House Votes Arms Aid for Contras, 221-209 : Turning Point for Reagan’s Policy Seen

WASHINGTON —  The Democratic-controlled House, in what was portrayed as a major turning point for President Reagan’s policy in Central America, voted Wednesday for the first time in nearly three years to provide military assistance to the Nicaraguan rebels.

By a vote of 221 to 209, the House approved a provision that would give $100 million in aid to the rebels, known as contras --including $70 million for weapons and other military equipment. The aid was attached to a larger bill appropriating money for military construction that was expected to be approved finally by the House later Wednesday night.

All but four of the House’s 434 members were present for the vote--including Rep. George M. O’Brien (R-Ill.), a seriously ill and extremely frail member who received a standing ovation when he arrived in a wheelchair to vote for the President’s position.

Vote Along Party Lines

While 51 Democrats voted with the majority and 11 Republicans voted against the aid,members of the California delegation voted along straight party lines--the Democrats voting against the aid request and the Republicans voting for it.

President Reagan, speaking at a fund-raising dinner for Republican senatorial candidate Jim Santini in Las Vegas, declared: “It’s only Round 1, but boy, what a round!”

Noting that votes on other amendments were still scheduled, he expressed hope that “our coalition does hold together” and said the first vote represents “a giant bipartisan effort.”

Contra supporters hailed the vote as a major victory for the President, who had postponed a scheduled vacation to conduct last-minute lobbying on behalf of the contra aid measure. Not since late 1983, when the Congress approved $24 million in covert aid, has the House voted to permit any military assistance for the contras.

The House has repeatedly rejected Reagan’s requests for contra aid since early 1984, when members discovered that the CIA had used illegally some of the funds to mine Nicaraguan harbors.

Michel Applauds Vote

House Minority Leader Robert H. Michel (R-Ill.) said the vote demonstrated bipartisan support for contra aid--”not only for today and next week, but certainly for several years to come.”

“Tonight is really a turning point,” said Rep. John G. Rowland (R-Conn.), one of several moderate Democrats and Republicans who dropped their previous opposition to military aid for the contras. “It’s a turning point for a possible solution in Nicaragua.”

Adolfo Calero, a leader of the rebel’s Nicaraguan Democratic Force, who came to the Capitol for the vote, agreed that the aid would bring a turning point in the war against Nicaragua’s Sandinista regime.

“It will be like the light at the end of the tunnel,” he said, borrowing a phrase from the Vietnam era.

Vietnam Parallel Drawn

Liberal Democrats, also recalling U.S. involvement in Vietnam, characterized the vote as the first step down a path that could eventually lead to the commitment of U.S. troops in Central America. House Assistant Majority Leader Thomas S. Foley (D-Wash.) said the House was adopting “a policy that will become irretrievable and irreversible for many years to come.”

The Nicaraguan Embassy, in a statement bearing a similar theme, said approval of the aid package “moves the U.S. closer to the ultimate military solution that is the deployment of U.S. armed forces to the region.” However, Ambassador Carlos Tunnermann added, “the contras can win their battles in Washington, but they are being defeated by the people in Nicaragua.”

The Republican-controlled Senate still must act on a similar measure before the aid can be provided to the contras, but there is little doubt that the House vote signaled an eventual victory for Reagan. The Senate has frequently approved military aid for the contras over the past three years only to have it blocked in the House.

A Defeat for O’Neill

The House vote was also a personal defeat for retiring Speaker Thomas P. (Tip) O’Neill Jr. (D-Mass.), 73, who has used virtually all of the prerogatives of his office to frustrate the President. While other Democrats sought compromise, O’Neill remained firmly committed to his view that Nicaragua will eventually prove to be another unwinnable war similar to that in Vietnam.

Michel ridiculed O’Neill’s unyielding position as “loyalty to petrified opinion,” and added that “systematic delay is not a policy--it’s paralysis.”

What allowed many moderates to move toward the President’s position, Michel said, were many new provisions incorporated into the Republican-backed measure shortly before the vote.

“This gave members who did switch the opportunity to tell their folks back home ‘I voted on something different,’ ” he said.

Three-Phased Program

The victorious measure, co-sponsored by Reps. Mickey Edwards (R-Okla.) and Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), provides the aid in three increments--the first payment of $40 million immediately after enactment and the second of $20 million on Oct. 15. But no arms could be provided until Sept. 1 and no so-called “heavy weapons” could be given until the third increment on Feb. 15, 1987. Congress could vote to stop shipment of heavy weapons at that juncture.

In addition, the Edwards-Skelton measure would provide for strict controls on how the money is spent and authorize $300 million in economic development aid to the four other countries in the region: Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica and El Salvador.

All of these conditions were placed on the aid in a successful effort to win the support of moderate Republicans and Democrats who were opposed to the President’s earlier proposals on a variety of grounds.

October Vote Sought

The Democratic leadership had been supporting a proposal authored by Rep. Dave McCurdy (D-Okla.), which was similar to the Edwards-Skelton measure with one notable exception--it would not have allowed any military assistance for the contras until a second affirmative vote by the Congress after Oct. 1

Many members saw the second vote required by the McCurdy proposal as a subterfuge for defeating military aid to the contras. It was assumed that few House members would want to go on record in favor of military aid only a month before facing reelection next November.

“The alternative is no decision,” Skelton said, referring to McCurdy’s proposal. He also sought to appeal to the widespread feeling among members on both sides of the aisle who were tired of debating the issue. “As a matter of fact, it is what we all don’t want--a prolonged indecision.”

Charges of Corruption

Liberal Democrats sought to discourage support for military assistance by detailing allegations of corruption and drug-smuggling by the contras. Rep. Michael D. Barnes (D-Md.), noted that his Foreign Affairs subcommittee had recently uncovered evidence that contra leaders were diverting $27 million in humanitarian assistance to personal bank accounts in Miami, the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands.

“We are not helping democracy in Central America,” said Rep. Bill Alexander (D-Ark.) “We are helping capitalism in Florida, the Cayman Islands and the Bahamas.”

Alexander noted that the contras used the $27 million in humanitarian aid that they received from Congress last year to buy, among other things, 62,120 belts and 53,526 boots.

“The inventory sounds more like Imelda Marcos’ closet than a revolutionary inventory,” he said in a reference to the former Philippine First Lady.

Democratic opponents of military aid also ridiculed the military accomplishments of the contras.

“They don’t control one town, one village, one street,” Rep. James A. Traficant (D-Ohio) declared.

Nevertheless, an amendment sponsored by Rep. Lee H. Hamilton (D-Ind.) and supported by the Democratic leadership providing only $27 million in humanitarian assistance to the contras failed by a vote of 245 to 182.

MP, Los Angeles Times