization travel to Cuba under this subsection.
            (5) The Cuban Government agrees not to interfere with the 
        transmission of telecommunications signals of news bureaus or 
        with the distribution within Cuba of publications of any United 
        States-based news organization that has a news bureau in Cuba.

    (b) Assurance Against Espionage.--In implementing this section, the 
President shall take all necessary steps to ensure the safety and 
security of the United States against espionage by Cuban journalists it 
believes to be working for the intelligence agencies of the Cuban 
Government.
    (c) Fully Reciprocal.--As used in subsection (a)(1), the term 
``fully reciprocal'' means that all news services, news organizations, 
and broadcasting services, including such services or organizations that 
receive financing, assistance, or other support from a governmental or 
official source, are permitted to establish and operate a news bureau in 
the United States and Cuba.

SEC. 115. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6045.>>  EFFECT OF ACT ON LAWFUL UNITED STATES 
            GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES.

    Nothing in this Act prohibits any lawfully authorized investigative, 
protective, or intelligence activity of a law enforcement agency, or of 
an intelligence agency, of the United States.

SEC. 116. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6046.>>  CONDEMNATION OF CUBAN ATTACK ON 
            AMERICAN AIRCRAFT.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress makes the following findings:

[[Page 110 STAT. 804]]

            (1) <<NOTE: Brothers to the Rescue.>>  Brothers to the 
        Rescue is a Miami-based humanitarian organization engaged in 
        searching for and aiding Cuban refugees in the Straits of 
        Florida, and was engaged in such a mission on Saturday, February 
        24, 1996.
            (2) The members of Brothers to the Rescue were flying 
        unarmed and defenseless planes in a mission identical to 
        hundreds they have flown since 1991 and posed no threat 
        whatsoever to the Cuban Government, the Cuban military, or the 
        Cuban people.
            (3) Statements by the Cuban Government that Brothers to the 
        Rescue has engaged in covert operations, bombing campaigns, and 
        commando operations against the Government of Cuba have no basis 
        in fact.
            (4) The Brothers to the Rescue aircraft notified air traffic 
        controllers as to their flight plans, which would take them 
        south of the 24th parallel and close to Cuban airspace.
            (5) International law provides a nation with airspace over 
        the 12-mile territorial sea.
            (6) The response of Fidel Castro's dictatorship to 
        Saturday's afternoon flight was to scramble 2 fighter jets from 
        a Havana airfield.
            (7) At approximately 3:24 p.m., the pilot of one of the 
        Cuban MiGs received permission and proceeded to shoot down one 
        Brothers to the Rescue airplane more than 6 miles north of the 
        Cuban exclusion zone, or 18 miles from the Cuban coast.
            (8) Approximately 7 minutes later, the pilot of the Cuban 
        fighter jet received permission and proceeded to shoot down the 
        second Brothers to the Rescue airplane almost 18.5 miles north 
        of the Cuban exclusion zone, or 30.5 miles from the Cuban coast.
            (9) The Cuban dictatorship, if it truly felt threatened by 
        the flight of these unarmed aircraft, could have and should have 
        pursued other peaceful options as required by international law.
            (10) The response chosen by Fidel Castro, the use of lethal 
        force, was completely inappropriate to the situation presented 
        to the Cuban Government, making such actions a blatant and 
        barbaric violation of international law and tantamount to cold-
        blooded murder.
            (11) There were no survivors of the attack on these 
        aircraft, and the crew of a third aircraft managed to escape 
        this criminal attack by Castro's Air Force.
            (12) <<NOTE: Pablo Morales. Carlos Costa. Mario de la 
        Pena. Armondo Alejandre.>>  The crew members of the destroyed 
        planes, Pablo Morales, Carlos Costa, Mario de la Pena, and 
        Armando Alejandre, were United States citizens from Miami flying 
        with Brothers to the Rescue on a voluntary basis.
            (13) It is incumbent upon the United States Government to 
        protect the lives and livelihoods of United States citizens as 
        well as the rights of free passage and humanitarian missions.
            (14) This premeditated act took place after a week-long wave 
        of repression by the Cuban Government against Concilio Cubano, 
        an umbrella organization of human rights activists, dissidents, 
        independent economists, and independent journalists, among 
        others.
            (15) <<NOTE: Concillio Cubano.>>  The wave of repression 
        against Concilio Cubano, whose membership is committed to 
        peaceful democratic change in

[[Page 110 STAT. 805]]

        Cuba, included arrests, strip searches, house arrests, and in 
        some cases sentences to more than 1 year in jail.

    (b) Statements by the Congress.--(1) The Congress strongly condemns 
the act of terrorism by the Castro regime in shooting down the Brothers 
to the Rescue aircraft on February 24, 1996.
    (2) The Congress extends its condolences to the families of Pablo 
Morales, Carlos Costa, Mario de la Pena, and Armando Alejandre, the 
victims of the attack.
    (3) The Congress urges the President to seek, in the International 
Court of Justice, indictment for this act of terrorism by Fidel Castro.

           TITLE II--ASSISTANCE TO A FREE AND INDEPENDENT CUBA

SEC. 201. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6061.>>  POLICY TOWARD A TRANSITION GOVERNMENT 
            AND A DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED GOVERNMENT IN CUBA.

    The policy of the United States is as follows:
            (1) To support the self-determination of the Cuban people.
            (2) To recognize that the self-determination of the Cuban 
        people is a sovereign and national right of the citizens of Cuba 
        which must be exercised free of interference by the government 
        of any other country.
            (3) To encourage the Cuban people to empower themselves with 
        a government which reflects the self-determination of the Cuban 
        people.
            (4) To recognize the potential for a difficult transition 
        from the current regime in Cuba that may result from the 
        initiatives taken by the Cuban people for self-determination in 
        response to the intransigence of the Castro regime in not 
        allowing any substantive political or economic reforms, and to 
        be prepared to provide the Cuban people with humanitarian, 
        developmental, and other economic assistance.
            (5) In solidarity with the Cuban people, to provide 
        appropriate forms of assistance--
                    (A) to a transition government in Cuba;
                    (B) to facilitate the rapid movement from such a 
                transition government to a democratically elected 
                government in Cuba that results from an expression of 
                the self-determination of the Cuban people; and
                    (C) to support such a democratically elected 
                government.
            (6) Through such assistance, to facilitate a peaceful 
        transition to representative democracy and a market economy in 
        Cuba and to consolidate democracy in Cuba.
            (7) To deliver such assistance to the Cuban people only 
        through a transition government in Cuba, through a 
        democratically elected government in Cuba, through United States 
        Government organizations, or through United States, 
        international, or indigenous nongovernmental organizations.
            (8) To encourage other countries and multilateral 
        organizations to provide similar assistance, and to work 
        cooperatively with such countries and organizations to 
        coordinate such assistance.

