I

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2138

To provide the people of Cuba with access to food and medicines from

the United States, to ease restrictions on travel to Cuba, to provide

scholarships for certain Cuban nationals, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 12, 2001

Mr. SERRANO (for himself, Mr. LEACH, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. ALLEN, Mr.

BAIRD, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BARCIA, Mr. BISHOP, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr.

BONIOR, Mr. BOUCHER, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Mr.

CAPUANO, Ms. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. CLAY, Mrs. CLAYTON, Mr. CLEMENT, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. COSTELLO, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr.

DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. DELAHUNT, Ms. DELAURO, Ms.

ESHOO, Mr. EVANS, Mr. FARR of California, Mr. FILNER, Mr. FRANK,

Mr. GANSKE, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. HALL of Ohio, Mr. HILLIARD, Mr.

HINCHEY, Mr. HOEFFEL, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of

Texas, Mr. JEFFERSON, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr.

KLECZKA, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. LAFALCE, Mr. LAHOOD, Mr. LAMPSON,

Mr. LARGENT, Ms. LEE, Mrs. LOWEY, Ms. MCCARTHY of Missouri, Ms.

MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. MCKINNEY, Mr.

MCNULTY, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. MORAN of Virginia,

Mr. NADLER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. OLVER, Mr. RANGEL, Ms. RIVERS, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. SABO, Mr.

SANDERS, Mr. SAWYER, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. STARK, Mr.

THOMPSON of California, Mr. THUNE, Mr. TIERNEY, Mr. TOWNS, Mr.

TURNER, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. WALSH, Ms. WATERS, Mr. WATT of

North Carolina, Mr. WAXMAN, Ms. WOOLSEY, and Mr. WYNN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, Financial Services, Ways and Means, and the Judiciary, 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
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A BILL

To provide the people of Cuba with access to food and

medicines from the United States, to ease restrictions

on travel to Cuba, to provide scholarships for certain

Cuban nationals, 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 ‘‘Bridges to the Cuban

5 People Act of 2001’’.

6 TITLE I—FACILITATION OF THE

7 EXPORT OF FOOD AND MEDI8 CINES TO CUBA

9 SEC. 101. EXEMPTION FROM PROHIBITIONS AND RESTRIC10 TIONS ON TRADE WITH CUBA TO PERMIT THE

11 EXPORT OF FOOD AND MEDICINES TO CUBA.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection

13 (b), any prohibition or restriction in law or regulation on

14 trade or financial transactions with Cuba shall not apply

15 with respect to the export of any agricultural commodity,

16 farm machinery or equipment, medicine, or medical device,

17 or with respect to travel incident to the sale or delivery

18 of any agricultural commodity, farm machinery or equip19 ment, medicine, or medical device, to Cuba.

20 (b) EXCEPTIONS.—Subsection (a) does not apply

21 to—
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1 (1) any prohibition or restriction imposed under

2 the Export Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C.

3 App. 2401 et seq.) or successor statute for goods

4 containing parts or components on which export con5 trols are in effect under that section; or

6 (2) any prohibition or restriction imposed under

7 section 203 of the International Emergency Eco8 nomic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702) insofar as the

9 prohibition or restriction is exercised to deal with a

10 threat to the national security of the United States

11 by virtue of the technology incorporated in such ma12 chinery or equipment.

13 (c) SUPERSEDES EXISTING LAW.—Subsection (a) su14 persedes the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export En15 hancement Act of 2000 (title IX of H.R. 5426 of the One

16 Hundred Sixth Congress, as enacted into law by section

17 1(a) of Public Law 106–387, and as contained in the ap18 pendix of that Act) or any other provision of law.

19 SEC. 102. REMOVAL OF CERTAIN PROHIBITIONS ON VES20 SELS ENTERING UNITED STATES PORTS.

21 Section 1706(b) of the Cuban Democracy Act of

22 1992 (22 U.S.C. 6005(b); prohibiting certain vessels from

23 entering United States ports) shall not apply with respect

24 to vessels that transport to Cuba any item the export of

25 which is permitted under section 101 or 404 of this Act.
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1 SEC. 103. STUDY AND REPORT RELATING TO EXPORT PRO2 MOTION AND CREDIT PROGRAMS FOR CUBA.

3 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall con4 duct a study of United States agricultural export pro5 motion and credit programs in effect as of the date of en6 actment of this Act to determine how such programs may

7 be carried out to promote the consumption of United

8 States agricultural commodities in Cuba.

9 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date

10 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall

11 submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of

12 Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri13 tion, and Forestry of the Senate a report containing—

14 (1) the results of the study conducted under

15 subsection (a); and

16 (2) recommendations for proposed legislation, if

17 any, to improve the ability of the Secretary of Agri18 culture to utilize United States agricultural export

19 promotion and credit programs with respect to the

20 consumption of United States agricultural commod21 ities in Cuba.

