A proposal by President Clinton’s senior foreign policy advisers for a partial easing of sanctions against Cuba encountered withering criticism Tuesday from Republican lawmakers.

Under a draft recommendation, a ban on remittances to Cuban citizens from U.S. households would be lifted along with some restrictions on travel by Americans to Cuba.

In a Senate floor speech, Majority Leader Bob Dole, R-Kan., said of the Clinton administration, “They’ve made a big, big mistake. They’ve misread the American people not just in the state of Florida, where many CubanAmericans reside, they misread public opinion all across America.”