[[Page 110 STAT. 806]]

            (9) To ensure that appropriate assistance is rapidly 
        provided and distributed to the people of Cuba upon the 
        institution of a transition government in Cuba.
            (10) Not to provide favorable treatment or influence on 
        behalf of any individual or entity in the selection by the Cuban 
        people of their future government.
            (11) To assist a transition government in Cuba and a 
        democratically elected government in Cuba to prepare the Cuban 
        military forces for an appropriate role in a democracy.
            (12) To be prepared to enter into negotiations with a 
        democratically elected government in Cuba either to return the 
        United States Naval Base at Guantanamo to Cuba or to renegotiate 
        the present agreement under mutually agreeable terms.
            (13) To consider the restoration of diplomatic recognition 
        and support the reintegration of the Cuban Government into 
        Inter-American organizations when the President determines that 
        there exists a democratically elected government in Cuba.
            (14) To take steps to remove the economic embargo of Cuba 
        when the President determines that a transition to a 
        democratically elected government in Cuba has begun.
            (15) To assist a democratically elected government in Cuba 
        to strengthen and stabilize its national currency.
            (16) To pursue trade relations with a free, democratic, and 
        independent Cuba.

SEC. 202. <<NOTE: President. 22 USC 6062.>>  ASSISTANCE FOR THE CUBAN 
            PEOPLE.

    (a) Authorization.--
            (1) In general.--The President shall develop a plan for 
        providing economic assistance to Cuba at such time as the 
        President determines that a transition government or a 
        democratically elected government in Cuba (as determined under 
        section 203(c)) is in power.
            (2) Effect on other laws.--Assistance may be provided under 
        this section subject to an authorization of appropriations and 
        subject to the availability of appropriations.

    (b) Plan for Assistance.--
            (1) Development of plan.--The President shall develop a plan 
        for providing assistance under this section--
                    (A) to Cuba when a transition government in Cuba is 
                in power; and
                    (B) to Cuba when a democratically elected government 
                in Cuba is in power.
            (2) Types of assistance.--Assistance under the plan 
        developed under paragraph (1) may, subject to an authorization 
        of appropriations and subject to the availability of 
        appropriations, include the following:
                    (A) Transition government.--(i) Except as provided 
                in clause (ii), assistance to Cuba under a transition 
                government shall, subject to an authorization of 
                appropriations and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations, be limited to--
                          (I) such food, medicine, medical supplies and 
                      equipment, and assistance to meet emergency energy 
                      needs, as is necessary to meet the basic human 
                      needs of the Cuban people; and
                          (II) assistance described in subparagraph (C).

[[Page 110 STAT. 807]]

                    (ii) Assistance in addition to assistance under 
                clause (i) may be provided, but only after the President 
                certifies to the appropriate congressional committees, 
                in accordance with procedures applicable to 
                reprogramming notifications under section 634A of the 
                Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, that such assistance is 
                essential to the successful completion of the transition 
                to democracy.
                    (iii) Only after a transition government in Cuba is 
                in power, freedom of individuals to travel to visit 
                their relatives without any restrictions shall be 
                permitted.
                    (B) Democratically elected government.--Assistance 
                to a democratically elected government in Cuba may, 
                subject to an authorization of appropriations and 
                subject to the availability of appropriations, consist 
                of economic assistance in addition to assistance 
                available under subparagraph (A), together with 
                assistance described in subparagraph (C). Such economic 
                assistance may include--
                          (i) assistance under chapter 1 of part I 
                      (relating to development assistance), and chapter 
                      4 of part II (relating to the economic support 
                      fund), of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961;
                          (ii) assistance under the Agricultural Trade 
                      Development and Assistance Act of 1954;
                          (iii) financing, guarantees, and other forms 
                      of assistance provided by the Export-Import Bank 
                      of the United States;
                          (iv) financial support provided by the 
                      Overseas Private Investment Corporation for 
                      investment projects in Cuba;
                          (v) assistance provided by the Trade and 
                      Development Agency;
                          (vi) Peace Corps programs; and
                          (vii) other appropriate assistance to carry 
                      out the policy of section 201.
                    (C) Military adjustment assistance.--Assistance to a 
                transition government in Cuba and to a democratically 
                elected government in Cuba shall also include assistance 
                in preparing the Cuban military forces to adjust to an 
                appropriate role in a democracy.

    (c) Strategy for Distribution.--The plan developed under subsection 
(b) shall include a strategy for distributing assistance under the plan.
    (d) Distribution.--Assistance under the plan developed under 
subsection (b) shall be provided through United States Government 
organizations and nongovernmental organizations and private and 
voluntary organizations, whether within or outside the United States, 
including humanitarian, educational, labor, and private sector 
organizations.
    (e) International Efforts.--The President shall take the necessary 
steps--
            (1) to seek to obtain the agreement of other countries and 
        of international financial institutions and multilateral 
        organizations to provide to a transition government in Cuba, and 
        to a democratically elected government in Cuba, assistance 
        comparable to that provided by the United States under this Act; 
        and

[[Page 110 STAT. 808]]

            (2) to work with such countries, institutions, and 
        organizations to coordinate all such assistance programs.

    (f) Communication With the Cuban People.--The President shall take 
the necessary steps to communicate to the Cuban people the plan for 
assistance developed under this section.
    (g) Report to Congress.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the President shall transmit to the 
appropriate congressional committees a report describing in detail the 
plan developed under this section.
    (h) Report on Trade and Investment Relations.--
            (1) Report to congress.--The President, following the 
        transmittal to the Congress of a determination under section 
        203(c)(3) that a democratically elected government in Cuba is in 
        power, shall submit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the 
        House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the 
        Senate and the appropriate congressional committees a report 
        that describes--
                    (A) acts, policies, and practices which constitute 
                significant barriers to, or distortions of, United 
                States trade in goods or services or foreign direct 
                investment with respect to Cuba;
                    (B) policy objectives of the United States regarding 
                trade relations with a democratically elected government 
                in Cuba, and the reasons therefor, including possible--
                          (i) reciprocal extension of nondiscriminatory 
                      trade treatment (most-favored-nation treatment);
                          (ii) designation of Cuba as a beneficiary 
                      developing country under title V of the Trade Act 
                      of 1974 (relating to the Generalized System of 
                      Preferences) or as a beneficiary country under the 
                      Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act, and the 
                      implications of such designation with respect to 
                      trade with any other country that is such a 
                      beneficiary developing country or beneficiary 
                      country or is a party to the North American Free 
                      Trade Agreement; and
                          (iii) negotiations regarding free trade, 
                      including the accession of Cuba to the North 
                      American Free Trade Agreement;
                    (C) specific trade negotiating objectives of the 
                United States with respect to Cuba, including the 
                objectives described in section 108(b)(5) of the North 
                American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (19 
                U.S.C. 3317(b)(5)); and
                    (D) actions proposed or anticipated to be 
                undertaken, and any proposed legislation necessary or 
                appropriate, to achieve any of such policy and 
                negotiating objectives.
            (2) Consultation.--The President shall consult with the 
        Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and 
        the Committee on Finance of the Senate and the appropriate 
        congressional committees and shall seek advice from the 
        appropriate advisory committees established under section 135 of 
        the Trade Act of 1974 regarding the policy and negotiating 
        objectives and the legislative proposals described in paragraph 
        (1).

