As the Obama administration barrels toward its end-around on the Cuban embargo, The House of Representatives today made it much harder for the president to formally re-establish diplomatic relations with the communist dictatorship.
The State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs subcommittee of the House Committee on Appropriations voted today to prohibit a State Department request of $6.6 million to establish a functioning embassy in Havana.
South Florida Congressman and member of the subcommittee, Mario Diaz-Balart said in a statement after the vote:
As President Obama continues to appease the Castro brothers, I will work with my colleagues to ensure that the Congress stands in solidarity with the Cuban people rather than providing further concessions to their oppressors.
The funding would be used, not to build a new embassy, but to renovate and retrofit the existing "Cuban Interest Section" building on the Malecon water front of Havana.
