Reagan Appeals to Nation and House for Contras Aid

WASHINGTON —  President Reagan, postponing his California vacation by a day, made a final plea Tuesday for his $100-million aid package for the Nicaraguan rebels before the House decides today whether to cut back his request and forbid military assistance.

“My fellow Americans--and members of the House--I need your help,” the President declared from the Oval Office a day after House Speaker Thomas P. (Tip) O’Neill Jr. (D-Mass.) refused his request to speak directly to the House about aid to the contras, as the rebels are known.

In a speech notably conciliatory in its tone, Reagan said he shares congressional concerns about “intolerable” abuses by the contras of $27 million in humanitarian aid that Congress approved last year, an admission that O’Neill called “startling.” And he acknowledged the fear often voiced in Congress that military aid “will be only the first step down the slippery slope toward another Vietnam.”

The House will vote today on two competing aid proposals, Reagan’s and a Democratic package that would postpone the issue of military aid for at least three months. Neither side is confident of victory, although a White House official who did not wish to be identified said Reagan was “within a handful of votes” of prevailing.

“We’ve got some more elbow-bending to do,” the official said.

Reagan called the Democratic proposal to postpone military aid “a tragic mistake” but acknowledged that it was offered “in good faith” as Congress grapples with the extent of U.S. commitment to the contras.

He said passage of the Democratic alternative, sponsored by Rep. Dave McCurdy (D-Okla.), would give the Nicaraguan regime and its Soviet sponsors time to consolidate power. He added that it would send “a demoralizing message to the democratic resistance: that the United States is too divided and paralyzed to come to their aid in time.”

The Democratic plan would limit assistance now to $30 million in humanitarian aid and require Congress to vote again on the issue after Oct. 1.

$40 Million Now

Reagan is supporting a proposal sponsored by Minority Leader Robert H. Michel (R-Ill.) that would send $40 million in mostly military aid now, followed by installments of mostly military aid of $20 million in October and $40 million next February.

Despite Reagan’s conciliatory words, the Administration issued a fierce denunciation of Rep. Michael D. Barnes (D-Md.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Latin America, who has accused the contras of large-scale misuse of U.S. funds.

Elliott Abrams, assistant secretary of state for Inter-American Affairs, charged Barnes with attempting to “smear” the aid program. Abrams said a $450,000 check that Barnes had cited as a clandestine payment to the commander of the Honduran armed forces was actually a legitimate financial transfer to the Honduran General Command.

‘A Disgusting Thing to Do’

Abrams called Barnes’ charge “a disgusting thing to do.”

Barnes replied that it was not clear whether the $450,000 had gone to the commander personally or to the military as an institution, “but it wasn’t supposed to go to either one.”

“They’re engaged in an effort to stonewall and cover up,” Barnes said of the Administration. “If they’re serious about finding out the answers to where this money went, then they would come forward” with more information.

Carried Live by CNN

Reagan’s speech was carried live by the Cable News Network, but the three commercial networks declined to interrupt their regular programming. A White House official expressed “disappointment” at that decision but said Reagan was primarily trying to reach House members, who have access to CNN, if he could not directly address the House.

O’Neill, who said an address to the House would violate the Constitution’s doctrine of separation of powers, had offered to let Reagan address a joint session of Congress.

But White House Chief of Staff Donald T. Regan dismissed that suggestion. White House officials said a joint session would distract the Senate from the tax overhaul bill, which it passed Tuesday, and would be “a waste of time” for senators, who have already voted for contra aid.

But one official confessed privately that Regan’s turndown of O’Neill’s compromise offer had “an element of pique” in it as well.

O’Neill, meanwhile, accused Regan of pulling “a cheap political trick” by asking permission for the President to address the House after O’Neill had privately advised White House officials that he would reject the request.

“I have to assume it was on purpose,” O’Neill said. “By embarrassing me across the nation, they hoped to change some votes.”

Times staff writer Doyle McManus contributed to this story.