GOP Effort to Trim Back Cuts in Military Fails : Defense: Senate backs Clinton’s $122-billion reduction in Pentagon spending, despite rising crisis in Russia. Gore presides over roll call.

Rallying behind President Clinton, the Senate Tuesday crushed a Republican attempt to use the political crisis in Moscow as a reason to nullify part of Clinton’s proposed five-year, $122-billion reduction in military spending.

The vote was 58 to 41.

Four Democrats--including Sam Nunn of Georgia, chairman of the Armed Services Committee--sided with Republican Pete V. Domenici of New Mexico on his proposed amendment to limited reductions in Pentagon spending to $60 billion more than former President George Bush had proposed for 1994-98.

Clinton has proposed defense cuts of more than $100 billion beyond Bush’s last budget over that period.

Six Republicans broke party ranks to back Clinton’s position in a major showdown on budget priorities as the Senate debated its spending blueprint. The House last week approved the basic outlines of the President’s economic program, including a reduction of $3.7 billion in defense spending beyond his request.

To underscore the importance of the vote, Vice President Al Gore presided over the Senate as the roll was called. Gore is permitted to vote only to break a tie. But the outcome was never in doubt as the White House worked hard to keep Democrats in line against the Domenici amendment.

Exhorting the Senate to endorse his entire plan, including a $16.3-billion stimulus package designed to create jobs, Clinton told a Tuesday news conference:

“This plan sets our country on a new course that honors our oldest values, moving away from gridlock to action. . . .”

The President, alluding to the uncertain future of Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin and the possible effect on American security needs, said that he had offered a “responsible” defense budget.

“To whatever extent the world is uncertain, we’ll have to be more vigilant in reviewing what our (military) commitments are,” Clinton said.

But some Republicans and conservative Democrats contended that the President--and the House--had gone too far in proposing large reductions in military outlays.

“I’m fearful we’re cutting (defense) too fast,” Domenici argued. If Clinton’s offered military cutbacks are accepted, he said, more than 1.2 million jobs might be wiped out.

But Sen. Harris Wofford (D-Pa.) contended that Pentagon spending would exceed $277 billion in the coming fiscal year, adding: “Throwing unneeded money into the defense budget would cripple our ability to do things we need to do at home.”

On another key vote, however, the Senate sided with Nunn, who is recognized as an authority on military matters.

In a 56-43 vote, the Senate approved a non-binding sense-of-the-Senate amendment offered by Nunn that would make it harder to switch funds from additional defense cuts to pay for domestic programs, as Clinton would like to do.

If Nunn’s plan is carried out by the Senate, any extra defense savings would be used entirely for reducing the deficit. The issue will be resolved later by the Senate Armed Services and Appropriations panels.

“I don’t think it’s inconsistent with Clinton’s plan,” said a spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell (D-Me.).

The Senate also adopted, on a 69-30 roll call, a second Nunn amendment to express the Senate’s preference for restoring some Pentagon funds if savings anticipated by Clinton from low inflation and cuts in federal salaries fail to materialize.

“They (Administration estimates) are optimistic, and we need to make sure we know what we are doing on defense,” Nunn said as he introduced his amendments.

Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) said that the Moscow crisis should be reason to reconsider cuts in the Pentagon’s budget. But, Nunn declared, “my concerns were already there before the recent events in Russia.”

Meantime, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved Clinton’s stimulus package by a vote of 19 to 10. But opponents promised to fight for reductions when it reaches the Senate floor later this week or next.

The President, in a letter to Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Senate panel, declared his strong support for approving funds on an emergency basis for federal projects and job-creating programs.