Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, this week is National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. This time is dedicated to educating parents and children about the causes and serious health conditions and consequences of eating disorders. Eating disorders affect more than 14 million Americans and have disproportionate impacts on teens and young adults. Beyond genetic links, factors such as consistent exposure to misleading advertising that distort one's own body image can lead to eating disorders. The key to containing this growing health issue is to spread awareness and promote authentic, healthy body images. That is why, Mr. Speaker, along with a bipartisan coalition, we have urged the Federal Trade Commission to uphold their duty to protect American consumers by working with health professionals and the advertising industry to promote fair and responsible advertisements, especially for products geared for children and teens. If you suspect that your child has an eating disorder, please seek professional help. There are many local resources available to families.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, today, we commemorate the murder by the Cuban regime of three U.S. citizens and one U.S. resident: Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre, Mario de la Pena, and Pablo Morales. Nineteen years ago today, the Castro brothers ordered the shoot-down of the civilian Brothers to the Rescue plane and blew them out of the sky over international air space during an unarmed, humanitarian mission. These volunteers were devoted to searching the Straits of Florida to aid those who risked their lives on rafts to flee the oppressive yoke of the Castro regime that continues to rule over the island. It is shameful that this same regime that is responsible for killing these innocent heroes is now sitting across the table from U.S. Government officials and will be hosted by our own Department of State later this week--not a proud week for strong American values, Mr. Speaker.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remind every American that February is Heart Month. According to the American Heart Association, heart disease is the most common form of mortality among both men and women. In fact, one out of every four deaths in this country is cardiac-related. And yet many of these deaths are preventable. Small changes in diet and exercise can have an enormous and positive impact on your heart health and lifespan. We must not forget America's amazing medical researchers and practitioners who are also doing their part by pioneering innovative treatments that save lives every day. So, please remember to love your heart this Valentine's Day, and every day.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to join my south Florida colleague, Congressman Ted Deutch, in a resolution commemorating today, the International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi extermination camp at Auschwitz. Today serves as a somber and grim reminder of the evil mankind is capable of as over 1.3 million people were systematically murdered in Auschwitz alone, including over 1.1 million Jews. As painful as it is to speak about the horrors of Auschwitz, we have a moral obligation to honor the memories of those who were murdered during modern humanity's darkest period. As anti-Semitism grows throughout Europe, we must take a solemn vow that these deaths were not in vain and that we will never forget, that we will never allow such atrocities to occur again.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I support Speaker Boehner's invitation to Prime Minister Netanyahu to address this body to discuss the Iranian threat and the growing instability in the Middle East due to the rise of global jihadist networks. A nuclear-capable Iran will spark an arms race in the region and directly threaten America's interests as Iran continues to make progress on its intercontinental ballistic missile program. But as grave as this threat is to America, it pales in comparison to the existential threat that it poses to our democratic ally, the Jewish State of Israel. No other nation is more familiar with the Iranian threat and the pitfalls of our ongoing nuclear negotiations than Israel, and that is why it is imperative that we hear firsthand from Prime Minister Netanyahu on Israel's assessment of Iran's nuclear program and other terrorist threats that are emanating from the Middle East. Thank you, Speaker Boehner, for that invitation.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlelady for yielding. I also want to thank Mr. Smith and my colleagues and all who are in Washington, D.C., participating in the March for Life for their unwavering commitment and support to fight on behalf of those who have no voice. Throughout my years in Congress, Madam Speaker, and as a devoted human rights advocate, I have fought tirelessly for the fundamental rights of the innocent unborn. As pro-life Members of Congress, we have a commitment to stand up for life and to take the necessary steps to advance legislation to the floor, and that is exactly what the U.S. House of Representatives will be doing today. While the vast majority of Americans can agree that we have a lot of work in front of us to reduce the number of abortions, few legislators have taken any meaningful action. In fact, pro-abortion Members of Congress have sought to eliminate Federal protections on the use of taxpayer funds for abortions, both here and abroad. Federal funds should not be used to pay for abortions, Madam Speaker, and Congressman Smith's bill would do exactly that by