S 950 · 108th Congress 2003–2005, ended

Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act of 2003

Introduced Apr 30, 2003 Originated Senate Sponsor Michael B. Enzi R-WY

Fact sheet

Latest action · Nov 11, 2003 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 385.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

IntroducedApr 30, 2003
Passed SenateNot reached
Passed HouseNot reached
To the PresidentNot reached
Became lawNot reached

Summary

Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act of 2003 - Prohibits the President from regulating or prohibiting travel to or from Cuba by U.S. citizens or legal residents, or any of the transactions ordinarily incident to such travel relating to: (1) accompanied personal baggage; (2) payment of living expenses and the acquisition of personal-use goods or services; (3) travel arrangements; (4) nonscheduled air, sea, or land voyage transactions, (such provision does not permit the carriage of articles other than accompanied baggage into Cuba or the United States); and (5) normal banking transactions.

States that such provision does not: (1) restrict presidential authority in time of war or armed hostilities between the United States and Cuba, or of imminent danger to the public health or the physical safety of U.S. travelers; and (2) authorize U.S. importation of personal consumption goods acquired in Cuba.

Sets forth findings respecting human rights violations in Cuba, including harassment of peaceful dissidents such as Oscar Elias Biscet, and noting the human rights work of Oswaldo Paya.

Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Government of Cuba will never be welcomed into the community of democratic nations unless that government: (1) undertakes significant political and economic reforms called for by reporters of the Varela project; (2) allows the International Committee of the Red Cross unrestricted access to all Cuban prisons and places of detention; (3) honors the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights request to allow his special representative to visit Cuba to assess the human rights situation; and (4) frees all political prisoners.

Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) the Organization of American States Inter-American Commission on Human Rights should continue reporting on the human rights situation in Cuba and should request a visit in order to review and report on such situation; (2) the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and his personal representative should pursue implementation of the 2002 Resolution regarding human rights in Cuba; (3) the European Union, to build upon the European Parliament's recognition of Cuban dissidents, should request to visit Cuba in order to review and report on the human rights situation; (4) representatives from the International Committee of the Red Cross should seek immediate access to all Cuban prisons and report on incarceration conditions; and (5) human rights organizations should issue statements of solidarity with the Cuban human rights activists, political dissidents, prisoners of conscience, independent journalists, and other Cubans demanding their release and seeking to secure their internationally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Department of State should monitor financial transactions to and from Cuba to ensure that terrorist financing is not occurring.

Directs the Secretary of State to report every 180 days on any actions taken by Cuba to provide or facilitate financial support for terrorism.

Cosponsors 34

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Apr 30, 2003 to May 3, 2004, with 8 there on the day it was introduced.

Seat	Cosponsor		Signed on
D-ND	Byron L. Dorgan	Original	Apr 30, 2003
D-NM	Jeff Bingaman	Original	Apr 30, 2003
R-ID	Larry E. Craig	Original	Apr 30, 2003
R-RI	Lincoln Chafee	Original	Apr 30, 2003
D-MN	Mark Dayton	Original	Apr 30, 2003
D-MT	Max Baucus	Original	Apr 30, 2003
D-WA	Patty Murray	Original	Apr 30, 2003
D-SD	Tim Johnson	Original	Apr 30, 2003
I-VT	James M. Jeffords		May 5, 2003
D-CA	Dianne Feinstein		May 6, 2003
D-VT	Patrick J. Leahy		May 12, 2003
D-NE	Ben Nelson		May 13, 2003
D-WI	Russell D. Feingold		May 14, 2003
D-CA	Barbara Boxer		May 15, 2003
R-ID	Mike Crapo		May 15, 2003

Show all 34 cosponsors

Actions 6

Everything that happened, newest first.

Nov 11, 2003Committee on Foreign Relations. Reported by Senator Lugar with an amendment. Without written report.
Nov 11, 2003Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 385.
Nov 6, 2003Committee on Foreign Relations. Ordered to be reported with amendments favorably.
Apr 30, 2003Introduced in Senate
Apr 30, 2003Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

Show all 6 actions

Related bills 1

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

Bill	Title	Relationship	Latest action
HR 2071	Export Freedom to Cuba Act of 2003	Related bill	May 13, 2003

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: International Affairs.

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Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.