Cuba Subcommittee

President Obama: Open Travel to Cuba!

The Obama Administration has unnecessarily prolonged most of George Bush’s punitive restrictions on travel to Cuba imposed in 2004.

Bush justified his action as a response to Cuba’s 2003 Black Spring arrests. Cuba’s release of the 54 still imprisoned from that time creates a reasonable expectation for the US to undo related travel restrictions.

In any case, it is inexcusable that the White House gives higher priority to appeasing a small group of self-interested politicians and campaign donors in Florida and New Jersey than to implementing its own pro-dialogue values and the pro-travel views of two thirds of Americans.

Only Congress can enable complete freedom to travel and normal tourism. But the President has the power to set an example. With the stroke of a pen Barack Obama can open the window for tens of thousands of Americans who seriously want to build contact and mutual understanding through people-to-people exchanges.

Logically his next step should be to open the door by providing support for legislation to end all travel restrictions in conformity with his campaign pledge.


It is extremely important to quickly generate signatures and the resulting immediate direct messages to the White House on non-tourist travel. We must counteract another hostile intervention by Sen. Menendez.

Please sign today and spread the word!