establishing a permanent prohibition on taxpayer subsidies for abortion and abortion coverage. This will help save lives. In addition, this bill also protects the conscience and religious views of millions of Americans. The vast majority of Americans also do not want their tax dollars to be used to pay for abortions. This bill would establish a permanent prohibition on taxpayer subsidies for abortion. For many years, the Hyde amendment and other Federal prohibitions on public funding for abortion have been enacted as appropriation riders, but they are not permanent, Madam Speaker. We need to get rid of this patchwork approach and enact H.R. 7 to ensure that Federal funds are not used to pay for abortions. I look forward to working with Mr. Smith and Ms. Foxx and others in favor of this bill and to continue working with my fellow pro-life colleagues in the House and the Senate to promote legislation that upholds the sanctity of innocent human life. We have a responsibility to protect the unborn, and we must remain vigilant and continue to do what is right for all Americans. I thank the gentlelady for yielding me time.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, as an 8-year-old child, I was forced to flee Havana, Cuba, with my family for the shores of the United States of America, this shining city on a hill and a beacon of hope and freedom to the world. The Cuban American Members of Congress are all united by our love of this great country and our love and respect for freedom, for democracy, and the rule of law because of where we come from and whom we represent. For us, these principles aren't concepts that we take for granted. We cherish them because we know the alternative. We need look no further than just 60 miles south of the United States to see the alternative, where the Castro regime has been entrenched for over 55 years and ruling the island with an iron fist. This is Berta Soler, one of the leaders of Las Damas de Blanco, the Ladies in White, a peaceful dissident group. Berta has been detained so many times, she says to me, that she has lost count. That is why we stand united in a bipartisan manner, in steadfast opposition to any attempts by the Obama administration to normalize relations with the Castro regime. President Obama's audacity of hubris has resulted in one exercise in folly after another, and engagement with Cuba is the height of that folly. What have we gotten in return? Let me turn to the next poster. This poster has a list of some of the many wanted criminals who have sought refuge and have gotten it in Castro's Cuba. We haven't gotten any reforms from this deal. We haven't gotten the return of these dozens of criminals that Castro has been harboring because they have fled from justice in America, like convicted New Jersey State trooper killer Joanne Chesimard. After this deal was announced, the Castro regime said: Oh, no, all of these people, we will give them asylum. The FBI has put her on the most wanted terrorist list; yet Castro says: We will give them asylum. What have the Cuban people received as a result of this administration's concessions? Well, 53 political prisoners supposedly were released, Mr. Speaker, like some of these activists, who were rounded up in a catch-and-release program of the Castro regime. The administration hails this list of 53 as a victory, ignoring the fact that hundreds of political and anti-regime activists like these were arrested and detained immediately before and after the announcement of the changes, and almost 2,000 people were arrested or detained last year alone. This infamous list of 53 that has been praised by this administration and the Castro regime is another ruse. Over a dozen individuals on that list were released prior to the December 17 announcement, including Carlos Andres Sanchez Perez. He was released over 1 year ago. Some were arrested even before June. Catch- and-release is the new program, the new playbook of the Castro regime, and Obama deliberately has fallen for that ruse. Now, the regime will feel emboldened because the United States has just signed off on its mistreatment of its citizens, and President Obama has extended an economic lifeline to the regime that will allow it to continue this repression. Before there can be any discussion of changing our policy toward Cuba, Mr. Speaker, all political prisoners must be released, not this fake list of 53; fair and multiparty elections must be held; and the fundamental human rights of every Cuban must be respected. Mr. Speaker, I warn my colleagues to pay close attention to what the Obama administration is attempting to do in Cuba because this will track with its attempts at reconciliation with Iran, another rogue nation and state sponsor of terrorism. The administration's efforts in Cuba have been the test case for Iran, and the two have paralleled each other. While the administration was holding secret talks with the Castro regime, we know that he was penning secret letters to Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei and conceding to Iran the right to enrich uranium. These concessions to Cuba are just the tip of the iceberg, and it will open the doors to similar measures in Iran where the Supreme Leader will see what is happening in Cuba and says: Hey, we can get away with that as well. Both have serious consequences for our national security as other nations see that we lack the courage of our convictions, and they will be willing to test us. In fact, Nicolas Maduro after the prisoner exchange said, ``We will exchange Leopoldo Lopez,'' a human rights activist whom Nicolas Maduro has imprisoned in Venezuela, for one of the criminals in prison here in the United States. They want to test us; they want to see what they can get for holding innocents in prison. Just look at the appeasements that this administration has made to Russia, to Iran, to North Korea. These rogue regimes will continue to act with impunity, and our allies have turned away from us because, instead of working with our allies, we have been appeasing our enemies. