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Mark Pocan

Democrat

“I went to Cuba. I saw that our blockade is hurting people. The U.S. blockade is bad. It is inhumane. It blocks everything people need to live. We force other countries into the blockade too. The blockade does not make us safe. It only punishes people. It does not make Cuba change its government. The blockade is insane. Obama lifted some restrictions. That was good. Trump put them back and made them worse. That was sadistic. Cuba can't get parts for medical machines. Babies are dying. People are waiting for surgeries. The power goes out often. Garbage isn't picked up. We say we want to help businesses, but we hurt them. The U.S. government lies about Cuba. The blockade destroys their power, healthcare, and education. Cuba's government is not like ours. We disagree with their actions. Marco Rubio makes this personal. The State Department report on Cuba is stupid and biased. The people of America are tired of war and regime change. We want to address problems at home. We don't want a Gaza in Cuba. We need to end the blockade.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I just got back from a fact-finding trip to Cuba a week ago after having visited the country 30 years ago and 3\1/ 2\ years ago, as well. Let me tell you what I found on this trip. The United States' blockade of Cuba is crushing the Cuban people. We are hurting the very people who we profess to care about, and we are not doing so for national security reasons but for political reasons. Here is what I saw. Our blockade is inhumane. Food, medicine, fuel for energy, literally everything you need to live and thrive, is blocked by us. It is not just us. We forced the world into an involuntary global blockade, as well, as we will punish anyone who does business with these sanctions. Our boot is on the throats of the Cuban people after over 65 years of blockading their government. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Our punishing of the people of Cuba has not brought the regime change that some politicians want, but we are pushing our boot harder onto the necks of the people. Insanity. Mr. Speaker, we had a period of time of lifting the restrictions under Barack Obama. Guess what. Americans visited Cuba. The people of the country thrived and loved our country, and America was no less safe. All of that got taken away by Donald Trump. In fact, we didn't just go back to the same old repression. Instead, we went to new levels of sadism against the Cuban people. Ships can't bring supplies due to our blockade. Goods can't be exchanged with the Cuban people because of our blockade. Medicine--even in war, we allow medicine through. Medicine and medical parts can't get to the Cuban people due to our blockade. Cuba is a nation that trains doctors who serve around the world, especially in Central and South America. Yet, in Cuban hospitals, MRI and CAT scan machines sit idly because they can't get the parts they need to fix them. I have seen it with my own eyes. The infant mortality rate has doubled due to the tightening of the blockade. Nearly 14,000 kids and 100,000 adults are waiting for surgeries. When the power goes out, which it does quite often due to our oil ban, surgeons finish surgeries with the light from their cell phones because of our blockade. In fact, while I was there, the power went out across the country for the second time that week: 42 hours down, then 1\1/2\ hours of power, and then a shutdown again. Garbage is lining the streets because garbage trucks can't pick up trash, causing additional health hazards. We say that we want to transform the country with a more robust private sector, yet we make it harder for small businesses to open and thrive. I have talked to small business owners there, one who went from 400 employees to 12 due to our blockade. The government in Cuba announced 176 reforms for helping private businesses, but our government refuses to acknowledge a single one. Bluntly, the U.S. Government is lying to the American people about Cuba. I met with some ambassadors from other countries, and one thing really stuck. One said that it was like a silent Gaza. No, there aren't bombs destroying buildings and neighborhoods, but there is a destruction of the power system. There is a devastation to their healthcare system. There is an attack on their ability to educate their children. The people of Cuba are hurting economically more than ever, all due to the U.S. sanctions and blockade, not because of the Cuban Government. Mr. Speaker, their governing system certainly isn't ours. We disagree with some of their actions, for sure. Unfortunately, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is making this personal and political rather than about the best interests of the United States. The State Department just published a ridiculous report about the threat to America from Cuba. It may be the stupidest, most fantastical, most biased thing I have ever read from a government agency. Enough. The people of America are tired of war and regime change. We want things in our country addressed, like being able to make a good wage and have groceries, healthcare, and gas be more affordable. Yet, starting another conflict while in a quagmire in Iran is the last thing we need. We don't want another Gaza in Cuba. We need to end the blockade.

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