Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 5323 - Cuban Democracy Act of 1992

(House)
(Torricelli (D) New Jersey and 34 others)

The Administration supports House passage of H.R. 5323. The bill provides a plan for a free and democratic Cuba. It embodies many of the measures the Administration has taken to bring about a peaceful, democratic transition in Cuba. It helps promote change by providing incentives to encourage a peaceful transition to representative democracy.

However, the Administration will continue to seek improvements in the bill during its further consideration by Congress. As currently written, H.R. 5323 could, without intending to do so, weaken the U.S. trade embargo of Cuba. Consistent with Administration policy, the legislation should strengthen the provision providing for civil penalty authority for the Department of the Treasury as a weapon against embargo violators. The current version of the legislation encumbers the use of civil penalties with excessive procedural requirements, impairing the use of civil penalties to discourage violations of the embargo.

Pay-As-You-Go Scoring

H.R. 5323 would increase receipts; therefore,, it is subject to the pay-as-you-go requirement of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of 1990. OMB's preliminary scoring estimates of this resolution are presented in the table below. Final scoring of this proposal may deviate from this estimate. If H.R. 5323 is enacted, final OMB scoring estimates would be published within five days of enactment, as required by OBRA. The cumulative effects of all legislation on direct spending and revenue will be issued in monthly reports transmitted to Congress.

ESTIMATES FOR PAY-AS-YOU-GO
(in millions of $)