83.3% Of Current Delegation Do Not Provide Information About Visit On Their Official Internet Sites

There Were To Be Five, But There Are Now Six In The Delegation

Who Pays For Visits By Members Of Congress To Cuba?

Members of the United States Congress have increasingly provided no information in advance of a visit to the Republic of Cuba, often placing no information prior to, during, or after their visit on the official Internet sites or on social media platforms

Five Members of the United States Congress are scheduled to visit the Republic of Cuba fro 17 February 2018 to 21 February 2018. Two (2) members of the United States Senate and three (3) members of the United States House of Representatives.

Two members of the delegation are known: The Honorable Patrick Leahy (D- Vermont), a member of the United States Senate, placed notification on his official Internet site. The Honorable Kathy Castor (D- Florida), a member of the United States House of Representatives, issued a release to a journalist, but there is no information on her official Internet site.

The three other members of the delegation have not been identified. NOTE: On 19 February 2018, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba (MINREX) posted to its Twitter account an image of the delegation and their respective identities.

The four (4) Members of Congress who were not previously identified include The Honorable Ron Wyden (D- Oregon) and The Honorable Gary Peters (D- Michigan), members of the United States Senate; and The Honorable Jim McGovern (D-Massachusetts) and The Honorable Susan Davis (D- California), members of the United States House of Representatives.

Only one (1) member of the delegation has included any mention of the visit on their official Internet sites... Senator Leahy.

If the Republic of Cuba has importance to Members of Congress and, thus to their respective state/district constituencies, why not direct funds from their official accounts and/or committee and/or sub-committee accounts to make payments for expenses relating to visiting the Republic of Cuba? If not, what is the message? That the Republic of Cuba is of importance as long as someone else is willing to pay for the journey. Even the fully-disclosed use of campaign funds would be an improvement.

For many years, most Members of Congress who visit the Republic of Cuba have relied on non-for-profit organizations to make payments on their behalf; and often the sources of these payments are not disclosed. Not helpful.

The notification by Senator Leahy did not include the names of other members of the delegation:

"02.16.18
Leahy To Lead Congressional Delegation To Cuba

U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) will head a bicameral congressional delegation that will visit Cuba next week, during the congressional recess.

Leahy for two decades has been centrally involved in efforts to replace the failed 50-year-old U.S. Cuba policy of isolation with a new path toward normalization. Leahy is the Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and also serves as the Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on the State Department and Foreign Operations, which oversees the State Department’s budget. Other congressional leaders who will accompany Leahy are two other senators and three members of the House of Representatives.

The purpose of the visit is to meet with U.S. and Cuban officials, officials of other governments, and Cubans in the emerging private sector to discuss: the presidential transition in Cuba; U.S. and Cuban investigations of health incidents involving U.S. government personnel in Cuba; cooperation on maritime security, search-and-rescue, narcotics and human trafficking, and migration issues; the impact of the withdrawal of U.S. Embassy and Cuban Embassy personnel and of revised Treasury Department regulations on U.S.-Cuban relations; and opportunities for public health, law enforcement, scientific, environmental, commercial, educational, cultural, and other engagement with Cubans.

The delegation will depart the United States on Saturday, Feb. 17, and return on Wednesday, Feb. 21."

LINK: List of Members of Congress Visiting The Republic of Cuba