Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Mike Enzi (R-WY) have introduced a bill to the senate that would lift the travel restrictions that currently prevent U.S. citizens from visiting Cuba. Called the "Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act" (S.428), it is cosponsored by 20 senators. The House is considering a companion measure (H.R. 874) introduced by Bill Delahunt (D, MA-10) and Jeff Flake (R, AZ-6), with 121 cosponsors.
Speaking of the bill, Sen. Dorgan said:
Seems to me when you have a policy that has failed for five decades, you ought to take a look at it again and see if you should modify it. We allow Americans travel to Vietnam and China, both communist countries.
Sen. Dick Lugar (R-IN) also spoke in support of the bill:
After 47 years ... the unilateral embargo on Cuba has failed to achieve its stated purpose of 'bringing democracy to the Cuban people. The current U.S. policy has many passionate defenders, and their criticism of the Castro regime is justified. Nevertheless, we must recognize the ineffectiveness of our current policy and deal with the Cuban regime in a way that enhances U.S. interests.
Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) has also spoken in favor of the bill.
Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), a second generation Cuban-American, opposes the bill:
Over the years, millions of Europeans, Canadians, Mexicans, South and Central Americans, among others, have visited Cuba, invested in Cuba, spent billions of dollars, signed trade agreements and engaged politically. And what has been the result of all of that money and all of that engagement? The regime has not opened up; on the contrary, it has used resources to become more oppressive.
The Center for Democracy in the Americas, a non-profit organization advocating reform of U.S. policies towards Latin America, issued a press release supporting the bill:
This legislation attacks a core contradiction of US-Cuba policy: namely, that the right way to express our views on political freedom to Cubans is by stopping Americans from traveling to their island.
The United States has not had diplomatic relations with Cuba since 1961, and has maintained a trade embargo on the country since 1962.