by Donald Wood
Last updated: 11:55 AM ET, Tue May 30, 2017
A bipartisan group of United States senators reintroduced legislation last week with the intent of repealing all travel restrictions to Cuba.
According to Reuters, the initial proposal was introduced in 2015 and dubbed the Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act.
Only eight Republican and Democratic sponsors support the bill when first revealed, but it currently has 55 co-sponsors.
While 55 supporters of the legislation would win a majority vote in the Senate, the proposal needs at least 60 votes to actually advance. President Donald Trump and his administration are reviewing the current policies regarding Cuba after he promised during his campaign to scale back the relationship with the Caribbean island's communist government.
A report from Reuters.com states Trump's administration wants to tighten the trade and travel rules that former President Barack Obama eased during his time in office.
Trump and his team want to continue diplomatic relations with Cuba, but they say the country needs to make significant concessions and undergo a full review, with the results being revealed next month.
[READMORE] READ MORE: Is Cuba Losing Steam as a Destination?[/READMORE]
Last week, representatives from over 40 U.S. travel companies and organizations let their voices be heard by telling Trump to minimize a rollback of the new travel rules to Cuba. Officials believe a continued relationship with Cuba would help the island's entrepreneurial and private sectors.
Travel from the U.S. to Cuba increased 74 percent last year, which improved the hotel, restaurant and taxi industries within that country, as well as U.S. cruise operators and airlines that have entered the market over the last year.
The reintroduced Cuban legislation has met congressional opposition from Senators Marco Rubio and Robert Menendez, who believe travel policies to Cuba should not be eased until the island nation's government moves toward democracy.
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