WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The U.S. House Agriculture Committee Wednesday approved a controversial bill that aims to lift a half-century ban on U.S. citizens traveling to Cuba.
Proponents say the bill would boost sales of U.S. goods, while opponents argue it props up a Fidel Castro regime accused of human rights abuses and considered to be a sponsor of terrorism by the State Department.
The bill passed by a vote of 25-20.
"It is time to try a new strategy of engagement," Agriculture panel Chairman Collin Peterson (D., Minn.) said in his opening statement. "By facilitating agriculture trade and travel in Cuba, we can show the Cuban people the great benefits of democracy."
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said the legislation "is the first step toward a policy likely to bring change to Cuba and commercial benefits to the U.S. The chamber referred to a Texas A&M University study published earlier this year that showed the bill could result in up to $365 million in additional sales of U.S. goods with a total economic impact of $1.1 billion.
But Rep. Thomas Rooney (R., Fla.), who vigorously opposed the bill, said "every dollar spent by American tourists in Cuba would contribute to the regime's bottom line, providing resources for Castro's army, his secret police and his political prisons."
Rep. Joe Baca (D., Ca.) said given that the economic crisis appeared to be jeopardizing the control of the regime, "now is not the time to lift the travel ban and prop up the Castro regime with injection of U.S. tourism dollars."
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