Angie Craig: “I stand here as cosponsor of the first- degree amendment and offered the second-degree amendment to modify it slightly.…”

“I stand here as cosponsor of the first- degree amendment and offered the second-degree amendment to modify it slightly. But I certainly join with my colleague from North Dakota on this issue, as do many of our colleagues, in recognizing the critical need for change in our current policy. I, along with other Senators, including Senator Dorgan, have for about 4 years here in the Senate Chamber worked to change our trade relationship with Cuba, a trade relationship that is now bringing literally hundreds of millions of new dollars a year to our shores from Cuba for agricultural foodstuffs trade and medical supplies, all of it done largely in cash, and certainly no credit from the United States taxpayer because it is not allowed. What we are offering today is a very clean amendment, which passed in the House, to significantly disallow OFAC, which is the Office on Foreign Assets Control, from utilizing resources for the purpose of enforcement of the Cuba travel ban. What I think is important this morning is for my colleagues to understand what the mission of OFAC is. The Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions based on U.S. foreign policy and national security goals against targeted foreign countries, terrorists, international narcotics traffickers, and those engaged in activities related to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.…”