22 SEC. 104. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

23 Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment

24 of this Act, the President shall submit to Congress a re25 port that sets forth—
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1 (1) the extent (expressed in volume and dollar

2 amounts) of sales to Cuba of agricultural commod3 ities, farm machinery and equipment, medicines, and

4 medical devices, since the date of enactment of this

5 Act;

6 (2) a description of the types of the goods so

7 exported; and

8 (3) whether there has been any indication that

9 any medicine or medical device exported to Cuba

10 since the date of enactment of this Act—

11 (A) has been used for purposes of torture

12 or other human rights abuses;

13 (B) was reexported; or

14 (C) was used in the production of any bio15 technological product.

16 SEC. 105. DEFINITIONS.

17 In this title:

18 (1) AGRICULTURAL COMMODITY.—The term

19 ‘‘agricultural commodity’’—

20 (A) has the meaning given the term in sec21 tion 102 of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978

22 (7 U.S.C. 5602); and

23 (B) includes fertilizer.

24 (2) MEDICAL DEVICE.—The term ‘‘medical de25 vice’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘device’’ in
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1 section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cos2 metic Act (21 U.S.C. 321).

3 (3) MEDICINE.—The term ‘‘medicine’’ has the

4 meaning given the term ‘‘drug’’ in section 201 of the

5 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C.

6 7321).

7 TITLE II—EASING OF RESTRIC8 TIONS ON TRAVEL BY UNITED

9 STATES NATIONALS TO CUBA

10 SEC. 201. TRAVEL TO CUBA.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—

12 (1) FREEDOM OF TRAVEL FOR UNITED STATES

13 NATIONALS AND LAWFUL PERMANENT RESIDENT

14 ALIENS.—

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection

16 (b), the President shall not regulate or prohibit,

17 directly or indirectly—

18 (i) travel to, from, or within Cuba by

19 nationals of the United States or aliens

20 lawfully admitted for permanent residence

21 in the United States; or

22 (ii) any of the transactions incident to

23 such travel that are set forth in paragraph

24 (2).
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1 (B) SUPERSEDES EXISTING LAW.—Sub2 paragraph (A) supersedes any other provision

3 of law.

4 (2) TRANSACTIONS INCIDENT TO TRAVEL.—

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

6 subparagraph (B), the transactions referred to

7 in paragraph (1) are—

8 (i) any transaction ordinarily incident

9 to travel to or from Cuba, including the

10 importation into Cuba or the United States

11 of accompanied baggage for personal use

12 only;

13 (ii) any transaction ordinarily incident

14 to travel or maintenance within Cuba, in15 cluding the payment of living expenses and

16 the acquisition of goods or services for per17 sonal use;

18 (iii) any transaction ordinarily inci19 dent to the arrangement, promotion, or fa20 cilitation of travel to, from, or within

21 Cuba;

22 (iv) any transaction incident to non23 scheduled air, sea, or land voyages, except

24 that this clause does not authorize the car-
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1 riage of articles into Cuba or the United

2 States except accompanied baggage; and

3 (v) any normal banking transaction

4 incident to any activity described in any of

5 the preceding clauses, including the

6 issuance, clearing, processing, or payment

7 of checks, drafts, travelers checks, credit

8 or debit card instruments, or similar in9 struments.

10 (B) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN GOODS FOR

11 PERSONAL CONSUMPTION.—The transactions

12 described in subparagraph (A) do not include

13 the importation into the United States of goods

14 for personal consumption acquired in Cuba in

15 excess of the amount established by the Sec16 retary of the Treasury pursuant to section 321

17 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1321) or

18 otherwise authorized by law.

19 (b) EXCEPTIONS.—The prohibition contained in sub20 section (a)(1) does not apply in a case in which—

21 (1) the United States is at war with Cuba;

22 (2) armed hostilities between the two countries

23 are in progress or imminent; or

24 (3) there is a credible threat to the public

25 health or the physical safety of nationals of the
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1 United States who are traveling to, from, or within

2 Cuba.

3 (c) APPLICABILITY.—This section applies to actions

4 taken by the President before the date of enactment of

5 this Act that are in effect on such date, and to actions

6 taken on or after such date.

7 (d) REPEALS.—There are repealed the following pro8 visions of law:

9 (1) Section 102(h) of Public Law 104–114 (22

10 U.S.C. 6032(h)).

11 (2) Section 910 of the Trade Sanctions Reform

12 and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 (title IX of

13 H.R. 5426 of the One Hundred Sixth Congress, as

14 enacted into law by section 1(a) of Public Law 106–

15 387, and as contained in the appendix of that Act).

16 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

17 (1) LAWFULLY ADMITTED FOR PERMANENT

18 RESIDENCE.—The term ‘‘lawfully admitted for per19 manent residence’’ has the meaning given the term

20 in section 101(a)(20) of the Immigration and Na21 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(20)).

22 (2) NATIONAL OF THE UNITED STATES.—The

23 term ‘‘national of the United States’’ has the mean24 ing given the term in section 101(a)(22) of the Im-
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1 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.

2 1101(a)(22)).

