Wright Predicts Passage of Non-Lethal Aid for Rebels

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Jim Wright, hailing the Nicaraguan cease-fire agreement as a “new day, a light at the end of the tunnel,” predicted Thursday that Congress could approve new humanitarian aid for the Contras within a week, breaking a long deadlock on the issue.

“If Nicaraguans who have been shooting at each other for years can agree, surely Democrats and Republicans can agree,” said a beaming Wright, noting that he has had “encouraging” talks with Republican leaders and White House Chief of Staff Howard H. Baker Jr. on a new aid plan.

At the White House, spokesman Marlin Fitzwater also praised the cease-fire agreement, but in less ebullient terms, saying: “There’s a lot of room for encouragement, there is also a lot of room for skepticism. . . . This agreement merely opens the gate on a long road to peace. It will be complex and difficult.”

Meanwhile, Secretary of State George P. Shultz expressed cautious optimism about the cease-fire. “We consider this agreement to be an important step forward,” he said. “The agreement provides for continued aid to the freedom fighters, but there is no aid. Congress should provide that aid immediately, before the Easter recess.”

If the White House and Congress can agree on an aid plan, it would at least temporarily quell one of the greatest White House-congressional struggles of Ronald Reagan’s presidency. On Thursday, Wright and other Democrats said that they are ready to bury the hatchet, provided the two parties can agree on an aid package that complies with the terms of the Nicaraguan cease-fire.

For its part, the Reagan Administration is working on a “parallel path” with Wright and wants a bipartisan aid plan “without regard to ‘your plan, my plan, whose plan is it,’ but rather our plan,” according to a White House official.

The purpose of such aid, Wright said, would be to keep the rebels supplied with food, medical assistance and clothing while a more permanent peace agreement is negotiated. Given the hopeful signs from Nicaragua, he said, there is little chance that Congress would approve, let alone consider, military aid to the rebels.

Even though both sides appear to be moving toward an agreement on Contra aid, a goal that has eluded Congress and the White House for years, there are still some key problems to be resolved. The most important focuses on when and how the White House could request more aid for the rebels should peace talks break down.

Concession Possible

House Democratic leaders, in a major concession, indicated that they are prepared to negotiate on that issue. California Rep. Tony Coelho (D-Merced), the House majority whip, suggested that he and other Democrats would consider an arrangement in which Reagan and members of Congress could determine jointly the timing of future votes and the nature of the aid to be considered.

However, he ruled out a Reagan-sponsored plan calling for the President to request a vote on military aid. Any future votes “are best determined by a group of people. . . . It can’t just be in the hands of one person,” Coelho said.

Earlier, Democrats had balked at the idea of such a vote. Now, Republicans can feel “very encouraged, because the Speaker is moving to compromise on this issue,” said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), adding: “Our differences are not major.”

There were also indications that a large bloc of liberal House Democrats, who have in the past voted against any Contra aid, now will support a bipartisan package.

Aid Deliveries

California Rep. George Miller (D-Concord), who has been a strong critic of the rebels, suggested that the Nicaraguan cease-fire agreement requires all aid to be delivered by organizations like the International Red Cross. Many liberals had been unhappy with earlier proposals, which called for the aid to be delivered by the CIA or the U.S. Defense Department.

“I think that will allow a lot of liberals to vote for this,” said Miller. “For many of these people, the main concern was that we not approve aid while people are fighting and killing each other. Now, that has stopped, and the climate has improved.”

At the White House, however, officials view the Nicaraguan events with considerably more skepticism. Fitzwater, in a prepared statement he read to reporters, said that the cease-fire “marks an important step in the long struggle to force democratic reforms and bring peace” to Nicaragua.

But “not all the problems are settled yet,” he said. “It remains to be seen if the substance follows the legality. . . . We’ll have to see where it goes. We are somewhat skeptical in view of history, Sandinista promises of compliance, but nevertheless this charts a course and they just need to follow through.”

Keep Pressure On

Expressing the Administration’s view that the agreement only intensifies the need for renewed Contra aid, Fitzwater said: “It is essential that an aid program be formulated to keep the pressure on the Sandinistas to comply with their agreement worked out last night.”

Other officials stressed that no agreement has been reached with Democrats over how aid would be delivered to the rebels. If the Sandinistas renege on the promises they have made, said one senior White House official, the Administration would insist on speeding renewed aid, including military assistance, through an expedited procedure in Congress.

There was also some irritation over the Democrats’ reaction. Told that Wright was “beaming” at the reports from the talks, one senior official complained: “He wasn’t smiling so much last week when (Nicaraguan President Daniel) Ortega was jumping across the border.”

Sandinista Incursion

The official was referring to the Sandinistas’ incursion into Honduras in pursuit of Contra forces that were retreating to base and supply camps, a military operation that occurred while Wright sought to block military aid for the Contras.

Mostly, there was a prevailing confusion--and indeed surprise--about the plan among Reagan’s senior aides. That was reflected by one White House official, who said that “it’s too early to figure out where this thing goes.”

He said that the U.S. role had been limited to “sitting back and watching” the talks proceed, although “there was some communication back and forth.” Indeed, he said, as the agreement evolved Wednesday, Assistant Secretary of State Elliott Abrams was in frequent communication with Contra representatives, informing them that prospects on Capitol Hill for some humanitarian aid appear to be improving.

At the same time, Coelho said that he and other Democratic leaders were in close contact with Contra leaders, who told them to hold off on voting for any additional aid packages.

“They told us an agreement was near and that we should postpone any action until they reached an agreement,” he said. “This cease-fire isn’t the result of Congress saying what’s good for Central America. It happened because people there dealt with their own problems.”