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would like for this Congress to take a close look at that list of 53 prisoners and remember that even if that were a true list, which it is not, it is not about 53. It is about freedom for all political prisoners, some of whose names we will never know.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I submit the following: [From National Review Online, Jan. 6, 2015] Yes, Cuba Is a State Sponsor of Terror (By Yleem Poblete & Jason I. Poblete) The most senior U.S. delegation in decades will soon be in Havana to engage a declared enemy of the United States in discussions about ``normalizing'' relations. Covering much more subject matter than routine migration issues, these meetings stem in large measure from the December 17 return of spies to Cuba who are responsible for American deaths. Obama sent three Cuban spies back to the island, trading them for the release of American Alan Gross. Mr. Gross had been held hostage for five years for the ``crime'' of teaching Jewish Cubans how to connect to the Internet. As part of this lopsided deal, the Obama administration also declared American policy a failure and offered a large basket of potential economic and diplomatic benefits. This was a significant ideological and political victory for the Communist regime. And there are more rewards in the offing. Administration officials are reportedly considering removing Cuba from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism--a request Raul Castro made in May 2014 and one that the Cuban regime has made many times in recent years. Under Section 6(j) of the Export Administration Act, a country's designation as supporting acts of international terrorism may be rescinded in only two ways. Cuba is not ready to come off that list. Quite the opposite. In the first instance, the President must certify to the Congress that there has been a fundamental change in the leadership and policies of the government in question, as was the case with Iraq after the removal of Saddam Hussein. There is no legitimate way that administration officials can make such a claim with respect to Cuba. Moreover, the criteria for determining such a systemic transformation is clearly defined in the LIBERTAD Act, known as the Helms-Burton law. For starters, as stated in the law, Fidel and Raul Castro cannot be part of the governing structure. That leaves only the second option for removal from the list. To remove Cuba's terrorism designation, the president would need to submit a report to Congress, 45 days prior to the proposed removal, certifying that 1) the regime has not provided any support for international terrorism during the preceding six months and 2) the government has provided assurances that it will not support acts of international terrorism in the future. Most would agree that Cuba fails on both counts. Cuba has supported and provided safe haven to members of the Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Both are U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). The Obama administration would therefore need to remove ETA and FARC from the FTO list, before removing Cuba from the state- sponsors-of-terrorism list. Both actions are untenable at this time. Unless Spain's foreign-policy establishment is about to make a radical shift in thinking, ETA remains a terrorist organization and there are ETA sympathizers in Cuba who are wanted for terrible crimes against the Spanish people. As for FARC, despite the faux peace process in Havana the past few months, it continues to carry out violent acts in Colombia, has no plans to lay down arms anytime soon, and has links to al-Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). The ``April 2014 State Department Country Reports on Terrorism,'' however, implied that the only role the Castro regime had with FARC was facilitating travel for the ``peace talks'' between these terrorists and the Colombian government. It further stated that the ETA presence in Cuba is diminished. It would appear that a kinder-and-gentler Cuba narrative is being written to accommodate a preconceived policy outcome. Administration officials have reportedly spent the last two years creating a foundation for Obama's Cuba announcement on December 17--all the while denying any such activity when asked by Congress about related news reports. If this sounds familiar, it's because it closely parallels the script used in the negotiations leading to the release of five Taliban leaders held at Guantanamo in exchange for Bowe Bergdahl. The State Department terrorism report also makes references beyond ETA and FARC--most significantly that Cuba harbors several fugitives of U.S. justice. Terrorists, murderers, and other violent criminals are being protected, well fed, and supported by the Communist regime. Among these is a woman convicted of first-degree murder, Joanne Chesimard. Also known as Assata Shakur, she is on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists list for executing a New Jersey State Police trooper. With the help of the Black Liberation Army, she broke out of prison and found refuge in Cuba. According to the FBI, Chesimard ``continues to profess her radical anti- U.S. government ideology.'' New