GOP Cries Foul as Democrats Seize Contra Vote Advantage

House Democrats seized parliamentary advantage today in the struggle over aid to the Contra rebels in Nicaragua, and the chamber’s Republican leader immediately cried foul.

“They screwed us,” House GOP leader Robert H. Michel said of the unexpected maneuver by House Speaker Jim Wright (D-Tex.). “They’ve completely turned this thing on end for political advantage.”

The Illinois Republican said Wright had promised him that the Republicans would have a chance to offer their own version of a Contra aid package, but the Democrats structured floor procedures so as to make such a vote unlikely.

“People’s commitments or words don’t mean much around here,” Michel complained after the Democrat-controlled House Rules Committee set the rules for Thursday’s vote.

Asked whether the move damaged Wright’s much-publicized efforts to make peace with the minority after a tumultuous 1987, Michel said: “It sure doesn’t help.”

The Rules Committee decided that the Democratic version of the aid package would be brought up for a vote first. If it passes, as party leaders have predicted, there would be no vote on the Republican version.

Asked about Michel’s reaction, Wright spokesman Wilson Morris said the Democratic action was fair because Republicans had a chance to vote on President Reagan’s $36.3-million aid proposal a month ago. That bill, which contained some military aid, failed on a 219-211 vote.