{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://jeffduncan.house.gov/press-release/congressman-jeff-duncan-issues-statement-president-obama-s-cuba-policy", "Congressman Jeff Duncan Issues Statement on President Obamas Cuba Policy", "2014-12-17", "2014", "2014-12", "Republican", "House", "SC", "Jeffrey Duncan", "D000615", "jeffduncan.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, DC\u2014South Carolina Congressman Jeff Duncan, incoming Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued the following statement regarding the Obama Administration\u2019s change in longstanding Cuba policy:\n\u201cWhile I am grateful to see Alan Gross returning to the U.S. after five years of unjust imprisonment in Cuba, I have major problems with the Administration\u2019s unilateral decision to move towards normalized relations with Cuba. President Obama's statement today of \u2018a new course in our relations with Cuba' is a complete reversal of U.S. policy without receiving any concrete reforms by the Cuban government, which is required by U.S. law.\u201d\n\u201cPresident Obama\u2019s decision wastes decades of hard work to support the Cuban people, provides Cuba with legitimacy that ten American presidents have refused to provide, and strengthens the Castro regime to the detriment of the Cuban people and the region at-large. Worse still, the President\u2019s intention to initiate a review of Cuba\u2019s status as a \u2018State Sponsor of Terrorism\u2019 willfully turns a blind eye to Cuba\u2019s very public record of directly facilitating terrorism and criminal activities, opposing freedom for the Cuban people, and enabling Iran, Russia, North Korea, and China\u2019s activities in the Western Hemisphere.\u201d\n\u201cThe President must follow U.S. law with any policy or regulatory changes toward Cuba, and I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House Committee on Foreign Affairs to require accountability from this Administration on this issue.\u201d\n\u00a0\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://jeffduncan.house.gov/press-release/congressman-jeff-duncan-issues-statement-president-obama-s-cuba-policy"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4841931406408548, "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"}