Jersey governor Chris Christie said recently that he wants her back in New Jersey. He'll be waiting a long time. Basing the decision to remove Cuba from the state-sponsors- of-terrorism list solely on these above-referenced examples (there is probably a great deal more in classified form), the president would need to prove that for the six months prior to the proposed rescission, the Cuban dictatorship did not provide any assistance to terrorists and had unconditionally returned U.S. fugitives. But Communist-party officials have already stated publicly that Cuba considers Chesimard a political asylee and, as such, not to be released into U.S. custody. The president would also have to accept as credible the ``assurances'' from the Havana regime that it would not provide support in the future for international terrorism--a difficult task given intelligence gaps highlighted in the State Department's terrorism report. The pertinent section states: ``There was no indication that the Cuban government provided weapons or paramilitary training to terrorist groups,'' but it provides no further data or analysis on these activities. It also fails to address the relationship and cooperation between Cuba and other state sponsors of terrorism such as Iran, or other entities listed on the FTO List. And then there is the question of intelligence tainted and manipulated by Americans spying for the Cuban regime. One of the most notorious of these traitors, Ana Belen Montes, used her position at the Defense Intelligence Agency to provide Cuban handlers copious amounts of highly sensitive data, including military contingency plans, details of intelligence-gathering efforts, and profiles of a broad spectrum of U.S. officials. Congress must therefore require a comprehensive appraisal of the range of Cuba's activities against the U.S. and its interests and priorities before the White House can make any decision on whether Cuba will remain on the terrorism list. The review must cover no less than a 20-year period and include a fresh appraisal of all available raw data used in the Clinton-era Pentagon assessment spearheaded by Montes. The review should include detailed intelligence and analysis of unconventional threats and programs that have dual-use application, such as Cuba's biotech capabilities. The congressional national-security and judiciary committees must be given full access to all files pertaining to the WASP spy network, including data related to the 1996 Brothers to the Rescue shoot-down, as well as damage assessments for all Americans and non-Americans convicted of spying for the Cuban regime. However, if President Obama chooses to proceed irrespective of the aforementioned conditions and determines that Cuba should be removed from the state-sponsors-of-terrorism list, Congress would have only 45 days from the submission date to evaluate the rescission proposal and act accordingly. Members of the House and Senate must therefore be proactive in countering the executive action outlined on December 17 and in preventing further damage. Failure to do so would make Congress complicit in the administration's acquiescence to Cuba's Communist regime; it would undermine American interests and reinforce a message of weakness to other enemies of freedom and security.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. I thank the gentleman from Ohio very much, and thank you for looking out for our U.S. national security, and thank you for trying to uphold the values of freedom throughout the world. Mr. Chabot brought up the fact that Mr. Kerry, speaking before our committee, said that we would not release spies for Alan Gross' life. And that came because of a question posed by our next speaker, and I am pleased to yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Sires), the ranking member of the House Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, as you heard from Mr. Sires, he was born and reared in Cuba, but you don't have to be a Cuban American to understand the principles that are at stake here. One person who knows that is a wonderful congressman from our great State of Florida. So I am proud to yield to the gentleman from Florida, Gus Bilirakis.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Bilirakis, I thank you for your clear and consistent message that restrictions should not be lifted against the Castro regime until those conditions are met. Our next speaker, Mr. Speaker, is the gentleman from Alabama, Congressman Bradley Byrne, who so understands that good trade is based on free and fair countries that cherish the principles upon which our great country was founded--freedom, democracy, respect for the rule of law--all of which are missing in today's Cuba. His great city of Mobile, Alabama, will greatly benefit once we have free trade and fair trade with a Democratic Cuba. I yield to the gentleman from Mobile, Alabama.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Thank you very much. I am so thankful to my good friend from Mobile, Alabama, for his words, because he understands that American principles are not for sale. I would like to point out, Mr. Speaker, that every country with whom the Castro brothers do business is a country to whom they owe a lot of money. They have not paid all of their bills to any businesses, and they have not paid what they owe to any country, and it would be all the same for Mobile, Alabama. Thank you for standing up for U.S. values. Now, I am so pleased to yield to my good friend from South Carolina, a gentleman who understands the threat to our hemisphere. Why? Because he is the chairman of the Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Duncan), my good friend.