WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- The Obama administration has gone as far as it can to ease sanctions against Cuba, meaning either the U.S. Congress or Havana must act, a federal report said.
The Government Accountability Office report released Thursday comes as supporters and opponents of the sanctions debate whether existing laws make it nearly impossible to change them or that the president has the power to significantly relax the embargo, an El Nuevo Herald article published in The Miami Herald Friday said.
"The bottom line is that the president and Congress have done about as much as they can for now" to ease the sanctions, a U.S. government official who studied the report said. "So, unless Cuba takes steps (toward democracy) the ball is in Congress's court" to introduce legislation.
The report concluded that a U.S. president can effect some changes to the current restrictions, such as "further easing restrictions on travel, remittances and gift parcels beyond the changes recently implemented."
U.S. House leaders are expected to consider several bills next year that would relax U.S. sanctions against Cuba, the newspaper article said. Embargo opponents say they have the votes to approve some of those bills, including one that would lift all restrictions on travel to Cuba.
