Howard Berman: “I rise to oppose this bill. I do this reluctantly. There is much in this legislation that I support and have supported…”

“I rise to oppose this bill. I do this reluctantly. There is much in this legislation that I support and have supported in the past. I am not, for example, opposed to codifying the embargo on Cuba. There is no doubt that Castro is a dictator and murderer whose rule should be vigorously resisted. Nor am I opposed to the extraterritorial nature of this legislation although I wish such unilateral American action was not necessary. I would greatly welcome international cooperation in dealing with the world's dictators as well as with other threats to international stability. However, I must vote against this bill. When this bill was marked up in the International Relations Committee, I introduced an amendment which carved out an exception for some penalties for certain activities. My amendment was accepted by all sides--including proponents of this legislation, but then, unfortunately, it was dropped in conference. I do not understand why my amendment was dropped. It was not contrary to the intent of the sponsors of this legislation. My amendment retained due process protection already contained in the Trading With the Enemy Act [TWEA] and kept exceptions for news gathering, research, and clearly defined educational, religious, and human rights activities.”