Robert Torricelli: “There are profound differences in the Senate over American policy towards Cuba, as there are divisions in the United…”

“There are profound differences in the Senate over American policy towards Cuba, as there are divisions in the United States. For 40 years, the Cuban people have seen their nation enslaved by an alien ideology. The Cuban people, who by their nature are independent, industrious people, entrepreneurial in spirit, strong of faith and nationalism, have seen their country's independence compromised by foreign alliances, their sense of entrepreneurship compromised by communism, and the free spirit of the Cuban people dampened by state control over almost every facet of life. Ten years ago, this Congress recognized that America was maintaining a fiction in its policy toward Cuba. We pretended to have an embargo but allowed American corporations to trade with Cuba through Europe. We said we were offended at human rights violations in Cuba, the denial of all basic rights, but we maintained normal economic enterprise through our allies. The Cuban Democracy Act and then the Helms-Burton Act, under the Clinton administration, changed these circumstances. That issue is now before the Congress again, and it is a good debate. As certainly as Senator Dorgan feels the need for change, I rise in the belief that what is required is not change but more time.”