[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 927 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.R.927
One Hundred Fourth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
the third day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-six
An Act
To seek international sanctions against the Castro government in Cuba,
to plan for support of a transition government leading to a
democratically elected government in Cuba, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

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(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Cuban Liberty and
Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as
follows:

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TITLE I

-STRENGTHENING INTERNATIONAL SANCTIONS AGAINST THE CASTRO

the Cuban Government from participation in the Organization of
American States.

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TITLE II

-ASSISTANCE TO A FREE AND INDEPENDENT CUBA

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TITLE III

-PROTECTION OF PROPERTY RIGHTS OF UNITED STATES NATIONALS

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confiscated property of United States nationals or who traffic
in such property.

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TITLE IV

-EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN ALIENS

The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The economy of Cuba has experienced a decline of at least
60 percent in the last 5 years as a result of--
(A) the end of its subsidization by the former Soviet Union
of between 5 billion and 6 billion dollars annually;
(B) 36 years of communist tyranny and economic
mismanagement by the Castro government;
(C) the extreme decline in trade between Cuba and the
countries of the former Soviet bloc; and
(D) the stated policy of the Russian Government and the
countries of the former Soviet bloc to conduct economic
relations with Cuba on strictly commercial terms.
(2) At the same time, the welfare and health of the Cuban
people have substantially deteriorated as a result of this economic
decline and the refusal of the Castro regime to permit free and
fair democratic elections in Cuba.
(3) The Castro regime has made it abundantly clear that it will
not engage in any substantive political reforms that would lead to
democracy, a market economy, or an economic recovery.
(4) The repression of the Cuban people, including a ban on free
and fair democratic elections, and continuing violations of
fundamental human rights, have isolated the Cuban regime as the
only completely nondemocratic government in the Western Hemisphere.
(5) As long as free elections are not held in Cuba, the
economic condition of the country and the welfare of the Cuban
people will not improve in any significant way.
(6) The totalitarian nature of the Castro regime has deprived
the Cuban people of any peaceful means to improve their condition
and has led thousands of Cuban citizens to risk or lose their lives
in dangerous attempts to escape from Cuba to freedom.
(7) Radio Marti and Television Marti have both been effective
vehicles for providing the people of Cuba with news and information
and have helped to bolster the morale of the people of Cuba living
under tyranny.
(8) The consistent policy of the United States towards Cuba
since the beginning of the Castro regime, carried out by both
Democratic and Republican administrations, has sought to keep faith
with the people of Cuba, and has been effective in sanctioning the
totalitarian Castro regime.
(9) The United States has shown a deep commitment, and
considers it a moral obligation, to promote and protect human
rights and fundamental freedoms as expressed in the Charter of the
United Nations and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
(10) The Congress has historically and consistently manifested
its solidarity and the solidarity of the American people with the
democratic aspirations of the Cuban people.
(11) The Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 calls upon the President
to encourage the governments of countries that conduct trade with
Cuba to restrict their trade and credit relations with Cuba in a
manner consistent with the purposes of that Act.
(12) Amendments to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 made by
the FREEDOM Support Act require that the President, in providing
economic assistance to Russia and the emerging Eurasian
democracies, take into account the extent to which they are acting
to ``terminate support for the communist regime in Cuba, including
removal of troops, closing military facilities, and ceasing trade
subsidies and economic, nuclear, and other assistance''.
(13) The Cuban Government engages in the illegal international
narcotics trade and harbors fugitives from justice in the United
States.
(14) The Castro government threatens international peace and
security by engaging in acts of armed subversion and terrorism such
as the training and supplying of groups dedicated to international
violence.
(15) The Castro government has utilized from its inception and
continues to utilize torture in various forms (including by
psychiatry), as well as execution, exile, confiscation, political
imprisonment, and other forms of terror and repression, as means of
retaining power.
(16) Fidel Castro has defined democratic pluralism as
``pluralistic garbage'' and continues to make clear that he has no
intention of tolerating the democratization of Cuban society.
(17) The Castro government holds innocent Cubans hostage in
Cuba by no fault of the hostages themselves solely because
relatives have escaped the country.
(18) Although a signatory state to the 1928 Inter-American
Convention on Asylum and the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (which protects the right to leave one's own
country), Cuba nevertheless surrounds embassies in its capital by
armed forces to thwart the right of its citizens to seek asylum and
systematically denies that right to the Cuban people, punishing
them by imprisonment for seeking to leave the country and killing
them for attempting to do so (as demonstrated in the case of the
confirmed murder of over 40 men, women, and children who were
seeking to leave Cuba on July 13, 1994).
(19) The Castro government continues to utilize blackmail, such
as the immigration crisis with which it threatened the United
States in the summer of 1994, and other unacceptable and illegal
forms of conduct to influence the actions of sovereign states in
the Western Hemisphere in violation of the Charter of the
Organization of American States and other international agreements
and international law.
(20) The United Nations Commission on Human Rights has
repeatedly reported on the unacceptable human rights situation in
Cuba and has taken the extraordinary step of appointing a Special
Rapporteur.
(21) The Cuban Government has consistently refused access to
the Special Rapporteur and formally expressed its decision not to
``implement so much as one comma'' of the United Nations
Resolutions appointing the Rapporteur.
(22) The United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution 47-
139 on December 18, 1992, Resolution 48-142 on December 20, 1993,
and Resolution 49-200 on December 23, 1994, referencing the Special
Rapporteur's reports to the United Nations and condemning
violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Cuba.
(23) Article 39 of Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter
provides that the United Nations Security Council ``shall determine
the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or
act of aggression and shall make recommendations, or decide what
measures shall be taken . . ., to maintain or restore international
peace and security.''.
(24) The United Nations has determined that massive and
systematic violations of human rights may constitute a ``threat to
peace'' under Article 39 and has imposed sanctions due to such
violations of human rights in the cases of Rhodesia, South Africa,
Iraq, and the former Yugoslavia.
(25) In the case of Haiti, a neighbor of Cuba not as close to
the United States as Cuba, the United States led an effort to
obtain and did obtain a United Nations Security Council embargo and
blockade against that country due to the existence of a military
dictatorship in power less than 3 years.
(26) United Nations Security Council Resolution 940 of July 31,
1994, subsequently authorized the use of ``all necessary means'' to
restore the ``democratically elected government of Haiti'', and the
democratically elected government of Haiti was restored to power on
October 15, 1994.
(27) The Cuban people deserve to be assisted in a decisive
manner to end the tyranny that has oppressed them for 36 years, and
the continued failure to do so constitutes ethically improper
conduct by the international community.
(28) For the past 36 years, the Cuban Government has posed and
continues to pose a national security threat to the United States.

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The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to assist the Cuban people in regaining their freedom and
prosperity, as well as in joining the community of democratic
countries that are flourishing in the Western Hemisphere;
(2) to strengthen international sanctions against the Castro
government;
(3) to provide for the continued national security of the
United States in the face of continuing threats from the Castro
government of terrorism, theft of property from United States
nationals by the Castro government, and the political manipulation
by the Castro government of the desire of Cubans to escape that
results in mass migration to the United States;
(4) to encourage the holding of free and fair democratic
elections in Cuba, conducted under the supervision of
internationally recognized observers;
(5) to provide a policy framework for United States support to
the Cuban people in response to the formation of a transition
government or a democratically elected government in Cuba; and
(6) to protect United States nationals against confiscatory
takings and the wrongful trafficking in property confiscated by the
Castro regime.

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As used in this Act, the following terms have the following
meanings:
(1) Agency or instrumentality of a foreign state.--The term
``agency or instrumentality of a foreign state'' has the meaning
given that term in section 1603(b) of title 28, United States Code.
(2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on
International Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations and
the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.
(3) Commercial activity.--The term ``commercial activity'' has
the meaning given that term in section 1603(d) of title 28, United
States Code.
(4) Confiscated.--As used in titles I and III, the term
``confiscated'' refers to--
(A) the nationalization, expropriation, or other seizure by
the Cuban Government of ownership or control of property, on or
after January 1, 1959--
(i) without the property having been returned or
adequate and effective compensation provided; or
(ii) without the claim to the property having been
settled pursuant to an international claims settlement
agreement or other mutually accepted settlement procedure;
and
(B) the repudiation by the Cuban Government of, the default
by the Cuban Government on, or the failure of the Cuban
Government to pay, on or after January 1, 1959--
(i) a debt of any enterprise which has been
nationalized, expropriated, or otherwise taken by the Cuban
Government;
(ii) a debt which is a charge on property nationalized,
expropriated, or otherwise taken by the Cuban Government;
or
(iii) a debt which was incurred by the Cuban Government
in satisfaction or settlement of a confiscated property
claim.
(5) Cuban government.--(A) The term ``Cuban Government''
includes the government of any political subdivision of Cuba, and
any agency or instrumentality of the Government of Cuba.
(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term ``agency or
instrumentality of the Government of Cuba'' means an agency or
instrumentality of a foreign state as defined in section 1603(b) of
title 28, United States Code, with each reference in such section
to ``a foreign state'' deemed to be a reference to ``Cuba''.
(6) Democratically elected government in cuba.--The term
``democratically elected government in Cuba'' means a government
determined by the President to have met the requirements of section
206.
(7) Economic embargo of cuba.--The term ``economic embargo of
Cuba'' refers to--
(A) the economic embargo (including all restrictions on
trade or transactions with, and travel to or from, Cuba, and
all restrictions on transactions in property in which Cuba or
nationals of Cuba have an interest) that was imposed against
Cuba pursuant to section 620(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act
of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2370(a)), section 5(b) of the Trading with
the Enemy Act (50 U.S.C. App. 5(b)), the Cuban Democracy Act of
1992 (22 U.S.C. 6001 and following), or any other provision of
law; and
(B) the restrictions imposed by section 902(c) of the Food
Security Act of 1985.
(8) Foreign national.--The term ``foreign national'' means--
(A) an alien; or
(B) any corporation, trust, partnership, or other juridical
entity not organized under the laws of the United States, or of
any State, the District of Columbia, or any commonwealth,
territory, or possession of the United States.
(9) Knowingly.--The term ``knowingly'' means with knowledge or
having reason to know.
(10) Official of the cuban government or the ruling political
party in cuba.--The term ``official of the Cuban Government or the
ruling political party in Cuba'' refers to any member of the
Council of Ministers, Council of State, central committee of the
Communist Party of Cuba, or the Politburo of Cuba, or their
equivalents.
(11) Person.--The term ``person'' means any person or entity,
including any agency or instrumentality of a foreign state.
(12) Property.--(A) The term ``property'' means any property
(including patents, copyrights, trademarks, and any other form of
intellectual property), whether real, personal, or mixed, and any
present, future, or contingent right, security, or other interest
therein, including any leasehold interest.
(B) For purposes of title III of this Act, the term
``property'' does not include real property used for residential
purposes unless, as of the date of the enactment of this Act--
(i) the claim to the property is held by a United States
national and the claim has been certified under title V of the
International Claims Settlement Act of 1949; or
(ii) the property is occupied by an official of the Cuban
Government or the ruling political party in Cuba.
(13) Traffics.--(A) As used in title III, and except as
provided in subparagraph (B), a person ``traffics'' in confiscated
property if that person knowingly and intentionally--
(i) sells, transfers, distributes, dispenses, brokers,
manages, or otherwise disposes of confiscated property, or
purchases, leases, receives, possesses, obtains control of,
manages, uses, or otherwise acquires or holds an interest in
confiscated property,
(ii) engages in a commercial activity using or otherwise
benefiting from confiscated property, or
(iii) causes, directs, participates in, or profits from,
trafficking (as described in clause (i) or (ii)) by another
person, or otherwise engages in trafficking (as described in
clause (i) or (ii)) through another person,
without the authorization of any United States national who holds a
claim to the property.
(B) The term ``traffics'' does not include--
(i) the delivery of international telecommunication signals
to Cuba;
(ii) the trading or holding of securities publicly traded
or held, unless the trading is with or by a person determined
by the Secretary of the Treasury to be a specially designated
national;
(iii) transactions and uses of property incident to lawful
travel to Cuba, to the extent that such transactions and uses
of property are necessary to the conduct of such travel; or
(iv) transactions and uses of property by a person who is
both a citizen of Cuba and a resident of Cuba, and who is not
an official of the Cuban Government or the ruling political
party in Cuba.
(14) Transition government in cuba.--The term ``transition
government in Cuba'' means a government that the President
determines is a transition government consistent with the
requirements and factors set forth in section 205.
(15) United states national.--The term ``United States
national'' means--
(A) any United States citizen; or
(B) any other legal entity which is organized under the
laws of the United States, or of any State, the District of
Columbia, or any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the
United States, and which has its principal place of business in
the United States.

