[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4558 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4558
To designate the area between the intersections of 16th Street
Northwest and Fuller Street Northwest and 16th Street Northwest and
Euclid Street Northwest in Washington, District of Columbia, as
``Oswaldo Paya Way''.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 21, 2025
Mr. Diaz-Balart (for himself, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Ms. Salazar, Ms.
Wilson of Florida, Mr. Gimenez, Mr. Soto, and Ms. Malliotakis)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To designate the area between the intersections of 16th Street
Northwest and Fuller Street Northwest and 16th Street Northwest and
Euclid Street Northwest in Washington, District of Columbia, as
``Oswaldo Paya Way''.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) the revolution led by Fidel Castro in Cuba in 1959
started over 6 decades of an ongoing dictatorship, systemic
human rights abuses, and a lack of basic freedom of press,
religion, assembly, and association that continue to this day
under the Communist rule of Raul Castro and his successor,
Miguel Diaz-Canel;
(2) Oswaldo Paya Sardinas was a Cuban political dissident
and activist dedicated to promoting democratic freedoms and
human rights in Cuba;
(3) the Communist Party of Cuba has always viewed
individuals with a commitment to democracy and freedom as a
threat to the existence of the Communist Party of Cuba;
(4) on July 22, 2012, a violent car crash, widely believed
to have been carried out by the Castro regime, took the lives
of Oswaldo Paya and Harold Cepero, another democratic activist;
(5) Cuba's official investigation into the crash has been
demonstrated to be compromised, and the Cuban regime has
blocked all efforts to conduct a credible and independent
investigation into the crash, leaving the circumstances of the
death of Oswaldo Paya unknown;
(6) opposition by Oswaldo Paya to the Communist Party of
Cuba began at a young age, when he refused to become a member
of the Young Communist League as a primary school student, and
continued through high school, when he publicly criticized the
invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union;
(7) the Communist Party of Cuba responded to the opposition
by Oswaldo Paya to the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet
Union by sending Oswaldo Paya to a labor camp for 3 years;
(8) Oswaldo Paya forewent a chance to escape Cuba in the
1980 Mariel boatlift, deciding instead to continue the fight
for democracy in Cuba, saying, ``This is what I am supposed to
be, this is what I have to do.'';
(9) by creating the Varela Project in 1998, Oswaldo Paya
demonstrated his staunch commitment to peacefully advocating
for freedom of speech and freedom of assembly for his fellow
Cubans;
(10) in recognition of his determination for political
reforms through peaceful protests, Oswaldo Paya was awarded the
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought by the European
Parliament in 2002 and the W. Averell Harriman Democracy Award
from the National Democratic Institute for International
Affairs in 2003 and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by
former Czech President Va1clav Havel in 2005;
(11) on April 11, 2018, the Senate unanimously passed S.
Res. 224, recognizing the sixth anniversary of the death of
Oswaldo Paya Sardinas, commemorating his legacy and commitment
to democratic values and principles, and calling on the Cuban
Government to allow an impartial, third-party investigation
into the circumstances surrounding his death; and
(12) renaming the street in front of the Embassy of Cuba in
the District of Columbia after Oswaldo Paya serves as an
expression of solidarity between the people of the United
States and the people of Cuba, who are engaged in a long,
nonviolent struggle for fundamental human rights.
SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF OSWALDO PAYA WAY.
(a) Designation of Way.--
(1) In general.--The area between the intersections of 16th
Street Northwest and Fuller Street Northwest and 16th Street
Northwest and Euclid Street Northwest in Washington, District
of Columbia, shall be known and designated as ``Oswaldo Paya
Way''.
(2) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation,
document, paper, or other record of the United States to the
area referred to in paragraph (1) shall be deemed to be a
reference to Oswaldo Paya Way.
(b) Designation of Address.--
(1) Designation.--The address of 2630 16th Street
Northwest, Washington, District of Columbia, shall be
redesignated as 2630 Oswaldo Paya Way.
(2) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation,
document, paper, or other record of the United States to the
address referred to in paragraph (1) shall be deemed to be a
reference to 2630 Oswaldo Paya Way.
(c) Signs.--The District of Columbia shall construct 2 street signs
that shall--
(1) contain the phrase ``Oswaldo Paya Way'';
(2) be placed immediately above existing signs at the
intersections of 16th Street Northwest and Fuller Street
Northwest and 16th Street Northwest and Euclid Street Northwest
in Washington, District of Columbia; and
(3) be similar in design to the signs used by the District
of Columbia to designate the location of Metro stations.
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