Tag: U.S. Representative Seth Moulton

U.S. Senators and Representatives Demand Ending U.S. Designation of Cuba as State Sponsor of Terrorism     

On January 2, the two U.S. Senators from Massachusetts (Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey) and five U.S. Representatives from that state (Jim McGovern, Ayanna Pressley, Lori Trahan, Seth Moulton and Stephen Lynch) released a letter (dated December 14, 2023) they had sent to President Biden demanding the cancellation of the U.S. designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism.[1]

That letter stated the following:

  • We “respectfully ask that you act as quickly as possible to remove Cuba from the State Sponsor of Terrorism (SSOT) list. As you well know, Cuba was removed from the list in 2015 by President Obama and yourself after thorough review on the basis that the designation is without merit. Given the information and evidence we have reviewed, Cuba should never have been placed again on the SSOT list. It was a vindictive action taken by the Trump Administration in January 2021 as it departed office, and the policy is well overdue for change. In fact, Cuba and the United States have a functioning bilateral cooperation agreement on counterterrorism.”
  • “We believe the time to act and remove Cuba from the SSOT list is now – not months from now. There is no political or other policy argument that can justify the U.S. continuing to knowingly add to the suffering of the Cuban people. The unabated hardships facing all sectors of Cuban society are the driving force for tens of thousands abandoning their homes and migrating to the United States. It therefore runs counter to U.S. direct interests to continue the collective economic restrictions that result from Cuba remaining on the SSOT list.’
  • “As for the Trump Administration’s specious reason for returning Cuba to the SSOT list, during his most recent visit to the United States, Colombian President Gustavo Petro appealed personally to you for Cuba to be removed from the list to facilitate peace negotiations between the Colombian government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas. The importance of these negotiations merits a timely and affirmative response. For similar reasons, the President of Mexico has also requested that the designation against Cuba be rescinded.”
  • “As a candidate for President, you promised to address re-engagement with Cuba and return to the policy begun during the Obama-Biden administration, and we supported you on this commitment. We recognize that much has changed in Cuba and in the United States since 2018, but two and a half years into your Presidency, the overwhelming number of sanctions put in place by your predecessor, including placing Cuba back on the SSOT list, remain in effect. Even modest reforms to support the Cuban private sector reported last month by the media (but not yet announced officially) will not bring relief to the overwhelming majority of the Cuban people.”
  • “From the poorest and most vulnerable to the struggling private sector to religious, humanitarian and cultural actors, the Cuban people are enduring the most dire deprivations in recent memory – everyone is suffering. While there are multiple reasons for the economic crisis in Cuba, without a doubt a significant contributing factor is the restrictions and penalties facing international financial institutions and other entities because Cuba is on the SSOT list. Removing Cuba from this list is one thing that the U.S. can do immediately to ease the daily hardships facing so many Cuban families, including its struggling private sector.”
  • “We call on you now, Mr. President, to help ordinary Cubans at this critical time by acting swiftly to remove Cuba from the State Sponsor of Terrorism list. It is the only option worthy of the United States and we stand ready to support you in this decision.”

Conclusion

These Senators and Representatives are hereby thanked for this important action. Now we citizens need to ask our other congressional delegations to join this request.

And President Biden do your job and make the removal!

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[1] Letter, Congress of U.S. to President Biden (Dec. 14, 2023); McGovern Press Release, McGovern, Pressley Mass. Lawmakers Urge President Biden to take Cuba off Terrorism List (Jan. 2, 2024); Members of Congress tell Bisen: Cuba is no sponsor of terrorism, People’s World (Jan. 10, 2024);

 

 

 

Need To Prod Congress To Enact the Afghan Adjustment Act     

A recent Wall Street Journal editorial strongly endorsed enactment of the pending Afghan Adjustment Act to provide changes in U.S. immigration law to protect the 67,000 Afghans relocated to the U.S. after its withdrawal of forces from that country.[1]

However, that editorial did not discuss the reasons why Congress has not done so. A recent column in the Philadelphia Inquirer by columnist Trudy Rubin has done that, as discussed below.[2]

Rubin starts with the basic premise that before the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the U.S. Congress ”had promised special immigrant visas to Afghans who worked with our military or civilians” and “[o]nce our allies were without the protection of American forces, they would surely face Taliban revenge.”

The proposed Afghan Adjustment Act addresses these issues. But this bill “is almost dead because political leaders from both parties have chosen to ignore it. If it doesn’t pass this year, there is virtually zero chance a Republican-led Congress will put it forward next year.”

Led by Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa is a key opponent of the measure and claims that he and his Republican colleagues “oppose the measure for security reasons. But the Afghans here have already been vetted, and the act would require additional security checks. In other words, the act is a solution to the security problem, not the reverse.”

Moreover, Grassley’s opposition “makes it impossible to attach the act to the omnibus appropriations bill working its way through to passage by year’s end. That is the only path open to getting the Afghan bill through.”

In addition, one of the advocates for the Adjustment Act, Peter Meijer, a Republican representative from Michigan and a veteran of the Iraq war who worked as a civilian in Afghanistan, said that the Biden “administration is not really lifting a finger” for the Act. . . . Nobody is really opposed to it, but nobody is viscerally advocating [for it].”

Another House colleague, Representative Seth Moulton (Democrat, Massachusetts), sees the failure to enact the Act is a stain on American honor. He said, ““We made that promise to protect the Afghan people who risked their lives to help us. We put our word on the line on behalf of our country. And we know how hard it will be in the future conflicts to find foreign allies if we can’t keep our word.”

Therefore, Rye Barcott, a Marine veteran and cofounder of With Honor, a bipartisan organization dedicated to enlisting veterans in public service, said “Legislators need to feel a sense of urgency from their constituents, who need to contact their legislators. . . . right now.”

Conclusion

Therefore, immediately after publishing this post, I will send it along with the one about the Wall Street Journal editorial to my Minnesota Senators, Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, and Representative Ilhan Omar. As a native Iowan, I also will send these posts to Senator Grassley.

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[1] Wall Street Journal Editorial Supports Afghan Evacuees, dwkcommentaries.com (Dec. 13, 2022).

[2] Rubin, Will Congress really send 80,000 Afghans back to the Taliban?, Phil. Inquirer (Dec. 14, 2022). See also Stockman, Do Right by Our Afghan Allies. Pass the Afghan Adjustment Act, N.Y. Times (Dec. 16, 2022).