[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 71 (Thursday, June 4, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5635-S5636]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DOMENICI (for himself and Mr. Bingaman):
  S. 2133. A bill to designate former United States Route 66 as 
``America's Main Street'' and authorize the Secretary of the Interior 
to provide assistance; to the Committee on energy and Natural 
Resources.


                          ROUTE 66 LEGISLATION

  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, on behalf of myself and Senator Bingaman 
from New Mexico, I am pleased to introduce today what we will call the 
Route 66 Preservation Act of 1998. Some here in the Senate may recall 
that I introduced the Route 66 Study Act of 1990, which directed the 
National Park Service to determine the best way to preserve, 
commemorate and interpret ``America's Main Street''--Route 66.
  Public Law 102-400 directed the National Park Service to conduct a 
study on the impact of that route, that highway on America's culture. 
The study was completed in 1995, and addressed the feasibility of 
preserving what remains of the highway and the facilities associated 
with it through private and public efforts.
  Most nonprofit Route 66 organizations and other interested parties 
preferred preservation Alternative 5, asking for national recognition 
of Route 66 and partnerships between private and public groups for 
preservation. This bill is based on that alternative, and authorizes 
the National Park Service to join with Federal, State and private 
efforts to preserve aspects of historic Route 66, the Nation's most 
important thoroughfare for east-west migration in the 20th century.
  Designated in 1926, the 2,200-mile Route 66 stretched from Chicago to 
Santa Monica, CA. The thoroughfare became the first completely paved 
highway across the United States in 1938. It rolled through Illinois, 
Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. 
In my home State of New Mexico, it went through the communities of 
Tucumcari, Santa Rosa, Albuquerque, Grants, and Gallup.
  The Legislation I am introducing today would have the National Park 
Service designate an ``Office for Preservation of America's Main 
Street'' with officials from the 8 affected States. The Preservation 
Office would be authorized to:
  Support State, local and private efforts to preserve Route 66 by 
providing technical assistance, participating in cost-sharing programs, 
and making grants and loans;
  Act as a clearing house for communication among Federal, State, local 
and private entities interested in the preservation of Route 66;
  Assist States in determining the appropriation form of a non-Federal 
entity or entities to perform functions of the Preservation Office once 
it is terminated 10 years after enactment of this legislation; and,
  Sponsor a road sign program on Route 66 to be implemented on a cost-
sharing basis with State and local organizations.
  Route 66 is really a modern-day equivalent to the Santa Fe Trail. I 
believe this bill will provide States and local communities a more 
tangible means of gaining Federal assistance to preserve aspects of 
Route 66.
  At one time, Route 66 was the most famous highway in the United 
States. Now it is fading from the American landscape. If we want to 
preserve Route 66, it is now time to act.
  Up to 500,000 Americans--one quarter of all entrants to California 
during that era--migrated to California from the Dust Bowl on Route 66 
from 1935 to 1940. John Steinbeck captured this journey and christened 
Route 66 the ``Mother Road'' in his classic novel of the Depression: 
``The Grapes of Wrath.''
  After World War II, another generation of Americans trekked across 
America on Route 66, not to escape despair, but to embrace economic 
opportunities in the West. Songwriter Bobby Troup expressed the 
enthusiasm and sense of adventure of this generation in his song, ``Get 
Your Kicks on Route 66!''
  Route 66 also allowed generations of vacationers to travel to 
previously remote areas and experience the natural beauty and cultures 
of the Southwest and Far West.
  Route 66 began to decline with the enactment of the Interstate 
Highway Act in 1956. In 1984, the last federally designated portion of 
Route 66 was decommissioned when interstate 40 was completed in 
Arizona.

[[Page S5636]]

  Hopefully, the Senate will join me in once again allowing another 
generation to ``get its kicks'' on Route 66.
  The study has been completed, and now it is time to give the Park 
Service some direction--let them set up a small office for the 
preservation of Route 66. The bill authorizes partnerships between the 
private sector, State entities and the Federal Government through 
existing programs in an effort to preserve various aspects of this 
rather magnificent American roadway--Route 66.
  Many songs have been written about it. Many dreams are described by 
people who lived part of their lives there. Part of the Grapes of Wrath 
took place on Route 66. I think before all of what remains of America's 
Main Street disappears, it is a good time to pass this kind of bill and 
see if we can't preserve parts of it. Much is made of preserving 
historic things in the United States. It would be a shame, since there 
are so many people out there who care about this piece of American 
history and want to try to preserve the remnants of Route 66, if we did 
not do something now to help them in that effort.
 Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I am pleased to speak in support 
of this important legislation being introduced today by my friend 
Senator Domenici. The bill designates the old Highway 66 as ``America's 
Main Street'' and authorizes the National Park Service to help state, 
tribal and local governments in their efforts to preserve this unique 
piece of our national heritage.
  Mr. President, Route 66 is more than a 2400-mile highway from Chicago 
to Los Angeles. In many ways it represents the American dream, the open 
road, and our unending search for opportunity and adventure. This is 
the ``Mother Road'' of John Steinbeck's classic 1939 novel ``The Grapes 
of Wrath.'' This is the road immortalized by Cole Porter and Jack 
Kerouac. In the 1950s, this is the road that gave us the popular 
television series ``Route 66.''
  In my state of New Mexico, Route 66 ran nearly 400 miles from Glenrio 
in Quay County on the east to Manuelito in McKinley County on the West. 
Before 1937, the road looped north through Santa Fe and Bernalillo and 
south through Isleta and Los Lunas. Many of us believe the state of New 
Mexico has some of the most compelling scenery along the highway.
  Mr. President, from the beginning Route 66 was intended to link 
America's rural and urban areas. Much of the original roadway remains 
along with those old classic filling stations, cafes, motels, and, of 
course, those unforgettable neon signs. Indeed, the old highway remains 
the ``main street'' in many New Mexico cities, including Albuquerque, 
Tucumcari, Santa Rosa, Bernalillo, Gallup, and Grants.
  I think it is unfortunate that many drivers on our modern Interstate 
40 cross New Mexico without pausing to enjoy the nostalgia of the old 
highway. That's why I am pleased that New Mexico is already working 
aggressively to preserve and memorialize the old highway. The route in 
New Mexico is now designated a scenic byway. Our state has worked hard 
to provide appropriate signage, and the familiar brown and white shield 
signs are now prominent along the old route. A number of New Mexico 
towns and pueblos have permanent exhibits on the history of Route 66 in 
their areas. The city of Tucumcari has a whimsical monument to Route 66 
modeled after a Cadillac tail fin. Soon there will be a Route 66 
interpretative center at the Pueblo of Acoma that will showcase the 
historic and cultural attractions of the region. A similar center is 
planned for the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque.
  Mr. President, Route 66 received its original designation in 1926 as 
a result of the first national highway plan. Now, over seventy years 
later, Congress has just passed a new highway bill that clearly 
recognizes through the Enhancements and Scenic Byways Programs the 
importance of preserving and protecting our national heritage. With the 
automobile firmly entrenched in our culture today, highways such as 
Route 66 are a genuine part of our heritage. This bill will help assure 
that heritage is preserved. I am pleased to co-sponsor this bill with 
Senator Domenici, and I thank him for his efforts.
                                 ______