Nation IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON, D.C. : Senate Backs Change to Grazing Fees

The Senate approved a major overhaul of laws governing the multimillion-dollar business of grazing cattle and sheep on federal land across the West. The vote was 51 to 46. The bill, which Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) said is likely to be vetoed by President Clinton, has not yet been considered by the House. The Senate turned aside a proposal that would have raised the fee charged to ranchers to run livestock on federal land from about $1.35 per animal on each acre to $2--still well below the costs charged for use of state-owned and private land in the West. The Senate eventually imposed an increase of 50 cents.