THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 9, 1995 TAG: 9502090421
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
During the early weeks of his stewardship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Jesse Helms has displayed only occasional flashes of the conservative combativeness that has been his trademark.
On such issues as arms control and the North Korean nuclear agreement, Helms has surprised many by being more accommodating to the administration than adversarial.
But today, Helms' reputation for aggressiveness is expected to be reinforced. He'll introduce legislation to tighten U.S. sanctions against Cuba and to support American business people whose properties were seized by the revolution a generation ago.
Titled the ``Cuban Liberty and Solidarity Act,'' Helms' bill also seeks to internationalize the U.S. embargo against Cuba and to authorize U.S. aid once a democratic succession in Cuba takes place.
Helms, R-N.C., planned to unveil his proposal at a news conference, where he was to be joined by Cuban-American and congressional opponents of President Fidel Castro.
Administration officials have been pleased by the rapport that Secretary of State Warren Christopher has built with Helms over the past month. But they have no doubt that disagreement will arise over such issues as foreign aid and the diplomatic appointments that must be approved by Helms' committee.
On Cuba, Helms and the administration mostly see eye to eye. Except on immigration issues, the administration has shown no inclination to bargain with Castro. Now, Helms wants to add to the array of sanctions against Cuba that are already in place.
The bill instructs the administration to oppose Cuban membership in the World Bank and other international lending institutions and to prevent them from giving Cuba economic advice.
It would seek to end a key remaining element of Cuba's once-flourishing ties with Russia. The $379 million U.S. assistance program to Russia would be reduced by the amount that Russia pays Cuba to use an intelligence-gathering facility on the island.
Estimates of those payments range between $160 million and $200 million annually. Russia insists that the installation is needed to monitor U.S. compliance with arms control agreements.
To administration officials, the least appealing aspect of Helms' bill is his proposal to ask the U.N. Security Council to impose sanctions against Cuba much as it did against Haiti last year.
The administration is reluctant to go that route because the U.N. General Assembly has repeatedly opposed the three-decade embargo. When the issue came to a vote last year, the General Assembly handed Cuba a major victory when only Israel joined the United States in support of the embargo.
Helms also seeks to address concerns of U.S. business people whose properties were seized without compensation in Cuba. Canadian, Mexican and European investors, taking advantage of the improved foreign investment climate in Cuba, have been moving in on some of these properties.
Helms wants to retaliate by allowing U.S. citizens with claims against Cuba to file suit seeking the attachment of whatever assets these foreign firms may have in the United States.
He also would deny U.S. visas to executives and shareholders of these companies, and to their spouses and dependents. The original Treasury Department estimate of the value of these assets was $1.8 billion. But that figure has grown to about $6 billion when interest and inflation are taken into account.
The Cuban government has agreed in principle to the concept of compensation, but only as part of an overall agreement on normalization of relations. And it's said that the United States would have to pay it $40 billion - Cuba's estimate of its suffering from the embargo. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Jesse Helms
by CNB