Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, says in an op-ed in today's Herald that the U.S. should allow Americans to travel to Cuba.
"U.S. law lets American citizens travel to any country on earth, friend or foe — with one exception: Cuba. It's time for us to scrap this anachronistic ban, imposed during one of the chilliest periods of the Cold War," he and Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Indiana, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, wrote.
The op-ed comes as Berman on Thursday convenes a hearing on House legislation to lift the ban, which the pair says has "prevented contact between Cubans and ordinary Americans, who serve as ambassadors for the democratic values we hold dear. Such contact would help break Havana's chokehold on information about the outside world."
Miami Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is planning a counter offensive to the hearing. She's holding a briefing Wednesday for House members to discuss "how U.S. national security interests continue to be directly targeted and threatened by the sinister Cuban regime."
She says easing travel restrictions won't "bring freedom to the island, but will only perpetuate the dictatorship's hold on power and its ability to go after the U.S."
Related posts:
- New poll: Cuban Americans support travel to Cuba for all
- John Kerry: "Open Cuba to travel"
- Dems tell Pelosi they support ban on travel to Cuba
- New Poll: 59% of Cuban Americans Support Open Travel to Cuba for All
- President Obama responds to Cuban blogger as members of Congress cite her name in effort to lift travel ban