Mike Enzi: “Today I offer a bill that will make a very small change in our Cuba policy. It deals only with travel provisions to…”

“Today I offer a bill that will make a very small change in our Cuba policy. It deals only with travel provisions to Cuba. I have been watching Cuba since the 1960s. I went to George Washington University, and I was there at the time of the Cuban missile crisis. I have had the opportunity to watch what has happened with Cuba throughout the years. I am reminded of something my dad used to say, which was that if you keep on doing what you always have been doing, you are going to wind up getting what you already got. That is kind of the situation with Cuba. We have been trying the same thing for over 40 years, and it hasn't worked. I am suggesting just a small change to maybe get a few more people in there to increase conversation with people who understand the way the United States works and the way Cuba works and how they ought to drift more rapidly toward where we are. In recent weeks, as we shared the joy of the Iraqi people as they were liberated from the ruthless regime of Saddam Hussein, we also felt the pain of those in Cuba who had dared to speak out in a vain but valiant effort to demand those same freedoms for themselves. As they did, 75 Cuban citizens were arrested and received harsh sentences--some for more than 20 years--all for the crime of yearning to be free.”