[[Page 110 STAT. 809]]

SEC. 203. <<NOTE: President. 22 USC 6063.>>  COORDINATION OF ASSISTANCE 
            PROGRAM; IMPLEMENTATION AND REPORTS TO CONGRESS; 
            REPROGRAMMING.

    (a) Coordinating Official.--The President shall designate a 
coordinating official who shall be responsible for--
            (1) implementing the strategy for distributing assistance 
        described in section 202(b);
            (2) ensuring the speedy and efficient distribution of such 
        assistance; and
            (3) ensuring coordination among, and appropriate oversight 
        by, the agencies of the United States that provide assistance 
        described in section 202(b), including resolving any disputes 
        among such agencies.

    (b) United States-Cuba Council.--Upon making a determination under 
subsection (c)(3) that a democratically elected government in Cuba is in 
power, the President, after consultation with the coordinating official, 
is authorized to designate a United States-Cuba council--
            (1) to ensure coordination between the United States 
        Government and the private sector in responding to change in 
        Cuba, and in promoting market-based development in Cuba; and
            (2) to establish periodic meetings between representatives 
        of the United States and Cuban private sectors for the purpose 
        of facilitating bilateral trade.

    (c) Implementation of Plan; Reports to Congress.--
            (1) Implementation with respect to transition government.--
        Upon making a determination that a transition government in Cuba 
        is in power, the President shall transmit that determination to 
        the appropriate congressional committees and shall, subject to 
        an authorization of appropriations and subject to the 
        availability of appropriations, commence the delivery and 
        distribution of assistance to such transition government under 
        the plan developed under section 202(b).
            (2) Reports to congress.--(A) The President shall transmit 
        to the appropriate congressional committees a report setting 
        forth the strategy for providing assistance described in section 
        202(b)(2) (A) and (C) to the transition government in Cuba under 
        the plan of assistance developed under section 202(b), the types 
        of such assistance, and the extent to which such assistance has 
        been distributed in accordance with the plan.
            (B) The President shall transmit the report not later than 
        90 days after making the determination referred to in paragraph 
        (1), except that the President shall transmit the report in 
        preliminary form not later than 15 days after making that 
        determination.
            (3) Implementation with respect to democratically elected 
        government.--The President shall, upon determining that a 
        democratically elected government in Cuba is in power, submit 
        that determination to the appropriate congressional committees 
        and shall, subject to an authorization of appropriations and 
        subject to the availability of appropriations, commence the 
        delivery and distribution of assistance to such democratically 
        elected government under the plan developed under section 
        202(b).
            (4) Annual reports to congress.--Not later than 60 days 
        after the end of each fiscal year, the President shall transmit 
        to the appropriate congressional committees a report

[[Page 110 STAT. 810]]

        on the assistance provided under the plan developed under 
        section 202(b), including a description of each type of 
        assistance, the amounts expended for such assistance, and a 
        description of the assistance to be provided under the plan in 
        the current fiscal year.

    (d) Reprogramming.--Any changes in the assistance to be provided 
under the plan developed under section 202(b) may not be made unless the 
President notifies the appropriate congressional committees at least 15 
days in advance in accordance with the procedures applicable to 
reprogramming notifications under section 634A of the Foreign Assistance 
Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2394-1).

SEC. 204. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6064.>>  TERMINATION OF THE ECONOMIC EMBARGO OF 
            CUBA.

    (a) Presidential Actions.--Upon submitting a determination to the 
appropriate congressional committees under section 203(c)(1) that a 
transition government in Cuba is in power, the President, after 
consultation with the Congress, is authorized to take steps to suspend 
the economic embargo of Cuba and to suspend the right of action created 
in section 302 with respect to actions thereafter filed against the 
Cuban Government, to the extent that such steps contribute to a stable 
foundation for a democratically elected government in Cuba.
    (b) Suspension of Certain Provisions of Law.--In carrying out 
subsection (a), the President may suspend the enforcement of--
            (1) section 620(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
        U.S.C. 2370(a));
            (2) section 620(f) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
        U.S.C. 2370(f)) with respect to the ``Republic of Cuba'';
            (3) sections 1704, 1705(d), and 1706 of the Cuban Democracy 
        Act of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 6003, 6004(d), and 6005);
            (4) section 902(c) of the Food Security Act of 1985; and
            (5) the prohibitions on transactions described in part 515 
        of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations.

    (c) Additional Presidential Actions.--Upon submitting a 
determination to the appropriate congressional committees under section 
203(c)(3) that a democratically elected government in Cuba is in power, 
the President shall take steps to terminate the economic embargo of 
Cuba, including the restrictions under part 515 of title 31, Code of 
Federal Regulations.
    (d) Conforming Amendments.--On the date on which the President 
submits a determination under section 203(c)(3)--
            (1) section 620(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
        U.S.C. 2370(a)) is repealed;
            (2) section 620(f) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
        U.S.C. 2370(f)) is amended by striking ``Republic of Cuba'';
            (3) sections 1704, 1705(d), and 1706 of the Cuban Democracy 
        Act of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 6003, 6004(d), and 6005) are repealed; 
        and
            (4) section 902(c) of the Food Security Act of 
        1985 <<NOTE: 7 USC 1446g note.>>  is repealed.

