Whether the latest round of attention will help move the bill along is unclear, however.

Quin Monson, a political scientist at Brigham Young University, said voters consistently rank education as their No. 1 concern. So it's no surprise that in an election year, politicians would promote legislation dealing with schools, he said.

Hatch in particular periodically needs to combat criticism that he has lost touch with voters back home, Monson said.

"Certainly (the bill) allows him to claim credit and position himself as someone who has Utah's issues at heart," Monson said.

And Utah environmentalists are skeptical about allowing states to use or sell public land. Several proposals from Congress and President Bush in the last year to sell public lands have been met with loud opposition from environmentalists, hunting and fishing groups — and even Western lawmakers.

"We're all sympathetic to the needs of schools in Utah, but this proposal would cause serious harm to our state," said Scott Groene, executive director of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. "It would allow the state Legislature to cherry pick which of . . . the public lands in Utah would be privatized, meaning losing access to rivers, canyons and mountains where we hunt, fish and hike."