U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor released the following statement regarding the removal of a harmful legislative policy rider that would have reinstituted harsh travel restrictions on Cuban-Americans. Castor worked with the White House, Conference negotiators and her Tampa Bay neighbors this week to emphasize the importance of Obama-era Cuba travel policies to our entire community:
“Cuban-American families can breathe a sigh of relief that their ability to visit family on the island nation will not be curtailed, especially during the holiday season, by last-minute political maneuvers. Convenient, new airline flights such as those from Tampa International Airport will continue to serve our neighbors and boost our economy. I expect to see even more demand for these flights in the coming months and years. President Obama held firm on his policies supporting Cuban-American families in the face of Congressional Republican efforts to undermine progress. Holding firm proved to win the day.”
“The removal of this measure means that Cuban-American families can rest assured they can visit their loved ones as frequently as they want to, a freedom they have embraced and deserve.
“I am proud to work with the Tampa Bay community, including churches, the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, Tampa International Airport, neighborhood leaders and others to make clear the importance of these flights and policies that allow travel to Cuba. The human and economic benefits are enormous, bringing families together and bolstering small businesses and jobs in our region.”
The Republican-backed Diaz-Balart amendment would have effectively reinstituted harsh Bush-era limits on the travel of family members to Cuba and on remittances, which limited travel to Cuba to once every three years and limited remittances to family members to $1,200 annually. President Obama lifted those restrictions in April 2009. Since then, the total number of U.S. travelers to Cuba nearly tripled from 10,000 per month to nearly 30,000 per month.
Flights from Tampa to Cuba started in September and have grown from one a week to four a week, due to pent-up demand.
