The RIAA isn’t the only entity making #newrules thanks to the exploits of Jay-Z. If Republicans have their way, you can add the U.S. Government to that list. Thanks to the rapper/mogul and his wife Beyoncé’s recent trip to Cuba, a Congressional subcommittee is moving to reduce the amount of money the Treasury Department has at its disposal to approve such trips.
The Huffington Post reports:
Celebrity power couple Beyoncé and Jay-Z, who controversially visited Cuba earlier this year, might face tougher government restrictions on travel to countries considered U.S. adversaries if congressional Republicans get their way.
A bill that just made its way out of a House Appropriations subcommittee would limit the use of Department of Treasury funds to approve “travel-related or other transactions incident to non-academic educational exchanges” described in American legal restrictions on travel to Cuba.
Politico offered more insight into the proposal via one of the House Appropriations subcommittee’s members.
“This is the Jay-Z, Beyonce Bill,” Rep. Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.), a member of the House Appropriations Committee who opposes the provision, told POLITICO. “Absolutely [it’s a response to the trip], and it’s playing to the audience in Miami” — a reference to opponents of relaxing economic and diplomatic relations with the island country.
The provision is part of a larger $17 billion financial services spending bill that funds the operations of several agencies, including the Treasury Department, which approved the cultural trip that included Jay-Z and Beyonce. The department has said it approves the trips based on their itinerary and not the specific travelers.
Panel Republicans said that’s too broad a policy and in response the spending would restrict travel to Cuba to educational exchanges involving academic study related to a degree program. So unless Jay-Z and Beyonce are earning a degree — the Treasury Department wouldn’t have been able to approve their trip.
So Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s travel plans are affecting the law of the land. This is what our tax dollars are paying for?
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Photo: Instagram
