{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://pittenger.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/pittenger-on-uscuba-policy", "Pittenger on US/Cuba policy", "2014-12-17", "2014", "2014-12", "Republican", "House", "NC", "Robert Pittenger", "P000606", "pittenger.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE\n\u00a0\n CONGRESSMAN PITTENGER:\u00a0 PRESIDENT OBAMA HAS\u00a0\u2018ZEAL TO APPEASE OUR ADVERSARIES\u2019 \n\u00a0\nCHARLOTTE \u2013 Congressman Robert Pittenger (NC-09), who is currently leading a bipartisan effort to dismantle Fidel Castro\u2019s anti-American voting bloc at the United Nations, had this reaction to President Obama\u2019s decision to begin normalizing relations with Cuba: \u201cPresident Obama\u2019s foreign policy of appeasement, apology, and weary surrender has resulted in the explosive growth of ISIS, the crisis in Ukraine, and growing unrest around the world.\u00a0 How exactly will rolling over on Cuba advance the cause of freedom and human rights? \u201cIn his zeal to appease our adversaries, President Obama is now providing Cuba with credibility to export their Marxist views throughout the world, while enabling access to economic trade that will strengthen the brutal and oppressive Castro regime, even as Cuba consistently works to undermine American policies around the world. \u201cCuba continues illicit arms sales to North Korea, including an attempt to smuggle fighter jets into North Korea by hiding them under bags of sugar.\u00a0 Does he think this makes the world a safer place?\u00a0 \u201cPresident Obama has just given away great leverage that could have been used to bring about substantial change in Cuba.\u00a0 His feckless and misguided foreign policy has been counterproductive in Iran, Syria, Egypt, China, and Russia.\u00a0 Re-examining American policy is good, but President Obama should recognize that the desired objective is for our adversaries to act in a way that best supports American interests.\u201d Congressman Pittenger is Chairman of the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare and is leading a Congressional effort to dismantle Fidel Castro\u2019s decades-old UN coalition, in which many nations consistently vote against freedom, democracy, and basic human rights.\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://pittenger.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/pittenger-on-uscuba-policy"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8254440035670996, "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"}