[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 107 (Tuesday, July 27, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S9444]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              PRESERVATION OF ROUTE 66 CULTURAL RESOURCES

  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
now proceed to the consideration of H.R. 66, which is at the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 66) to preserve the cultural resources of the 
     Route 66 corridor and to authorize the Secretary of Interior 
     to provide assistance.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be 
considered read the third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be 
laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (H.R. 66) was considered read the third time and passed.
  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I am so very pleased that the Senate has 
passed H.R. 66, and taken an historic step in preserving one of 
America's cultural treasures--Route 66. I have long championed 
preservation of Route 66, the ``Mother Road,'' which changed and shaped 
America in the twentieth century. This body had already passed my 
legislation earlier this year, S. 292, the Route 66 Corridor 
Preservation Act. Congresswoman Heather Wilson of Albuquerque, New 
Mexico, reintroduced a companion bill (H.R. 66) in the House of 
Representatives, and after a few amendments, we have finally got 
legislation which will preserve the unique cultural resources along the 
famous Route and authorize the Interior Secretary to provide assistance 
through the Park Service. I have been working for this day for nine 
years.
  This legislation almost became law at the end of the 105th Congress, 
but failed to pass in the House of Representatives due to last minute 
political wrangling. However, no one has ever questioned the merit of 
this legislation.
  I introduced the ``Route 66 Study Act of 1990,'' which directed the 
National Park Service to determine the best ways to preserve, 
commemorate, and interpret Route 66. As a result of that study, I 
introduced legislation last Congress authorizing 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 twentieth century.
  H.R. 66 authorizes a funding level over 10 years and stresses that we 
want the Federal Government to support grassroots efforts to preserve 
aspects of this historic highway. The Secretary of the Interior can now 
support State, local, tribal, and private organizations' efforts to 
preserve these resources.
  Designated in 1926, the 2,200-mile Route 66 stretched from Chicago to 
Santa Monica, CA. It rolled through eight American States and three 
time zones. In New Mexico, it went through the communities of 
Tucumcari, Santa Rosa, Albuquerque, Grants, and Gallup. New Mexico 
added to the aura of Route 66, giving new generations of Americans 
their first experience of our colorful culture and heritage. Route 66 
allowed generations of vacationers to travel to previously remote areas 
and experience the natural beauty and cultures of the Southwest and Far 
West.
  While mobility of Americans has increased, few have forgotten the 
impact of this two-lane roadway of our youth. The ``Grapes of Wrath'' 
illustrates how depression-era families utilized this ``Mother Road'' 
to escape the dust bowl and start new lives in the West. The western 
U.S. was later opened to tourism, and many people learned the beauties 
of this entire country, Midwest to West. And I think a few folks 
discovered that New Mexico really is the Land of Enchantment.
  The bill is designed to assist private efforts to preserve structures 
and other cultural resources of the historic Route 66 corridor. I am 
pleased that as we reach the turn of the century, we have recognized 
this historic landmark, and the impact it had on this Nation in this 
century.
  I thank my colleagues for once again recognizing the importance of 
this legislation. I also want to thank the many New Mexicans and the 
National Historic Route 66 Federation for their support and help in 
this effort. Finally we will have a law recognizing the twentieth 
century equivalent to the Santa Fe Trail.

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