Cuba: U.S. Restrictions on Travel and Remittances

Publication Date: March 2009

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Government

Type:

Coverage: Cuba

Abstract:

Restrictions on travel to Cuba have been a key and often contentious component in U.S. efforts to isolate the communist government of Fidel Castro for much of the past 40 years. Over time, there have been numerous changes to the restrictions, and for five years, from 1977 until 1982, there were no restrictions on travel to Cuba. Under the Bush Administration, enforcement of U.S. restrictions on Cuba travel has increased, and restrictions on travel and on private remittances to Cuba have been tightened. In March 2003, the Administration eliminated travel for people-to-people educational exchanges unrelated to academic coursework. In June 2004, the Administration further restricted family and educational travel, eliminated the category of fully-hosted travel, and restricted remittances so that they could only be sent to the remitter's immediate family. In 2005, the Administration further restricted religious travel to Cuba by changing licensing guidelines for such travel.

In the 109th Congress, several amendments to FY2006 and FY2007 appropriations bills that would have eased Cuba travel restrictions in various ways and restrictions on sending gift parcels to Cuba were defeated. Several bills were introduced that would have lifted or eased restrictions on travel and the provision of remittances to Cuba, but no action was taken on these measures.

To date in the 110th Congress, several measures have been introduced that would lift or ease restrictions on travel and on the provision of remittances to Cuba. H.R. 654 (Rangel), the Export Freedom to Cuba Act of 2007, would lift overall restrictions on travel to Cuba. Two bills that would lift most economic sanctions on Cuba -- H.R. 217 (Serrano), the Cuba Reconciliation Act, and H.R. 624 (Rangel), the Free Trade With Cuba Act -- would lift restrictions on travel and on the provision of remittances to Cuba. H.R. 177 (Lee), the Pursuit of International Education (PIE) Act of 2007, would ease restrictions on educational travel to Cuba. H.R. 757 (Delahunt), the Cuban-American Family Rights Restoration Act, would lift restrictions on family travel and the provision of remittances for family members in Cuba. H.R. 1026 (Moran), a bill that would ease restrictions on exporting agricultural products to Cuba, includes a provision that would provide for a general license for travel transactions related to the marketing and sale of agricultural products, as opposed to the current requirement of a specific license for such travel transactions.

This report will be updated to reflect major developments. For additional information on Cuba, see CRS Report RL33819, Cuba: Issues for the 110th Congress; CRS Report RL33622, Cuba's Future Political Scenarios and U.S. Policy Approaches; CRS Report RL32251, Cuba and the State Sponsors of Terrorism List; CRS Report RL33499, Exempting Food and Agriculture Products from U.S. Economic Sanctions: Status and Implementation; and CRS Report RS20468, Cuban Migration Policy and Issues.