    (e) Review of Suspension of Economic Embargo.--
            (1) Review.--If the President takes action under subsection 
        (a) to suspend the economic embargo of Cuba, the President shall 
        immediately so notify the Congress. The President shall report 
        to the Congress no less frequently than every 6 months 
        thereafter, until he submits a determination under section

[[Page 110 STAT. 811]]

        203(c)(3) that a democratically elected government in Cuba is in 
        power, on the progress being made by Cuba toward the 
        establishment of such a democratically elected government. The 
        action of the President under subsection (a) shall cease to be 
        effective upon the enactment of a joint resolution described in 
        paragraph (2).
            (2) Joint resolutions.--For purposes of this subsection, the 
        term ``joint resolution'' means only a joint resolution of the 2 
        Houses of Congress, the matter after the resolving clause of 
        which is as follows: ``That the Congress disapproves the action 
        of the President under section 204(a) of the Cuban Liberty and 
        Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 to suspend the 
        economic embargo of Cuba, notice of which was submitted to the 
        Congress on ____.'', with the blank space being filled with the 
        appropriate date.
            (3) Referral to committees.--Joint resolutions introduced in 
        the House of Representatives shall be referred to the Committee 
        on International Relations and joint resolutions introduced in 
        the Senate shall be referred to the Committee on Foreign 
        Relations.
            (4) Procedures.--(A) Any joint resolution shall be 
        considered in the Senate in accordance with the provisions of 
        section 601(b) of the International Security Assistance and Arms 
        Export Control Act of 1976.
            (B) For the purpose of expediting the consideration and 
        enactment of joint resolutions, a motion to proceed to the 
        consideration of any joint resolution after it has been reported 
        by the appropriate committee shall be treated as highly 
        privileged in the House of Representatives.
            (C) <<NOTE: President. Notification.>>  Not more than 1 
        joint resolution may be considered in the House of 
        Representatives and the Senate in the 6-month period beginning 
        on the date on which the President notifies the Congress under 
        paragraph (1) of the action taken under subsection (a), and in 
        each 6-month period thereafter.

SEC. 205. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6065.>>  REQUIREMENTS AND FACTORS FOR 
            DETERMINING A TRANSITION GOVERNMENT.

    (a) Requirements.--For the purposes of this Act, a transition 
government in Cuba is a government that--
            (1) has legalized all political activity;
            (2) has released all political prisoners and allowed for 
        investigations of Cuban prisons by appropriate international 
        human rights organizations;
            (3) has dissolved the present Department of State Security 
        in the Cuban Ministry of the Interior, including the Committees 
        for the Defense of the Revolution and the Rapid Response 
        Brigades; and
            (4) has made public commitments to organizing free and fair 
        elections for a new government--
                    (A) to be held in a timely manner within a period 
                not to exceed 18 months after the transition government 
                assumes power;
                    (B) with the participation of multiple independent 
                political parties that have full access to the media on 
                an equal basis, including (in the case of radio, 
                television, or other telecommunications media) in terms 
                of allotments

[[Page 110 STAT. 812]]

                of time for such access and the times of day such 
                allotments are given; and
                    (C) to be conducted under the supervision of 
                internationally recognized observers, such as the 
                Organization of American States, the United Nations, and 
                other election monitors;
            (5) has ceased any interference with Radio Marti or 
        Television Marti broadcasts;
            (6) makes public commitments to and is making demonstrable 
        progress in--
                    (A) establishing an independent judiciary;
                    (B) respecting internationally recognized human 
                rights and basic freedoms as set forth in the Universal 
                Declaration of Human Rights, to which Cuba is a 
                signatory nation;
                    (C) allowing the establishment of independent trade 
                unions as set forth in conventions 87 and 98 of the 
                International Labor Organization, and allowing the 
                establishment of independent social, economic, and 
                political associations;
            (7) does not include Fidel Castro or Raul Castro; and
            (8) has given adequate assurances that it will allow the 
        speedy and efficient distribution of assistance to the Cuban 
        people.

    (b) <<NOTE: President.>>  Additional Factors.--In addition to the 
requirements in subsection (a), in determining whether a transition 
government in Cuba is in power, the President shall take into account 
the extent to which that government--
            (1) is demonstrably in transition from a communist 
        totalitarian dictatorship to representative democracy;
            (2) has made public commitments to, and is making 
        demonstrable progress in--
                    (A) effectively guaranteeing the rights of free 
                speech and freedom of the press, including granting 
                permits to privately owned media and telecommunications 
                companies to operate in Cuba;
                    (B) permitting the reinstatement of citizenship to 
                Cuban-born persons returning to Cuba;
                    (C) assuring the right to private property; and
                    (D) taking appropriate steps to return to United 
                States citizens (and entities which are 50 percent or 
                more beneficially owned by United States citizens) 
                property taken by the Cuban Government from such 
                citizens and entities on or after January 1, 1959, or to 
                provide equitable compensation to such citizens and 
                entities for such property;
            (3) has extradited or otherwise rendered to the United 
        States all persons sought by the United States Department of 
        Justice for crimes committed in the United States; and
            (4) has permitted the deployment throughout Cuba of 
        independent and unfettered international human rights monitors.

SEC. 206. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6066.>>  REQUIREMENTS FOR DETERMINING A 
            DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED GOVERNMENT.

    For purposes of this Act, a democratically elected government in 
Cuba, in addition to meeting the requirements of section 205(a), is a 
government which--
            (1) results from free and fair elections--

[[Page 110 STAT. 813]]

                    (A) conducted under the supervision of 
                internationally recognized observers; and
                    (B) in which--
                          (i) opposition parties were permitted ample 
                      time to organize and campaign for such elections; 
                      and
                          (ii) all candidates were permitted full access 
                      to the media;
            (2) is showing respect for the basic civil liberties and 
        human rights of the citizens of Cuba;
            (3) is substantially moving toward a market-oriented 
        economic system based on the right to own and enjoy property;
            (4) is committed to making constitutional changes that would 
        ensure regular free and fair elections and the full enjoyment of 
        basic civil liberties and human rights by the citizens of Cuba;
            (5) has made demonstrable progress in establishing an 
        independent judiciary; and
            (6) has made demonstrable progress in returning to United 
        States citizens (and entities which are 50 percent or more 
        beneficially owned by United States citizens) property taken by 
        the Cuban Government from such citizens and entities on or after 
        January 1, 1959, or providing full compensation for such 
        property in accordance with international law standards and 
        practice.

SEC. 207. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6067.>>  SETTLEMENT OF OUTSTANDING UNITED 
            STATES CLAIMS TO CONFISCATED PROPERTY IN CUBA.

    (a) Report to Congress.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall provide a report 
to the appropriate congressional committees containing an assessment of 
the property dispute question in Cuba, including--
            (1) an estimate of the number and amount of claims to 
        property confiscated by the Cuban Government that are held by 
        United States nationals in addition to those claims certified 
        under section 507 of the International Claims Settlement Act of 
        1949;
            (2) an assessment of the significance of promptly resolving 
        confiscated property claims to the revitalization of the Cuban 
        economy;
            (3) a review and evaluation of technical and other 
        assistance that the United States could provide to help either a 
        transition government in Cuba or a democratically elected 
        government in Cuba establish mechanisms to resolve property 
        questions;
            (4) an assessment of the role and types of support the 
        United States could provide to help resolve claims to property 
        confiscated by the Cuban Government that are held by United 
        States nationals who did not receive or qualify for 
        certification under section 507 of the International Claims 
        Settlement Act of 1949; and
            (5) an assessment of any areas requiring legislative review 
        or action regarding the resolution of property claims in Cuba 
        prior to a change of government in Cuba.

