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91_HJ0066
LRB9113818KBkb
1 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The United States embargo against Cuba, imposed
3 in 1961, has not achieved its goals, but instead has
4 increasingly created economic and physical hardships to the
5 people of the Republic of Cuba, depriving them of basic foods
6 and medicines and exposing its people, mainly its children,
7 to the effects of malnutrition and other severe health
8 concerns; and
9 WHEREAS, The Illinois-Cuba Humanitarian Mission in 1999,
10 headed by Governor and Mrs. George Ryan, along with 42
11 delegates, saw first hand the basic needs of the Cuban
12 people, and the importance of people-to-people exchange, and
13 has since then encouraged organizations and institutions in
14 Illinois to engage in educational and agricultural research
15 collaborations and trade that will produce mutually
16 beneficial results for the people of Illinois and Cuba; and
17 WHEREAS, Recent Cuban related issues have brought to
18 question the inconsistencies of the United States' foreign
19 policies concerning migration, sanctions, and the ban on
20 travel; these issues have brought to light the need to
21 establish relations and permit American citizens to freely
22 travel to Cuba; and for those American citizens with family
23 and friends in Cuba to freely provide assistance without
24 breaking the laws of the United States; and
25 WHEREAS, The majority of Americans are interested in
26 pursuing a peaceful and respectful end to the conflicts that
27 have existed between Cuba and the United States, and this
28 measure could be the first steps towards reconciliation and
29 the normalization of relations between the United States and
30 Cuba; and
31 WHEREAS, The State of Illinois, a national leader in
32 education, agriculture, commerce, and technology, will
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1 benefit from the potential educational and agricultural
2 collaborations and exchanges, and biotechnology, medical, and
3 cultural trade that could be established with Cuba, its
4 people and institutions; and
5 WHEREAS, The Congress of the United States is currently
6 considering over seventeen bills that seek to eliminate
7 sanctions against Cuba for the purpose of permitting
8 individuals and entities based with the United States to
9 freely travel, develop trade, and provide humanitarian aid in
10 the form of food and medicines; therefore, be it
11 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
12 NINETY-FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
13 SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we urge the passage and
14 enactment of any and all congressional legislation that would
15 lift the United States' sanctions against travel and the
16 delivery of food and medicine to the Cuban people, reminding
17 both the Congress and the President of the United States that
18 such an adjustment in our foreign policy reflects an American
19 humanitarianism that transcends political ideology; and be it
20 further
21 RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be presented to
22 the President of the United States, the Speaker of the United
23 States House of Representatives, the President pro tempore of
24 the United States Senate, and each member of the Illinois
25 congressional delegation.