To appropriate funds for a Cuba Fund for a Democratic Future to promote democratic transition in Cuba.

SA 4853. Mr. NELSON of Florida submitted an amendment intended to be
proposed by him to the bill H.R. 5631, making appropriations for the
Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2007,
and for other purposes; as follows:

On page 238, after line 24, insert the following:

That the following sums are appropriated, out of any money in
the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the fiscal year
ending September 30, 2007, for functions administered by the
Secretary of State and for other purposes, namely:

TITLE X

CUBA FUND FOR A DEMOCRATIC FUTURE

Sec. 10001.(a) To promote a transition to a democratic form
of government in Cuba, $40,000,000.
(b) The amount provided under this heading is designated as
an emergency requirement pursuant to section 402 of S. Con.
Res. 83 (109th Congress), the concurrent resolution on the
budget for fiscal year 2007, as made applicable in the Senate
by section 7035 of Public Law 109-234.
(c) The amounts provided under this heading shall be
deposited into a fund to be known as the Cuba Fund for a
Democratic Future which is hereby established in the Treasury
of the United States.
(d) The amounts provided under this heading shall be
available to the Secretary of State, in consultation with the
United States Cuba Transition Coordinator, to carry out
activities to empower the people of Cuba and the democratic
opposition in Cuba to take advantage of opportunities to
promote a transition to a democratic form of government in
Cuba, including activities--
(1) to support an independent civil society in Cuba;
(2) to expand international awareness of Cuba's democratic
aspirations;
(3) to break the information blockade put in place by the
regime of Fidel Castro in Cuba, including activities to
promote access to independent information through the
Internet and other sources;
(4) to provide for education and exchanges for the people
of Cuba, including university training from third countries
and scholarships for economically disadvantaged students from
Cuba identified by independent nongovernmental entities and
civic organizations in United States and third country
universities (including historically-black and faith-based
institutions); and
(5) to support international efforts to strengthen civil
society and in transition planning in Cuba.
(e) If the President determines that there exists either a
transition government in Cuba or a democratically elected
government in Cuba, as those terms are defined in section 4
of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act
of 1996 (22 U.S.C. 6023) and submits that determination to
Congress in accordance with section 203(c) of that Act (22
U.S.C. 6063), then the funds made available for the Cuba Fund
for a Democratic Future may be used, at the discretion of the
Secretary of State in accordance with the guidelines set out,
respectively, in subsection (b)(2)(A) or (b)(2)(B) of section
202 of that Act (22 U.S.C. 6062).
(f) The Secretary of State shall ensure that none of the
funds made available in this section or any assistance
carried out with such funds are provided to the Government of
Cuba.
(g) Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment
of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter until all amounts
made available to the Cuba Fund for a Democratic Future are
expended, the Secretary of State shall submit to the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the
Committee on International Relations of the House of
Representatives a report describing the Secretary's progress
in obligating and expending such funds and that such reports
may be submitted in a classified form and the Secretary of
State shall publish any unclassified portions of each such
report.
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