Senate Endorses Strong Bill to Protect Textiles : But Leaders Fearing a Certain Presidential Veto Abruptly Withdraw It and Prevent Final Vote

The Senate Thursday endorsed a strong protectionist textile bill but was prevented from giving it final approval as part of a deficit-reduction package after Senate leaders--fearing a certain presidential veto--abruptly withdrew the budget measure from consideration.

The trade bill, which would sharply limit textile imports from many Third World countries and has become the cornerstone of Congress’ protectionist drive, survived three test votes by comfortable margins, indicating that it was headed for easy passage.

However, support fell short of the two-thirds majority the bill’s sponsors would need to override a veto.

“This is open season,” Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) said, as he pleaded with the textile bill’s sponsors to find some other vehicle for their measure. Dole subsequently set aside the entire issue--until next week at the earliest.

Warning From Reagan

President Reagan already has warned that he dislikes several parts of the deficit-reduction bill, and many viewed the addition of the textile bill as certain to doom the entire bill.

Dole thus found himself wedged between two of the most volatile political issues on Capitol Hill--trade and deficits.

The votes indicated that, while proposals to cut the federal budget deficit have consumed time and attention on Capitol Hill in recent weeks, Congress remains committed to taking strong steps to curb a record federal trade deficit.

“We are now at the crisis stage, not only in textiles, but in a whole range of industries,” said Sen. Ernest F. Hollings (D-S.C.), a sponsor of the bill. “How much longer can we sit here in Washington and watch the erosion of this country’s productive capacity--a $150-billion trade deficit and the loss of thousands of jobs a week?”

“It’s just a question of whether you want to keep jobs in America or whether you want to send them abroad,” Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.), another sponsor, declared.

The textile bill would cut imports from Korea and Taiwan by about one-third from their 1984 levels, reduce Hong Kong’s imports by 14% and freeze imports from nine other countries at their 1984 levels. It also would set quotas on annual shoe imports.

The House approved a stronger version of the bill earlier this month.

$171-Billion Deficit Projected

Senators from textile-producing states had sought to attach the bill to one of Dole’s top-priority bills, the legislation that would force the spending cuts required under the budget resolution passed by Congress in August. The measure’s backers claim it would cut this year’s deficit, running at more than $200 billion, to about $171 billion.

Included in the bill are several provisions that Reagan opposes, including an extension of the 16-cents-a-pack cigarette tax, which otherwise would revert to 8 cents, and a proposal to divide contested revenues from offshore oil leasing with coastal states.

Separately, the solidly Democratic House passed, on a 228-199 vote that broke largely along party lines, a deficit-reduction package whose supporters claim it would cut spending by $61.1 billion over the next three years.

The bill is a companion measure to the deficit-reduction being debated in the Senate.

The House bill, which would make broad cuts virtually across the board in government programs, also has been criticized by the Reagan Administration, which has threatened a veto. An analysis by the Office of Management and Budget concluded that the bill’s actual savings would fall $20 billion short of the amount its backers claimed. OMB last week contended that there is an equal shortfall in the Senate measure.