By BETH REINHARD

Miami Democrat Kendrick Meek said he will be among six members of Congress traveling with President Barack Obama on Air Force One this week to the Summit of the Americas -- though he disagrees with part of the administration's new Cuba policy.

At a Monday morning rally for his U.S. Senate campaign, Meek said he supports curbing the amount of money Cuban Americans can send to their relatives because the communist government takes a 20 percent cut.

Later Monday, Obama announced that he would allow Cuban Americans to freely send cash to needy relatives, and he called on the Cuban government to confiscate less of the money. The announcement was timed to coincide with the summit that begins Friday in Trinidad.

Meek said he was unaware that Obama had pledged during his campaign to lift the limits on remittances put in place under President George W. Bush.

''I want to talk to the president about the unlimited remittances, if that's what he said, because that could be counterproductive to our mission in Cuba to turn it toward democracy the way we'd like to see it,'' he said.

He later issued a statement that said free-flowing remittances would amount to "further propping up a regime that suppresses human rights, freedoms and personal mobility. . . . To have remittances meant for family members in Cuba siphoned off by the regime in Havana would be a deep insult to Cuban Americans everywhere.''

Other members of Florida's delegation share Meek's concerns, reflecting Cuba's status as one of the issues that unites Democratic and Republican politicians from a state that is home for hundreds of thousands of politically influential exiles.

Republican Reps. Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Mario Diaz-Balart of Miami said in a statement that Obama made ''a serious mistake by unilaterally increasing Cuban-American travel and remittance dollars for the Cuban dictatorship.'' Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Weston suggested doubling the $1,200 annual limit instead of lifting the cap. But other Democrats in Congress and the White House argue that the restrictions have failed to weaken the regime and instead hurt the Cuban people.

Meek represents one of the most Democratic districts in the country, and his stance on Cuba stands out against a mostly liberal voting record. On Monday, he received his fourth union endorsement, from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

Meek is a co-sponsor of a controversial bill that has become organized labor's top priority. The legislation would make it easier for unions to recruit new members by collecting signatures instead of holding secret-ballot elections.

Meek's endorsements and nearly $1.5 million in donations have given him an early leg up in the campaign to replace Republican Sen. Mel Martinez, who is retiring in 2010. The other major Democratic contender, state Sen. Dan Gelber of Miami, has raised about $400,000.

Gov. Charlie Crist would immediately become the Republican front-runner if he decides to run for the Senate.

''Kendrick jumped out in front early and has picked up steam ever since,'' said Diana Pitarelli, who currently serves as vice chair of the Broward Democratic Party.

``It's not going to be easy to beat Charlie Crist. I know Democrats who like Charlie Crist.''