Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act of 2003
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; 8 are original cosponsors, there from 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 |
| R-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 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Foreign Relations Committee | Referred Apr 30, 2003Markup Nov 6, 2003Reported Nov 11, 2003 |
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, 2003Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S5595-5596)
- Apr 30, 2003Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
In the Congressional Record 3
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S16109 | Max Baucus D-MT | Dec 9, 2003 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S6250 | Russell D. Feingold D-WI | May 14, 2003 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S5595–S5597 | Byron L. Dorgan D-ND, Mark Dayton D-MN, Max Baucus D-MT, Michael B. Enzi R-WY | Apr 30, 2003 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Congressional Budget Office cost estimates 2
- Nov 19, 2003S. 950, Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act of 2003<p>Cost estimate for the bill as reported by the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on November 11, 2003</p>
- Nov 19, 2003S. 950, Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act of 2003Cost estimate for the bill as reported by the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on November 11, 2003
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| S. Hrg. 108-297 | CHALLENGES FOR U.S. POLICY TOWARD CUBA81 pages | Foreign Relations Committee | Oct 2, 2003 |
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| RL31139 | Cuba: U.S. Restrictions on Travel and Remittances Archived | Report | Dec 15, 2022 |
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 |
Titles 4
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to allow travel between the United States and Cuba.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act of 2003
- Short Titles as Reported to Senate
- Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act of 2003
- Popular Titles
- Cuba Traveling Restrictions bill
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: International Affairs.
- Aliens
- Caribbean area
- Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
- Commerce
- Congress
- Congress and foreign policy
- Congressional reporting requirements
- Crime and Law Enforcement
- Cuba
- Democracy
- Dissenters
- Europe
- European Union
- Finance and Financial Sector
- Foreign Trade and International Finance
- Free enterprise
- Freedom of the press
- Government Operations and Politics
- Human rights
- Immigration
- International Affairs
- International agencies
- International banking
- Latin America
- Political prisoners
- Prisons
- Regionalism (International organization)
- Reporters and reporting
- Right to travel
- State-sponsored terrorism
- Terrorism
- Transportation and Public Works
- Travel
- United Nations
Text 2
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Nov 11, 2003Reported to Senate
- Apr 30, 2003Introduced in Senate
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; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.