Max Baucus: “more than 200 years ago, Richard Whately, an English logician, said: A man is called selfish not for pursuing his own…”

“more than 200 years ago, Richard Whately, an English logician, said: A man is called selfish not for pursuing his own good, but for neglecting his neighbor's. Not only does our current Cuba policy make it difficult to pursue our own good, we are also guilty of neglecting the good of one of our closest neighbors. Today I am offering an amendment to enable America's farmers and ranchers to sell their wheat, potatoes, and dairy products to a neighbor only 90 miles away and a market of 11 million consumers. That market, of course, is Cuba. In the year 2000, Congress authorized limited sales of food and medical goods to Cuba under the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act, otherwise known as TSREEA. That law permitted United States farmers and ranchers to engage in cash-based sales of their goods to Cuban buyers. Under this new law, our agricultural trade with Cuba prospered. At its peak, American farmers and ranchers, including those from Montana, sold over $400 million worth of peas, beef, and wheat to Cuba in 1 year. In fact, in the year 2003, I led a trade mission to Cuba and walked away with a $10.4 million deal for Montana. Cuba bought $10.4 million of Montana wheat, beans, and peas. I went back a year later for $15 million worth of Montana goods. But then things changed. In 2005 the Treasury Department issued rules to stymie such sales.”