[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 10557]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             RECOGNIZING THE CENTENNIAL OF LINCOLN HIGHWAY

  Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to S. Res. 
188, which was submitted earlier today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 188) recognizing June 30, 2013, as 
     the centennial of the Lincoln Highway.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mrs. FISCHER. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss the Lincoln 
Highway resolution, which celebrates the centennial of the Nation's 
first transcontinental highway.
  In America, our highways are a part of our heritage. They connect 
people, transport goods, promote tourism, and support economies.
  I developed an appreciation for our highway heritage at an early age 
from my father, Jerry Strobel. After returning from service in World 
War II, he dedicated his career to serving Nebraskans at the State 
Department of Roads. As a civil servant for 45 years, he worked many 
years as a deputy state engineer and went on to serve as director and 
State engineer for the Nebraska Department of Roads from 1987 to 1991. 
He was a member of the Road and Transportation Builders Association and 
the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
  Just as I have my father to thank for developing my appreciation of 
roads and bridges, our vital infrastructure, we as a country have Carl 
Fisher of Indiana to thank for developing our Nation's first 
transcontinental highway. A century ago, he conceived and promoted the 
idea of a highway that would ``stimulate as nothing else could the 
building of enduring highways everywhere that will not only be a credit 
to the American people but that will also mean much to American 
agriculture and American commerce.''
  Carl Fisher was an early automobile enthusiast who believed ``the 
automobile won't get anywhere until it has good roads to run on.'' He 
was zealous in his pursuit of his dream of a coast-to-coast highway, 
urging many of his friends in the auto industry to help promote the 
project.
  The highway was named for one of Fisher's heroes, President Abraham 
Lincoln. The first highway to connect our country became the first 
national memorial to the leader whose courage kept our country 
connected.
  The Lincoln Highway route was dedicated in 1913. Spanning from Times 
Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco, the Lincoln 
Highway--affectionately known as America's Main Street--originally 
spanned 3,466 miles through 13 States, including the great State of 
Nebraska.
  The Lincoln Highway brought economic development, tourism, and 
adventure to every community it touched and served as one of the 
inspirations for the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act of 
1956.
  The Lincoln Highway Association will host the official Lincoln 
Highway 100th Anniversary Tours and Celebration. Two tours will start 
simultaneously in New York City and San Francisco and meet in Kearney, 
NE, which is 1,733 miles from both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.
  I am proud the Senate can help commemorate the important role that 
the Lincoln Highway has played in developing our country's highway 
heritage by celebrating the centennial of our first transcontinental 
highway.
  Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, 
the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be laid upon 
the table, with no intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 188) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  (The resolution, with its preamble, is printed in today's Record 
under ``Submitted Resolutions.'')

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