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Thank you so much, Mr. Duncan. We are so pleased that we have this dynamic duo of the chairman and the ranking member of Western Hemisphere. You are so right to point out, Mr. Duncan, that there is no freedom of the press in Cuba. That is one of the many freedoms that Cuban people are denied. Now, I yield to my colleague from Florida, Congressman Ron DeSantis, who is a war veteran, but who understands that the war for freedom and democracy takes on many fronts, a member of our House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Thank you so much, Mr. DeSantis. You are so right when you categorized this unilateral bad deal as an economic lifeline to the Castro regime. A person who understands that just as well as you do is our next speaker, the gentleman from Iowa, a senior member of the House Committee on Agriculture, Congressman Steve King. He can say: Hey, my State is going to benefit a lot by this deal. The sad reality, as Mr. King and I know, is that Castro doesn't pay his debt. As we had just said with the other speaker, he owes everybody money. This deal will not strengthen U.S. national security. It will not be good for America's farmers, and it will not be good for the people of Cuba. Congressman King.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Thank you so much, Mr. King. That is our fervent hope as well. And we work and we pray every day for that dream of a free Cuba to come alive. We thank you for your voice here tonight. Thank you, my good friend from Iowa. Mr. Speaker, many people talk about the last generation of Cuban exiles and how this is really not the dream of young Cuban Americans who were born here in the United States, reared here in the United States. They come from Cuban families, but they really don't much care about freedom and democracy and the land of their ancestors. This next speaker, Mr. Speaker, is a newly elected gentleman who understands that that search for a free and democratic Cuba is a yearning that lives very fervently in his heart, and that is the Congressman from West Virginia, Congressman Alex Mooney, who was born here, as American as apple pie, but comes from a proud lineage of Cuban American heritage. Thank you, Mr. Mooney.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Thank you so much, Mr. Rohrabacher. And you so rightly point out that hours after President Obama announced, in a shocking way, that we would resume diplomatic relations with Cuba and the Castro regime does not have to change, Raul Castro put on his military uniform and spoke to the oppressed island nation and said, hey, don't worry. We are not changing a thing. It is still the same failed regime. We got nothing from that deal. Mr. Speaker, I am so pleased to yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart), the chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development. I had the honor of serving with his older brother. I have the honor of serving with his youngest brother now, Mario. Born in the United States and, just like Carlos and Alex Mooney, Mr. Curbelo and Mr. Mooney, a gentleman who is 100 percent American and so proud of 100 percent of his Cuban ancestry. Thank you, Mario.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Thank you so much, Mr. Diaz-Balart. You so eloquently stated that. We have so much to say, and we have run out of time. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I am so humbled and pleased to see my colleagues who have turned out tonight at this late hour in a bipartisan manner to say that we reject the President's ill-advised treatment of the policy of rapprochement with the Cuban regime, and no one is better able and better equipped to talk about freedom and democracy and our fight for justice than Mr. Chabot. I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot), a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and chairman of the House Small Business Committee.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Thank you so much, Mr. Mooney. We are a better Congress for you being a part of it. Thank you so much for being proud of your American heritage and your Cuban American ancestry as well. So, welcome to Congress, sir. Mr. Speaker, I am about to introduce another millennial, another one of this younger generation of Cuban Americans who the press continues to say don't represent the desires of this new generation. Well, Carlos Curbelo is one of our newest elected officials. He was born here in the United States, doesn't know Cuba, and is less than 35 years old but understands that yearning for a free Cuba. We are so pleased as punch to have him here as a Member of our Congress. I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Curbelo).

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Thank you so much, Mr. Curbelo. You are a fresh young voice, and I thank you and Mr. Mooney for being here tonight. Mr. Speaker I am so pleased to yield to a gentleman who understands what freedom is all about. He was one of the speech writers for our great President, Ronald Reagan. He is a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. In fact, he is the chairman of the Europe Subcommittee, and he is here tonight with one of his triplets, Christian, who wants to be an author and an inventor. I look at Christian, this new generation, and I think, what kind of life would he have under the communist tyranny of Cuba, as opposed to the freedom and democracy that we enjoy here? So with that, I am pleased as punch to yield to my good friend from California (Mr. Rohrabacher).