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If any provision of this Act or the amendments made by this Act or
the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid,
the remainder of this Act, the amendments made by this Act, or the
application thereof to other persons not similarly situated or to other
circumstances shall not be affected by such invalidation.
GOVERNMENT

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It is the sense of the Congress that--
(1) the acts of the Castro government, including its massive,
systematic, and extraordinary violations of human rights, are a
threat to international peace;
(2) the President should advocate, and should instruct the
United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations to
propose and seek within the Security Council, a mandatory
international embargo against the totalitarian Cuban Government
pursuant to chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,
employing efforts similar to consultations conducted by United
States representatives with respect to Haiti;
(3) any resumption of efforts by any independent state of the
former Soviet Union to make operational any nuclear facilities in
Cuba, and any continuation of intelligence activities by such a
state from Cuba that are targeted at the United States and its
citizens will have a detrimental impact on United States assistance
to such state; and
(4) in view of the threat to the national security posed by the
operation of any nuclear facility, and the Castro government's
continuing blackmail to unleash another wave of Cuban refugees
fleeing from Castro's oppression, most of whom find their way to
United States shores, further depleting limited humanitarian and
other resources of the United States, the President should do all
in his power to make it clear to the Cuban Government that--
(A) the completion and operation of any nuclear power
facility, or
(B) any further political manipulation of the desire of
Cubans to escape that results in mass migration to the United
States,
will be considered an act of aggression which will be met with an
appropriate response in order to maintain the security of the
national borders of the United States and the health and safety of
the American people.

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(a) Policy.--
(1) Restrictions by other countries.--The Congress hereby
reaffirms section 1704(a) of the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992, which
states that the President should encourage foreign countries to
restrict trade and credit relations with Cuba in a manner
consistent with the purposes of that Act.
(2) Sanctions on other countries.--The Congress further urges
the President to take immediate steps to apply the sanctions
described in section 1704(b)(1) of that Act against countries
assisting Cuba.
(b) Diplomatic Efforts.--The Secretary of State should ensure that
United States diplomatic personnel abroad understand and, in their
contacts with foreign officials, are communicating the reasons for the
United States economic embargo of Cuba, and are urging foreign
governments to cooperate more effectively with the embargo.
(c) Existing Regulations.--The President shall instruct the
Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney General to enforce fully the
Cuban Assets Control Regulations set forth in part 515 of title 31,
Code of Federal Regulations.
(d) Trading with the Enemy Act.--
(1) Civil penalties.--Subsection (b) of section 16 of the
Trading with the Enemy Act (50 U.S.C. App. 16(b)), as added by
Public Law 102-484, is amended to read as follows:
``(b)(1) A civil penalty of not to exceed $50,000 may be imposed by
the Secretary of the Treasury on any person who violates any license,
order, rule, or regulation issued in compliance with the provisions of
this Act.
``(2) Any property, funds, securities, papers, or other articles or
documents, or any vessel, together with its tackle, apparel, furniture,
and equipment, that is the subject of a violation under paragraph (1)
shall, at the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, be forfeited
to the United States Government.
``(3) The penalties provided under this subsection may be imposed
only on the record after opportunity for an agency hearing in
accordance with sections 554 through 557 of title 5, United States
Code, with the right to prehearing discovery.
``(4) Judicial review of any penalty imposed under this subsection
may be had to the extent provided in section 702 of title 5, United
States Code.''.
(2) Conforming amendment; criminal forfeiture.--Section 16 of
the Trading with the Enemy Act is further amended by striking
subsection (b), as added by Public Law 102-393.
(3) Clerical amendments.--Section 16 of the Trading with the
Enemy Act is further amended--
(A) by inserting ``Sec. 16.'' before ``(a)''; and
(B) in subsection (a) by striking ``participants'' and
inserting ``participates''.
(e) Denial of Visas to Certain Cuban Nationals.--It is the sense of
the Congress that the President should instruct the Secretary of State
and the Attorney General to enforce fully existing regulations to deny
visas to Cuban nationals considered by the Secretary of State to be
officers or employees of the Cuban Government or of the Communist Party
of Cuba.
(f) Coverage of Debt-for-Equity Swaps by Economic Embargo of
Cuba.--Section 1704(b)(2) of the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 (22 U.S.C.
6003(b)(2)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (A);
(2) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (C); and
(3) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following new
subparagraph:
``(B) includes an exchange, reduction, or forgiveness of
Cuban debt owed to a foreign country in return for a grant of
an equity interest in a property, investment, or operation of
the Government of Cuba (including the government of any
political subdivision of Cuba, and any agency or
instrumentality of the Government of Cuba) or of a Cuban
national; and''; and
(4) by adding at the end the following flush sentence:
``As used in this paragraph, the term `agency or instrumentality of
the Government of Cuba' means an agency or instrumentality of a
foreign state as defined in section 1603(b) of title 28, United
States Code, with each reference in such section to `a foreign
state' deemed to be a reference to `Cuba'.''.
(g) Telecommunications Services.--Section 1705(e) of the Cuban
Democracy Act of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 6004(e)) is amended by adding at the
end the following new paragraphs:
``(5) Prohibition on investment in domestic telecommunications
services.--Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to
authorize the investment by any United States person in the
domestic telecommunications network within Cuba. For purposes of
this paragraph, an `investment' in the domestic telecommunications
network within Cuba includes the contribution (including by
donation) of funds or anything of value to or for, and the making
of loans to or for, such network.
``(6) Reports to congress.--The President shall submit to the
Congress on a semiannual basis a report detailing payments made to
Cuba by any United States person as a result of the provision of
telecommunications services authorized by this subsection.''.
(h) Codification of Economic Embargo.--The economic embargo of
Cuba, as in effect on March 1, 1996, including all restrictions under
part 515 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations, shall be in effect
upon the enactment of this Act, and shall remain in effect, subject to
section 204 of this Act.

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(a) Prohibition.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no
loan, credit, or other financing may be extended knowingly by a United
States national, a permanent resident alien, or a United States agency
to any person for the purpose of financing transactions involving any
confiscated property the claim to which is owned by a United States
national as of the date of the enactment of this Act, except for
financing by the United States national owning such claim for a
transaction permitted under United States law.
(b) Suspension and Termination of Prohibition.--
(1) Suspension.--The President is authorized to suspend the
prohibition contained in subsection (a) upon a determination made
under section 203(c)(1) that a transition government in Cuba is in
power.
(2) Termination.--The prohibition contained in subsection (a)
shall cease to apply on the date on which the economic embargo of
Cuba terminates as provided in section 204.
(c) Penalties.--Violations of subsection (a) shall be punishable by
such civil penalties as are applicable to violations of the Cuban
Assets Control Regulations set forth in part 515 of title 31, Code of
Federal Regulations.
(d) Definitions.--As used in this section--
(1) the term ``permanent resident alien'' means an alien
lawfully admitted for permanent residence into the United States;
and
(2) the term ``United States agency'' has the meaning given the
term ``agency'' in section 551(1) of title 5, United States Code.

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FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS.
(a) Continued Opposition to Cuban Membership in International
Financial Institutions.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the
Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States
executive director of each international financial institution to
use the voice and vote of the United States to oppose the admission
of Cuba as a member of such institution until the President submits
a determination under section 203(c)(3) that a democratically
elected government in Cuba is in power.
(2) Transition government.--Once the President submits a
determination under section 203(c)(1) that a transition government
in Cuba is in power--
(A) the President is encouraged to take steps to support
the processing of Cuba's application for membership in any
international financial institution, subject to the membership
taking effect after a democratically elected government in Cuba
is in power, and
(B) the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to instruct
the United States executive director of each international
financial institution to support loans or other assistance to
Cuba only to the extent that such loans or assistance
contribute to a stable foundation for a democratically elected
government in Cuba.
(b) Reduction in United States Payments to International Financial
Institutions.--If any international financial institution approves a
loan or other assistance to the Cuban Government over the opposition of
the United States, then the Secretary of the Treasury shall withhold
from payment to such institution an amount equal to the amount of the
loan or other assistance, with respect to either of the following types
of payment:
(1) The paid-in portion of the increase in capital stock of the
institution.
(2) The callable portion of the increase in capital stock of
the institution.
(c) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term
``international financial institution'' means the International
Monetary Fund, the International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development, the International Development Association, the
International Finance Corporation, the Multilateral Investment Guaranty
Agency, and the Inter-American Development Bank.

