1-1     By:  Bernsen                                          S.C.R. No. 54
 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed May 4, 2001; May 7, 2001, read first
 1-3     time and referred to Committee on Natural Resources; May 11, 2001,
 1-4     reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 6, Nays 0;
 1-5     May 11, 2001, sent to printer.)
 1-6                        SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1-7           WHEREAS, The relationship between the United States and Cuba
 1-8     has long been marked by tension and confrontation; further
 1-9     heightening this hostility is the 40-year-old United States trade
1-10     embargo against the island nation that remains the longest-standing
1-11     embargo in modern history; and
1-12           WHEREAS, Cuba imports nearly a billion dollars' worth of food
1-13     every year, including approximately 1,100,000 tons of wheat,
1-14     420,000 tons of rice, 37,000 tons of poultry, and 60,000 tons of
1-15     dairy products; these amounts are expected to grow significantly in
1-16     coming years as Cuba slowly recovers from the severe economic
1-17     recession it has endured following the withdrawal of subsidies from
1-18     the former Soviet Union in the last decade; and
1-19           WHEREAS, Agriculture is the second-largest industry in Texas,
1-20     and this state ranks among the top five states in overall value of
1-21     agricultural exports at more than $3 billion annually; thus, Texas
1-22     is ideally positioned to benefit from the market opportunities that
1-23     free trade with Cuba would provide; rather than depriving Cuba of
1-24     agricultural products, the United States embargo succeeds only in
1-25     driving sales to competitors in other countries that have no such
1-26     restrictions; and
1-27           WHEREAS, In recent years, Cuba has developed important
1-28     pharmaceutical products, namely, a new meningitis B vaccine that
1-29     has virtually eliminated the disease in Cuba; such products have
1-30     the potential to protect Americans against diseases that continue
1-31     to threaten large populations around the world; and
1-32           WHEREAS, Cuba's potential oil reserves have attracted the
1-33     interest of numerous other countries who have been helping Cuba
1-34     develop its existing wells and search for new reserves; Cuba's oil
1-35     output has increased more than 400 percent over the last decade;
1-36     and
1-37           WHEREAS, The United States' trade, financial, and travel
1-38     restrictions against Cuba hinder Texas' export of agricultural and
1-39     food products, its ability to import critical energy products, the
1-40     treatment of illnesses experienced by Texans, and the right of
1-41     Texans to travel freely; now, therefore, be it
1-42           RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas
1-43     hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to
1-44     consider the removal of trade, financial, and travel restrictions
1-45     relating to Cuba; and, be it further
1-46           RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
1-47     copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
1-48     the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of
1-49     the senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of
1-50     the Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this
1-51     resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a
1-52     memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.
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