I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 611

To provide for assistance to the people of Cuba once a transitional government

is in power, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 20, 1995

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr.

LIVINGSTON, Mr. TORRICELLI, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. BURTON of Indiana,

Mr. ENGEL, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr.

WYNN, Mr. ZIMMER, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. WILSON, Mr. HASTINGS of

Florida, Mr. ANDREWS, Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO ́, Mr. DEUTSCH, and Mr.

KING) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee

on International Relations and, in addition, to the Committees on Ways

and Means, Banking and Financial Services, and Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To provide for assistance to the people of Cuba once a

transitional government is in power, and for other purposes.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Free and Independent

5 Cuba Assistance Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 The Congress makes the following findings:

3 (1) The economy of Cuba has experienced a de4 cline of at least 50 percent in the last 5 years as a

5 result of—

6 (A) the end of its subsidization annually of

7 between $5,000,000,000 and $6,000,000,000

8 by the former Soviet Union;

9 (B) 36 years of economic mismanagement

10 by the Castro government;

11 (C) the extreme decline in trade between

12 Cuba and the countries of the former Soviet

13 Bloc; and

14 (D) the policy of the Russian Government

15 and the countries of the former Soviet Bloc to

16 conduct economic relations with Cuba on strict17 ly commercial terms.

18 (2) At the same time, the welfare and health of

19 the Cuban people has substantially deteriorated, and

20 continues to deteriorate, as a result of this economic

21 decline and the refusal of the Castro regime to adopt

22 economic and political reforms, as well as to permit

23 free and fair elections, that would lead to democracy,

24 a market economy, or an economic recovery.

25 (3) As long as no such economic and political

26 reforms are adopted by the Cuban Government, the
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1 economic condition of the country and the welfare of

2 the Cuban people will not improve in any significant

3 way.

4 (4) The Castro regime has made it abundantly

5 clear that it will not engage in any substantive eco6 nomic or political reforms that would lead to democ7 racy, a market economy, or an economic recovery.

8 (5) The repression of the Cuban people, includ9 ing a ban on free and fair elections, and the continu10 ing violation of the fundamental human rights of the

11 Cuban people, have isolated the Cuban regime as the

12 only nondemocratic government in the Western

13 Hemisphere.

14 SEC. 3. POLICY TOWARD A TRANSITION GOVERNMENT AND

15 A DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT IN CUBA.

16 It is the policy of the United States—

17 (1) to support the self-determination of the

18 Cuban people;

19 (2) to recognize that the self-determination of

20 the Cuban people is a sovereign and national right

21 of the citizens of Cuba which must be exercised free

22 of interference by the government of any other coun23 try;
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1 (3) to encourage the Cuban people to empower

2 themselves with a government which reflects the self3 determination of the Cuban people;

4 (4) to recognize the potential for a difficult

5 transition from the current regime in Cuba that may

6 result from the initiatives taken by the Cuban people

7 for self-determination in response to the intran8 sigence of the Castro regime in not allowing any

9 substantive political or economic reforms, and to be

10 prepared to provide the Cuban people with humani11 tarian, developmental, and other economic assist12 ance;

13 (5) in solidarity with the Cuban people, to pro14 vide emergency relief assistance to a transition gov15 ernment in Cuba, and long term assistance to a

16 democratic government in Cuba, governments that

17 result from an expression of the self-determination

18 of the Cuban people;

19 (6) through such assistance, to facilitate a

20 peaceful transition to a representative democracy

21 and a market economy in Cuba and the successful

22 consolidation of democracy in Cuba;

23 (7) to deliver such assistance to the Cuban peo24 ple only through a transition government in Cuba,

25 through a democratic government in Cuba, or
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1 through United States, international, or indigenous

2 nongovernmental organizations;

3 (8) to encourage other countries and multilat4 eral organizations to provide similar assistance, and

5 work cooperatively with such countries and organiza6 tions to coordinate such assistance;

7 (9) to ensure that emergency relief is rapidly

8 implemented and distributed to the people of Cuba

9 upon the institution of a transition government in

10 Cuba;

11 (10) not to provide favorable treatment or influ12 ence on behalf of any individual or entity in the pro13 motion of the choice by the Cuban people of their fu14 ture government;