286aab15207471cc589617042da88672556c1f42051f27b7179f8a4fa00df869

THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT FROM PARTICIPATION IN THE
ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES.
The President should instruct the United States Permanent
Representative to the Organization of American States to oppose and
vote against any termination of the suspension of the Cuban Government
from participation in the Organization until the President determines
under section 203(c)(3) that a democratically elected government in
Cuba is in power.

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UNION FOR THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT.
(a) Reporting Requirement.--Not later than 90 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report detailing progress toward
the withdrawal of personnel of any independent state of the former
Soviet Union (within the meaning of section 3 of the FREEDOM Support
Act (22 U.S.C. 5801)), including advisers, technicians, and military
personnel, from the Cienfuegos nuclear facility in Cuba.
(b) Criteria for Assistance.--Section 498A(a)(11) of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2295a(a)(11)) is amended by striking
``of military facilities'' and inserting ``military and intelligence
facilities, including the military and intelligence facilities at
Lourdes and Cienfuegos''.
(c) Ineligibility for Assistance.--
(1) In general.--Section 498A(b) of that Act (22 U.S.C.
2295a(b)) is amended--
(A) by striking ``or'' at the end of paragraph (4);
(B) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (6); and
(C) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following new
paragraph:
``(5) for the government of any independent state effective 30
days after the President has determined and certified to the
appropriate congressional committees (and Congress has not enacted
legislation disapproving the determination within that 30-day
period) that such government is providing assistance for, or
engaging in nonmarket based trade (as defined in section
498B(k)(3)) with, the Cuban Government; or''
(2) Definition.--Subsection (k) of section 498B of that Act (22
U.S.C. 2295b(k)) is amended by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
``(3) Nonmarket based trade.--As used in section 498A(b)(5),
the term `nonmarket based trade' includes exports, imports,
exchanges, or other arrangements that are provided for goods and
services (including oil and other petroleum products) on terms more
favorable than those generally available in applicable markets or
for comparable commodities, including--
``(A) exports to the Cuban Government on terms that involve
a grant, concessional price, guaranty, insurance, or subsidy;
``(B) imports from the Cuban Government at preferential
tariff rates;
``(C) exchange arrangements that include advance delivery
of commodities, arrangements in which the Cuban Government is
not held accountable for unfulfilled exchange contracts, and
arrangements under which Cuba does not pay appropriate
transportation, insurance, or finance costs; and
``(D) the exchange, reduction, or forgiveness of debt of
the Cuban Government in return for a grant by the Cuban
Government of an equity interest in a property, investment, or
operation of the Cuban Government or of a Cuban national.
``(4) Cuban government.--(A) The term `Cuban Government'
includes the government of any political subdivision of Cuba, and
any agency or instrumentality of the Government of Cuba.
``(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term `agency or
instrumentality of the Government of Cuba' means an agency or
instrumentality of a foreign state as defined in section 1603(b) of
title 28, United States Code, with each reference in such section
to `a foreign state' deemed to be a reference to `Cuba'.''.
(3) Exception.--Section 498A(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act
of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2295A(c)) is amended by inserting after
paragraph (3) the following new paragraph:
``(4) The assistance is provided under the secondary school
exchange program administered by the United States Information
Agency.''.
(d) Facilities at Lourdes, Cuba.--
(1) Disapproval of credits.--The Congress expresses its strong
disapproval of the extension by Russia of credits equivalent to
$200,000,000 in support of the intelligence facility at Lourdes,
Cuba, in November 1994.
(2) Reduction in assistance.--Section 498A of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2295a) is amended by adding at
the end the following new subsection:
``(d) Reduction in Assistance for Support of Intelligence
Facilities in Cuba.--
``(1) Reduction in assistance.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, the President shall withhold from assistance
provided, on or after the date of the enactment of this subsection,
for an independent state of the former Soviet Union under this Act
an amount equal to the sum of assistance and credits, if any,
provided on or after such date by such state in support of
intelligence facilities in Cuba, including the intelligence
facility at Lourdes, Cuba.
``(2) Waiver.--(A) The President may waive the requirement of
paragraph (1) to withhold assistance if the President certifies to
the appropriate congressional committees that the provision of such
assistance is important to the national security of the United
States, and, in the case of such a certification made with respect
to Russia, if the President certifies that the Russian Government
has assured the United States Government that the Russian
Government is not sharing intelligence data collected at the
Lourdes facility with officials or agents of the Cuban Government.
``(B) At the time of a certification made with respect to
Russia under subparagraph (A), the President shall also submit to
the appropriate congressional committees a report describing the
intelligence activities of Russia in Cuba, including the purposes
for which the Lourdes facility is used by the Russian Government
and the extent to which the Russian Government provides payment or
government credits to the Cuban Government for the continued use of
the Lourdes facility.
``(C) The report required by subparagraph (B) may be submitted
in classified form.
``(D) For purposes of this paragraph, the term `appropriate
congressional committees' includes the Permanent Select Committee
on Intelligence of the House of Representatives and the Select
Committee on Intelligence of the Senate.
``(3) Exceptions to reductions in assistance.--The requirement
of paragraph (1) to withhold assistance shall not apply with
respect to--
``(A) assistance to meet urgent humanitarian needs,
including disaster and refugee relief;
``(B) democratic political reform or rule of law
activities;
``(C) technical assistance for safety upgrades of civilian
nuclear power plants;
``(D) the creation of private sector or nongovernmental
organizations that are independent of government control;
``(E) the development of a free market economic system;
``(F) assistance under the secondary school exchange
program administered by the United States Information Agency;
or
``(G) assistance for the purposes described in the
Cooperative Threat Reduction Act of 1993 (title XII of Public
Law 103-160).''.

44413e5ffaab90b9e16a0418bd9969abd9ae91c3b31d7be3cd23219928e98cea

(a) Conversion to UHF.--The Director of the United States
Information Agency shall implement a conversion of television
broadcasting to Cuba under the Television Marti Service to ultra high
frequency (UHF) broadcasting.
(b) Periodic Reports.--Not later than 45 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and every three months thereafter until the
conversion described in subsection (a) is fully implemented, the
Director of the United States Information Agency shall submit a report
to the appropriate congressional committees on the progress made in
carrying out subsection (a).
(c) Termination of Broadcasting Authorities.--Upon transmittal of a
determination under section 203(c)(3), the Television Broadcasting to
Cuba Act (22 U.S.C. 1465aa and following) and the Radio Broadcasting to
Cuba Act (22 U.S.C. 1465 and following) are repealed.

0c8f878df87845118db6e44fa53559a3612a94ae332dd77e2ad546d91399ed25

FOREIGN COUNTRIES.
(a) Reports Required.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and by January 1 of each year thereafter until
the President submits a determination under section 203(c)(1), the
President shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional
committees on commerce with, and assistance to, Cuba from other foreign
countries during the preceding 12-month period.
(b) Contents of Reports.--Each report required by subsection (a)
shall, for the period covered by the report, contain the following, to
the extent such information is available:
(1) A description of all bilateral assistance provided to Cuba
by other foreign countries, including humanitarian assistance.
(2) A description of Cuba's commerce with foreign countries,
including an identification of Cuba's trading partners and the
extent of such trade.
(3) A description of the joint ventures completed, or under
consideration, by foreign nationals and business firms involving
facilities in Cuba, including an identification of the location of
the facilities involved and a description of the terms of agreement
of the joint ventures and the names of the parties that are
involved.
(4) A determination as to whether or not any of the facilities
described in paragraph (3) is the subject of a claim against Cuba
by a United States national.
(5) A determination of the amount of debt of the Cuban
Government that is owed to each foreign country, including--
(A) the amount of debt exchanged, forgiven, or reduced
under the terms of each investment or operation in Cuba
involving foreign nationals; and
(B) the amount of debt owed the foreign country that has
been exchanged, forgiven, or reduced in return for a grant by
the Cuban Government of an equity interest in a property,
investment, or operation of the Cuban Government or of a Cuban
national.
(6) A description of the steps taken to assure that raw
materials and semifinished or finished goods produced by facilities
in Cuba involving foreign nationals do not enter the United States
market, either directly or through third countries or parties.
(7) An identification of countries that purchase, or have
purchased, arms or military supplies from Cuba or that otherwise
have entered into agreements with Cuba that have a military
application, including--
(A) a description of the military supplies, equipment, or
other material sold, bartered, or exchanged between Cuba and
such countries,
(B) a listing of the goods, services, credits, or other
consideration received by Cuba in exchange for military
supplies, equipment, or material, and
(C) the terms or conditions of any such agreement.

80d2d69f45b11c409831820d4d67d51afaa8b12f21edbf8e14ac2b3074ccea6d

GROUPS AND INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS.
(a) Authorization.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law
(including section 102 of this Act), except for section 634A of the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2394-1) and comparable
notification requirements contained in any Act making appropriations
for foreign operations, export financing, and related programs, the
President is authorized to furnish assistance and provide other support
for individuals and independent nongovernmental organizations to
support democracy-building efforts for Cuba, including the following:
(1) Published and informational matter, such as books, videos,
and cassettes, on transitions to democracy, human rights, and
market economies, to be made available to independent democratic
groups in Cuba.
(2) Humanitarian assistance to victims of political repression,
and their families.
(3) Support for democratic and human rights groups in Cuba.
(4) Support for visits and permanent deployment of independent
international human rights monitors in Cuba.
(b) OAS Emergency Fund.--
(1) For support of human rights and elections.--The President
shall take the necessary steps to encourage the Organization of
American States to create a special emergency fund for the explicit
purpose of deploying human rights observers, election support, and
election observation in Cuba.
(2) Action of other member states.--The President should
instruct the United States Permanent Representative to the
Organization of American States to encourage other member states of
the Organization to join in calling for the Cuban Government to
allow the immediate deployment of independent human rights monitors
of the Organization throughout Cuba and on-site visits to Cuba by
the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
(3) Voluntary contributions for fund.--Notwithstanding section
307 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2227) or any
other provision of law limiting the United States proportionate
share of assistance to Cuba by any international organization, the
President should provide not less than $5,000,000 of the voluntary
contributions of the United States to the Organization of American
States solely for the purposes of the special fund referred to in
paragraph (1).
(c) Denial of Funds to the Cuban Government.--In implementing this
section, the President shall take all necessary steps to ensure that no
funds or other assistance is provided to the Cuban Government.

f5184cbc94e2b31c513f4568c1fdccef3e52e9f5f9337221e498f8ff4b5c7563

(a) Prohibition on Import of and Dealings in Cuban Products.--The
Congress notes that section 515.204 of title 31, Code of Federal
Regulations, prohibits the entry of, and dealings outside the United
States in, merchandise that--
(1) is of Cuban origin;
(2) is or has been located in or transported from or through
Cuba; or
(3) is made or derived in whole or in part of any article which
is the growth, produce, or manufacture of Cuba.
(b) Effect of NAFTA.--The Congress notes that United States
accession to the North American Free Trade Agreement does not modify or
alter the United States sanctions against Cuba. The statement of
administrative action accompanying that trade agreement specifically
states the following:
(1) ``The NAFTA rules of origin will not in any way diminish
the Cuban sanctions program. . . . Nothing in the NAFTA would
operate to override this prohibition.''.
(2) ``Article 309(3) [of the NAFTA] permits the United States
to ensure that Cuban products or goods made from Cuban materials
are not imported into the United States from Mexico or Canada and
that United States products are not exported to Cuba through those
countries.''.
(c) Restriction of Sugar Imports.--The Congress notes that section
902(c) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (Public Law 99-198) requires
the President not to allocate any of the sugar import quota to a
country that is a net importer of sugar unless appropriate officials of
that country verify to the President that the country does not import
for reexport to the United States any sugar produced in Cuba.
(d) Assurances Regarding Sugar Products.--Protection of essential
security interests of the United States requires assurances that sugar
products that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption,
into the customs territory of the United States are not products of
Cuba.

