(Washington, DC) -- As Congress gets ready to debate the long-running embargo against Cuba, lobbyists have ponied up big bucks to make sure nothing happens.

The "Miami Herald" reports that lobbyists opposed to easing sanctions against the Communist country have donated nearly eleven-million dollars to politicians.

The bulk of the money came from the U.S.-Cuba Democracy Political Action Committee.

The biggest recipients are three Republicans in the House of Representatives, all Cuban-born, who represent Miami.

Senator John McCain got money for his 2008 presidential bid, as did New Jersey's U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, a Democrat whose parents fled Cuba.

The largesse extended across both sides of the aisle.

Some 850-thousand dollars went to the 53 House Democrats who wrote a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi insisting on no change in U.S. policy.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee takes up the issue on Thursday

　

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