15 (11) to assist a transition government in Cuba

16 and a democratic government in Cuba to prepare the

17 Cuban military forces for a new role in a democracy;

18 (12) to be prepared to enter into negotiations

19 with a democratic government in Cuba either to re20 turn the United States Naval Base at Guantanamo

21 to Cuba or to renegotiate the present agreement

22 under mutually agreeable terms;

23 (13) to consider the restoration of diplomatic

24 recognition and support the reintegration of the

25 Cuban government into inter-American organizations
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1 when the President determines that there exists a

2 democratically elected government in Cuba;

3 (14) to take steps to lift the economic embargo

4 on Cuba when the President determines that there

5 exists a democratic government in Cuba;

6 (15) to assist a democratic government in Cuba

7 to strengthen and stabilize its national currency; and

8 (16) to authorize the extension of the North

9 American Free Trade Agreement to a free, demo10 cratic, and independent Cuba.

11 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE TO THE CUBAN

12 PEOPLE.

13 (a) PLAN FOR ASSISTANCE.—

14 (1) DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN.—The President

15 shall develop a plan for providing, at such time as

16 the President determines that a transition govern17 ment in Cuba is in power, economic assistance to

18 Cuba while such government, or a democratic gov19 ernment in Cuba, is in power.

20 (2) TYPES OF ASSISTANCE.—

21 (A) TRANSITION GOVERNMENT.—Assist22 ance under the plan developed under paragraph

23 (1) to a transition government—

24 (i) shall include—
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1 (I) such food, medicine, medical

2 supplies and equipment, and assist3 ance to meet emergency energy needs,

4 as is necessary to meet the basic

5 human needs of the Cuban people;

6 and

7 (II) assistance described in sub8 paragraph (C);

9 (ii) may include assistance for activi10 ties comparable to those set forth in sec11 tion 498 of the Foreign Assistance Act of

12 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2295) (other than para13 graph (9) of such section); and

14 (iii) shall be limited to assistance

15 under clauses (i) and (ii).

16 (B) DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT.—Assist17 ance under the plan to a democratic govern18 ment in Cuba shall consist of additional eco19 nomic assistance and assistance described in

20 subparagraph (C). Such economic assistance

21 may include—

22 (i) assistance under chapter 1 of part

23 I (relating to development assistance), and

24 chapter 4 of part II (relating to the eco-
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1 nomic support fund), of the Foreign As2 sistance Act of 1961;

3 (ii) assistance under the Agricultural

4 Trade Development and Assistance Act of

5 1954;

6 (iii) financing, guarantees, and other

7 forms of assistance provided by the Ex8 port-Import Bank of the United States;

9 (iv) financial support provided by the

10 Overseas Private Investment Corporation

11 for investment projects in Cuba;

12 (v) assistance provided by the Trade

13 and Development Agency;

14 (vi) Peace Corps programs;

15 (vii) relief of Cuba’s external debt;

16 and

17 (viii) other appropriate assistance to

18 carry out the purposes of this Act.

19 (C) MILITARY ADJUSTMENT ASSIST20 ANCE.—Assistance under the plan to a transi21 tion government in Cuba and to a democratic

22 government in Cuba shall also include assist23 ance in preparing the Cuban military forces to

24 adjust to a new role in a democracy and civilian
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1 life, which may include assistance for housing,

2 educational, and training programs.

3 (b) STRATEGY FOR DISTRIBUTION.—The plan devel4 oped under subsection (a) shall include a strategy for dis5 tributing assistance under the plan.

6 (c) DISTRIBUTION.—The plan developed under sub7 section (a) shall authorize assistance under the plan to be

8 provided through United States, international, and indige9 nous nongovernmental organizations and private voluntary

10 organizations, including humanitarian, educational, labor,

11 and private sector organizations.

12 (d) INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS.—The President shall

13 take the necessary steps to seek to obtain the agreement

14 of other countries and of the international financial insti15 tutions and multilateral organizations to provide to a tran16 sition government in Cuba, and to a democratic govern17 ment in Cuba, assistance comparable to that provided by

18 the United States under this Act, and to work with such

19 countries, institutions, and organizations to coordinate all

20 such assistance programs.

