H.R. 4558

[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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