"We recognize that we cannot morally walk awayand leave them abandoned in the jungle," said Rep.David Obey (D -Wis.)

While the House action killed the proposal,there was still a chance that the Senate couldhold a symbolic debate and vote on the measure onThursday.

The most controversial part of the defeatedpackage was $3.6 million earmarked for weapons andammunition, which Reagan had said he wouldwithhold until March 31 to see how cease-firetalks go between the rebels and the Managuagovernment.

The presidents of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, ElSalvador, Honduras and Guatemala launched a peaceeffort when they signed an accord last August 7.Those talks are scheduled to resume February 10.

Closing out the debate with the House galleriesjammed with spectators, House Speaker Jim Wright(D-Tex.), said the United States should letCentral America run its own affairs, instead ofmaintaining interventionist policies.

"Let's join with them, and not against them, inseeking an avenue to peace and let us show by ourvote that we are prepared to re-embrace the GoodNeighbor policy, and that we're prepared to givepeace a chance," Wright said.

After the vote, Wright said it should be viewedas "as an encouragement to carry out the [peace]accords and make the peace process a reality." Heattributed the victory to strong congressionalsupport for the peace effort and to "enormouschanges...in the attitude of the Sandinistagovernment."

"Obviously, if the government of Nicaragua wereto misbehave in extreme ways, to renege outrighton its commitments or to invade its neighbors,that would radically change the situation," Wrightsaid. "We don't anticipate that."

The bulk of the aid package was intended to buy"non-lethal" supplies to keep the rebels alive asa military force inside Nicaragua. That includedfood and uniforms as well as communications gearand leased aircraft to deliver the material.

There have been published reports that theAdministration had been weighing a plan to solicitfunds from foreign governments for the contras inthe event that Congress defeated Reagan's request.But Reagan's National Security Adviser Lt. Gen.Colin Powell said last Sunday, "We are not lookingfor other sources of funding."

The United States has funneled more than $200million to the rebels since their guerrilla warbegan in 1981. Stockpiled weapons and othersupplies continue to be airdropped to the contrasby the CIA, operating from Honduran bases.

Opponents of the aid argue that U.S.sponsorship of the rebels has given theSandinistas an excuse to suppress politicaldissent and avoid fulfilling the democraticpromises made in their 1979 constitution.

Throughout the day-long debate, both sidescontended their intent was to secure peace in theturbulent region.

Rep. David Bonior (D -Mich.), leader of ananti-contra group of lawmakers, said that duringsix years of debate over the Administration'spolicy, "The case against contra aid has beenoverwhelming." He included allegations of humanrights abuses by the rebels and theAdministration's covert aid policy uncovered bythe summer's Iran-Contra hearings. But he said theissue has become even more crucial because of thepeace process.

At one point during the debate, about half adozen contra aid protesters interrupted the floorproceedings briefly by standing up and shouting,"No Contra aid!" and "End the war now!" Thedemonstrators were hustled out of the chamber,handcuffed and carted off by police.

The vote was Reagan's first challenge onCapitol Hill during the final year of hispresidency. Faced with an uphill fight, he hadlobbied the issue hard over the past two weeks,meeting individually with legislators and makingnumerous public speeches that put his prestige andinfluence on the line.

In a letter detailing the compromise offer inhis Tuesday night speech, the president pledged hewould not release the lethal aid if both the Houseand Senate adopted, within a 10-day period afterhe signaled his intention to release the aid, aresolution stating that Nicaragua complied withthe peace process.

That would have given Nicaragua two months tolive up to the broad promises of ceasefire,amnesty and democratization made in a January 16agreement among the five Central Americanpresidents