    (d) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress that the 
satisfactory resolution of property claims by a Cuban Government 
recognized by the United States remains an essential condition

[[Page 110 STAT. 814]]

for the full resumption of economic and diplomatic relations between the 
United States and Cuba.

   TITLE III--PROTECTION OF PROPERTY RIGHTS OF UNITED STATES NATIONALS

SEC. 301. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6081.>>  FINDINGS.

    The Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Individuals enjoy a fundamental right to own and enjoy 
        property which is enshrined in the United States Constitution.
            (2) The wrongful confiscation or taking of property 
        belonging to United States nationals by the Cuban Government, 
        and the subsequent exploitation of this property at the expense 
        of the rightful owner, undermines the comity of nations, the 
        free flow of commerce, and economic development.
            (3) <<NOTE: Fidel Castro.>>  Since Fidel Castro seized power 
        in Cuba in 1959--
                    (A) he has trampled on the fundamental rights of the 
                Cuban people; and
                    (B) through his personal despotism, he has 
                confiscated the property of--
                          (i) millions of his own citizens;
                          (ii) thousands of United States nationals; and
                          (iii) thousands more Cubans who claimed asylum 
                      in the United States as refugees because of 
                      persecution and later became naturalized citizens 
                      of the United States.
            (4) It is in the interest of the Cuban people that the Cuban 
        Government respect equally the property rights of Cuban 
        nationals and nationals of other countries.
            (5) The Cuban Government is offering foreign investors the 
        opportunity to purchase an equity interest in, manage, or enter 
        into joint ventures using property and assets some of which were 
        confiscated from United States nationals.
            (6) This ``trafficking'' in confiscated property provides 
        badly needed financial benefit, including hard currency, oil, 
        and productive investment and expertise, to the current Cuban 
        Government and thus undermines the foreign policy of the United 
        States--
                    (A) to bring democratic institutions to Cuba through 
                the pressure of a general economic embargo at a time 
                when the Castro regime has proven to be vulnerable to 
                international economic pressure; and
                    (B) to protect the claims of United States nationals 
                who had property wrongfully confiscated by the Cuban 
                Government.
            (7) The United States Department of State has notified other 
        governments that the transfer to third parties of properties 
        confiscated by the Cuban Government ``would complicate any 
        attempt to return them to their original owners''.
            (8) The international judicial system, as currently 
        structured, lacks fully effective remedies for the wrongful 
        confiscation of property and for unjust enrichment from the use 
        of wrongfully confiscated property by governments and private 
        entities at the expense of the rightful owners of the property.

[[Page 110 STAT. 815]]

            (9) International law recognizes that a nation has the 
        ability to provide for rules of law with respect to conduct 
        outside its territory that has or is intended to have 
        substantial effect within its territory.
            (10) The United States Government has an obligation to its 
        citizens to provide protection against wrongful confiscations by 
        foreign nations and their citizens, including the provision of 
        private remedies.
            (11) To deter trafficking in wrongfully confiscated 
        property, United States nationals who were the victims of these 
        confiscations should be endowed with a judicial remedy in the 
        courts of the United States that would deny traffickers any 
        profits from economically exploiting Castro's wrongful seizures.

SEC. 302. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6082.>>  LIABILITY FOR TRAFFICKING IN 
            CONFISCATED PROPERTY CLAIMED BY UNITED STATES NATIONALS.

    (a) Civil Remedy.--
            (1) Liability for trafficking.--(A) Except as otherwise 
        provided in this section, any person that, after the end of the 
        3-month period beginning on the effective date of this title, 
        traffics in property which was confiscated by the Cuban 
        Government on or after January 1, 1959, shall be liable to any 
        United States national who owns the claim to such property for 
        money damages in an amount equal to the sum of--
                    (i) the amount which is the greater of--
                          (I) the amount, if any, certified to the 
                      claimant by the Foreign Claims Settlement 
                      Commission under the International Claims 
                      Settlement Act of 1949, plus interest;
                          (II) the amount determined under section 
                      303(a)(2), plus interest; or
                          (III) the fair market value of that property, 
                      calculated as being either the current value of 
                      the property, or the value of the property when 
                      confiscated plus interest, whichever is greater; 
                      and
                    (ii) court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees.
            (B) Interest under subparagraph (A)(i) shall be at the rate 
        set forth in section 1961 of title 28, United States Code, 
        computed by the court from the date of confiscation of the 
        property involved to the date on which the action is brought 
        under this subsection.
            (2) Presumption in favor of the certified claims.--There 
        shall be a presumption that the amount for which a person is 
        liable under clause (i) of paragraph (1)(A) is the amount that 
        is certified as described in subclause (I) of that clause. The 
        presumption shall be rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence 
        that the amount described in subclause (II) or (III) of that 
        clause is the appropriate amount of liability under that clause.
            (3) Increased liability.--(A) Any person that traffics in 
        confiscated property for which liability is incurred under 
        paragraph (1) shall, if a United States national owns a claim 
        with respect to that property which was certified by the Foreign 
        Claims Settlement Commission under title V of the International 
        Claims Settlement Act of 1949, be liable for damages computed in 
        accordance with subparagraph (C).

[[Page 110 STAT. 816]]

            (B) If the claimant in an action under this subsection 
        (other than a United States national to whom subparagraph (A) 
        applies) provides, after the end of the 3-month period described 
        in paragraph (1) notice to--
                    (i) a person against whom the action is to be 
                initiated, or
                    (ii) a person who is to be joined as a defendant in 
                the action,
        at least 30 days before initiating the action or joining such 
        person as a defendant, as the case may be, and that person, 
        after the end of the 30-day period beginning on the date the 
        notice is provided, traffics in the confiscated property that is 
        the subject of the action, then that person shall be liable to 
        that claimant for damages computed in accordance with 
        subparagraph (C).
            (C) Damages for which a person is liable under subparagraph 
        (A) or subparagraph (B) are money damages in an amount equal to 
        the sum of--
                    (i) the amount determined under paragraph 
                (1)(A)(ii), and
                    (ii) 3 times the amount determined applicable under 
                paragraph (1)(A)(i).
            (D) Notice to a person under subparagraph (B)--
                    (i) shall be in writing;
                    (ii) shall be posted by certified mail or personally 
                delivered to the person; and
                    (iii) shall contain--
                          (I) a statement of intention to commence the 
                      action under this section or to join the person as 
                      a defendant (as the case may be), together with 
                      the reasons therefor;
                          (II) a demand that the unlawful trafficking in 
                      the claimant's property cease immediately; and
                          (III) a copy of the summary statement 
                      published under paragraph (8).
            (4) Applicability.--(A) Except as otherwise provided in this 
        paragraph, actions may be brought under paragraph (1) with 
        respect to property confiscated before, on, or after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act.
            (B) In the case of property confiscated before the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, a United States national may not 
        bring an action under this section on a claim to the confiscated 
        property unless such national acquires ownership of the claim 
        before such date of enactment.
            (C) In the case of property confiscated on or after the date 
        of the enactment of this Act, a United States national who, 
        after the property is confiscated, acquires ownership of a claim 
        to the property by assignment for value, may not bring an action 
        on the claim under this section.
            (5) Treatment of certain actions.--(A) In the case of a 
        United States national who was eligible to file a claim with the 
        Foreign Claims Settlement Commission under title V of the 
        International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 but did not so file 
        the claim, that United States national may not bring an action 
        on that claim under this section.
            (B) In the case of any action brought under this section by 
        a United States national whose underlying claim in the

