A House bill that would have eased U.S. restrictions on travel to Cuba was withdrawn in a defeat for opponents of U.S. sanctions on the communist-ruled island.

BY PABLO BACHELET

WASHINGTON - Opponents of U.S. restrictions on travel to Cuba suffered a defeat Wednesday when an amendment that would have denied funding for enforcement was withdrawn from a House of Representatives bill, the first such setback in five years.

Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., the sponsor of the initiative, blamed election-year politics for his decision to withdraw the amendment.

''Unfortunately, the timing of this legislation this year does not lend itself to a reasoned and thoughtful debate about our policy toward Cuba,'' he said.

The setback marks a shift from previous years, when a growing number of lawmakers has backed initiatives to roll back travel restrictions. A similar amendment passed the House and Senate last year, but was later dropped in a conference committee under a veto threat from the White House.

This year, supporters of the travel restrictions were more aggressive and enjoyed the backing of the Bush administration and the House leadership, said an aide close to Flake. Even if it had passed, a tight vote would have set a difficult precedent for future votes on the issue, he added.

The amendment, attached to a broader Treasury and Transportation appropriations bill, would have rendered the travel restrictions useless by denying officials funding to pursue violators.

President Bush backs the travel restrictions, arguing that tourist dollars help sustain a communist dictatorship on the island. This summer, he further tightened the travel restrictions by cutting the frequency of family visits, from once a year to once every three years. The move was decried by opponents as pandering to the key Cuban American vote in Florida and an attack on family values.

`A GREAT VICTORY'

Those in favor of the travel ban were pleased with Flake's decision to withdraw his amendment.

''This is a great victory for the Cuban people, and it's a huge defeat for Fidel Castro,'' said Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla. ``Congressman Flake knew he did not have the votes today to pass the amendment.''

Those against travel restrictions could still score a victory if the House approves other, narrower initiatives. Rep. Jim Davis, D-Fla., plans to introduce an amendment next week to the same Treasury and Transportation appropriations bill to reverse the tighter restrictions that Bush enacted in July.

Ros-Lehtinen said these initiatives were ``peripheral.''

``We may not win those, but this [Flake's] is the one amendment that we needed to defeat. That's the one we had been focusing on.''

NOT GIVING UP

Flake said Tuesday that he would withdraw the amendment if it did not have enough votes to pass. In his Wednesday floor speech he made it clear that he was not giving up. ''Our efforts will resume as soon as the electoral smoke clears,'' he said.

The U.S. restrictions bar tourists from traveling to Cuba but allow Cuban Americans, academics and journalists to go. Legitimate visitors are limited to spending $50 a day.

The tightened restrictions have come under fire by a broad coalition of travel and trade groups, moderate farm-state Republicans and most Democrats.