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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 pro-
vided 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. 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 there-
after 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 Democ-
racy 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(22 U.S.C. 2370(a)) is repealed;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 Democ-
racy 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 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
H. R. 927—27
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 Lib-
erty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 to
suspend the economic embargo of Cuba, notice of which was
submitted to the Congress on ll.’’, with the blank space
being filled with the appropriate date.
(3) REFERRAL
TO
COMMITTEES.—Joint resolutions intro-
duced 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 consid-
ered 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 consid-
eration 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) 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. REQUIREMENTS AND FACTORS FOR DETERMINING A TRANSI-
TION 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 inves-
tigations 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
H. R. 927—28
of time for such access and the times of day such allotments
are given; and
(C) to be conducted under the supervision of inter-
nationally 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 Tele-
vision Marti broadcasts;
(6) makes public commitments to and is making demon-
strable 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 Inter-
national Labor Organization, and allowing the establish-
ment of independent social, economic, and political associa-
tions;
(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) 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 totali-
tarian dictatorship to representative democracy;
(2) has made public commitments to, and is making demon-
strable 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 bene-
ficially 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 com-
pensation 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 mon-
itors.
SEC. 206. 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—
H. R. 927—29
(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 eco-
nomic 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 enjoy-
ment 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. 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 assist-
ance 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 Govern-
ment recognized by the United States remains an essential condition