Congress Ready to End Cuba Travel Ban: Senators

But Cuban-American senator fights colleagues to block it

(NEWSER) - A bipartisan group of senators is set to introduce a new bill on US-Cuban relations tomorrow that would remove all legal barriers to traveling to the island, reports the Washington Post. The bill goes far beyond earlier efforts to relax travel restrictions and enjoys support from committee leaders, top Republicans, and the White House. But it has to get past the angry opposition of Bob Menendez, the Cuban-American senator from New Jersey, who told fellow legislators: "Let's duke it out on the floor." More»

Will remove Bush's restrictions on cultural, academic trips

(NEWSER) - President Obama intends to peel back restrictions on travel to Cuba enacted under George W. Bush, allowing academic, religious, and cultural groups to more freely venture to and from the communist island. Obama already lifted the restrictions for Americans with relatives on the island in 2009, but is now returning in full to the broader “people to people” policy that existed under Bill Clinton, the New York Times reports. More»

State Department relaxes interpretation of the law

(NEWSER) - Travel between the US and Cuba has soared this year, thanks to the Obama administration. The president hasn’t officially changed any policies regarding Cuba, but permission to travel in or out is suddenly a lot easier to come by, applicants tell the Miami Herald. Joan Brown Campbell, Elian Gonzalez’s church lady friend, couldn’t get permission to fly to Cuba for four years in the Bush era but got the OK right away under Obama. More»

(NEWSER) - President Obama is close to letting Cuban-Americans travel freely to Cuba and send unlimited funds to families there, the Wall Street Journal reports. Amid growing pressure from Democrats in Congress, Obama plans to fulfill a campaign promise and loosen current restrictions, which allow Cuban-Americans to visit family once a year and send up to $300 to each household in Cuba receiving money. More»

(NEWSER) - A bill pending in the US House includes a provision relaxing travel restrictions on Cuban-Americans who wish to visit Cuba by slicing out funding for enforcement of a 2004 law, the Miami Herald reports. The bill, which will likely see a vote today, allows annual visits rather than one every 3 years, and permits easier access for Americans with business in Cuba. More»