$70 Million to Arm Contras May Be Sought by Reagan

President Reagan, sensing a more favorable climate in Congress, will ask for as much as $100 million in military and humanitarian aid for rebels fighting the Marxist government in Nicaragua, White House and congressional sources said Tuesday.

The President will also seek military aid for the rebel forces of Jonas Savimbi, who is battling the Marxist government in Angola. Savimbi, who heads UNITA--the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola--will meet with a National Security Council official in the White House next week.

Assistance to guerrillas resisting communist domination is expected to be a major theme of Reagan’s fifth State of the Union address to the nation, scheduled Tuesday.

Although details of the Nicaraguan aid request are not complete, a White House official said that Reagan’s “gut reaction” is to propose a package that is heavily weighted toward military assistance for the rebels, known as contras.

An Administration task force studying congressional willingness to aid the rebels was said to be ready to propose $70 million for military aid and $30 million for humanitarian aid. Last year, Congress rejected Reagan’s request for arms and approved $27 million in “non-lethal” aid.

Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) told Reagan in a White House meeting Tuesday that assistance for Nicaraguan and Angolan rebels would be regarded favorably on Capitol Hill.

And House Republican leader Robert H. Michel (R-Ill.), confirming the same “change of attitude,” said that a growing number of congressmen realizes that “it’s difficult to counter Soviet gunships simply with humanitarian assistance.”

In the meeting with Republican leaders of Congress, Reagan reportedly warned that the Soviets could gain influence around the world if the United States relaxes its support for anti-communist rebel movements. He said that Congress should not let the newly enacted Gramm-Rudman law, which mandates a balanced budget by 1991, interfere with aid for anti-communist insurgencies, especially with a second summit meeting between Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev scheduled for later this year.

“We already see indications that Gorbachev is watching to see how our budget process plays out,” White House spokesman Larry Speakes quoted Reagan as saying.

Warning by Reagan

Reagan told the congressional leaders that Congress’ behavior on several other issues besides aid for anti-communist insurgents also could affect the outcome of the next summit talks. Speakes said that Reagan warned the leaders: “Make no mistake about it, the ability to succeed in that meeting will be directly affected by Gorbachev’s perception of our global position and internal solidarity.”

Reagan singled out congressional support for the “Star Wars” missile defense proposal, continuing economic pressure on Libya and “adequate security assistance to friends in vital parts of the world.”

As part of his renewed emphasis on worldwide anti-communist guerrillas, Reagan will ask Congress to continue covert funding for rebels fighting the Soviet-sponsored government in Afghanistan.

For Angola, the amount of military aid Reagan will seek has not been decided. In 1976, when the Gerald R. Ford Administration was secretly aiding anti-Marxist guerrillas in Angola, Congress prohibited such aid, but it repealed that ban last year.

Stung by Rejection

Reagan has made no secret of his desire to aid rebel movements, but White House officials said that he had been stung by congressional rejection of his military aid package for the Nicaraguan rebels last year and was reluctant to push the same cause again without the blessing of key lawmakers.

He apparently has won that blessing after months of courting congressional leaders. “It’s been a long mating dance,” one official said.

In addition, Reagan asked the Republican congressional leaders to “stand by King Hussein” and let him proceed with a proposed $1.9-billion arms sale to Jordan. But he received no commitment.

Unprecedented Rebuff

Last year, Congress, in an unprecedented rebuff of an arms sale, blocked the Jordan deal until March 1 unless Jordan recognized Israel and the two nations entered into peace negotiations.

The Reagan Administration’s chief Middle East trouble-shooter, Richard W. Murphy, has been in Europe this week, meeting separately with Hussein and Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres in an effort to get the Middle East peace process off dead center.