Initiatives on Cuba

Subject: Call for local U.S./Cuba Policy Advocacy

Dear U.S./Cuba Policy Advocates:

Last month more than 80 people from organizations around the country met in Washington, DC, to discuss coordinated efforts to change U.S. policy toward Cuba. One of the outcomes of that meeting was a call for U.S./Cuba policy-related advocacy around the country from April 24-26, 2000. Many of you have already heard about this call; some of you may not yet have received word. We hope that you will plan and carry out local actions on these dates. These actions could focus on congressional advocacy, public education, cultural events, etc., as your group sees fit.

Attached you will find a page giving further information and suggestions for these activies. Your congresspeople will be on recess in their districts, so this is a very good time to make appointments to meet with  them.

Recent developments in Congress make this an especially good time to focus on educational visits to your Representative. We have recently won an important victory in the Senate. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, chaired by Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC), approved (without dissent) language in a bill that would significantly ease the U.S. food and medicine embargo on Cuba. This means that the Senate is likely to approve legislation to end the food and medicine sales ban, and it also means that this is a critical time to focus our educational and advocacy efforts on the House of Representatives.

Currently, the Serrano bill to end the embargo on food and medicine sales to Cuba has 163 co-sponsors in the House. Visits to undecided Members of the House in their district offices during the April 24-26 U.S./Cuba Policy Actions Days would be especially helpful, and visits to reinforce and encourage those who have already co-sponsored the legislation would help as well. Please circulate the attached (camera-ready) call for the U.S./Cuba Policy Action Days as widely as you can in your networks and among your contacts. Encourage groups you know and work with to organize congressional visits or other activities during April 24-26.

If you want more information on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee bill referred to above, check out LAWG's website at www.lawg.org. If you want to confirm the status of your Representative on the Serrano bill, go to the Tomas website, http://thomas.loc.gov, and search under Bill Summary & Status for the 106th Congress. The Bill number is H.R. 1644. A list of current co-sponsors for this bill is available on that site. Or give us a call at LAWG at 202/546-7010.

Thanks for whatever you can do during these days. Many of us in DC will also be making hill visits to Representatives' offices at the same time that actions are taking place in the districts. Please let us know what activities you plan and the results of any visits to Members' offices.

Sincerely,

Mavis Anderson
Latin America Working Group

APRIL 24 - APRIL 26, 2000

_ Do a cultural event (show a film, do a concert, host an art show, have a reading);

_ Host a speaker or conduct a forum;

_ Visit your Congressperson or Senator in his/her district office to discuss the initiative to permit the sale of food and medicine to Cuba, or freedom to travel to Cuba;

_ Attend a campaign event for a candidate for public office and raise the issue of U.S./Cuba policy;

_ Hold a vigil or a picket.

If you plan an activity or an action, please keep us informed. Many of our organizations have resources to help with particular activities. If you’d like a copy of the Latin America Working Group’s organizing packet, Put U.S./Cuba Policy in the Campaign, e-mail to lawg@lawg.org or call at 202.546.7010.