91bfb0a0cbd373074fa287b672e40a5febfe8c56394c5dbd140debad65ff478f

JURAGUA NUCLEAR PLANT IN CUBA.
(a) Findings.--The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) President Clinton stated in April 1993 that the United
States opposed the construction of the Juragua nuclear power plant
because of the concerns of the United States about Cuba's ability
to ensure the safe operation of the facility and because of Cuba's
refusal to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty or ratify the
Treaty of Tlatelolco.
(2) Cuba has not signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
Nuclear Weapons or ratified the Treaty of Tlatelolco, the latter of
which establishes Latin America and the Caribbean as a nuclear
weapons-free zone.
(3) The State Department, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
and the Department of Energy have expressed concerns about the
construction and operation of Cuba's nuclear reactors.
(4) In a September 1992 report to the Congress, the General
Accounting Office outlined concerns among nuclear energy experts
about deficiencies in the nuclear plant project in Juragua, near
Cienfuegos, Cuba, including--
(A) a lack in Cuba of a nuclear regulatory structure;
(B) the absence in Cuba of an adequate infrastructure to
ensure the plant's safe operation and requisite maintenance;
(C) the inadequacy of training of plant operators;
(D) reports by a former technician from Cuba who, by
examining with x-rays weld sites believed to be part of the
auxiliary plumbing system for the plant, found that 10 to 15
percent of those sites were defective;
(E) since September 5, 1992, when construction on the plant
was halted, the prolonged exposure to the elements, including
corrosive salt water vapor, of the primary reactor components;
and
(F) the possible inadequacy of the upper portion of the
reactors' dome retention capability to withstand only 7 pounds
of pressure per square inch, given that normal atmospheric
pressure is 32 pounds per square inch and United States
reactors are designed to accommodate pressures of 50 pounds per
square inch.
(5) The United States Geological Survey claims that it had
difficulty determining answers to specific questions regarding
earthquake activity in the area near Cienfuegos because the Cuban
Government was not forthcoming with information.
(6) The Geological Survey has indicated that the Caribbean
plate, a geological formation near the south coast of Cuba, may
pose seismic risks to Cuba and the site of the power plant, and may
produce large to moderate earthquakes.
(7) On May 25, 1992, the Caribbean plate produced an earthquake
numbering 7.0 on the Richter scale.
(8) According to a study by the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, summer winds could carry radioactive
pollutants from a nuclear accident at the power plant throughout
all of Florida and parts of the States on the coast of the Gulf of
Mexico as far as Texas, and northern winds could carry the
pollutants as far northeast as Virginia and Washington, D.C.
(9) The Cuban Government, under dictator Fidel Castro, in 1962
advocated the Soviets' launching of nuclear missiles to the United
States, which represented a direct and dangerous provocation of the
United States and brought the world to the brink of a nuclear
conflict.
(10) Fidel Castro over the years has consistently issued
threats against the United States Government, most recently that he
would unleash another perilous mass migration from Cuba upon the
enactment of this Act.
(11) Despite the various concerns about the plant's safety and
operational problems, a feasibility study is being conducted that
would establish a support group to include Russia, Cuba, and third
countries with the objective of completing and operating the plant.
(b) Withholding of Foreign Assistance.--
(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
the President shall withhold from assistance allocated, on or after
the date of the enactment of this Act, for any country an amount
equal to the sum of assistance and credits, if any, provided on or
after such date of enactment by that country or any entity in that
country in support of the completion of the Cuban nuclear facility
at Juragua, near Cienfuegos, Cuba.
(2) Exceptions.--The requirement of paragraph (1) to withhold
assistance shall not apply with respect to--
(A) assistance to meet urgent humanitarian needs, including
disaster and refugee relief;
(B) democratic political reform or rule of law activities;
(C) the creation of private sector or nongovernmental
organizations that are independent of government control;
(D) the development of a free market economic system;
(E) assistance for the purposes described in the
Cooperative Threat Reduction Act of 1993 (title XII of Public
Law 103-160); or
(F) assistance under the secondary school exchange program
administered by the United States Information Agency.
(3) Definition.--As used in paragraph (1), the term
``assistance'' means assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of
1961, credits, sales, guarantees of extensions of credit, and other
assistance under the Arms Export Control Act, assistance under
titles I and III of the Agricultural Trade Development and
Assistance Act of 1954, assistance under the FREEDOM Support Act,
and any other program of assistance or credits provided by the
United States to other countries under other provisions of law.

42aebb15eb2485724b316226636e331eae00bd041482873824260bf1190fd1c4

It is the sense of the Congress that the President should--
(1)(A) before considering the reinstitution of general licenses
for family remittances to Cuba, insist that, prior to such
reinstitution, the Cuban Government permit the unfettered operation
of small businesses fully empowered with the right to hire others
to whom they may pay wages and to buy materials necessary in the
operation of the businesses, and with such other authority and
freedom as are required to foster the operation of small businesses
throughout Cuba; and
(B) if licenses described in subparagraph (A) are reinstituted,
require a specific license for remittances described in
subparagraph (A) in amounts of more than $500; and
(2) before considering the reinstitution of general licenses
for travel to Cuba by individuals resident in the United States who
are family members of Cuban nationals who are resident in Cuba,
insist on such actions by the Cuban Government as abrogation of the
sanction for departure from Cuba by refugees, release of political
prisoners, recognition of the right of association, and other
fundamental freedoms.

5e774e475265748e2cfcd116ea3c53acdc38ae0fa18e5654e953679fa3fe3ee9

The President shall instruct all United States Government officials
who engage in official contacts with the Cuban Government to raise on a
regular basis the extradition of or rendering to the United States all
persons residing in Cuba who are sought by the United States Department
of Justice for crimes committed in the United States.

15b68499dfe1efc0c3094d1d29a45845b6b35d12e6374649461b09736fab470a

(a) Establishment of News Bureaus.--The President is authorized to
establish and implement an exchange of news bureaus between the United
States and Cuba, if the exchange meets the following conditions:
(1) The exchange is fully reciprocal.
(2) The Cuban Government agrees not to interfere with the
establishment of news bureaus or with the movement in Cuba of
journalists of any United States-based news organizations,
including Radio Marti and Television Marti.
(3) The Cuban Government agrees not to interfere with decisions
of United States-based news organizations with respect to
individuals assigned to work as journalists in their news bureaus
in Cuba.
(4) The Department of the Treasury is able to ensure that only
accredited journalists regularly employed with a news gathering
organization travel to Cuba under this subsection.
(5) The Cuban Government agrees not to interfere with the
transmission of telecommunications signals of news bureaus or with
the distribution within Cuba of publications of any United States-
based news organization that has a news bureau in Cuba.
(b) Assurance Against Espionage.--In implementing this section, the
President shall take all necessary steps to ensure the safety and
security of the United States against espionage by Cuban journalists it
believes to be working for the intelligence agencies of the Cuban
Government.
(c) Fully Reciprocal.--As used in subsection (a)(1), the term
``fully reciprocal'' means that all news services, news organizations,
and broadcasting services, including such services or organizations
that receive financing, assistance, or other support from a
governmental or official source, are permitted to establish and operate
a news bureau in the United States and Cuba.

b481f06c01a0ec57440d081771c859c793aa70d301b152d46765d8839bcdd42f

Nothing in this Act prohibits any lawfully authorized
investigative, protective, or intelligence activity of a law
enforcement agency, or of an intelligence agency, of the United States.

ab07709f35c30d431cefae08de58ac31c1e6ef906327b198b49c913dfc7708b5

(a) Findings.--The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Brothers to the Rescue is a Miami-based humanitarian
organization engaged in searching for and aiding Cuban refugees in
the Straits of Florida, and was engaged in such a mission on
Saturday, February 24, 1996.
(2) The members of Brothers to the Rescue were flying unarmed
and defenseless planes in a mission identical to hundreds they have
flown since 1991 and posed no threat whatsoever to the Cuban
Government, the Cuban military, or the Cuban people.
(3) Statements by the Cuban Government that Brothers to the
Rescue has engaged in covert operations, bombing campaigns, and
commando operations against the Government of Cuba have no basis in
fact.
(4) The Brothers to the Rescue aircraft notified air traffic
controllers as to their flight plans, which would take them south
of the 24th parallel and close to Cuban airspace.
(5) International law provides a nation with airspace over the
12-mile territorial sea.
(6) The response of Fidel Castro's dictatorship to Saturday's
afternoon flight was to scramble 2 fighter jets from a Havana
airfield.
(7) At approximately 3:24 p.m., the pilot of one of the Cuban
MiGs received permission and proceeded to shoot down one Brothers
to the Rescue airplane more than 6 miles north of the Cuban
exclusion zone, or 18 miles from the Cuban coast.
(8) Approximately 7 minutes later, the pilot of the Cuban
fighter jet received permission and proceeded to shoot down the
second Brothers to the Rescue airplane almost 18.5 miles north of
the Cuban exclusion zone, or 30.5 miles from the Cuban coast.
(9) The Cuban dictatorship, if it truly felt threatened by the
flight of these unarmed aircraft, could have and should have
pursued other peaceful options as required by international law.
(10) The response chosen by Fidel Castro, the use of lethal
force, was completely inappropriate to the situation presented to
the Cuban Government, making such actions a blatant and barbaric
violation of international law and tantamount to cold-blooded
murder.
(11) There were no survivors of the attack on these aircraft,
and the crew of a third aircraft managed to escape this criminal
attack by Castro's Air Force.
(12) The crew members of the destroyed planes, Pablo Morales,
Carlos Costa, Mario de la Pena, and Armando Alejandre, were United
States citizens from Miami flying with Brothers to the Rescue on a
voluntary basis.
(13) It is incumbent upon the United States Government to
protect the lives and livelihoods of United States citizens as well
as the rights of free passage and humanitarian missions.
(14) This premeditated act took place after a week-long wave of
repression by the Cuban Government against Concilio Cubano, an
umbrella organization of human rights activists, dissidents,
independent economists, and independent journalists, among others.
(15) The wave of repression against Concilio Cubano, whose
membership is committed to peaceful democratic change in Cuba,
included arrests, strip searches, house arrests, and in some cases
sentences to more than 1 year in jail.
(b) Statements by the Congress.--(1) The Congress strongly condemns
the act of terrorism by the Castro regime in shooting down the Brothers
to the Rescue aircraft on February 24, 1996.
(2) The Congress extends its condolences to the families of Pablo
Morales, Carlos Costa, Mario de la Pena, and Armando Alejandre, the
victims of the attack.
(3) The Congress urges the President to seek, in the International
Court of Justice, indictment for this act of terrorism by Fidel Castro.

