Clinton’s Trimmed Stimulus Package Looks Doomed : Economy: The GOP maintains its opposition, and the Democrats do not have enough support to stop a Senate filibuster.

President Clinton’s economic stimulus package appeared doomed Tuesday as Republicans maintained their solid opposition, even to the scaled-down $12.2-billion version offered as a compromise by the Administration last week.

Although a fourth attempt is to be made today to end the Republican filibuster that has prevented a vote on the stimulus package, it was clear Tuesday that Democrats lacked the necessary support to break the logjam.

Furthermore, looming over the White House is the possibility that future spending plans by the Administration--a multibillion-dollar aid package for Russia, for one--might be in jeopardy as a result of political fallout from the fight over the stimulus bill.

In what amounted to a test vote Tuesday afternoon in the Senate, the President’s scaled-down stimulus package won support only by a margin of 52 to 46, indicating that Democrats had failed to pick up the 60 votes they need to end the GOP filibuster.

To further complicate the situation for the Administration, five Democrats defected and voted against the scaled-back measure. And, although an even more sharply pared $6-billion alternative offered by Republicans was defeated 53 to 45, four Democrats broke party ranks on that vote to join a united GOP bloc.

Besides the $4 billion for jobless benefits, the GOP plan included $1 billion for highways and another $1 billion for summer jobs, immunization, protection of natural resources and small-business loans. But $2 billion would have been deducted from federal administrative expenses to avoid increasing the deficit.

The White House, although facing its first major legislative defeat, attempted to remain upbeat about the bill’s prospects.

“We haven’t given up hope. We never thought this was going to be easy,” White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers said.

And Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), floor manager for the bill, declined to predict the ultimate outcome, calling on a rustic metaphor to do so: “We’ll roll our britches up when we get to the creek.”

The Administration has maintained that its stimulus package, which would be paid for through federal borrowing, would boost the still-lagging economy by creating more jobs. But Republicans have countered that the measure would add billions of dollars to an already staggering budget deficit, while doing relatively little to speed economic recovery.

The stimulus package initially contained $16.3 billion in new spending for everything from child immunization programs to a summer jobs program for disadvantaged youths to road-building projects.

Clinton cut $4 billion from the measure last Friday in hopes of improving its chances. But Republicans rejected the overture, saying it failed to address their chief demand: that the Administration offset new spending by cutting existing programs.

Because it appeared that they could not defeat the package in an outright vote, Republicans resorted to a filibuster before the holiday recess. Senate Democrats have tried--and failed--three times to gain the 60 votes needed to invoke cloture and limit debate. Today’s attempt is likely to be the last.

As a result, the Senate ultimately may approve only $4 billion from the package for extra unemployment compensation and jettison nearly all of the rest of the President’s proposal.

Assuming that a bobtailed version of the bill is approved, it would be sent to a Senate-House conference committee, where it would be reconciled with the House, which passed Clinton’s entire $16.3-billion package a month ago.

Despite the grim outlook for the stimulus bill, Democratic leaders continued Tuesday to wage a battle of words on its behalf.

“I think it’s dead because the Republicans, especially those running for President, want to kill it,” said Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.). “They are so dug in and intent on playing politics with this package that it’s not going to pass.”

Republican officials, however, said they would refuse to vote for any spending plan that--like Clinton’s--would add to the deficit and would not be offset by reductions in other federal programs.

Adding to the Administration’s difficulties, the newly coined Republican battle cry--”Let’s pay for it!”--appeared to be affecting some Democrats as well, raising potential problems for the President’s request for $1.8 billion in emergency aid for Russia in coming weeks.

Democratic Sens. J. James Exon and Bob Kerrey of Nebraska, Herbert Kohl and Russell D. Feingold of Wisconsin and Richard C. Shelby of Alabama voted against the President’s stimulus package.

Exon, Kerrey, Shelby and Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.) voted with Republicans in an effort to keep the Republican alternative alive.

“If we can’t get through a domestic jobs program, you have to wonder how we’ll pass a supplemental (appropriation) for Russia,” said Leahy, chairman of a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on foreign operations.

Key Democrats have warned the White House that the Russian aid request faces stiff resistance unless the Administration provides some way to pay for it by making cuts in other foreign-aid allocations.

“The White House just doesn’t seem to get it,” a senior congressional aide said. “Yes, helping Russia is important. But no one voting against domestic spending and for higher taxes on grounds that we have to lower the deficit is then going to turn around and raise it (the deficit) by voting for a supplemental aid package for people overseas.”