art: painting of Cuban and US flags

From: https://acere.org/urgent-call-for-action/

We need your support on this URGENT call for action! Feel free to forward this!

Representatives James P. McGovern (D-MA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), and Gregory Meeks (D-NY) are circulating a Dear Colleague letter to President Biden regarding changing U.S. policy towards Cuba to address the humanitarian and economic crisis and restore engagement with our Caribbean neighbor. The letter calls for the suspension of U.S. regulations that prevent food, medical supplies, and other humanitarian aid from reaching the Cuban people.  It also calls for lifting all restrictions on Cuban-Americans sending remittances to their families and on non-family donations, allowing nonprofits and faith groups to provide humanitarian assistance and for start-up capital for Cuban small businesses and civil society. Lastly, it urges a rollback of the Trump Administration’s travel restrictions to Cuba and calls for a return to a policy of dialogue and engagement.

The timing of this letter to Biden is important and strategic. Let’s collectively push hard to get 100 signers by the end of this week and ideally to be delivered to President Biden on November 22.

ACTION NEEDED:

We need you to get in touch with your representative and urge them to sign onto the letter NOW! The deadline for sign-ons is Friday, November 19.

You may recall earlier this year, 80 members of Congress signed a letter sent to President Biden making nearly identical asks, including lifting the embargo.  If your member signed that letter earlier this year, make sure they sign the Dear Colleague letter now!

STEPS TO TAKE: 

  1. Find your representative here and contact their DC number.
  2. Ask to speak to the office’s foreign policy (FP) staffer and for their direct email
  3. Once connected, read (or adapt) the sample script (found here).
  4. You might be asked to just leave a message, either with the front desk or on voicemail. Should that happen, read the same script.
  5. Send them an email with the same script adapted.
  6. Once you have spoken with and/or emailed the FP staffer, please fill out this brief form, to let us know what response you’ve received from your outreach (https://bit.ly/CubaHumanitarianDearColleague)
  7. Follow up is key! Please continue to urge your representative to sign-on to the letter. Push for an answer either way, so we can document where they stand on Cuba policy.
  8. And if you have a little extra time, please keep calling other representatives. Here’s a list of direct DC numbers.