[[Page 110 STAT. 817]]

        action was timely filed with the Foreign Claims Settlement 
        Commission under title V of the International Claims Settlement 
        Act of 1949 but was denied by the Commission, the court shall 
        accept the findings of the Commission on the claim as conclusive 
        in the action under this section.
            (C) A United States national, other than a United States 
        national bringing an action under this section on a claim 
        certified under title V of the International Claims Settlement 
        Act of 1949, may not bring an action on a claim under this 
        section before the end of the 2-year period beginning on the 
        date of the enactment of this Act.
            (D) An interest in property for which a United States 
        national has a claim certified under title V of the 
        International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 may not be the 
        subject of a claim in an action under this section by any other 
        person. Any person bringing an action under this section whose 
        claim has not been so certified shall have the burden of 
        establishing for the court that the interest in property that is 
        the subject of the claim is not the subject of a claim so 
        certified.
            (6) Inapplicability of act of state doctrine.--No court of 
        the United States shall decline, based upon the act of state 
        doctrine, to make a determination on the merits in an action 
        brought under paragraph (1) .
            (7) Licenses not required.--(A) Notwithstanding any other 
        provision of law, an action under this section may be brought 
        and may be settled, and a judgment rendered in such action may 
        be enforced, without obtaining any license or other permission 
        from any agency of the United States, except that this paragraph 
        shall not apply to the execution of a judgment against, or the 
        settlement of actions involving, property blocked under the 
        authorities of section 5(b) of the Trading with the Enemy Act 
        that were being exercised on July 1, 1977, as a result of a 
        national emergency declared by the President before such date, 
        and are being exercised on the date of the enactment of this 
        Act.
            (B) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and for 
        purposes of this title only, any claim against the Cuban 
        Government shall not be deemed to be an interest in property the 
        transfer of which to a United States national required before 
        the enactment of this Act, or requires after the enactment of 
        this Act, a license issued by, or the permission of, any agency 
        of the United States.
            (8) <<NOTE: Federal Register, publication.>>  Publication by 
        attorney general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall prepare and 
        publish in the Federal Register a concise summary of the 
        provisions of this title, including a statement of the liability 
        under this title of a person trafficking in confiscated 
        property, and the remedies available to United States nationals 
        under this title.

    (b) Amount in Controversy.--An action may be brought under this 
section by a United States national only where the amount in controversy 
exceeds the sum or value of $50,000, exclusive of interest, costs, and 
attorneys' fees. In calculating $50,000 for purposes of the preceding 
sentence, the applicable amount under subclause (I), (II), or (III) of 
subsection (a)(1)(A)(i) may not be tripled as provided in subsection 
(a)(3).
    (c) Procedural Requirements.--

[[Page 110 STAT. 818]]

            (1) In general.--Except as provided in this title, the 
        provisions of title 28, United States Code, and the rules of the 
        courts of the United States apply to actions under this section 
        to the same extent as such provisions and rules apply to any 
        other action brought under section 1331 of title 28, United 
        States Code.
            (2) Service of process.--In an action under this section, 
        service of process on an agency or instrumentality of a foreign 
        state in the conduct of a commercial activity, or against 
        individuals acting under color of law, shall be made in 
        accordance with section 1608 of title 28, United States Code.

    (d) Enforceability of Judgments Against Cuban Government.--In an 
action brought under this section, any judgment against an agency or 
instrumentality of the Cuban Government shall not be enforceable against 
an agency or instrumentality of either a transition government in Cuba 
or a democratically elected government in Cuba.
    (e) Certain Property Immune From Execution.--Section 1611 of title 
28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following 
new subsection:
    ``(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 1610 of this 
chapter, the property of a foreign state shall be immune from attachment 
and from execution in an action brought under section 302 of the Cuban 
Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 to the extent 
that the property is a facility or installation used by an accredited 
diplomatic mission for official purposes.''.
    (f) Election of Remedies.--
            (1) Election.--Subject to paragraph (2)--
                    (A) any United States national that brings an action 
                under this section may not bring any other civil action 
                or proceeding under the common law, Federal law, or the 
                law of any of the several States, the District of 
                Columbia, or any commonwealth, territory, or possession 
                of the United States, that seeks monetary or nonmonetary 
                compensation by reason of the same subject matter; and
                    (B) any person who brings, under the common law or 
                any provision of law other than this section, a civil 
                action or proceeding for monetary or nonmonetary 
                compensation arising out of a claim for which an action 
                would otherwise be cognizable under this section may not 
                bring an action under this section on that claim.
            (2) Treatment of certified claimants.--(A) In the case of 
        any United States national that brings an action under this 
        section based on a claim certified under title V of the 
        International Claims Settlement Act of 1949--
                    (i) if the recovery in the action is equal to or 
                greater than the amount of the certified claim, the 
                United States national may not receive payment on the 
                claim under any agreement entered into between the 
                United States and Cuba settling claims covered by such 
                title, and such national shall be deemed to have 
                discharged the United States from any further 
                responsibility to represent the United States national 
                with respect to that claim;
                    (ii) if the recovery in the action is less than the 
                amount of the certified claim, the United States 
                national may receive payment under a claims agreement 
                described in clause (i) but only to the extent of the 
                difference between

[[Page 110 STAT. 819]]

                the amount of the recovery and the amount of the 
                certified claim; and
                    (iii) if there is no recovery in the action, the 
                United States national may receive payment on the 
                certified claim under a claims agreement described in 
                clause (i) to the same extent as any certified claimant 
                who does not bring an action under this section.
            (B) In the event some or all actions brought under this 
        section are consolidated by judicial or other action in such 
        manner as to create a pool of assets available to satisfy the 
        claims in such actions, including a pool of assets in a 
        proceeding in bankruptcy, every claimant whose claim in an 
        action so consolidated was certified by the Foreign Claims 
        Settlement Commission under title V of the International Claims 
        Settlement Act of 1949 shall be entitled to payment in full of 
        its claim from the assets in such pool before any payment is 
        made from the assets in such pool with respect to any claim not 
        so certified.

