I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4558 
To designate the area between the intersections of 16th Street Northwest 
and Fuller Street Northwest and 16th Street Northwest and Euclid 
Street Northwest in Washington, District of Columbia, as ‘‘Oswaldo 
Paya´ Way’’. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 21, 2025 
Mr. DIAZ-BALART (for himself, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. SALAZAR, Ms. 
WILSON of Florida, Mr. GIMENEZ, Mr. SOTO, and Ms. MALLIOTAKIS) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Over-
sight and Government Reform 
A BILL 
To designate the area between the intersections of 16th 
Street Northwest and Fuller Street Northwest and 16th 
Street Northwest and Euclid Street Northwest in Wash-
ington, District of Columbia, as ‘‘Oswaldo Paya´ Way’’. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) the revolution led by Fidel Castro in Cuba 
in 1959 started over 6 decades of an ongoing dicta-
torship, systemic human rights abuses, and a lack of 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
17:19 Jul 29, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4558.IH
H4558
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
basic freedom of press, religion, assembly, and asso-
ciation that continue to this day under the Com-
munist rule of Rau´l Castro and his successor, 
Miguel Dı´az-Canel; 
(2) Oswaldo Paya´ Sardin˜as was a Cuban polit-
ical dissident and activist dedicated to promoting 
democratic freedoms and human rights in Cuba; 
(3) the Communist Party of Cuba has always 
viewed individuals with a commitment to democracy 
and freedom as a threat to the existence of the Com-
munist Party of Cuba; 
(4) on July 22, 2012, a violent car crash, wide-
ly believed to have been carried out by the Castro re-
gime, took the lives of Oswaldo Paya´ and Harold 
Cepero, another democratic activist; 
(5) Cuba’s official investigation into the crash 
has been demonstrated to be compromised, and the 
Cuban regime has blocked all efforts to conduct a 
credible and independent investigation into the 
crash, leaving the circumstances of the death of 
Oswaldo Paya´ unknown; 
(6) opposition by Oswaldo Paya´ to the Com-
munist Party of Cuba began at a young age, when 
he refused to become a member of the Young Com-
munist League as a primary school student, and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
17:19 Jul 29, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4558.IH
H4558
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
continued through high school, when he publicly 
criticized the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the So-
viet Union; 
(7) the Communist Party of Cuba responded to 
the opposition by Oswaldo Paya´ to the invasion of 
Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union by sending 
Oswaldo Paya´ to a labor camp for 3 years; 
(8) Oswaldo Paya´ forewent a chance to escape 
Cuba in the 1980 Mariel boatlift, deciding instead to 
continue the fight for democracy in Cuba, saying, 
‘‘This is what I am supposed to be, this is what I 
have to do.’’; 
(9) by creating the Varela Project in 1998, 
Oswaldo Paya´ demonstrated his staunch commit-
ment to peacefully advocating for freedom of speech 
and freedom of assembly for his fellow Cubans; 
(10) in recognition of his determination for po-
litical reforms through peaceful protests, Oswaldo 
Paya´ was awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom 
of Thought by the European Parliament in 2002 
and the W. Averell Harriman Democracy Award 
from the National Democratic Institute for Inter-
national Affairs in 2003 and was nominated for the 
Nobel Peace Prize by former Czech President 
Va1clav Havel in 2005; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
17:19 Jul 29, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4558.IH
H4558
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
(11) on April 11, 2018, the Senate unanimously 
passed S. Res. 224, recognizing the sixth anniver-
sary of the death of Oswaldo Paya´ Sardin˜as, com-
memorating his legacy and commitment to demo-
cratic values and principles, and calling on the 
Cuban Government to allow an impartial, third- 
party investigation into the circumstances sur-
rounding his death; and 
(12) renaming the street in front of the Em-
bassy of Cuba in the District of Columbia after 
Oswaldo Paya´ serves as an expression of solidarity 
between the people of the United States and the peo-
ple of Cuba, who are engaged in a long, nonviolent 
struggle for fundamental human rights. 
SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF OSWALDO PAYA´ WAY. 
(a) DESIGNATION OF WAY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The area between the inter-
sections of 16th Street Northwest and Fuller Street 
Northwest and 16th Street Northwest and Euclid 
Street Northwest in Washington, District of Colum-
bia, shall be known and designated as ‘‘Oswaldo 
Paya´ Way’’. 
(2) REFERENCES.—Any reference in a law, 
map, regulation, document, paper, or other record of 
the United States to the area referred to in para-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
17:19 Jul 29, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4558.IH
H4558
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
graph (1) shall be deemed to be a reference to 
Oswaldo Paya´ Way. 
(b) DESIGNATION OF ADDRESS.— 
(1) DESIGNATION.—The address of 2630 16th 
Street Northwest, Washington, District of Columbia, 
shall be redesignated as 2630 Oswaldo Paya´ Way. 
(2) REFERENCES.—Any reference in a law, 
map, regulation, document, paper, or other record of 
the United States to the address referred to in para-
graph (1) shall be deemed to be a reference to 2630 
Oswaldo Paya´ Way. 
(c) SIGNS.—The District of Columbia shall construct 
2 street signs that shall— 
(1) contain the phrase ‘‘Oswaldo Paya´ Way’’; 
(2) be placed immediately above existing signs 
at the intersections of 16th Street Northwest and 
Fuller Street Northwest and 16th Street Northwest 
and Euclid Street Northwest in Washington, District 
of Columbia; and 
(3) be similar in design to the signs used by the 
District of Columbia to designate the location of 
Metro stations. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
17:19 Jul 29, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H4558.IH
H4558
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS