BY ANA RADELAT
 Special to The Herald

 WASHINGTON -- The family of downed Brothers to the Rescue pilots came a
 step closer to collecting a $187.6 million judgment against the Cuban government
 Thursday when a Senate panel approved a bill that would allow the seizure of
 foreign assets.

 The Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act, sponsored by Sens. Connie Mack,
 R-Fla., and Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., would strip the president of his authority to
 protect foreign assets in the United States.

 The Senate Judiciary Committee's unanimous approval of the bill breathed new life
 into an effort to help the families of three Brothers to the Rescue pilots who were
 shot down by the Cuban air force Feb. 24, 1996. A Florida court awarded the
 families $187.6 million in damages. A fourth pilot killed in the incident was not
 eligible to share in the award because he was not a U.S. citizen.

 The Brothers to the Rescue families, and other victims of terrorism who have won
 lawsuits against the government of Iran, have not been able to collect on their
 judgments because President Clinton blocked efforts to attach Iranian and Cuban
 assets in the United States.

                     Copyright 2000 Miami Herald