Washington Unplugged: Congressmen Fight Over Cuba Policy

Congressmen Chris Smirth (R-N.J.) and Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) fall on two very different sides of the debate whether the United States should loosen restrictions placed on communist Cuba. Each argued their side of the issue on CBS News' weekly politics Web cast "Washington Unplugged" Friday.

Smith feels that the United States is not doing enough to pressure the regime to address humanitarian concerns before commencing negotiations.

"I am concerned that exit permits given to Cubans to travel outside the country will only be limited to those men and women who silence themselves about human rights,'' Smith said noting that children of Cubans looking to travel outside of the country are kept as "hostages" until their parents return.

Rush, along with three other members of the Congressional Black Caucus, met with Fidel and Raul Castro last week during a congressional delegation visit to Cuba and feels that Cuba is being unfairly penalized while other countries with questionable humanitarian policies go unpunished.

Rush argued that as a civil rights leader, he has been an advocate for human rights his entire life. "I do believe that this [human rights] is an issue that has been used to stymie the productive discussions."

"This is a new day, human rights are on the table," Rush said referencing Raul Castro's statement to President Obama where he said that everything is open for negotitaion between the U.S. and Cuba.

"Cuba is not a terrorist state, it needs to come off the list of terrorist states," he argued, adding that many other major countries have normal trade relations with the communist country.

Rush also noted that the United States has normal trade relations with other nations in the world who commit "more flagrant violations of human rights," citing Saudi Arabia and China.

"We have been stuck in the past," he said.

Smith said that he had attempted to get a visa to visit Cuba several times, but he was "turned down flat, he said, "becuase we want to visit political prisioners."

He also made a "plea" to CBS to tell the story of an acqaintance who was formerly jailed in Cuba. "Tell the story of the dissonance," Smith said.

"Why do people like Bobby Rush get into Cuba?" Smith asked when he is not given a visa.

You can watch the whole interview below, as well as an interview with author and son of Ben Bradlee and Sally Quinn, Quinn Bradlee and the New York Times' David Sanger and David Asher a former State Department Official talking about the challenge of North Korea on Washington Unplugged this week.