GOP Backs Alternate Aid Plan for Contras

Congressional Republican leaders have agreed on an alternative to President Reagan’s embattled contra aid plan which would eliminate any possibility that the $14 million would be delivered as military assistance to the Nicaraguan rebels, congressional sources said today.

The sources indicated that Reagan has agreed to accept the plan to be voted on later today by the Republican-controlled Senate Appropriations Committee and by a House Appropriations subcommittee.

At the White House, Reagan confirmed he is willing to compromise.

Speaking to a group of editors and broadcasters, the President said he is willing to “make some alterations” in his request for $14 million in aid to the contras so long as he can preserve the principles contained in his plan.

“My feet aren’t in concrete on this,” Reagan said in an unusually conciliatory gesture to the Congress, where his proposal is in deep trouble.

But he continued to complain that opponents want a quick vote. Noting that the Senate is due to vote Tuesday, Reagan said, “I think it’s immoral to demand that vote that quick.”

The proposal put together on Capitol Hill would, in effect, remove a trigger designed to pressure the leftist Sandinista government to negotiate with the rebels supported by the Administration.

The trigger--proposed originally by Reagan--said the $14 million would be delivered as food, clothing and medical assistance for 60 days, and after that could become military help if negotiations broke down.