Cuban
Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD)
Act of 1996
FILE h927.enr
--H.R.927--
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, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(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:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Purposes.
Sec. 4. Definitions.
Sec. 5. Severability.
TITLE I--STRENGTHENING INTERNATIONAL SANCTIONS AGAINST THE CASTRO
GOVERNMENT
Sec. 101. Statement of policy.
Sec. 102. Enforcement of the economic embargo of Cuba.
Sec. 103. Prohibition against indirect financing of Cuba.
Sec. 104. United States opposition to Cuban membership in
international financial institutions.
Sec. 105. United States opposition to termination of the suspension
of the Cuban Government from participation in the Organization
of American States.
Sec. 106. Assistance by the independent states of the former Soviet
Union for the Cuban Government.
Sec. 107. Television broadcasting to Cuba.
Sec. 108. Reports on commerce with, and assistance to, Cuba from
other foreign countries.
Sec. 109. Authorization of support for democratic and human rights
groups and international observers.
Sec. 110. Importation safeguard against certain Cuban products.
Sec. 111. Withholding of foreign assistance from countries
supporting Juragua nuclear plant in Cuba.
Sec. 112. Reinstitution of family remittances and travel to Cuba.
Sec. 113. Expulsion of criminals from Cuba.
Sec. 114. News bureaus in Cuba.
Sec. 115. Effect of Act on lawful United States Government
activities.
Sec. 116. Condemnation of Cuban attack on American aircraft.
TITLE II--ASSISTANCE TO A FREE AND INDEPENDENT CUBA
Sec. 201. Policy toward a transition government and a
democratically elected government in Cuba.
Sec. 202. Assistance for the Cuban people.
Sec. 203. Coordination of assistance program; implementation and
reports to Congress; reprogramming.
Sec. 204. Termination of the economic embargo of Cuba.
Sec. 205. Requirements and factors for determining a transition
government.
Sec. 206. Requirements for determining a democratically elected
government.
Sec. 207. Settlement of outstanding United States claims to
confiscated property in Cuba.
TITLE III--PROTECTION OF PROPERTY RIGHTS OF UNITED STATES NATIONALS
Sec. 301. Findings.
Sec. 302. Liability for trafficking in confiscated property claimed
by United States nationals.
Sec. 303. Proof of ownership of claims to confiscated property.
Sec. 304. Exclusivity of Foreign Claims Settlement Commission
certification procedure.
Sec. 305. Limitation of actions.
Sec. 306. Effective date.
TITLE IV--EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN ALIENS
Sec. 401. Exclusion from the United States of aliens who have
confiscated property of United States nationals or who traffic
in such property.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
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.
SEC. 3. PURPOSES.
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.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
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.
SEC. 5. SEVERABILITY.
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.
TITLE I--STRENGTHENING INTERNATIONAL SANCTIONS AGAINST THE CASTRO
GOVERNMENT
SEC. 101. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
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.
SEC. 102. ENFORCEMENT OF THE ECONOMIC EMBARGO OF CUBA.
(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.
SEC. 103. PROHIBITION AGAINST INDIRECT FINANCING OF CUBA.
(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.
SEC. 104. UNITED STATES OPPOSITION TO CUBAN MEMBERSHIP IN
INTERNATIONAL 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.
SEC. 105. UNITED STATES OPPOSITION TO TERMINATION OF THE SUSPENSION
OF 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.
SEC. 106. ASSISTANCE BY THE INDEPENDENT STATES OF THE FORMER SOVIET
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).'.
SEC. 107. TELEVISION BROADCASTING TO CUBA.
(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.
SEC. 108. REPORTS ON COMMERCE WITH, AND ASSISTANCE TO, CUBA FROM
OTHER 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.
SEC. 109. AUTHORIZATION OF SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRATIC AND HUMAN RIGHTS
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.
SEC. 110. IMPORTATION SAFEGUARD AGAINST CERTAIN CUBAN PRODUCTS.
(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.
SEC. 111. WITHHOLDING OF FOREIGN ASSISTANCE FROM COUNTRIES
SUPPORTING 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.
SEC. 112. REINSTITUTION OF FAMILY REMITTANCES AND TRAVEL TO CUBA.
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.
SEC. 113. EXPULSION OF CRIMINALS FROM CUBA.
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.
SEC. 114. NEWS BUREAUS IN CUBA.
(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.
SEC. 115. EFFECT OF ACT ON LAWFUL UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
ACTIVITIES.
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.
SEC. 116. CONDEMNATION OF CUBAN ATTACK ON AMERICAN AIRCRAFT.
(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.
TITLE II--ASSISTANCE TO A FREE AND INDEPENDENT CUBA
SEC. 201. POLICY TOWARD A TRANSITION GOVERNMENT AND A
DEMOCRATICALLY 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.
SEC. 202. ASSISTANCE FOR THE CUBAN PEOPLE.
(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).
SEC. 203. COORDINATION OF ASSISTANCE PROGRAM; IMPLEMENTATION AND
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).
SEC. 204. TERMINATION OF THE ECONOMIC EMBARGO OF CUBA.
(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 XX .', 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.
SEC. 205. REQUIREMENTS AND FACTORS FOR DETERMINING A TRANSITION
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.
SEC. 206. REQUIREMENTS FOR DETERMINING A DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED
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.
SEC. 207. SETTLEMENT OF OUTSTANDING UNITED STATES CLAIMS TO
CONFISCATED 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.
TITLE III--PROTECTION OF PROPERTY RIGHTS OF UNITED STATES NATIONALS
SEC. 301. FINDINGS.
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.
SEC. 302. LIABILITY FOR TRAFFICKING IN CONFISCATED PROPERTY CLAIMED
BY 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.
SEC. 303. PROOF OF OWNERSHIP OF CLAIMS TO CONFISCATED PROPERTY.
(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.
SEC. 304. EXCLUSIVITY OF FOREIGN CLAIMS SETTLEMENT COMMISSION
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.'.
SEC. 305. LIMITATION OF ACTIONS.
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.
SEC. 306. EFFECTIVE DATE.
(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.
TITLE IV--EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN ALIENS
SEC. 401. EXCLUSION FROM THE UNITED STATES OF ALIENS WHO HAVE
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.
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