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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2687 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2687

 To withhold United States assessed and voluntary contributions to the 
     Organization of American States (OAS) if Cuba is allowed full 
 membership or participation in the OAS unless the President certifies 
  that Cuba has satisfied certain conditions, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 3, 2009

   Mr. Mack (for himself, Mr. Sires, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Broun of 
 Georgia, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Mr. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida, and 
  Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart of Florida) introduced the following bill; 
         which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To withhold United States assessed and voluntary contributions to the 
     Organization of American States (OAS) if Cuba is allowed full 
 membership or participation in the OAS unless the President certifies 
  that Cuba has satisfied certain conditions, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Cuba is currently excluded from participation in the 
        Inter-American system, as adopted by Resolution VI during the 
        Eighth Meeting of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, 
        held in Punta del Este, Uruguay, in 1962.
            (2) According to section 105 of the Cuban Liberty and 
        Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-
        114), ``[t]he President should instruct the United States 
        Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States 
        to use the voice and vote of the United States to oppose ending 
        the suspension of the Government of Cuba from the Organization 
        until the President determines under section 203(c)(3) that a 
        democratically elected government in Cuba is in power.''.
            (3) The Inter-American Democratic Charter states that ``the 
        peoples of the Americas have a right to democracy and their 
        governments have an obligation to promote and defend it.''.
            (4) According to the most recent Department of State 
        Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, citizens in Cuba do 
        not have the right to change their government, and the regime 
        retaliated against those individuals who sought peaceful 
        political change.
            (5) The Report continues that hundreds of political 
        prisoners are currently being held, including ``peaceful 
        activists, journalists, union organizers, and opposition 
        figures . . .'' and that ``mistreatment of political prisoners 
        and detainees was widespread[, and] [b]eatings were not 
        uncommon.''.
            (6) The Report further indicates that elections in Cuba are 
        ``neither free nor fair.''.

SEC. 2. CERTIFICATION REGARDING CUBA'S PARTICIPATION IN THE OAS.

    (a) In General.--If the Government of Cuba is allowed full 
membership or participation in the Organization of American States 
(OAS), for each fiscal year beginning after the date of the enactment 
of this Act until the President transmits to Congress a certification 
that the requirements described in subsection (b) have been satisfied, 
the Secretary of State shall, with respect to each such fiscal year, 
withhold assessed and voluntary contributions to the Organization of 
American States.
    (b) Certification.--The certification referred to in subsection (a) 
is a certification made by the President to Congress that there is a 
government in Cuba that--
            (1) has legalized all political activity and political 
        parties;
            (2) has released all political prisoners;
            (3) has dissolved the present Department of State Security 
        in the Cuban Ministry of the Interior;
            (4) has made public commitments to organizing free and fair 
        elections for a new government;
            (5) has complied with the Inter-American Democratic 
        Charter;
            (6) has ceased any interference with Radio Marti or 
        Television Marti broadcasts;
            (7) has made 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; and
                    (C) allowing the establishment of independent trade 
                unions, and allowing the establishment of independent 
                social, economic, and political associations;
            (8) does not include Fidel Castro or Raul Castro;
            (9) has given adequate assurances that it will allow the 
        speedy and efficient distribution of assistance to the Cuban 
        people; and
            (10) has complied with other applicable provisions of 
        section 205 of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity 
        (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-114).
                                 <all>
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