National Journal's CongressDaily
February 4, 1998 10:32 am Eastern Time
EDITION: am
SECTION: TRADE
LENGTH: 148 words
HEADLINE: Unusual Coalition Will Lobby For Cuba Trade
BODY:
Former House Ways and Means Chairman Gibbons has signed on to lobby the Cuba
trade issue for an unusual coalition that includes movie director Oliver Stone,
former Defense Secretary Carlucci, pediatrician Benjamin Spock and almost two
dozen other big names, National Journal reports Friday. Gibbons, who started a
small consulting shop following his 1996 retirement from Congress, will lobby
for Americans for Humanitarian Trade with Cuba, a group organized by the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Republican consultant Craig Fuller
and others. Gibbons is "a prime mover, not just a signatory," said John Howard,
the Chamber's director of international policy and programs. Not surprisingly,
the coalition, which backs free trade with Cuba for food and medical
supplies, has sparked the ire of the Cuban-American National Federation and
others who urge a continued boycott against Cuba.