Senate Rejects Ban on Mine Land Sales
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WASHINGTON — Spurred by protests from Western states, the Senate late Monday rejected a proposed one-year ban on selling federal land containing gold, silver and other hard-rock minerals to mining companies for as little as $2.50 an acre.
The proposed temporary moratorium on issuing cheap titles to federal mining land was sponsored by Sen. Dale Bumpers (D-Ark.), who called the practice a flagrant giveaway of public land and “the biggest scam still going on in America.”
Western senators led by Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Bumpers’ proposal would devastate the U.S. mining industry and stifle economic development.
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