Byron Dorgan: “Does anyone in the Senate Chamber think Fidel Castro has ever missed a meal because for 40 years we have said to family…”

“Does anyone in the Senate Chamber think Fidel Castro has ever missed a meal because for 40 years we have said to family farmers in America: You can't sell food to Cuba? What meal has he missed? You know and I know this 40-year failed policy is a policy that takes a swing at Fidel Castro and it hits poor people, and sick people, and hungry people in Cuba. And it hurts American farmers here at home. We know that. Let me ask the question about consistency. We hear these discussions about Cuba. Is there a sanction against private financing to send food to Communist China? No, there is not. Is there a prohibition against private financing to send food to Vietnam, which is a Communist country? No, there is not. Is there a prohibition against sending food to North Korea, a Communist country? No. Is there a prohibition of private financing to send food to Libya or Iran? The answer is no. No. So we are told that somehow there needs to be a sanction, or a continued sanction for the past 40 years, to prohibit private financing to send food to Cuba. It is a foolish failed public policy, and everyone knows it. How long does it take to understand that a policy doesn't work? Ten years? Twenty years? With Cuba, it has been 40 years. American farmers are told they should pay the price for this foreign policy. What is the price? The price is your Canadian neighbors can sell food to Cuba. The French can sell, the English can sell, and all of the European countries can sell.”