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, it is truly astonishing that President Obama is asking Congress and the American people to applaud and reward the Castro regime for releasing 53 innocent people from its gulags today while ignoring the fact that over 1,000 were arrested last year. These individuals were imprisoned for expressing their basic rights as human beings, and for seeking reforms on the island based on the universal and fundamental principle of freedom. What a pathetically low bar President Obama has set. This administration has shown, time and again, that it is more willing to appease tyrants than to fulfill America's role as the defender of freedom, of democracy, and respect for human rights. President Obama's concessions to the Castro regime further illustrate that he is willing to abandon American core principles of liberty and justice in order to placate a dangerous regime.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, the administration's concessions to the tyrannical Cuban regime have only strengthened the iron grip of the dictatorship, and by President Obama attempting to normalize relations with the island, we are only putting more money into the coffers of these thugs to continue their repressive ways. The White House and the State Department were once again fooled by a tyrant, and that has grave consequences for our credibility around the world. Mr. Speaker, this is a bad deal. It is a bad deal for the people of Cuba, a bad deal for America, and a bad deal for freedom-loving people everywhere. Today, I was joined by other Members of Congress in sending a letter to Secretary Kerry urging the administration to stop its concessions, abandon the talks scheduled with Cuba later this month, and get serious about bringing true reforms to Cuba first before even contemplating a change in our relations. If they won't listen, it is up to us in Congress to defend freedom for Cuba and, indeed, around the world.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, the recent concessions by President Obama to the Castro regime mark a drastic departure from one of the most consistent tenets of United States foreign policy and traditional American values, and sets a dangerous precedent for other rogue regimes to emulate. The pardoning of convicted Cuban spies follows an ill-advised exchange with the Taliban in which the rhetoric emerging from the White House to justify its actions has been unnervingly similar. As predicted, the course of policy by this administration on caving to terrorist demands makes the United States more vulnerable. We see those repercussions manifest themselves across the globe. Just recently, Venezuela's thug Nicolas Maduro jumped at the opportunity to request an exchange of a convicted criminal in the United States for the freedom of pro-democracy leader Leopoldo Lopez, whom Maduro has jailed in Venezuela. This is not the way to protect U.S. national security interests throughout the world; this is a way of putting them in jeopardy. When we equate unjustly imprisoned Americans to battle-hardened terrorists or convicted spies, we set a dangerous precedent for the world to follow. The Cuban regime has already signaled strongly that it will not unclench its fist, despite recent developments. On December 30, just 13 days after President Obama's announcement, the Cuban regime arrested nearly 60 activists seeking to express themselves freely--this in addition to the arrest of more than 200 activists on Human Rights Day--ha, that is rich--just 7 days before the announcement normalizing relations. Yet the administration proudly and openly touts the promised but yet unproven release of 53 dissidents as a major breakthrough when in reality the net result will mean hundreds more in Castro's gulags. Raul Castro will free 53 and arrest 60 more in the next months. This shows the failure of the administration's argument and proves that there is no intention by the Castros to move in the direction of reform or freedom. Instead, President Obama has created an atmosphere that emboldens the regime to continue its violent tactics with no concern about consequences from this White House. We must not forget that Cuba not only poses a threat to its people but also threatens us here at home. Cuba must remain a state sponsor of terrorism because it has not changed its terrorist ways. For example, in the year 2013 Cuba was caught helping another dangerous regime, North Korea, evade U.N. Security Council resolutions of sanctions by shipping arms and munitions to the Kim Jong-un regime. At a time when many in Congress and even the White House are trying to punish the North Korean regime for its cyber attacks against the U.S., we cannot forget that those rogue regimes helped North Korea--like the one in Cuba. The Castro regime continues to thumb its nose at the U.S. by harboring fugitives such as New Jersey State trooper killer Joanne Chesimard, by harboring Puerto Rican terrorist William Guillermo Morales and bank robber Victor Gerena and many others who have fled U.S. justice for the shores of Cuba. These are just a few of the reasons, Mr. Speaker, why the administration must reexamine its relationship with Castro and impose strict sanctions against the thugs, not offer it concessions for all of these transgressions. Just like a zebra cannot change its stripes, the Castro regime cannot and will not change its anti-freedom, terrorist ways. It is our duty to support democracy and be a voice for those 11 million Cubans oppressed throughout the island. By appeasing dictators, we have disappointed people all over the world who are struggling to achieve freedom, and the White House has betrayed core American values and principles: the respect for human rights and the right for people to choose their own destiny. As the first Cuban American-born Member of Congress who went from being a political refugee, fleeing the oppressive and brutal Castro regime, to a senior Member of this hallowed and cherished body, I will fight tooth and nail to ensure that the cause for freedom and democracy in Cuba is not forgotten. Until the oppressive yoke of tyranny installed by the Castro brothers has been lifted and the regime has been replaced by a representative democracy like the one we have here in our cherished Nation, I have a moral obligation to freedom-loving people everywhere, and I will not ever forget that responsibility.

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, due to President Obama's latest actions designed to seek closer ties to rogue regimes and terrorist groups across the world, these entities now have the blueprint on how to obtain concessions from the United States: hold innocent American citizens hostage and demand the release of convicted terrorists or spies in return. The Castro regime has always and will always continue to perpetrate the most heinous of human rights violations in order to remain in control over the millions of Cubans yearning for freedom. What does that say about us as a Nation when we are willing to cave to the demands of these thugs and terrorists and abandon our ideals and our policies? We must uphold the American values of freedom, democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law, and stand in solidarity with all people who crave these fundamental rights.