    (g) Deposit of Excess Payments by Cuba Under Claims Agreement.--Any 
amounts paid by Cuba under any agreement entered into between the United 
States and Cuba settling certified claims under title V of the 
International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 that are in excess of the 
payments made on such certified claims after the application of 
subsection (f) shall be deposited into the United States Treasury.
    (h) Termination of Rights.--
            (1) In general.--All rights created under this section to 
        bring an action for money damages with respect to property 
        confiscated by the Cuban Government--
                    (A) may be suspended under section 204(a); and
                    (B) shall cease upon transmittal to the Congress of 
                a determination of the President under section 203(c)(3) 
                that a democratically elected government in Cuba is in 
                power.
            (2) Pending suits.--The suspension or termination of rights 
        under paragraph (1) shall not affect suits commenced before the 
        date of such suspension or termination (as the case may be), and 
        in all such suits, proceedings shall be had, appeals taken, and 
        judgments rendered in the same manner and with the same effect 
        as if the suspension or termination had not occurred.

    (i) Imposition of Filing Fees.--The Judicial Conference of the 
United States shall establish a uniform fee that shall be imposed upon 
the plaintiff or plaintiffs in each action brought under this section. 
The fee should be established at a level sufficient to recover the costs 
to the courts of actions brought under this section. The fee under this 
subsection is in addition to any other fees imposed under title 28, 
United States Code.

SEC. 303. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6083.>>  PROOF OF OWNERSHIP OF CLAIMS TO 
            CONFISCATED PROPERTY.

    (a) Evidence of Ownership.--
            (1) Conclusiveness of certified claims.--In any action 
        brought under this title, the court shall accept as conclusive 
        proof of ownership of an interest in property a certification of 
        a claim to ownership of that interest that has been made by the 
        Foreign Claims Settlement Commission under title V

[[Page 110 STAT. 820]]

        of the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 (22 U.S.C. 
        1643 and following).
            (2) Claims not certified.--If in an action under this title 
        a claim has not been so certified by the Foreign Claims 
        Settlement Commission, the court may appoint a special master, 
        including the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, to make 
        determinations regarding the amount and ownership of the claim. 
        Such determinations are only for evidentiary purposes in civil 
        actions brought under this title and do not constitute 
        certifications under title V of the International Claims 
        Settlement Act of 1949.
            (3) Effect of determinations of foreign or international 
        entities.--In determining the amount or ownership of a claim in 
        an action under this title, the court shall not accept as 
        conclusive evidence any findings, orders, judgments, or decrees 
        from administrative agencies or courts of foreign countries or 
        international organizations that declare the value of or 
        invalidate the claim, unless the declaration of value or 
        invalidation was found pursuant to binding international 
        arbitration to which the United States or the claimant submitted 
        the claim.

    (b) Amendment of the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949.--
Title V of the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 (22 U.S.C. 
1643 and following) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section:

 ``determination of ownership of claims referred by district courts of 
                            the united states

    ``Sec. 514. <<NOTE: 22 USC 1643l.>>  Notwithstanding any other 
provision of this Act and only for purposes of section 302 of the Cuban 
Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996, a United State 
district court, for fact-finding purposes, may refer to the Commission, 
and the Commission may determine, questions of the amount and ownership 
of a claim by a United States national (as defined in section 4 of the 
Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996), 
resulting from the confiscation of property by the Government of Cuba 
described in section 503(a), whether or not the United States national 
qualified as a national of the United States (as defined in section 
502(1)) at the time of the action by the Government of Cuba.''.

    (c) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act or in section 514 of 
the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949, as added by subsection 
(b), shall be construed--
            (1) to require or otherwise authorize the claims of Cuban 
        nationals who became United States citizens after their property 
        was confiscated to be included in the claims certified to the 
        Secretary of State by the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission 
        for purposes of future negotiation and espousal of claims with a 
        friendly government in Cuba when diplomatic relations are 
        restored; or
            (2) as superseding, amending, or otherwise altering 
        certifications that have been made under title V of the 
        International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 before the date of 
        the enactment of this Act.

[[Page 110 STAT. 821]]

SEC. 304. EXCLUSIVITY OF FOREIGN CLAIMS SETTLEMENT COMMISSION 
            CERTIFICATION PROCEDURE.

    Title V of the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 (22 
U.S.C. 1643 and following), as amended by section 303, is further 
amended by adding at the end the following new section:

  ``exclusivity of foreign claims settlement commission certification 
                                procedure

    ``Sec. 515. <<NOTE: 22 USC 1643m.>>  (a) Subject to subsection (b), 
neither any national of the United States who was eligible to file a 
claim under section 503 but did not timely file such claim under that 
section, nor any person who was ineligible to file a claim under section 
503, nor any national of Cuba, including any agency, instrumentality, 
subdivision, or enterprise of the Government of Cuba or any local 
government of Cuba, nor any successor thereto, whether or not recognized 
by the United States, shall have a claim to, participate in, or 
otherwise have an interest in, the compensation proceeds or nonmonetary 
compensation paid or allocated to a national of the United States by 
virtue of a claim certified by the Commission under section 507, nor 
shall any district court of the United States have jurisdiction to 
adjudicate any such claim.

    ``(b) Nothing in subsection (a) shall be construed to detract from 
or otherwise affect any rights in the shares of capital stock of 
nationals of the United States owning claims certified by the Commission 
under section 507.''.

SEC. 305. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6084.>>  LIMITATION OF ACTIONS.

    An action under section 302 may not be brought more than 2 years 
after the trafficking giving rise to the action has ceased to occur.

SEC. 306. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6085.>>  EFFECTIVE DATE.

    (a) In General.--Subject to subsections (b) and (c), this title and 
the amendments made by this title shall take effect on August 1, 1996.
    (b) Suspension Authority.--
            (1) Suspension authority.--The President may suspend the 
        effective date under subsection (a) for a period of not more 
        than 6 months if the President determines and reports in writing 
        to the appropriate congressional committees at least 15 days 
        before such effective date that the suspension is necessary to 
        the national interests of the United States and will expedite a 
        transition to democracy in Cuba.
            (2) Additional suspensions.--The President may suspend the 
        effective date under subsection (a) for additional periods of 
        not more than 6 months each, each of which shall begin on the 
        day after the last day of the period during which a suspension 
        is in effect under this subsection, if the President determines 
        and reports in writing to the appropriate congressional 
        committees at least 15 days before the date on which the 
        additional suspension is to begin that the suspension is 
        necessary to the national interests of the United States and 
        will expedite a transition to democracy in Cuba.

