Reagan May Ask Congress to Release Arms to Contras : Getting Aid OKd Called a Long Shot

The Reagan Administration is studying prospects for seeking congressional approval for the release of $16.5 million in military aid to the Contra rebels in Nicaragua, White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said today.

“We are analyzing that possibility,” Fitzwater told reporters at his daily briefing. “A final decision has not been made.”

The spokesman noted that language in the recently signed Pentagon appropriations bill permits Reagan to request a separate congressional vote on whether to release those weapons to the rebels.

There is $16 million worth of stockpiled military goods in Honduras. It was purchased with earlier money, which has been frozen because of the peace process and cease-fire between the two sides.

Congressional leaders say chances for approval of such a maneuver would be a long shot at best.

The bill “authorizes the release of $16 million in lethal material that had been purchased earlier but had not been delivered . . . and it sets forth findings that the President would make in requesting that release,” Fitzwater said.

He said that under the legislation, the President must find that Nicaragua has caused a crisis in Central America, must consult with the four Central American democracies and must then justify the request to Congress.

He said the President’s justification for the release of the aid must also meet two of three conditions cited in the legislation.

Of the three, Fitzwater said, the Administration believes that two have been met--continuing unacceptable levels of Soviet aid and Sandinista violations of the peace accords.

Fitzwater said the third condition--that the Sandinistas have initiated an “all-out attack” against the Contras--was “an open question.”

“The status is, it’s all under consideration and we haven’t made a formal decision,” the spokesman said.

Although congressional leaders had once hoped to close their session by the end of September, continued wrangling over such matters as anti-drug legislation may keep lawmakers in Washington until next week.