5b98539d5e68c3775e173de2c20c60ba7c9004cf768b037c1f85ceaab0af810e

ELECTED GOVERNMENT IN CUBA.
The policy of the United States is as follows:
(1) To support the self-determination of the Cuban people.
(2) To recognize that the self-determination of the Cuban
people is a sovereign and national right of the citizens of Cuba
which must be exercised free of interference by the government of
any other country.
(3) To encourage the Cuban people to empower themselves with a
government which reflects the self-determination of the Cuban
people.
(4) To recognize the potential for a difficult transition from
the current regime in Cuba that may result from the initiatives
taken by the Cuban people for self-determination in response to the
intransigence of the Castro regime in not allowing any substantive
political or economic reforms, and to be prepared to provide the
Cuban people with humanitarian, developmental, and other economic
assistance.
(5) In solidarity with the Cuban people, to provide appropriate
forms of assistance--
(A) to a transition government in Cuba;
(B) to facilitate the rapid movement from such a transition
government to a democratically elected government in Cuba that
results from an expression of the self-determination of the
Cuban people; and
(C) to support such a democratically elected government.
(6) Through such assistance, to facilitate a peaceful
transition to representative democracy and a market economy in Cuba
and to consolidate democracy in Cuba.
(7) To deliver such assistance to the Cuban people only through
a transition government in Cuba, through a democratically elected
government in Cuba, through United States Government organizations,
or through United States, international, or indigenous
nongovernmental organizations.
(8) To encourage other countries and multilateral organizations
to provide similar assistance, and to work cooperatively with such
countries and organizations to coordinate such assistance.
(9) To ensure that appropriate assistance is rapidly provided
and distributed to the people of Cuba upon the institution of a
transition government in Cuba.
(10) Not to provide favorable treatment or influence on behalf
of any individual or entity in the selection by the Cuban people of
their future government.
(11) To assist a transition government in Cuba and a
democratically elected government in Cuba to prepare the Cuban
military forces for an appropriate role in a democracy.
(12) To be prepared to enter into negotiations with a
democratically elected government in Cuba either to return the
United States Naval Base at Guantanamo to Cuba or to renegotiate
the present agreement under mutually agreeable terms.
(13) To consider the restoration of diplomatic recognition and
support the reintegration of the Cuban Government into Inter-
American organizations when the President determines that there
exists a democratically elected government in Cuba.
(14) To take steps to remove the economic embargo of Cuba when
the President determines that a transition to a democratically
elected government in Cuba has begun.
(15) To assist a democratically elected government in Cuba to
strengthen and stabilize its national currency.
(16) To pursue trade relations with a free, democratic, and
independent Cuba.

de73b0554b0790dc908cb43aaf7a66f5b75186892941169d28c774532dce99b0

(a) Authorization.--
(1) In general.--The President shall develop a plan for
providing economic assistance to Cuba at such time as the President
determines that a transition government or a democratically elected
government in Cuba (as determined under section 203(c)) is in
power.
(2) Effect on other laws.--Assistance may be provided under
this section subject to an authorization of appropriations and
subject to the availability of appropriations.
(b) Plan for Assistance.--
(1) Development of plan.--The President shall develop a plan
for providing assistance under this section--
(A) to Cuba when a transition government in Cuba is in
power; and
(B) to Cuba when a democratically elected government in
Cuba is in power.
(2) Types of assistance.--Assistance under the plan developed
under paragraph (1) may, subject to an authorization of
appropriations and subject to the availability of appropriations,
include the following:
(A) Transition government.--(i) Except as provided in
clause (ii), assistance to Cuba under a transition government
shall, subject to an authorization of appropriations and
subject to the availability of appropriations, be limited to--
(I) such food, medicine, medical supplies and
equipment, and assistance to meet emergency energy needs,
as is necessary to meet the basic human needs of the Cuban
people; and
(II) assistance described in subparagraph (C).
(ii) Assistance in addition to assistance under clause (i)
may be provided, but only after the President certifies to the
appropriate congressional committees, in accordance with
procedures applicable to reprogramming notifications under
section 634A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, that such
assistance is essential to the successful completion of the
transition to democracy.
(iii) Only after a transition government in Cuba is in
power, freedom of individuals to travel to visit their
relatives without any restrictions shall be permitted.
(B) Democratically elected government.--Assistance to a
democratically elected government in Cuba may, subject to an
authorization of appropriations and subject to the availability
of appropriations, consist of economic assistance in addition
to assistance available under subparagraph (A), together with
assistance described in subparagraph (C). Such economic
assistance may include--
(i) assistance under chapter 1 of part I (relating to
development assistance), and chapter 4 of part II (relating
to the economic support fund), of the Foreign Assistance
Act of 1961;
(ii) assistance under the Agricultural Trade
Development and Assistance Act of 1954;
(iii) financing, guarantees, and other forms of
assistance provided by the Export-Import Bank of the United
States;
(iv) financial support provided by the Overseas Private
Investment Corporation for investment projects in Cuba;
(v) assistance provided by the Trade and Development
Agency;
(vi) Peace Corps programs; and
(vii) other appropriate assistance to carry out the
policy of section 201.
(C) Military adjustment assistance.--Assistance to a
transition government in Cuba and to a democratically elected
government in Cuba shall also include assistance in preparing
the Cuban military forces to adjust to an appropriate role in a
democracy.
(c) Strategy for Distribution.--The plan developed under subsection
(b) shall include a strategy for distributing assistance under the
plan.
(d) Distribution.--Assistance under the plan developed under
subsection (b) shall be provided through United States Government
organizations and nongovernmental organizations and private and
voluntary organizations, whether within or outside the United States,
including humanitarian, educational, labor, and private sector
organizations.
(e) International Efforts.--The President shall take the necessary
steps--
(1) to seek to obtain the agreement of other countries and of
international financial institutions and multilateral organizations
to provide to a transition government in Cuba, and to a
democratically elected government in Cuba, assistance comparable to
that provided by the United States under this Act; and
(2) to work with such countries, institutions, and
organizations to coordinate all such assistance programs.
(f) Communication With the Cuban People.--The President shall take
the necessary steps to communicate to the Cuban people the plan for
assistance developed under this section.
(g) Report to Congress.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the President shall transmit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report describing in detail the
plan developed under this section.
(h) Report on Trade and Investment Relations.--
(1) Report to congress.--The President, following the
transmittal to the Congress of a determination under section
203(c)(3) that a democratically elected government in Cuba is in
power, shall submit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House
of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate and
the appropriate congressional committees a report that describes--
(A) acts, policies, and practices which constitute
significant barriers to, or distortions of, United States trade
in goods or services or foreign direct investment with respect
to Cuba;
(B) policy objectives of the United States regarding trade
relations with a democratically elected government in Cuba, and
the reasons therefor, including possible--
(i) reciprocal extension of nondiscriminatory trade
treatment (most-favored-nation treatment);
(ii) designation of Cuba as a beneficiary developing
country under title V of the Trade Act of 1974 (relating to
the Generalized System of Preferences) or as a beneficiary
country under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act,
and the implications of such designation with respect to
trade with any other country that is such a beneficiary
developing country or beneficiary country or is a party to
the North American Free Trade Agreement; and
(iii) negotiations regarding free trade, including the
accession of Cuba to the North American Free Trade
Agreement;
(C) specific trade negotiating objectives of the United
States with respect to Cuba, including the objectives described
in section 108(b)(5) of the North American Free Trade Agreement
Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 3317(b)(5)); and
(D) actions proposed or anticipated to be undertaken, and
any proposed legislation necessary or appropriate, to achieve
any of such policy and negotiating objectives.
(2) Consultation.--The President shall consult with the
Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Finance of the Senate and the appropriate
congressional committees and shall seek advice from the appropriate
advisory committees established under section 135 of the Trade Act
of 1974 regarding the policy and negotiating objectives and the
legislative proposals described in paragraph (1).

2d31031512e0e4004f5a43e7c3498d702a2d61cd9aec19dd882c5f5c0798e6ab

REPORTS TO CONGRESS; REPROGRAMMING.
(a) Coordinating Official.--The President shall designate a
coordinating official who shall be responsible for--
(1) implementing the strategy for distributing assistance
described in section 202(b);
(2) ensuring the speedy and efficient distribution of such
assistance; and
(3) ensuring coordination among, and appropriate oversight by,
the agencies of the United States that provide assistance described
in section 202(b), including resolving any disputes among such
agencies.
(b) United States-Cuba Council.--Upon making a determination under
subsection (c)(3) that a democratically elected government in Cuba is
in power, the President, after consultation with the coordinating
official, is authorized to designate a United States-Cuba council--
(1) to ensure coordination between the United States Government
and the private sector in responding to change in Cuba, and in
promoting market-based development in Cuba; and
(2) to establish periodic meetings between representatives of
the United States and Cuban private sectors for the purpose of
facilitating bilateral trade.
(c) Implementation of Plan; Reports to Congress.--
(1) Implementation with respect to transition government.--Upon
making a determination that a transition government in Cuba is in
power, the President shall transmit that determination to the
appropriate congressional committees and shall, subject to an
authorization of appropriations and subject to the availability of
appropriations, commence the delivery and distribution of
assistance to such transition government under the plan developed
under section 202(b).
(2) Reports to congress.--(A) The President shall transmit to
the appropriate congressional committees a report setting forth the
strategy for providing assistance described in section 202(b)(2)
(A) and (C) to the transition government in Cuba under the plan of
assistance developed under section 202(b), the types of such
assistance, and the extent to which such assistance has been
distributed in accordance with the plan.
(B) The President shall transmit the report not later than 90
days after making the determination referred to in paragraph (1),
except that the President shall transmit the report in preliminary
form not later than 15 days after making that determination.
(3) Implementation with respect to democratically elected
government.--The President shall, upon determining that a
democratically elected government in Cuba is in power, submit that
determination to the appropriate congressional committees and
shall, subject to an authorization of appropriations and subject to
the availability of appropriations, commence the delivery and
distribution of assistance to such democratically elected
government under the plan developed under section 202(b).
(4) Annual reports to congress.--Not later than 60 days after
the end of each fiscal year, the President shall transmit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report on the assistance
provided under the plan developed under section 202(b), including a
description of each type of assistance, the amounts expended for
such assistance, and a description of the assistance to be provided
under the plan in the current fiscal year.
(d) Reprogramming.--Any changes in the assistance to be provided
under the plan developed under section 202(b) may not be made unless
the President notifies the appropriate congressional committees at
least 15 days in advance in accordance with the procedures applicable
to reprogramming notifications under section 634A of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2394-1).

9ffbfb77ed09b14f036dac5685855768e8848e84799ba225d6b8a628e736180f

(a) Presidential Actions.--Upon submitting a determination to the
appropriate congressional committees under section 203(c)(1) that a
transition government in Cuba is in power, the President, after
consultation with the Congress, is authorized to take steps to suspend
the economic embargo of Cuba and to suspend the right of action created
in section 302 with respect to actions thereafter filed against the
Cuban Government, to the extent that such steps contribute to a stable
foundation for a democratically elected government in Cuba.
(b) Suspension of Certain Provisions of Law.--In carrying out
subsection (a), the President may suspend the enforcement of--
(1) section 620(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
U.S.C. 2370(a));
(2) section 620(f) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
U.S.C. 2370(f)) with respect to the ``Republic of Cuba'';
(3) sections 1704, 1705(d), and 1706 of the Cuban Democracy Act
of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 6003, 6004(d), and 6005);
(4) section 902(c) of the Food Security Act of 1985; and
(5) the prohibitions on transactions described in part 515 of
title 31, Code of Federal Regulations.
(c) Additional Presidential Actions.--Upon submitting a
determination to the appropriate congressional committees under section
203(c)(3) that a democratically elected government in Cuba is in power,
the President shall take steps to terminate the economic embargo of
Cuba, including the restrictions under part 515 of title 31, Code of
Federal Regulations.
(d) Conforming Amendments.--On the date on which the President
submits a determination under section 203(c)(3)--
(1) section 620(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
U.S.C. 2370(a)) is repealed;
(2) section 620(f) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
U.S.C. 2370(f)) is amended by striking ``Republic of Cuba'';
(3) sections 1704, 1705(d), and 1706 of the Cuban Democracy Act
of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 6003, 6004(d), and 6005) are repealed; and
(4) section 902(c) of the Food Security Act of 1985 is
repealed.
(e) Review of Suspension of Economic Embargo.--
(1) Review.--If the President takes action under subsection (a)
to suspend the economic embargo of Cuba, the President shall
immediately so notify the Congress. The President shall report to
the Congress no less frequently than every 6 months thereafter,
until he submits a determination under section 203(c)(3) that a
democratically elected government in Cuba is in power, on the
progress being made by Cuba toward the establishment of such a
democratically elected government. The action of the President
under subsection (a) shall cease to be effective upon the enactment
of a joint resolution described in paragraph (2).
(2) Joint resolutions.--For purposes of this subsection, the
term ``joint resolution'' means only a joint resolution of the 2
Houses of Congress, the matter after the resolving clause of which
is as follows: ``That the Congress disapproves the action of the
President under section 204(a) of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic
Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 to suspend the economic embargo
of Cuba, notice of which was submitted to the Congress on ____.'',
with the blank space being filled with the appropriate date.
(3) Referral to committees.--Joint resolutions introduced in
the House of Representatives shall be referred to the Committee on
International Relations and joint resolutions introduced in the
Senate shall be referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
(4) Procedures.--(A) Any joint resolution shall be considered
in the Senate in accordance with the provisions of section 601(b)
of the International Security Assistance and Arms Export Control
Act of 1976.
(B) For the purpose of expediting the consideration and
enactment of joint resolutions, a motion to proceed to the
consideration of any joint resolution after it has been reported by
the appropriate committee shall be treated as highly privileged in
the House of Representatives.
(C) Not more than 1 joint resolution may be considered in the
House of Representatives and the Senate in the 6-month period
beginning on the date on which the President notifies the Congress
under paragraph (1) of the action taken under subsection (a), and
in each 6-month period thereafter.

1685f823f3137d34dcab085304f48d2191caacea51864277033ea6d87cfbbfed

GOVERNMENT.
(a) Requirements.--For the purposes of this Act, a transition
government in Cuba is a government that--
(1) has legalized all political activity;
(2) has released all political prisoners and allowed for
investigations of Cuban prisons by appropriate international human
rights organizations;
(3) has dissolved the present Department of State Security in
the Cuban Ministry of the Interior, including the Committees for
the Defense of the Revolution and the Rapid Response Brigades; and
(4) has made public commitments to organizing free and fair
elections for a new government--
(A) to be held in a timely manner within a period not to
exceed 18 months after the transition government assumes power;
(B) with the participation of multiple independent
political parties that have full access to the media on an
equal basis, including (in the case of radio, television, or
other telecommunications media) in terms of allotments of time
for such access and the times of day such allotments are given;
and
(C) to be conducted under the supervision of
internationally recognized observers, such as the Organization
of American States, the United Nations, and other election
monitors;
(5) has ceased any interference with Radio Marti or Television
Marti broadcasts;
(6) makes public commitments to and is making demonstrable
progress in--
(A) establishing an independent judiciary;
(B) respecting internationally recognized human rights and
basic freedoms as set forth in the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, to which Cuba is a signatory nation;
(C) allowing the establishment of independent trade unions
as set forth in conventions 87 and 98 of the International
Labor Organization, and allowing the establishment of
independent social, economic, and political associations;
(7) does not include Fidel Castro or Raul Castro; and
(8) has given adequate assurances that it will allow the speedy
and efficient distribution of assistance to the Cuban people.
(b) Additional Factors.--In addition to the requirements in
subsection (a), in determining whether a transition government in Cuba
is in power, the President shall take into account the extent to which
that government--
(1) is demonstrably in transition from a communist totalitarian
dictatorship to representative democracy;
(2) has made public commitments to, and is making demonstrable
progress in--
(A) effectively guaranteeing the rights of free speech and
freedom of the press, including granting permits to privately
owned media and telecommunications companies to operate in
Cuba;
(B) permitting the reinstatement of citizenship to Cuban-
born persons returning to Cuba;
(C) assuring the right to private property; and
(D) taking appropriate steps to return to United States
citizens (and entities which are 50 percent or more
beneficially owned by United States citizens) property taken by
the Cuban Government from such citizens and entities on or
after January 1, 1959, or to provide equitable compensation to
such citizens and entities for such property;
(3) has extradited or otherwise rendered to the United States
all persons sought by the United States Department of Justice for
crimes committed in the United States; and
(4) has permitted the deployment throughout Cuba of independent
and unfettered international human rights monitors.

38e7e4ec22ba19fb53a06f74daa8210d01a99df8923c58075bde1bce8ae2a73f

GOVERNMENT.
For purposes of this Act, a democratically elected government in
Cuba, in addition to meeting the requirements of section 205(a), is a
government which--
(1) results from free and fair elections--
(A) conducted under the supervision of internationally
recognized observers; and
(B) in which--
(i) opposition parties were permitted ample time to
organize and campaign for such elections; and
(ii) all candidates were permitted full access to the
media;
(2) is showing respect for the basic civil liberties and human
rights of the citizens of Cuba;
(3) is substantially moving toward a market-oriented economic
system based on the right to own and enjoy property;
(4) is committed to making constitutional changes that would
ensure regular free and fair elections and the full enjoyment of
basic civil liberties and human rights by the citizens of Cuba;
(5) has made demonstrable progress in establishing an
independent judiciary; and
(6) has made demonstrable progress in returning to United
States citizens (and entities which are 50 percent or more
beneficially owned by United States citizens) property taken by the
Cuban Government from such citizens and entities on or after
January 1, 1959, or providing full compensation for such property
in accordance with international law standards and practice.

8ae3f2eb483e10be3ad352027f6439a4fcd1055644e4a0229ed672d89554d057

PROPERTY IN CUBA.
(a) Report to Congress.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall provide a
report to the appropriate congressional committees containing an
assessment of the property dispute question in Cuba, including--
(1) an estimate of the number and amount of claims to property
confiscated by the Cuban Government that are held by United States
nationals in addition to those claims certified under section 507
of the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949;
(2) an assessment of the significance of promptly resolving
confiscated property claims to the revitalization of the Cuban
economy;
(3) a review and evaluation of technical and other assistance
that the United States could provide to help either a transition
government in Cuba or a democratically elected government in Cuba
establish mechanisms to resolve property questions;
(4) an assessment of the role and types of support the United
States could provide to help resolve claims to property confiscated
by the Cuban Government that are held by United States nationals
who did not receive or qualify for certification under section 507
of the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949; and
(5) an assessment of any areas requiring legislative review or
action regarding the resolution of property claims in Cuba prior to
a change of government in Cuba.
(d) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress that the
satisfactory resolution of property claims by a Cuban Government
recognized by the United States remains an essential condition for the
full resumption of economic and diplomatic relations between the United
States and Cuba.