3 TITLE III—SCHOLARSHIPS FOR

4 CERTAIN CUBAN NATIONALS

5 SEC. 301. SCHOLARSHIPS FOR GRADUATE STUDY.

6 (a) AUTHORITY.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President is authorized

8 to provide scholarships under section 102 of the Mu9 tual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of

10 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2452) for nationals of Cuba who

11 seek to undertake graduate study in public health,

12 public policy, economics, law, or other field of social

13 science.

14 (2) SUPERSEDING EXISTING LAW.—The author15 ity of paragraph (1) shall be exercised without re16 gard to any other provision of law.

17 (b) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—Of the amounts au18 thorized to be appropriated to carry out the Mutual Edu19 cational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C.

20 2451 et seq.) for fiscal years 2002 through 2006, the fol21 lowing amounts are authorized to be available to carry out

22 subsection (a):

23 (1) For fiscal year 2002, $1,400,000 for not to

24 exceed 20 scholarships.
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1 (2) For fiscal year 2003, $1,750,000 for not to

2 exceed 25 scholarships.

3 (3) For fiscal year 2004, $2,450,000 for not to

4 exceed 35 scholarships.

5 (4) For fiscal year 2005, $2,450,000 for not to

6 exceed 35 scholarships.

7 (5) For fiscal year 2006, $2,450,000 for not to

8 exceed 35 scholarships.

9 TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS

10 PROVISIONS

11 SEC. 401. WAIVER AUTHORITY WITH RESPECT TO THE PUB12 LIC LAW 104–114.

13 (a) WAIVER OF SANCTIONS AND RESTRICTIONS ON

14 ASSISTANCE.—Notwithstanding any other provision of

15 law, the President may waive any provision of title I or

16 title II of Public Law 104–114 (22 U.S.C. 6021 et seq.)

17 if the President determines that to do so will promote the

18 peaceful transition to democracy in Cuba.

19 (b) WAIVER OF GROUNDS OF INADMISSIBILITY OF

20 CERTAIN ALIENS.—Notwithstanding any other provision

21 of law or regulation, the President may waive provisions

22 of title IV of Public Law 104–114 (22 U.S.C. 6021 et

23 seq.; relating to the inadmissibility of certain aliens) if the

24 President determines that to do so will further the na25 tional economic interest of the United States.
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1 SEC. 402. PROHIBITION ON LIMITING ANNUAL REMIT2 TANCES.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection

4 (b), the Secretary of the Treasury may not limit the

5 amount of remittances to Cuba that may be made by any

6 person who is subject to the jurisdiction of the United

7 States, and the Secretary shall rescind all regulations in

8 effect on the date of enactment of this Act that so limit

9 the amount of those remittances.

10 (b) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in sub11 section (a) may be construed to prohibit the prosecution

12 or conviction of any person committing an offense de13 scribed in section 1956 of title 18, United States Code

14 (relating to the laundering of monetary instruments) or

15 section 1957 of such title (relating to engaging in mone16 tary transactions in property derived from specific unlaw17 ful activity).

18 SEC. 403. IMPORTATION OF CERTAIN MEDICINES.

19 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

20 (1) COVERED MEDICAL ARTICLE.—The term

21 ‘‘covered medical article’’ means a medicine or med22 ical device that—

23 (A) is of Cuban origin;

24 (B) is or has been located in or trans25 ported from or through Cuba; or
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1 (C) is made or derived in whole or in part

2 of any article which is the growth, produce, or

3 manufacture of Cuba.

4 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

5 the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

6 (b) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi7 sion of law (including section 515.204 of title 31, Code

8 of Federal Regulations, or any other related or successor

9 regulation), a covered medical article may be imported into

10 the United States to the extent otherwise authorized by

11 law, including any authorization under the Federal Food,

12 Drug, and Cosmetic Act, if the Secretary makes a deter13 mination, in accordance with subsection (c), that there is

14 a medical need in the United States for the covered med15 ical article that is not being met by any medicine or med16 ical device in commercial distribution in the United States.

17 (c) DETERMINATIONS OF MEDICAL NEED.—With re18 spect to a determination of medical need under subsection

19 (b) regarding a covered medical article:

20 (1) The Secretary may upon request make the

21 determination prior to the submission of an applica22 tion or other document (as applicable) regarding

23 commercial distribution of such article pursuant to

24 the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
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1 (2) The determination of the Secretary shall

2 not be affected by the subsequent commercial dis3 tribution in the United States of another medicine

4 or medical device (as the case may be) that meets

5 the same medical need as such article.

6 (3) The Secretary shall by regulation establish

7 criteria regarding the determination, including cri8 teria for a request under paragraph (1).

9 SEC. 404. PROHIBITION ON UNILATERAL SANCTIONS ON

10 GOODS OR SERVICES INTENDED FOR EXCLU11 SIVE USE OF CHILDREN.

12 Funds made available under any provision of law may

13 not be used to administer or enforce any sanction by the

14 United States on exports of goods or services intended for

15 the exclusive use of children (other than a sanction im16 posed pursuant to an agreement with one or more other

17 countries).

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