U.S. House to Debate Changes to Cuba Travel Ban

A proposed amendment to the House’s financial services appropriations bill would lift restrictions on U.S. citizens’ travel to Cuba.

The measure, authored by Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.), is scheduled to be considered Wednesday by the House as part of debate on the broader financial services bill.

If passed, the amendment would accompany one passed last week by the Senate Appropriations Committee as part of its financial services bill. But the House version could face more difficulty. Last year a similar proposal lost a House vote by a margin of 247 to 176.

However, existing language in the House bill also contains provisions that would roll back some of the steps the Obama administration has taken to loosen restrictions on travel to Cuba and appears to eliminate the people-to-people mode of travel.

A measure in the bill would tighten the definition of educational exchanges, one of the 12 approved categories under which Americans can travel to Cuba and the one that includes the people-to-people provision, to only include educational travel involving academic programs.

Another measure would also prohibit financial transactions with the Cuban military. That impacts travel, according to a report by the geopolitical intelligence firm Stratfor, since the military runs much of Cuba’s tourism infrastructure, including hotels, tour companies and ports.

The amendment to lift travel restrictions has the support of ASTA. “While the administration’s recent actions on Cuba travel are a step in the right direction, it is up to Congress to do away with the ‘travel ban’ once and for all,” ASTA said.

Source: Travel Weekly