This
NY Times article sure was surprising to me.
Has the Senate started to peel away from the Supreme Leader on the issues?
Was the Iraq loan vs grant debate just the beginning of a full-scale revolt on issues like ANWR?
What effect will that have on public policy over the next year? That's a different question than what the politics of the vote were.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate joined the House on Thursday in striking at the four-decade-old policy of making travel to Cuba a criminal act, putting Congress on a collision course with Bush administration efforts to step up enforcement of travel restrictions.
``The travel ban does nothing to hurt Fidel Castro,'' said Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D. ``It only harms Americans.'' He was co-sponsor of the measure, passed 60-34, that bars use of government money to enforce current travel restrictions.
Last month, the House approved identical language in its version of a $90 billion bill to fund Transportation and Treasury department programs in the budget year that started Oct. 1.
The votes in the two GOP-controlled chambers came despite a White House warning that the president would be advised to veto the bill if it includes the Cuba provision. The legislation contains vital money for highways, law enforcement and anti-terrorism.
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