dc0253ee1bc8f72be038df36bc757b0515adc37ed7d57413cb9afad9ee53a0a2

The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Individuals enjoy a fundamental right to own and enjoy
property which is enshrined in the United States Constitution.
(2) The wrongful confiscation or taking of property belonging
to United States nationals by the Cuban Government, and the
subsequent exploitation of this property at the expense of the
rightful owner, undermines the comity of nations, the free flow of
commerce, and economic development.
(3) Since Fidel Castro seized power in Cuba in 1959--
(A) he has trampled on the fundamental rights of the Cuban
people; and
(B) through his personal despotism, he has confiscated the
property of--
(i) millions of his own citizens;
(ii) thousands of United States nationals; and
(iii) thousands more Cubans who claimed asylum in the
United States as refugees because of persecution and later
became naturalized citizens of the United States.
(4) It is in the interest of the Cuban people that the Cuban
Government respect equally the property rights of Cuban nationals
and nationals of other countries.
(5) The Cuban Government is offering foreign investors the
opportunity to purchase an equity interest in, manage, or enter
into joint ventures using property and assets some of which were
confiscated from United States nationals.
(6) This ``trafficking'' in confiscated property provides badly
needed financial benefit, including hard currency, oil, and
productive investment and expertise, to the current Cuban
Government and thus undermines the foreign policy of the United
States--
(A) to bring democratic institutions to Cuba through the
pressure of a general economic embargo at a time when the
Castro regime has proven to be vulnerable to international
economic pressure; and
(B) to protect the claims of United States nationals who
had property wrongfully confiscated by the Cuban Government.
(7) The United States Department of State has notified other
governments that the transfer to third parties of properties
confiscated by the Cuban Government ``would complicate any attempt
to return them to their original owners''.
(8) The international judicial system, as currently structured,
lacks fully effective remedies for the wrongful confiscation of
property and for unjust enrichment from the use of wrongfully
confiscated property by governments and private entities at the
expense of the rightful owners of the property.
(9) International law recognizes that a nation has the ability
to provide for rules of law with respect to conduct outside its
territory that has or is intended to have substantial effect within
its territory.
(10) The United States Government has an obligation to its
citizens to provide protection against wrongful confiscations by
foreign nations and their citizens, including the provision of
private remedies.
(11) To deter trafficking in wrongfully confiscated property,
United States nationals who were the victims of these confiscations
should be endowed with a judicial remedy in the courts of the
United States that would deny traffickers any profits from
economically exploiting Castro's wrongful seizures.

a9cd01f07cd7286a306e471c40b93d7354f494f84ddc67a4f5d959f676e53738

UNITED STATES NATIONALS.
(a) Civil Remedy.--
(1) Liability for trafficking.--(A) Except as otherwise
provided in this section, any person that, after the end of the 3-
month period beginning on the effective date of this title,
traffics in property which was confiscated by the Cuban Government
on or after January 1, 1959, shall be liable to any United States
national who owns the claim to such property for money damages in
an amount equal to the sum of--
(i) the amount which is the greater of--
(I) the amount, if any, certified to the claimant by
the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission under the
International Claims Settlement Act of 1949, plus interest;
(II) the amount determined under section 303(a)(2),
plus interest; or
(III) the fair market value of that property,
calculated as being either the current value of the
property, or the value of the property when confiscated
plus interest, whichever is greater; and
(ii) court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees.
(B) Interest under subparagraph (A)(i) shall be at the rate set
forth in section 1961 of title 28, United States Code, computed by
the court from the date of confiscation of the property involved to
the date on which the action is brought under this subsection.
(2) Presumption in favor of the certified claims.--There shall
be a presumption that the amount for which a person is liable under
clause (i) of paragraph (1)(A) is the amount that is certified as
described in subclause (I) of that clause. The presumption shall be
rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence that the amount
described in subclause (II) or (III) of that clause is the
appropriate amount of liability under that clause.
(3) Increased liability.--(A) Any person that traffics in
confiscated property for which liability is incurred under
paragraph (1) shall, if a United States national owns a claim with
respect to that property which was certified by the Foreign Claims
Settlement Commission under title V of the International Claims
Settlement Act of 1949, be liable for damages computed in
accordance with subparagraph (C).
(B) If the claimant in an action under this subsection (other
than a United States national to whom subparagraph (A) applies)
provides, after the end of the 3-month period described in
paragraph (1) notice to--
(i) a person against whom the action is to be initiated, or
(ii) a person who is to be joined as a defendant in the
action,
at least 30 days before initiating the action or joining such
person as a defendant, as the case may be, and that person, after
the end of the 30-day period beginning on the date the notice is
provided, traffics in the confiscated property that is the subject
of the action, then that person shall be liable to that claimant
for damages computed in accordance with subparagraph (C).
(C) Damages for which a person is liable under subparagraph (A)
or subparagraph (B) are money damages in an amount equal to the sum
of--
(i) the amount determined under paragraph (1)(A)(ii), and
(ii) 3 times the amount determined applicable under
paragraph (1)(A)(i).
(D) Notice to a person under subparagraph (B)--
(i) shall be in writing;
(ii) shall be posted by certified mail or personally
delivered to the person; and
(iii) shall contain--
(I) a statement of intention to commence the action
under this section or to join the person as a defendant (as
the case may be), together with the reasons therefor;
(II) a demand that the unlawful trafficking in the
claimant's property cease immediately; and
(III) a copy of the summary statement published under
paragraph (8).
(4) Applicability.--(A) Except as otherwise provided in this
paragraph, actions may be brought under paragraph (1) with respect
to property confiscated before, on, or after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(B) In the case of property confiscated before the date of the
enactment of this Act, a United States national may not bring an
action under this section on a claim to the confiscated property
unless such national acquires ownership of the claim before such
date of enactment.
(C) In the case of property confiscated on or after the date of
the enactment of this Act, a United States national who, after the
property is confiscated, acquires ownership of a claim to the
property by assignment for value, may not bring an action on the
claim under this section.
(5) Treatment of certain actions.--(A) In the case of a United
States national who was eligible to file a claim with the Foreign
Claims Settlement Commission under title V of the International
Claims Settlement Act of 1949 but did not so file the claim, that
United States national may not bring an action on that claim under
this section.
(B) In the case of any action brought under this section by a
United States national whose underlying claim in the action was
timely filed with the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission under
title V of the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 but was
denied by the Commission, the court shall accept the findings of
the Commission on the claim as conclusive in the action under this
section.
(C) A United States national, other than a United States
national bringing an action under this section on a claim certified
under title V of the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949,
may not bring an action on a claim under this section before the
end of the 2-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of
this Act.
(D) An interest in property for which a United States national
has a claim certified under title V of the International Claims
Settlement Act of 1949 may not be the subject of a claim in an
action under this section by any other person. Any person bringing
an action under this section whose claim has not been so certified
shall have the burden of establishing for the court that the
interest in property that is the subject of the claim is not the
subject of a claim so certified.
(6) Inapplicability of act of state doctrine.--No court of the
United States shall decline, based upon the act of state doctrine,
to make a determination on the merits in an action brought under
paragraph (1) .
(7) Licenses not required.--(A) Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, an action under this section may be brought and
may be settled, and a judgment rendered in such action may be
enforced, without obtaining any license or other permission from
any agency of the United States, except that this paragraph shall
not apply to the execution of a judgment against, or the settlement
of actions involving, property blocked under the authorities of
section 5(b) of the Trading with the Enemy Act that were being
exercised on July 1, 1977, as a result of a national emergency
declared by the President before such date, and are being exercised
on the date of the enactment of this Act.
(B) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and for
purposes of this title only, any claim against the Cuban Government
shall not be deemed to be an interest in property the transfer of
which to a United States national required before the enactment of
this Act, or requires after the enactment of this Act, a license
issued by, or the permission of, any agency of the United States.
(8) Publication by attorney general.--Not later than 60 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General
shall prepare and publish in the Federal Register a concise summary
of the provisions of this title, including a statement of the
liability under this title of a person trafficking in confiscated
property, and the remedies available to United States nationals
under this title.
(b) Amount in Controversy.--An action may be brought under this
section by a United States national only where the amount in
controversy exceeds the sum or value of $50,000, exclusive of interest,
costs, and attorneys' fees. In calculating $50,000 for purposes of the
preceding sentence, the applicable amount under subclause (I), (II), or
(III) of subsection (a)(1)(A)(i) may not be tripled as provided in
subsection (a)(3).
(c) Procedural Requirements.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in this title, the
provisions of title 28, United States Code, and the rules of the
courts of the United States apply to actions under this section to
the same extent as such provisions and rules apply to any other
action brought under section 1331 of title 28, United States Code.
(2) Service of process.--In an action under this section,
service of process on an agency or instrumentality of a foreign
state in the conduct of a commercial activity, or against
individuals acting under color of law, shall be made in accordance
with section 1608 of title 28, United States Code.
(d) Enforceability of Judgments Against Cuban Government.--In an
action brought under this section, any judgment against an agency or
instrumentality of the Cuban Government shall not be enforceable
against an agency or instrumentality of either a transition government
in Cuba or a democratically elected government in Cuba.
(e) Certain Property Immune From Execution.--Section 1611 of title
28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following
new subsection:
``(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 1610 of this
chapter, the property of a foreign state shall be immune from
attachment and from execution in an action brought under section 302 of
the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 to
the extent that the property is a facility or installation used by an
accredited diplomatic mission for official purposes.''.
(f) Election of Remedies.--
(1) Election.--Subject to paragraph (2)--
(A) any United States national that brings an action under
this section may not bring any other civil action or proceeding
under the common law, Federal law, or the law of any of the
several States, the District of Columbia, or any commonwealth,
territory, or possession of the United States, that seeks
monetary or nonmonetary compensation by reason of the same
subject matter; and
(B) any person who brings, under the common law or any
provision of law other than this section, a civil action or
proceeding for monetary or nonmonetary compensation arising out
of a claim for which an action would otherwise be cognizable
under this section may not bring an action under this section
on that claim.
(2) Treatment of certified claimants.--(A) In the case of any
United States national that brings an action under this section
based on a claim certified under title V of the International
Claims Settlement Act of 1949--
(i) if the recovery in the action is equal to or greater
than the amount of the certified claim, the United States
national may not receive payment on the claim under any
agreement entered into between the United States and Cuba
settling claims covered by such title, and such national shall
be deemed to have discharged the United States from any further
responsibility to represent the United States national with
respect to that claim;
(ii) if the recovery in the action is less than the amount
of the certified claim, the United States national may receive
payment under a claims agreement described in clause (i) but
only to the extent of the difference between the amount of the
recovery and the amount of the certified claim; and
(iii) if there is no recovery in the action, the United
States national may receive payment on the certified claim
under a claims agreement described in clause (i) to the same
extent as any certified claimant who does not bring an action
under this section.
(B) In the event some or all actions brought under this section
are consolidated by judicial or other action in such manner as to
create a pool of assets available to satisfy the claims in such
actions, including a pool of assets in a proceeding in bankruptcy,
every claimant whose claim in an action so consolidated was
certified by the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission under title V
of the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 shall be
entitled to payment in full of its claim from the assets in such
pool before any payment is made from the assets in such pool with
respect to any claim not so certified.
(g) Deposit of Excess Payments by Cuba Under Claims Agreement.--Any
amounts paid by Cuba under any agreement entered into between the
United States and Cuba settling certified claims under title V of the
International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 that are in excess of the
payments made on such certified claims after the application of
subsection (f) shall be deposited into the United States Treasury.
(h) Termination of Rights.--
(1) In general.--All rights created under this section to bring
an action for money damages with respect to property confiscated by
the Cuban Government--
(A) may be suspended under section 204(a); and
(B) shall cease upon transmittal to the Congress of a
determination of the President under section 203(c)(3) that a
democratically elected government in Cuba is in power.
(2) Pending suits.--The suspension or termination of rights
under paragraph (1) shall not affect suits commenced before the
date of such suspension or termination (as the case may be), and in
all such suits, proceedings shall be had, appeals taken, and
judgments rendered in the same manner and with the same effect as
if the suspension or termination had not occurred.
(i) Imposition of Filing Fees.--The Judicial Conference of the
United States shall establish a uniform fee that shall be imposed upon
the plaintiff or plaintiffs in each action brought under this section.
The fee should be established at a level sufficient to recover the
costs to the courts of actions brought under this section. The fee
under this subsection is in addition to any other fees imposed under
title 28, United States Code.

