Henry Cuellar: “I want to thank Mr. Deutch for yielding and for his strong leadership on this issue, and I certainly want to thank my…”

“I want to thank Mr. Deutch for yielding and for his strong leadership on this issue, and I certainly want to thank my classmate, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, for bringing this bill to the floor, plus all of the Members in a bipartisan way, I thank them so much. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my solidarity with the Cuban people who have exercised their human rights to peacefully demonstrate for their rightful freedoms and their liberty, their libertad. This past July thousands of Cuban citizens took to the streets and in unison, they chanted: libertad, libertad--liberty, liberty. They protested for freedom. They protested for liberty. They protested for vida--life--and for patria--also country. They wanted a change after more than six decades of authoritarian rule. Demonstrators were shown waving American flags symbolizing the liberty that they so desperately want. One protester remarked to the press: It felt so good to finally be able to protest in our country. It is only human to feel fear, but that moved to the background because you knew that we were doing the right thing. The Cuban Government reacted to such demonstrations with unjust imprisonment of hundreds of protesters, and, of course, they cut off people's access to the internet as part of the government's crackdown. In closing, the people of Cuba deserve the right to protest. They have the right to have freedom--libertad--patria y vida. Mr. Speaker, I ask that we support this legislation and pass this.”