James Davis: “I yield myself 2\3/4\ minutes. Today I am offering an amendment to repeal the administration's rules restricting family…”

“I yield myself 2\3/4\ minutes. Today I am offering an amendment to repeal the administration's rules restricting family travel to Cuba. I offered this same amendment last September. It passed by a vote of 225 to 174. Unfortunately, the amendment was not included in the conference report. I am asking my colleagues, Democrats and Republicans, to join me again today in correcting this cruel injustice. As was just described in the prior amendment, the Department of Treasury introduced rules in June of 2004 that limit to once every 3 years the opportunity of anybody in my home State of Florida of the United States to visit their own flesh and blood, their family, in Cuba regardless of the circumstances. Furthermore, the policy that I seek to repeal through this amendment is an unforgivable policy that redefines the family to exclude aunts, uncles, and cousins. And I ask anybody on the floor of the House today to stand up and defend this indefensible aspect of the policy. A vote for my amendment is to reinstate the prior rule that allowed people here in the United States to visit their own family once a year and to apply for a specific license if there were an emergency: a birth, a death, or someone who is very sick and might die. I represent hundreds of people in the Tampa Bay area, like many Americans, who simply would like to be with their family in these tragic times. This policy prohibits it. Let me be clear.…”