    (c) Other Authorities.--
            (1) Suspension.--After this title and the amendments of this 
        title have taken effect--

[[Page 110 STAT. 822]]

                    (A) no person shall acquire a property interest in 
                any potential or pending action under this title; and
                    (B) the President may suspend the right to bring an 
                action under this title with respect to confiscated 
                property for a period of not more than 6 months if the 
                President determines and reports in writing to the 
                appropriate congressional committees at least 15 days 
                before the suspension takes effect that such suspension 
                is necessary to the national interests of the United 
                States and will expedite a transition to democracy in 
                Cuba.
            (2) Additional suspensions.--The President may suspend the 
        right to bring an action under this title for additional periods 
        of not more than 6 months each, each of which shall begin on the 
        day after the last day of the period during which a suspension 
        is in effect under this subsection, if the President determines 
        and reports in writing to the appropriate congressional 
        committees at least 15 days before the date on which the 
        additional suspension is to begin that the suspension is 
        necessary to the national interests of the United States and 
        will expedite a transition to democracy in Cuba.
            (3) Pending suits.--The suspensions of actions under 
        paragraph (1) shall not affect suits commenced before the date 
        of such suspension, and in all such suits, proceedings shall be 
        had, appeals taken, and judgments rendered in the same manner 
        and with the same effect as if the suspension had not occurred.

    (d) Rescission of Suspension.--The President may rescind any 
suspension made under subsection (b) or (c) upon reporting to the 
appropriate congressional committees that doing so will expedite a 
transition to democracy in Cuba.

                  TITLE IV--EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN ALIENS

SEC. 401. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6091.>>  EXCLUSION FROM THE UNITED STATES OF 
            ALIENS WHO HAVE CONFISCATED PROPERTY OF UNITED STATES 
            NATIONALS OR WHO TRAFFIC IN SUCH PROPERTY.

    (a) Grounds for Exclusion.--The Secretary of State shall deny a visa 
to, and the Attorney General shall exclude from the United States, any 
alien who the Secretary of State determines is a person who, after the 
date of the enactment of this Act--
            (1) has confiscated, or has directed or overseen the 
        confiscation of, property a claim to which is owned by a United 
        States national, or converts or has converted for personal gain 
        confiscated property, a claim to which is owned by a United 
        States national;
            (2) traffics in confiscated property, a claim to which is 
        owned by a United States national;
            (3) is a corporate officer, principal, or shareholder with a 
        controlling interest of an entity which has been involved in the 
        confiscation of property or trafficking in confiscated property, 
        a claim to which is owned by a United States national; or
            (4) is a spouse, minor child, or agent of a person 
        excludable under paragraph (1), (2), or (3).

[[Page 110 STAT. 823]]

    (b) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following terms have 
the following meanings:
            (1) Confiscated; confiscation.--The terms ``confiscated'' 
        and ``confiscation'' refer to--
                    (A) the nationalization, expropriation, or other 
                seizure by the Cuban Government of ownership or control 
                of property--
                          (i) without the property having been returned 
                      or adequate and effective compensation provided; 
                      or
                          (ii) without the claim to the property having 
                      been settled pursuant to an international claims 
                      settlement agreement or other mutually accepted 
                      settlement procedure; and
                    (B) the repudiation by the Cuban Government of, the 
                default by the Cuban Government on, or the failure of 
                the Cuban Government to pay--
                          (i) a debt of any enterprise which has been 
                      nationalized, expropriated, or otherwise taken by 
                      the Cuban Government;
                          (ii) a debt which is a charge on property 
                      nationalized, expropriated, or otherwise taken by 
                      the Cuban Government; or
                          (iii) a debt which was incurred by the Cuban 
                      Government in satisfaction or settlement of a 
                      confiscated property claim.
            (2) Traffics.--(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), a 
        person ``traffics'' in confiscated property if that person 
        knowingly and intentionally--
                    (i)(I) transfers, distributes, dispenses, brokers, 
                or otherwise disposes of confiscated property,
                    (II) purchases, receives, obtains control of, or 
                otherwise acquires confiscated property, or
                    (III) improves (other than for routine maintenance), 
                invests in (by contribution of funds or anything of 
                value, other than for routine maintenance), or begins 
                after the date of the enactment of this Act to manage, 
                lease, possess, use, or hold an interest in confiscated 
                property,
                    (ii) enters into a commercial arrangement using or 
                otherwise benefiting from confiscated property, or
                    (iii) causes, directs, participates in, or profits 
                from, trafficking (as described in clause (i) or (ii)) 
                by another person, or otherwise engages in trafficking 
                (as described in clause (i) or (ii)) through another 
                person,
        without the authorization of any United States national who 
        holds a claim to the property.
            (B) The term ``traffics'' does not include--
                    (i) the delivery of international telecommunication 
                signals to Cuba;
                    (ii) the trading or holding of securities publicly 
                traded or held, unless the trading is with or by a 
                person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury to be 
                a specially designated national;
                    (iii) transactions and uses of property incident to 
                lawful travel to Cuba, to the extent that such 
                transactions and uses of property are necessary to the 
                conduct of such travel; or

[[Page 110 STAT. 824]]

                    (iv) transactions and uses of property by a person 
                who is both a citizen of Cuba and a resident of Cuba, 
                and who is not an official of the Cuban Government or 
                the ruling political party in Cuba.

    (c) Exemption.--This section shall not apply where the Secretary of 
State finds, on a case by case basis, that the entry into the United 
States of the person who would otherwise be excluded under this section 
is necessary for medical reasons or for purposes of litigation of an 
action under title III.
    (d) Effective Date.--
            (1) In general.--This section applies to aliens seeking to 
        enter the United States on or after the date of the enactment of 
        this Act.
            (2) Trafficking.--This section applies only with respect to 
        acts within the meaning of ``traffics'' that occur on or after 
        the date of the enactment of this Act.

    Approved March 12, 1996.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 927:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

HOUSE REPORTS: Nos. 104-202, Pt. 1 (Comm. on International Relations) 
and 104-468 (Comm. of Conference).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD:
                                                        Vol. 141 (1995):
                                    Sept. 20, 21, considered and passed 
                                        House.
                                    Oct. 11-13, 17-19, considered and 
                                        passed Senate, amended.
                                                        Vol. 142 (1996):
                                    Mar. 5, Senate agreed to conference 
                                        report.
                                    Mar. 6, House agreed to conference 
                                        report.
WEEKLY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS, Vol. 32 (1996):
            Mar. 12, Presidential remarks and statement.

                                  <all>
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