Bills
| 3.23.22

Should Americans Get to Travel to Cuba? (S. 299)

Do you support or oppose this bill?

What is S. 299?

(Updated August 10, 2018)

This bill would allow U.S. citizens and legal residents to travel to or from Cuba. It would end the longstanding travel ban on U.S. citizens going to or from Cuba to prevents U.S. money from being spent in Cuba.

This would include travel-related transactions like baggage fees, living expenses, travel arrangements, voyage-related fees, and normal banking transactions. Transporting items other than personal baggage would still be prohibited under this legislation.

All of these changes to existing law could be challenged under presidential authority during a state of war between the U.S. and Cuba. They can also be changed in the event of imminent danger to the public health and safety of U.S. travelers. 

Argument in favor

The Cold War is over. The President has already endorsed rekindling the U.S./Cuba relationship, and easing antiquated restrictions on travel will strengthen diplomacy efforts on both sides.

Argument opposed

Cuba is still a repressive dictatorship and allowing Americans to travel there only lends legitimacy to the Cuban regime. Easing the travel ban could give the Castro family a chance to reassert themselves.

Impact

U.S. citizens who would like to travel to Cuba, U.S. travel agencies, Cuban commerce, federal agencies involved in foreign travel, U.S./Cuba diplomatic relations, and Cuban-Americans.

Cost of S. 299

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

Of Note: Following the Cuban Revolution and the establishment of Fidel Castro's communist regime in Cuba, U.S./Cuba relations have been tense. In 1960, two years after Castro’s revolution succeeded, the U.S. banned all exports into Cuba aside from food and medicine. The failed Bay of Pigs operation and the Cuban Missile Crisis over the next two years exacerbated the tensions, which led to the enactment of a ban on all imports from Cuba.

The U.S. never explicitly banned travel to and from Cuba as part of its embargo — but it did create rules making it essentially impossible to travel into Cuba without violating them. The Obama administration had previously eased regulations on Cuban-Americans traveling to-and-from Cuba. The travel restrictions did not, however, prevent U.S. citizens from traveling to another country and going to Cuba from there. About 98,000 Americans did just that in 2012 despite technically being in violation of the law.

Many have argued that Cuba’s record on human rights and its status as a totalitarian dictatorship should keep the U.S. from easing restrictions. Others believe Cuba should only be let off the hook in exchange for democratic elections, releasing political prisoners, among other conditions. According to Freedom House’s index of Freedom in the World, globally Cuba has some of the worst political rights.


In-Depth: This bill was introduced with bipartisan support: 29 Democrats, five Republicans, and two Independents (Sen. Angus King (I-ME) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)) have signed on as cosponsors in the Senate.

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), the lead sponsor of this legislation, said that the current policy of prohibiting travel to Cuba "hasn't worked" in undermining the Castro regime.

Flake and a group of six other Republican Senators that included Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) wrote a letter to President Obama expressing their support for efforts legislation aimed at easing restrictions that have prevented Cuba's private sector from growing.


Media:

Summary by Eric Revell
(Photo Credit: Flickr user Rinaldo Wurglitsch)