Senate OKs Contra Aid 52-48 : $40 Million for Nicaragua Rebels a Reagan Victory

A deeply divided Senate refused today to block release of the final $40 million in 1987 military aid to the Nicaraguan contra rebels.

The vote was 52 to 48. Vice President George Bush took the gavel to preside in case of a tie.

The vote was the first major Senate balloting on a foreign policy issue since the Democrats took control of the chamber Nov. 4 and the revelations of the Iran-contra scandal.

Opponents had long predicted President Reagan would win, either by a majority vote or in an ultimate veto fight with Congress.

But armed with the help of one-time contra supporters such as Sen. Daniel Evans (R-Wash.), Senate Democratic leader Robert Byrd of West Virginia said the sharp debate on the resolution was a warning to Reagan that congressional support for his embattled “freedom fighters” is drying up.

Byrd called on Reagan to stress diplomacy to resolve the conflicts with the Soviet-supported Sandinista government.

However, Sen. David Boren (D-Okla.) said it would be a mistake to stop the aid now because “there is no policy to take its place.”

Even if the Senate had approved the resolution, Byrd said the game was lost because Reagan was eager to veto it. Byrd and House Speaker Jim Wright (D-Tex.) have said from the outset they do not have the two-thirds majorities required to overturn a veto.

Byrd also said he had no hope for a companion resolution approved 230 to 196 by the House last Wednesday to suspend all aid for six months.

The $40 million, the last part of a $100-million aid package that Congress approved last summer, will start flowing Friday to the CIA and then to the estimated 17,000 guerrillas. The money will go largely for weapons, since much of the first $60 million paid for uniforms, food and basic training.

May Be Last Delivery

But Byrd, gaining support from wavering Republicans, said the $40 million may be the contras’ last delivery of military assistance.

Late this summer, Congress will consider Reagan’s request for $105 million in new military hardware for the rebels he says are fighting to stop the consolidation of a Soviet outpost in the Americas.

That request can be killed by a majority vote in either chamber since no legislation would go to the Oval Office to invite Reagan’s veto.