On December 17, 2014, President Obama announced that the United States would re-establish diplomatic relations with Cuba, thereby easing economic and travel restrictions between the two nations and ending one of the lasts vestiges of the Cold War. In a televised address, the President stated: “These 50 years have shown that isolation has not worked. … I am convinced that through a policy of engagement, we can more effectively stand up for our values and help the Cuban people help themselves as they move into the twenty-first century.”

In a deal the Administration made with Cuban President Raul Castro, Cuba released American prisoner Alan Gross and a Cuban who had spied for the United States in exchange from freeing three Cubans jailed in Florida. Supporters of the President’s actions say that they were long overdue, and that the five-decade-long embargo has done nothing to change Cuba’s autocratic regime. Business leaders applauded the move, saying that they will lead to new opportunities for free enterprise to flourish.

The President’s action was met with strong opposition from some Members of Congress, however, who have vowed to do what they can to thwart the his plan.

In a January 13 statement on the Senate floor, Senator Robert Menendez (NJ-D), Ranking Minority Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called the agreement “one-sided and misguided,” adding, “It is a reward that a totalitarian regime does not deserve. It is a reward that, at the end of the day, perpetuates the Castro regime’s decades of repression.”

Although the President has broad Executive powers to ease restrictions on commerce, transportation, and banking, as well as to open a U.S. Embassy in Havana, there are a few channels that opponents can use to undermine his efforts. These include blocking Senate confirmation of a U.S. ambassador to Cuba and obstructing funding for a U.S. embassy there.

Congress also has control over the final hurdle to ending the U.S. embargo on Cuba, as this can only be accomplished by overturning the 1996 Helms-Burton Act, which barred widespread commerce with that country.

An early debate over U.S.–Cuba relations could come when Congress considers funding for the Department of Homeland Security. The spending bill passed in mid-December only funds the Department through February 27, and lawmakers who oppose the President’s new Cuba policy could attempt to eliminate funding to implement it. Meanwhile, Senator Bob Corker (TN-R), the new chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has announced plans to hold hearings on U.S.-Cuba relations in the weeks ahead.

For more background on this topic, see the September 2013 issue of Congressional Digest on “Redefining the U.S.–Cuba Relationship.”