b7ea4d219b4d249962299c682be7d9b9bbf146a30ee645773952b8ad1c99dea4

(a) Evidence of Ownership.--
(1) Conclusiveness of certified claims.--In any action brought
under this title, the court shall accept as conclusive proof of
ownership of an interest in property a certification of a claim to
ownership of that interest that has been made by the Foreign Claims
Settlement Commission under title V of the International Claims
Settlement Act of 1949 (22 U.S.C. 1643 and following).
(2) Claims not certified.--If in an action under this title a
claim has not been so certified by the Foreign Claims Settlement
Commission, the court may appoint a special master, including the
Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, to make determinations
regarding the amount and ownership of the claim. Such
determinations are only for evidentiary purposes in civil actions
brought under this title and do not constitute certifications under
title V of the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949.
(3) Effect of determinations of foreign or international
entities.--In determining the amount or ownership of a claim in an
action under this title, the court shall not accept as conclusive
evidence any findings, orders, judgments, or decrees from
administrative agencies or courts of foreign countries or
international organizations that declare the value of or invalidate
the claim, unless the declaration of value or invalidation was
found pursuant to binding international arbitration to which the
United States or the claimant submitted the claim.
(b) Amendment of the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949.--
Title V of the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 (22 U.S.C.
1643 and following) is amended by adding at the end the following new
section:
``determination of ownership of claims referred by district courts of
the united states
``Sec. 514. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act and
only for purposes of section 302 of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic
Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996, a United State district court, for
fact-finding purposes, may refer to the Commission, and the Commission
may determine, questions of the amount and ownership of a claim by a
United States national (as defined in section 4 of the Cuban Liberty
and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996), resulting from the
confiscation of property by the Government of Cuba described in section
503(a), whether or not the United States national qualified as a
national of the United States (as defined in section 502(1)) at the
time of the action by the Government of Cuba.''.
(c) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act or in section 514 of
the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949, as added by subsection
(b), shall be construed--
(1) to require or otherwise authorize the claims of Cuban
nationals who became United States citizens after their property
was confiscated to be included in the claims certified to the
Secretary of State by the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission for
purposes of future negotiation and espousal of claims with a
friendly government in Cuba when diplomatic relations are restored;
or
(2) as superseding, amending, or otherwise altering
certifications that have been made under title V of the
International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 before the date of the
enactment of this Act.

101ed9ace189450e1eef964b0350e413a76d4d0dc9e431e9682e11365c11d817

CERTIFICATION PROCEDURE.
Title V of the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 (22
U.S.C. 1643 and following), as amended by section 303, is further
amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``exclusivity of foreign claims settlement commission certification
procedure
``Sec. 515. (a) Subject to subsection (b), neither any national of
the United States who was eligible to file a claim under section 503
but did not timely file such claim under that section, nor any person
who was ineligible to file a claim under section 503, nor any national
of Cuba, including any agency, instrumentality, subdivision, or
enterprise of the Government of Cuba or any local government of Cuba,
nor any successor thereto, whether or not recognized by the United
States, shall have a claim to, participate in, or otherwise have an
interest in, the compensation proceeds or nonmonetary compensation paid
or allocated to a national of the United States by virtue of a claim
certified by the Commission under section 507, nor shall any district
court of the United States have jurisdiction to adjudicate any such
claim.
``(b) Nothing in subsection (a) shall be construed to detract from
or otherwise affect any rights in the shares of capital stock of
nationals of the United States owning claims certified by the
Commission under section 507.''.

eee1836926cf8c93d8afb68f642f20f5d1163d8a44a56cec8dd754b98517e48c

An action under section 302 may not be brought more than 2 years
after the trafficking giving rise to the action has ceased to occur.

c251bb25030ca1e942971771c485fa2b2305ff1bd2bf23d99c13be55b4399f60

(a) In General.--Subject to subsections (b) and (c), this title and
the amendments made by this title shall take effect on August 1, 1996.
(b) Suspension Authority.--
(1) Suspension authority.--The President may suspend the
effective date under subsection (a) for a period of not more than 6
months if the President determines and reports in writing to the
appropriate congressional committees at least 15 days before such
effective date that the suspension is necessary to the national
interests of the United States and will expedite a transition to
democracy in Cuba.
(2) Additional suspensions.--The President may suspend the
effective date under subsection (a) for additional periods of not
more than 6 months each, each of which shall begin on the day after
the last day of the period during which a suspension is in effect
under this subsection, if the President determines and reports in
writing to the appropriate congressional committees at least 15
days before the date on which the additional suspension is to begin
that the suspension is necessary to the national interests of the
United States and will expedite a transition to democracy in Cuba.
(c) Other Authorities.--
(1) Suspension.--After this title and the amendments of this
title have taken effect--
(A) no person shall acquire a property interest in any
potential or pending action under this title; and
(B) the President may suspend the right to bring an action
under this title with respect to confiscated property for a
period of not more than 6 months if the President determines
and reports in writing to the appropriate congressional
committees at least 15 days before the suspension takes effect
that such suspension is necessary to the national interests of
the United States and will expedite a transition to democracy
in Cuba.
(2) Additional suspensions.--The President may suspend the
right to bring an action under this title for additional periods of
not more than 6 months each, each of which shall begin on the day
after the last day of the period during which a suspension is in
effect under this subsection, if the President determines and
reports in writing to the appropriate congressional committees at
least 15 days before the date on which the additional suspension is
to begin that the suspension is necessary to the national interests
of the United States and will expedite a transition to democracy in
Cuba.
(3) Pending suits.--The suspensions of actions under paragraph
(1) shall not affect suits commenced before the date of such
suspension, and in all such suits, proceedings shall be had,
appeals taken, and judgments rendered in the same manner and with
the same effect as if the suspension had not occurred.
(d) Rescission of Suspension.--The President may rescind any
suspension made under subsection (b) or (c) upon reporting to the
appropriate congressional committees that doing so will expedite a
transition to democracy in Cuba.

e8e0aaf2106303e2e5a03033ab142fa5a7dbbbf374bc80d4c9add6ea9bc8f78f

CONFISCATED PROPERTY OF UNITED STATES NATIONALS OR WHO
TRAFFIC IN SUCH PROPERTY.
(a) Grounds for Exclusion.--The Secretary of State shall deny a
visa to, and the Attorney General shall exclude from the United States,
any alien who the Secretary of State determines is a person who, after
the date of the enactment of this Act--
(1) has confiscated, or has directed or overseen the
confiscation of, property a claim to which is owned by a United
States national, or converts or has converted for personal gain
confiscated property, a claim to which is owned by a United States
national;
(2) traffics in confiscated property, a claim to which is owned
by a United States national;
(3) is a corporate officer, principal, or shareholder with a
controlling interest of an entity which has been involved in the
confiscation of property or trafficking in confiscated property, a
claim to which is owned by a United States national; or
(4) is a spouse, minor child, or agent of a person excludable
under paragraph (1), (2), or (3).
(b) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following terms have
the following meanings:
(1) Confiscated; confiscation.--The terms ``confiscated'' and
``confiscation'' refer to--
(A) the nationalization, expropriation, or other seizure by
the Cuban Government of ownership or control of property--
(i) without the property having been returned or
adequate and effective compensation provided; or
(ii) without the claim to the property having been
settled pursuant to an international claims settlement
agreement or other mutually accepted settlement procedure;
and
(B) the repudiation by the Cuban Government of, the default
by the Cuban Government on, or the failure of the Cuban
Government to pay--
(i) a debt of any enterprise which has been
nationalized, expropriated, or otherwise taken by the Cuban
Government;
(ii) a debt which is a charge on property nationalized,
expropriated, or otherwise taken by the Cuban Government;
or
(iii) a debt which was incurred by the Cuban Government
in satisfaction or settlement of a confiscated property
claim.
(2) Traffics.--(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), a
person ``traffics'' in confiscated property if that person
knowingly and intentionally--
(i)(I) transfers, distributes, dispenses, brokers, or
otherwise disposes of confiscated property,
(II) purchases, receives, obtains control of, or otherwise
acquires confiscated property, or
(III) improves (other than for routine maintenance),
invests in (by contribution of funds or anything of value,
other than for routine maintenance), or begins after the date
of the enactment of this Act to manage, lease, possess, use, or
hold an interest in confiscated property,
(ii) enters into a commercial arrangement using or
otherwise benefiting from confiscated property, or
(iii) causes, directs, participates in, or profits from,
trafficking (as described in clause (i) or (ii)) by another
person, or otherwise engages in trafficking (as described in
clause (i) or (ii)) through another person,
without the authorization of any United States national who holds a
claim to the property.
(B) The term ``traffics'' does not include--
(i) the delivery of international telecommunication signals
to Cuba;
(ii) the trading or holding of securities publicly traded
or held, unless the trading is with or by a person determined
by the Secretary of the Treasury to be a specially designated
national;
(iii) transactions and uses of property incident to lawful
travel to Cuba, to the extent that such transactions and uses
of property are necessary to the conduct of such travel; or
(iv) transactions and uses of property by a person who is
both a citizen of Cuba and a resident of Cuba, and who is not
an official of the Cuban Government or the ruling political
party in Cuba.
(c) Exemption.--This section shall not apply where the Secretary of
State finds, on a case by case basis, that the entry into the United
States of the person who would otherwise be excluded under this section
is necessary for medical reasons or for purposes of litigation of an
action under title III.
(d) Effective Date.--
(1) In general.--This section applies to aliens seeking to
enter the United States on or after the date of the enactment of
this Act.
(2) Trafficking.--This section applies only with respect to
acts within the meaning of ``traffics'' that occur on or after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.

8fb70a07f785d047a18f80ed512b67cbda166b5821ad3195dcebf493dba52e5c

Cuba Sanctions bill — HR. 927

Other Sections

TITLE I

TITLE II

TITLE III

TITLE IV

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