{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://castor.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=397830", "U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor announces Tampa/Cuba Forum in 2015 and Posts New, Important Info on Impending Legal Changes", "2014-12-22", "2014", "2014-12", "Democrat", "House", "FL", "Kathy Castor", "C001066", "castor.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor announced today that she will host a Community Forum early in 2015 with the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce and Tampa International Airport to educate Tampa Bay families and businesses on the evolving landscape tied to President Barack Obama\u2019 historic announcement to normalize relations with Cuba last week.   \r\n          share:\r\n          f \r\n          t \r\n        \r\n      \r\n      U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor announced today that she will host a Community Forum early in 2015 with the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce and Tampa International Airport to educate Tampa Bay families and businesses on the evolving\u00a0landscape tied to President Barack Obama\u2019\u00a0historic\u00a0announcement to normalize\u00a0relations with Cuba last week. \u00a0\r\n\u201cWe will engage the entire community work toward positive change that America\u2019s policy shift will provide - whether it is travel, trade or cultural exchange opportunities,\u201d U.S. Rep. Castor said. \r\n\u201cThis community is about building opportunities and we do that best when we come together proactively to pave a pathway towards that,\u201d said Bob Rohrlack, President of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce. \r\n\u201cWe\u2019ve seen steady, continued growth in the number of people traveling to Cuba even in a restricted environment,\u201d said Tampa International Airport CEO Joe Lopano. \u201cI anticipate those numbers will be even stronger when it\u2019s easier to travel to Cuba. There\u2019s clearly a demand for the flights.\u201d\r\nU.S. Rep. Castor continued:\u00a0 \u201cAt the turn of the 20th Century\u00a0Tampa was central to the Cuban independence movement. \u00a0Similarly, Tampa will lead the way in the coming years on the new opening for normalization of relations with Cuba. We have already made much progress, especially with establishing direct flights from Tampa to Cuba and our numerous arts and cultural exchanges to build business and cooperative ties with Cuba. Now, we must continue working together to ensure the type of positive change that benefits our all of our community, including our local small businesses, travel and tourism industry, Cuban American families and the people of Cuba. I have already heard from many in our area who are excited and want to be proactive. It is also important that Cuba hear from Tampa on our expectations for human rights reform.\u201d\r\nPresident Obama\u2019s announcement last week charts a new course in U.S./Cuba relations by lifting restrictions on travel, commerce and financial activities. Assistant Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere Roberta Jacobson is scheduled to travel to Cuba in January for the next round of migration talks, which are key to Tampa residents with families in Cuba.\r\nFederal agencies already are providing new information and updates pursuant to the President\u2019s announcement:\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n    The Treasury Department will increase the amount of money that can be sent to Cubans each quarter, from $500 to $2,000, and loosen banking restrictions. Treasury\u2019s\u00a0Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which regulates the travel and trade restrictions placed on Cuba, has already announced that implementation will begin within coming weeks through regulatory changes issued through the Departments of Treasury and Commerce. OFAC will broaden and ease travel to Cuba. OFAC normally updates Cuba-Related FAQ section as regulatory changes are announced:\u00a0 http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Pages/cuba.aspx#cuba_new\r\n \r\n\r\n###", 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://castor.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=397830"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.7539840191602707, "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"}