GOP Will Keep Cuba Travel Ban Intact [View All]

[Osolomia]

By LOLITA C. BALDOR
Associated Press Writer
October 29, 2003, 3:23 PM EST

WASHINGTON -- Legislation that would relax the ban on travel to Cuba is headed for failure even though it passed both the House and Senate.

Supporters of the bill conceded Wednesday that Republican leaders would strip the provision from the transportation funding bill during House and Senate negotiations so President Bush would not have to veto an important appropriations bill.

"A veto would create too much of a firestorm," said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont. "They (Republican leaders) will find some other way to finesse it."

... The widely expected result is that when the House and Senate conferees meet to iron out differences in the two transportation bills, the Cuba provision will be quietly dropped.

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http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-cuba-travel-ban,0,1990657.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines