,,iv #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,,res4 #acf ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,february #ad1 #bjai,mr4 ,sires 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,shalala1 ,mr4 ,diaz-,balart1 ,mr4 ,rooney of ,florida1 ,mr4 ,vargas1 ,mr4 ,waltz1 ,ms4 ,wasserman ,schultz1 and ,ms4 ,mucarsel-,powell7 submitted the following resolution2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs ,,resolution ,affirming that the ,government of ,cuba's foreign medical missions constitute human trafficking4 ,whereas1 in #bjae1 the ,government of ,cuba maintained more than #ej1jjj ,cuban doctors and medical personnel in foreign medical missions in #fg countries under conditions that represent forced labor2 ,whereas the ,department of ,states' #bjah ,trafficking in ,persons 7,,tip7 report noted that ,cuban authorities coerced some participants to remain in the foreign medical missions1 including by-- 7#a7 withholding their passports and restricting their movement2 7#b7 using minders to monitor participants outside of work2 7#c7 threatening to revoke their medical licenses2 7#d7 retaliating against their family members in ,cuba if participants leave the program2 or 7#e7 imposing exile if participants didn't return to ,cuba as directed by government supervisors2 ,whereas1 between #bjac and #bjah1 more than #bj1jjj ,cuban medical professionals served in ,brazil and had their salaries garnished1 movement restricted1 and family visits limited by the ,government of ,cuba2 ,whereas investigative reporting by the digital platform ,diario de ,cuba1 through an access to information request1 revealed that ,brazilian diplomatic cables detailed the terms of the ,government of ,cuba's medical missions to ,brazil2 ,whereas1 in early #bjab1 the ,government of ,cuba proposed to the ,government of ,brazil the establishment of a program to send ,cuban doctors to geographic regions of ,brazil that had an insufficient number of medical personnel2 ,whereas1 during subsequent negotiations1 the administration of former ,brazilian ,president ,dilma ,rousseff proposed an agreement between the two governments to be implemented through coordination with the ,pan ,american ,health ,organization 7,,paho7 in order to avoid oversight by the ,national ,congress of ,brazil2 ,whereas the ,government of ,cuba stated that implementing the agreement through the ,united ,states headquarters of the ,pan ,american ,health ,organization would present risks for potential violations of ,united ,states sanctions2 ,whereas1 in ,july #bjac1 the ,government of ,cuba1 acting through the for-profit ,cuban ,medical ,services ,trading ,corporation 7,comercializadora de ,servicios ,medcos ,cubanos1 ,sociedad ,annima1 or ,,cms71 signed an agreement with the ,brazilian ,ministry of ,health to formalize a commercial arrangement for ,cuban doctors to provide medical services in ,brazil2 ,whereas the agreement between the ,government of ,cuba and the ,government of ,brazil established-- 7#a7 that the administration of former ,brazilian ,president ,dilma ,rousseff would pay the ,pan ,american ,health ,organization a monthly fee1 which would then pay the for-profit ,cuban ,medical ,services ,trading ,corporation 7,,cms7 for the medical services provided by each ,cuban doctor serving in ,brazil2 7#b7 that the for-profit ,cuban ,medical ,services ,trading ,corporation 7,,cms7 would pay each ,cuban doctor approximately #be percent of the monthly payment received from the ,pan ,american ,health ,organization2 7#c7 that the ,government of ,cuba1 acting through the for-profit ,cuban ,medical ,services ,trading ,corporation 7,,cms71 would retain approximately #ge percent of the monthly payment received from the ,pan ,american ,health ,organization2 and 7#d7 restrictions preventing participating ,cuban doctors from seeking employment in ,brazil outside of the formal structure of the program2 ,whereas1 in ,july #bjac1 the ,government of ,brazil announced the creation of the ,mais ,medcos program1 which included the participation of ,cuban doctors and doctors of other nationalities2 ,whereas the for-profit ,cuban ,medical ,services ,trading ,corporation 7,,cms7 commenced contracting ,cuban doctors for the ,mais ,medcos program1 and the first ,cuban medical professionals arrived in ,brazil