21 (e) CARIBBEAN BASIN INITIATIVE.—The President

22 shall determine, as part of the assistance plan developed

23 under subsection (a), whether or not to designate Cuba

24 as a beneficiary country under section 212 of the Carib25 bean Basin Economic Recovery Act. Any such designation
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1 of Cuba may be made only after the President determines

2 that a transition government or a democratic government

3 in Cuba is in power.

4 (f) TRADE AGREEMENTS.—The President—

5 (1) shall seek to enter into preliminary agree6 ments with a transition government in Cuba provid7 ing for trade with and investment in Cuba; and

8 (2) is authorized to enter into negotiations with

9 a democratic government in Cuba to provide for the

10 extension of the North American Free Trade Agree11 ment to Cuba and to take such other steps as will

12 encourage renewed investment in Cuba.

13 (g) COMMUNICATION WITH THE CUBAN PEOPLE.—

14 The President shall take the necessary steps to commu15 nicate to the Cuban people the plan for assistance devel16 oped under this section.

17 (h) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The President shall

18 transmit to the Congress, not later than 180 days after

19 the date of the enactment of this Act, a report describing

20 in detail the plan developed under this section.
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1 SEC. 5. COORDINATION OF ASSISTANCE PROGRAM; IMPLE2 MENTATION AND REPORTS TO CONGRESS;

3 REPROGRAMMING.

4 (a) COORDINATING OFFICIAL.—The President shall

5 designate, within the Department of State, a coordinating

6 official—

7 (1) who shall be responsible for—

8 (A) implementing the strategy for distrib9 uting assistance under the plan developed under

10 section 4(a);

11 (B) ensuring the speedy and efficient dis12 tribution of such assistance; and

13 (C) ensuring coordination among, and ap14 propriate oversight by, the agencies of the

15 United States that provide assistance under the

16 plan, including resolving any disputes among

17 such agencies; and

18 (2) who, if the President has made a deter19 mination that a transition government or a demo20 cratic government in Cuba is in power, shall des21 ignate a United States-Cuba council—

22 (A) to ensure coordination between the

23 United States Government and the private sec24 tor in responding to change in Cuba, and in

25 promoting market-based development in Cuba;

26 and
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1 (B) to establish periodic meetings between

2 representatives of the United States and Cuban

3 private sectors for the purpose of facilitating bi4 lateral trade.

5 (b) IMPLEMENTATION OF PLAN; REPORTS TO CON6 GRESS.—

7 (1) IMPLEMENTATION WITH RESPECT TO TRAN8 SITION GOVERNMENT.—Upon making a determina9 tion that a transition government in Cuba is in

10 power, the President shall transmit that determina11 tion to the Congress and shall, subject to the avail12 ability of appropriations, commence the delivery and

13 distribution of assistance to such transition govern14 ment under the plan developed under section 4(a).

15 (2) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The President

16 shall transmit to the Congress a report setting forth

17 the strategy for providing assistance described in

18 section 4(a)(2) (A) and (C) to the transition govern19 ment in Cuba under the plan of assistance developed

20 under section 4(a), the types of such assistance, and

21 the extent to which such assistance has been distrib22 uted in accordance with the plan. The President

23 shall transmit the report not later than 90 days

24 after making that determination referred to in para25 graph (1), except that the President shall transmit
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1 the report in preliminary form not later than 15

2 days after making the determination.

3 (3) IMPLEMENTATION WITH RESPECT TO

4 DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT.—The President shall,

5 upon determining that a democratic government in

6 Cuba is in power, submit that determination to the

7 Congress and shall, subject to the availability of ap8 propriations, commence the delivery and distribution

9 of assistance to such democratic government under

10 the plan developed under section 4(a).

11 (4) ANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not

12 later than 60 days after the end of each fiscal year,

13 the President shall transmit to the Congress a re14 port on the assistance provided under the plan devel15 oped under section 4(a), including a description of

16 each type of assistance, the amounts expended for

17 such assistance, and a description of the assistance

18 to be provided under the plan in the current fiscal

19 year.

20 (c) REPROGRAMMING.—Any changes in the assist21 ance to be provided under the plan developed under sec22 tion 4(a) may not be made unless the President notifies

23 the Congress at least 15 days in advance in accordance

24 with the procedures applicable to reprogramming notifica-
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1 tions under section 634A of the Foreign Assistance Act

2 of 1961.

