Key House Democrats Urge Reagan to Delay Contra Aid Request

A group of moderate House Democrats whose support could be crucial to President Reagan’s effort to continue aid to the Nicaraguan Contras, urged him Friday to postpone his request to Congress for more funds for the rebels.

However, a White House official said that there are no immediate plans to pull back and that the President will send his funding proposal to the House and Senate on Wednesday. And the Democratic leaders in the House, apparently sensing that they have the votes to defeat his request, also rejected calls for a delay.

According to Administration officials, Reagan is expected to seek roughly $50 million--most of it for non-lethal assistance--to tide the anti-Sandinista forces over for the next several months.

The moderate Democrats’ call for a delay was an attempt to balance the Administration’s commitment to maintain the Contras as a viable fighting force with other Democrats’ fears that new aid will undercut the Central American peace process during a particularly sensitive stage.

“Now is not the time, when substantial progress is being made toward peace and democracy in Central America, to force a highly partisan fight in the U.S. Congress on the question of new aid to the Contras,” the group said in a letter to the President.

Rather than offer Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega “a convenient escape clause” to refuse cooperation, “let’s strengthen the United States’ favorable position by challenging the Sandinistas to further concessions,” it said.

The letter was signed by 19 members of Congress, many of them “swing” voters who help decide closely fought battles between the President and the Democratic majority in the House. The letter was prepared by Rep. Dave McCurdy of Oklahoma, who has tried frequently in the past to find a middle ground on Central American issues between the factions.

On Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) also suggested that the vote--now set for the first week of February--be delayed. House Speaker Jim Wright (D-Tex.) replied, however, that he did not see “how we could permit a delay now.”

Remarked one Democratic leadership aide, “It’s clear (Republicans) think their support is slipping. But for us to agree to change this now, that would be giving them an advantage later on.”

Administration officials have said that if the assistance is approved and the peace process breaks down, they would expect to seek additional funds for the Contras in the middle of the year.

As the group of Democrats made their letter public, Reagan continued his efforts to pressure Congress to keep the Contras funded.

Speaking to a group of Contra supporters at the White House, Reagan reiterated his pledge that the U.S. will join in Central American peace discussions once the region’s governments and opposition groups take concrete steps toward resolving their conflicts.

“Once a cease-fire is in place in Nicaragua and significant progress is being made toward a real and lasting political settlement, the United States is prepared to join in regional security discussions,” Reagan said.

Times staff writers Eric Lichtblau and Josh Getlin contributed to this story.