Maxine Dexter, OR
Linked statement
“I want Congress to support a bill that ends the trade embargo on Cuba and restores normal relations. U.S. sanctions are cutting off Cuba's fuel, which causes blackouts, shuts down hospitals, and hurts everyday Cuban families.”
“Mr. Speaker, the American people need to know that their government is intentionally suffocating the nation of Cuba. There is no other way to describe what is happening. Earlier this month, I traveled to Cuba with a congressional delegation to see firsthand how U.S. policy is affecting this country that is just 90 miles off our shore. This is a country that is known for its joy and for its culture. It is a country that has had a glimpse of prosperity and promise during the Obama administration when relations were normalized and decades of sanctions lifted, only to have Trump reinstate the blockade in 2017. Normalized relations led to an explosion of opportunity for small businesses, international investment, and cultural exchange. Hope was contagious. Today, much of that hope has disappeared. Ultimately, it comes down to fuel. Immediately after coming back into office in January of 2025, Trump decisively cut off the ability for any fuel to get into their country--fuel the country depends on to run its electrical power plants, vehicles, and generators. Cuba is not a nation that can produce its own, so without imported fuel, there is no electricity. This has reverberations across every aspect of Cuban life. Families cannot go to the grocery store as they always have done and keep their groceries in a fridge or a freezer because they do not have reliable electricity. Meat, milk, and medicine spoil with the power outages that plague the nation. Basic services have broken down. Daily life is a constant struggle. Cuba’s public health system and its medical training programs are the envy of much of the world. Their healthcare system is filled with highly qualified, well-trained physicians, and yet the hospital I toured in Havana was nearly empty. Physicians have no patients because they have no transportation, no buses to get there. They have tens of thousands of people waiting for surgeries because supplies are insufficient and only a fraction of their operating rooms are running. I saw three CT scanners, their only scanners in this hospital, all broken down, an MRI machine also not working, and a handful of working ultrasounds, because parts cannot be imported. I sat face-to-face with these doctors and understood the deep pain that they are feeling, having the skills and the will to care for people but being denied the opportunity for political reasons. The difference is here in the U.S. we have never had the political will to ensure that every American has access to healthcare. As a physician, I do not know what it is like to care for every patient that comes in my door without worrying whether they can afford it. In Cuba, they have spent decades fulfilling their promise to make healthcare a human right. Every person has access to healthcare for free. Can you imagine? They made it a reality. We should be aspiring to that commitment to human health, not punishing an entire population for it. Congress must not continue standing by while our own government intentionally inflicts hardship on an entire nation. The Cuban people deserve dignity, safety, and self-determination. It is past time for the United States to choose engagement over isolation and humanity over cruelty. I am calling on every Member of this Congress to cosponsor Representative McGovern’s legislation to end the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba and move this nation toward normalized relations. As Trump continues to act erratically abroad, Congress must send a clear and unified message: There will be no military action against Cuba. It is time to stand up for the people of Cuba. This is about basic human decency. Congress cannot look to this administration to find that. From Havana to Portland, we will stand up, and that means ending this cruel blockade now. I will use every tool at my disposal to make this happen, and I am asking every one of my colleagues to join me.”
Mr. Speaker, the American people need to know that their government is intentionally suffocating the nation of Cuba. There is no other way to describe what is happening. Earlier this month, I traveled to Cuba with a congressional delegation to see firsthand how U.S. policy is affecting this country that is just 90 miles off our shore. This is a country that is known for its joy and for its culture. It is a country that has had a glimpse of prosperity and promise during the Obama administration when relations were normalized and decades of sanctions lifted, only to have Trump reinstate the blockade in 2017. Normalized relations led to an explosion of opportunity for small businesses, international investment, and cultural exchange. Hope was contagious. Today, much of that hope has disappeared. Ultimately, it comes down to fuel. Immediately after coming back into office in January of 2025, Trump decisively cut off the ability for any fuel to get into their country--fuel the country depends on to run its electrical power plants, vehicles, and generators. Cuba is not a nation that can produce its own, so without imported fuel, there is no electricity. This has reverberations across every aspect of Cuban life. Families cannot go to the grocery store as they always have done and keep their groceries in a fridge or a freezer because they do not have reliable electricity. Meat, milk, and medicine spoil with the power outages that plague the nation. Basic services have broken down. Daily life is a constant struggle. Cuba’s public health system and its medical training programs are the envy of much of the world. Their healthcare system is filled with highly qualified, well-trained physicians, and yet the hospital I toured in Havana was nearly empty. Physicians have no patients because they have no transportation, no buses to get there. They have tens of thousands of people waiting for surgeries because supplies are insufficient and only a fraction of their operating rooms are running. I saw three CT scanners, their only scanners in this hospital, all broken down, an MRI machine also not working, and a handful of working ultrasounds, because parts cannot be imported. I sat face-to-face with these doctors and understood the deep pain that they are feeling, having the skills and the will to care for people but being denied the opportunity for political reasons. The difference is here in the U.S. we have never had the political will to ensure that every American has access to healthcare. As a physician, I do not know what it is like to care for every patient that comes in my door without worrying whether they can afford it. In Cuba, they have spent decades fulfilling their promise to make healthcare a human right. Every person has access to healthcare for free. Can you imagine? They made it a reality. We should be aspiring to that commitment to human health, not punishing an entire population for it. Congress must not continue standing by while our own government intentionally inflicts hardship on an entire nation. The Cuban people deserve dignity, safety, and self-determination. It is past time for the United States to choose engagement over isolation and humanity over cruelty. I am calling on every Member of this Congress to cosponsor Representative McGovern’s legislation to end the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba and move this nation toward normalized relations. As Trump continues to act erratically abroad, Congress must send a clear and unified message: There will be no military action against Cuba. It is time to stand up for the people of Cuba. This is about basic human decency. Congress cannot look to this administration to find that. From Havana to Portland, we will stand up, and that means ending this cruel blockade now. I will use every tool at my disposal to make this happen, and I am asking every one of my colleagues to join me.