in ,august #bjac2 ,whereas ,cuban doctors were the only medical professionals participating in the ,mais ,medcos program to have their salaries directly garnished by their government1 and doctors of other nationalities serving in ,brazil received the full amount of their salary2 ,whereas ,cuban doctors participating in the ,mais ,medcos program faced severe limitations on their ability to travel inside ,brazil and a prohibition on travel to neighboring countries2 ,whereas ,cuban doctors participating in the ,mais ,medcos program were prohibited from having their families accompany them while stationed in ,brazil2 ,whereas the ,cuban doctors frequently had their passports taken by ,government of ,cuba officials present in ,brazil in order to limit their ability to travel2 ,whereas the ,department of ,state's #bjah ,trafficking in ,persons 7,,tip7 report documented how the ,government of ,cuba also confiscated ,cuban doctors' passports in other countries1 and stated that the ,cuban government acknowledges that it withholds passports of overseas medical personnel in ,venezuela2 ,whereas the ,pan ,american ,health ,organization's external auditor1 the ,spanish ,court of ,audit-- 7#a7 stated in its ,january #bjah report that #aih ,cuban doctors have presented #aei legal challenges in the ,brazilian court system since the start of the program in ,july #bjac demanding extra free time in their contracts and equal working conditions as doctors of other nationalities participating in the ,mais ,medcos program2 and 7#b7 stated in its ,april #bjad report1 in recognition of the legal risks associated with the ,mais ,medcos program1 that it would be prudent that ,,paho set a contingency plan to face possible negative statements of the lawsuits2 ,whereas the ,government of ,cuba has stated that ,cuban doctors unwilling to return to the country after their participation in foreign medical missions will not be permitted to return to their homeland for eight years2 ,whereas the ,government of ,cuba directly profits from exporting the services of ,cuban professionals1 having earned more than #h1jjj1jjj1jjj from their work in #bjaf1 of which foreign medical missions represent the majority of the income2 and ,whereas the term severe forms of trafficking in persons is defined under section #ajc7i77;,b7 of the ,trafficking ,victims ,protection ,act of #bjjj 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #gajb7i77;,b77 as the recruitment1 harboring1 transportation1 provision1 or obtaining of a person for labor or services1 through the use of force1 fraud1 or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude1 peonage1 debt bondage1 or slavery3 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that it is the sense of the ,house of ,representatives that-- 7#a7 the ,government of ,cuba subjected ,cuban doctors and medical professional participating in the ,mais ,medcos program to state-sponsored human trafficking2 7#b7 ,cuban doctors participating in the ,mais ,medcos program should have been permitted to work under the same conditions as all other foreign doctors participating in the program2 7#c7 the ,government of ,cuba should compensate ,cuban doctors that participated in the ,mais ,medcos programs for the full amount of wages that were garnished by the ,government of ,cuba2 7#d7 foreign governments that sign agreements with the ,government of ,cuba or the for-profit ,cuban ,medical ,services ,trading ,corporation 7,,cms7 or other companies affiliated with the ,government of ,cuba to procure the services of ,cuban professionals directly assume risks related to participation in forced labor arrangements2 7#e7 the ,pan ,american ,health ,organization must immediately provide greater transparency about its participation in the ,mais ,medcos program and its agreement with the ,government of ,cuba and the for-profit ,cuban ,medical ,services ,trading ,corporation 7,,cms72 7#f7 the ,united ,states ,department of ,state must downgrade ,cuba to ,tier #c in its annual ,trafficking in ,persons 7,,tip7 report1 given new evidence on ,cuba's foreign medical missions and the ,government of ,cuba's longstanding failure to criminalize most forms of forced labor2 and 7#g7 the ,department of ,state must reestablish the ,cuban ,medical ,professionals ,parole 7,,cmpp7 program4