1 During the early weeks of his stewardship of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations committee, Sen. Jesse Helms has displayed only occasional flashes of the conservative combativeness that has been his trademark.
2 On such issues as arms control and the Clinton administration's agreement with North Korean on nuclear technology, Helms has surprised many by being more accommodating to the administration than adversarial.
3 Helms' reputation for aggressiveness is expected to be reinforced on Thursday, however. He is introducing legislation to tighten U.S. sanctions against Cuba and to support American business people whose properties were seized by Fidel Castro's revolution a generation ago.
4 Titled the 'Cuban Liberty and Solidarity Act,' Helms' bill also seeks to internationalize the U.S. embargo against Cuba and to authorize U.S. aid after a democratic succession in Cuba.
5 Helms planned to unveil his proposal at a news conference, where he was to be joined by Cuban-American and other congressional opponents of Castro.
6 Administration officials have been pleased by the rapport Secretary of State Warren Christopher has built with Helms over the past month. But they have no doubt that disagreement will arise over such issues as foreign aid and diplomatic appointments that must be approved by Helms' committee.
7 On Cuba, however, Helms and the administration mostly see eye to eye. Except on immigration issues, the administration has shown no inclination to bargain with Castro. Now, Helms wants to add to the array of sanctions against Cuba that are already in place.
8 The bill instructs the administration to oppose Cuban membership in the World Bank and other international lending institutions and to prevent them from giving Cuba economic advice.
9 It would seek an end to a key remaining element of Cuba's once-flourishing ties with Russia. Specifically, the dlrs 379 million U.S. assistance program to Russia would be reduced by the amount that Russia pays Cuba for use of an intelligence-gathering facility on the island.
10 Estimates of the Russian rental payments range between dlrs 160 million and dlrs 200 million annually. Russia insists the installation is needed to monitor U.S. compliance with arms-control agreements.
11 To administration officials, the least appealing aspect of Helms' bill is his proposal to ask the U.N. Security Council to impose sanctions against Cuba much as it did against Haiti last year.
12 The administration is reluctant to go that route because the U.N. General Assembly has gone on record repeatedly in opposition to the three-decade-long embargo. When the issue came to a vote last year, the General Assembly handed Cuba a major victory when only Israel joined the United States for the embargo.
13 Helms also seeks to address concerns of American business people whose properties were seized without compensation in Cuba. Canadian, Mexican and European investors, taking advantage of the improved foreign investment climate in Cuba, have been moving in on some of the properties.
14 Helms wants to retaliate by allowing U.S. citizens with claims against Cuba to file suit seeking to attach whatever assets the foreign firms may have in the United States. He also would deny U.S. visas to executives and shareholders of the companies, to their spouses and their dependents.
15 Original Treasury Department estimates set the value of the assets at dlrs 1.8 billion. Interest and inflation have increased that figure to dlrs 6 billion.

During the early weeks of his stewardship of the U . S . Senate Foreign Relations committee , Sen . Jesse Helms has displayed only occasional flashes of the conservative combativeness that has been his trademark .
flashes of the conservative combativeness
Why has his personality changed in this capacity?