. Cuba and the United States have had a troubled relationship since Fidel Castro came to power in 1959 . The United States broke off diplomatic relations in 1961 and imposed a trade embargo in 1962 . Bush tightened some of those restrictions in recent years , most notably limiting travel to the island to once every three years for a limit of 14 days . Under the new provisions , relatives will be able to go once a year and stay for an unlimited time . In addition , the definition of relatives has been broadened to include uncles , aunts , nephews and nieces . The new measures also increase the amount of money visitors can spend . Otto Reich , who served presidents Reagan and both Bushes in a number of high-level Latin American posts , also testified Wednesday before the House Foreign Affairs Committee . Reich and Hakim have different perspectives on how far Obama should go on improving relations with Cuba , but they agree that attaching the latest measures to the spending bill was the wrong way to do it . `` It 's important to open up Cuba , but it should be
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The $ 410 billion budget President Obama signed Wednesday will make it easier for U.S. residents to travel to Cuba and to send money to family members on the island . It also could facilitate the sale of agricultural and pharmaceutical products to Cuba . The residents of Havana , Cuba , often rely on bicycle taxis for transportation . Three provisions attached to the omnibus spending bill loosened restrictions enacted by then-President George W. Bush after he came to office in 2001 . Analysts see the move as a way for the new Obama administration to start thawing relations with Cuba one month before the Fifth Summit of the Americas brings together the U.S. president and 33 other leaders from the Western Hemisphere in Trinidad and Tobago . '' -LSB- Cuba -RSB- is the issue of greatest symbolic importance , '' said Peter Hakim , president of the Washington-based Inter-American Dialogue policy institute . `` It will be seen as a test of real U.S. readiness to change in the hemisphere . What he says about Cuba will make headlines . '' Hakim testified about Latin American policy Wednesday before the House Foreign Affairs Committee