By Menendez                                          H.C.R. No. 274
         77R14819 ELG-D                           
                             HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1-1           WHEREAS, The relationship between the United States and Cuba
 1-2     has long been marked by tension and confrontation; further
 1-3     heightening this hostility is the 40-year-old U.S. trade embargo
 1-4     against the island nation that remains the longest-standing embargo
 1-5     in modern history; and
 1-6           WHEREAS, Cuba imports nearly a billion dollars' worth of food
 1-7     every year, including approximately 1,100,000 tons of wheat,
 1-8     420,000 tons of rice, 37,000 tons of poultry, and 60,000 tons of
 1-9     dairy products; these amounts are expected to grow significantly in
1-10     coming years as Cuba slowly recovers from the severe economic
1-11     recession it has endured following the withdrawal of subsidies from
1-12     the former Soviet Union in the last decade; and
1-13           WHEREAS, Agriculture is the second-largest industry in Texas,
1-14     and this state ranks among the top five states in overall value of
1-15     agricultural exports at more than $3 billion annually; thus, Texas
1-16     is ideally positioned to benefit from the market opportunities that
1-17     free trade with Cuba would provide; rather than depriving Cuba of
1-18     agricultural products, the U.S. embargo succeeds only in driving
1-19     sales to competitors in other countries that have no such
1-20     restrictions; and
1-21           WHEREAS, In recent years, Cuba has developed important
1-22     pharmaceutical products, namely, a new meningitis B vaccine that
1-23     has virtually eliminated the disease in Cuba; such products have
1-24     the potential to protect Americans against diseases that continue
 2-1     to threaten large populations around the world; and
 2-2           WHEREAS, Cuba's potential oil reserves have attracted the
 2-3     interest of numerous other countries who have been helping Cuba
 2-4     develop its existing wells and search for new reserves; Cuba's oil
 2-5     output has increased more than 400 percent over the last decade;
 2-6     and
 2-7           WHEREAS, The United States' trade, financial, and travel
 2-8     restrictions against Cuba hinder Texas' export of agricultural and
 2-9     food products, its ability to import critical energy products, the
2-10     treatment of illnesses experienced by Texans, and the right of
2-11     Texans to travel freely; now, therefore, be it
2-12           RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas
2-13     hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to
2-14     consider the removal of trade, financial, and travel restrictions
2-15     relating to Cuba; and, be it further
2-16           RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
2-17     copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
2-18     the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of
2-19     the senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of
2-20     the Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this
2-21     resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a
2-22     memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.