President Bush had proposed cutting $27 million from the Payment-In-Lieu-of-Taxes program, which is designed to replace tax revenue that states and counties lose because they are unable to tax federal land.

The Senate Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee restored those cuts, and added another $8 million, bringing the total available under the bill to $235 million to be divided among the states and counties.

About $20 million would go to Utah counties, which use it for things like law enforcement, search and rescue, firefighting and other services on public lands.

The subcommittee also included$20 million in other Utah projects sought by Sen. Bob Bennett, a member of the subcommittee drafting the legislation.

"This year's spending bill reflects the diversity of Utah's Interior needs," Bennett said in a statement. "From Ogden to St. George, funds for these projects will help address our energy needs, protect our public lands, and enhance and provide access to popular recreation areas."

The House included $242 million in Payment-In-Lieu-of-Taxes funding in the Interior bill it passed last month, meaning the prospects are good that there will be an increase in the money going to the historically shortchanged program.

Full funding in the current year would be $311 million, about $84 million more than actually was made available this year, meaning Utah got about $9 million less than it was eligible to receive.

"This is a significant victory in the Senate subcommittee from where we were after the president's budget," said Robert Weidner, a lobbyist for 24 rural Utah counties. "It's a good thing for the West."

The full Senate Appropriations Committee will meet tomorrow to vote to send the bill to the full Senate. After Senate passage, the House and the Senate will meet to resolve differences in the two versions of the bill.