{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://barletta.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/barletta-statement-on-obama-cuba-announcement", "Barletta Statement on Obama Cuba Announcement", "2014-12-17", "2014", "2014-12", "Republican", "House", "PA", "Lou Barletta", "B001269", "barletta.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Congressman Lou Barletta, PA-11, today issued a statement regarding President Obama\u2019s announcement that the United States will begin normalizing relations with Cuba following the negotiated release of American Alan Gross and an unnamed U.S. intelligence asset in exchange for three Cubans convicted of spying in 2001.\nThe statement is as follows:\n\u201cI join all Americans in celebrating the release of Alan Gross after years of unjust imprisonment. \u00a0It is in keeping with our tradition of leaving no one behind. \u201cThat said, the negotiated release should have come about without normalizing relations with the same nation which has oppressed its own people for decades. \u00a0These are enormous concessions extended to a country that does not allow its citizens simple, basic freedoms that we, as Americans, too often take for granted. \u00a0Instead, I fear this will only embolden the dictatorship, and teach others the lesson that all oppressive regimes need do is wait until the United States tires of standing firm for freedom. \u00a0Further, I am concerned that the Obama Administration will use this move as the pretext for closing our facility at Guantanamo Bay, which would cause either the release of known terrorists, or the housing of them within our own borders.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://barletta.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/barletta-statement-on-obama-cuba-announcement"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0433020070195198, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}