Crawford Announces Cuba Working Group

Press Release

Earlier today, Representative Rick Crawford (AR-1) and nine other members of the House of Representatives announced the formation of a bi-partisan Cuba Working Group that will seek for greater U.S. engagement with Cuba.

In a letter to Speaker Paul Ryan and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi announcing the group's formation, the steering committee members said:

"Increasingly, the American people are indicating their desire for a new, more pragmatic approach to Cuba. More people are traveling from the U.S. to Cuba, more businesses are looking for opportunity on the island, and more sectors are eager for trade. The bi-partisan Cuba Working Group will promote a U.S.-Cuba policy that reflects the interests of the American people in engagement with Cuba."

The letter concludes, "Our goal is to raise the level of understanding inside of Congress for the need to build a new policy framework for U.S.-Cuban relations."

After the announcement, Representative Crawford said:

"The best approach to change between Cuba and U.S. relations is to make cautious and incremental changes to current Cuba policies in ways that benefit the United States and introduce the Cuban people to American products. Not only is it estimated that Cuba imports around 80 percent of its food supply, but the US also enjoys an inherent advantage due to our close geographic proximity and state of the art production and food distribution infrastructure. Agriculture trading partnerships with Cuba will help build a foundation of goodwill and cooperation that will open the door to long-sought reforms in the same the way that American influence has brought reform to other communist states."

The group seeks to advance policy proposals to promote the rapidly changing status in the US-Cuba relationship. Joining Crawford are: Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Tom Emmer (R-MN), Reid Ribble (R-WI), Kathy Castor (D-FL), Jim McGovern (D-MA), Sam Farr (D-CA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Ted Poe (R-TX), Rosa Delauro (D-CT).

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