3 (d) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

5 assistance may be provided under the plan developed

6 under section 4(a) notwithstanding any other provi7 sion of law.

8 (2) EXCEPTION.—Nothing in this Act shall af9 fect the provisions of section 620(a)(2) of the For10 eign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2370(a)(2)).

11 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

12 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Presi13 dent such sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act.

14 SEC. 7. TERMINATION OF EMBARGO.

15 (a) STEPS TO TERMINATE EMBARGO.—Upon sub16 mitting a determination to the Congress under section

17 5(b)(3) that a democratic government in Cuba is in power,

18 the President shall take steps to terminate the embargo

19 on trade with Cuba.

20 (b) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the

21 phrase ‘‘embargo on trade with Cuba’’ refers to the eco22 nomic embargo imposed against Cuba pursuant to section

23 620(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C.

24 2370(a)) and section 5(b) of the Trading With the Enemy

25 Act (50 U.S.C. App. 5(b)).
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1 SEC. 8. REQUIREMENTS FOR TRANSITION GOVERNMENT.

2 For purposes of this Act, a transition government in

3 Cuba is a government in Cuba which—

4 (1) is demonstrably in transition from com5 munist totalitarian dictatorship to a representative

6 democracy;

7 (2) makes public commitments to and is mak8 ing demonstrable progress in—

9 (A) releasing all political prisoners and al10 lowing for investigations of Cuban prisons by

11 appropriate international human rights organi12 zations;

13 (B) establishing an independent judiciary;

14 (C) respecting internationally recognized

15 human rights and basic freedoms as set forth in

16 the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

17 (D) effectively guaranteeing the rights of

18 free speech and freedom of the press;

19 (E) dissolving the present Department of

20 State Security in the Cuban Ministry of the In21 terior, including (but not limited to) the Com22 mittees for the Defense of the Revolution and

23 the Rapid Response Brigades;

24 (F) organizing free and fair elections for a

25 new government—
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1 (i) to be held within 1 year after the

2 transition government assumes power;

3 (ii) with the participation of multiple

4 independent political parties that have full

5 access to the media on an equal basis, in6 cluding (in the case of radio, television, or

7 other telecommunications media) in terms

8 of allotments of time for such access and

9 the times of day such allotments are given;

10 and

11 (iii) to be conducted under the super12 vision of internationally recognized observ13 ers, such as the United Nations, the Orga14 nization of American States, and other

15 elections monitors;

16 (G) assuring the right to private property;

17 (H) granting permits to privately owned

18 indigenous telecommunications and media com19 panies to operate in Cuba; and

20 (I) allowing the establishment of an inde21 pendent labor movement and of independent so22 cial, economic, and political associations;

23 (3) does not include Fidel Castro or Raul Cas24 tro; and
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1 (4) has given adequate assurances that it will

2 allow the speedy and efficient distribution of assist3 ance under this Act to the Cuban people.

4 SEC. 9. REQUIREMENTS FOR DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT.

5 For purposes of this Act, a democratic government

6 in Cuba is a government in Cuba which—

7 (1) results from free and fair elections con8 ducted under internationally recognized observers;

9 (2) has permitted opposition parties ample time

10 to organize and campaign for such elections, and has

11 permitted full access to the media to all candidates

12 in the elections;

13 (3) is showing respect for the basic civil lib14 erties and human rights of the citizens of Cuba;

15 (4) has made demonstrable progress in estab16 lishing an independent judiciary;

17 (5) is moving toward establishing a market-ori18 ented economic system; and

19 (6) has made or is committed to making con20 stitutional changes that would ensure regular free

21 and fair elections that meet the requirements of

22 paragraph (2).
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1 SEC. 10. AMENDMENT TO CARIBBEAN BASIN ECONOMIC RE2 COVERY ACT.

3 The table contained in section 212(b) of the Carib4 bean Basin Economic Recovery Act (19 U.S.C. 2702(b))

5 is amended by inserting ‘‘Cuba’’ between ‘‘Costa Rica’’

6 and ‘‘Dominica’’.

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