H. R. 66

One Hundred Sixth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE FIRST SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,

the sixth day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine

An Act

To preserve the cultural resources of the Route 66 corridor and to authorize the

Secretary of the Interior to provide assistance.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of

the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act, the following definitions apply:

(1) ROUTE 66 CORRIDOR.—The term ‘‘Route 66 corridor’’

means structures and other cultural resources described in

paragraph (3), including—

(A) lands owned by the Federal Government and lands

owned by a State or local government within the immediate

vicinity of those portions of the highway formerly designated as United States Route 66; and

(B) private land within that immediate vicinity that

is owned by persons or entities that are willing to participate in the programs authorized by this Act.

(2) CULTURAL RESOURCE PROGRAMS.—The term ‘‘Cultural

Resource Programs’’ means the programs established and

administered by the National Park Service for the benefit of

and in support of preservation of the Route 66 corridor, either

directly or indirectly.

(3) PRESERVATION OF THE ROUTE 66 CORRIDOR.—The term

‘‘preservation of the Route 66 corridor’’ means the preservation

or restoration of structures or other cultural resources of

businesses, sites of interest, and other contributing resources

that—

(A) are located within the land described in paragraph (1);

(B) existed during the route’s period of outstanding

historic significance (principally between 1926 and 1970),

as defined by the study prepared by the National Park

Service and entitled ‘‘Special Resource Study of Route 66’’,

dated July 1995; and

(C) remain in existence as of the date of the enactment

of this Act.

(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

of the Interior, acting through the Cultural Resource Programs

at the National Park Service.

(5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means a State in which a

portion of the Route 66 corridor is located.
H. R. 66—2

SEC. 2. MANAGEMENT.

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in collaboration with the entities described in subsection (c), shall facilitate the development

of guidelines and a program of technical assistance and grants

that will set priorities for the preservation of the Route 66 corridor.

(b) DESIGNATION OF OFFICIALS.—The Secretary shall designate

officials of the National Park Service stationed at locations convenient to the States to perform the functions of the Cultural Resource

Programs under this Act.

(c) GENERAL FUNCTIONS.—The Secretary shall—

(1) support efforts of State and local public and private

persons, nonprofit Route 66 preservation entities, Indian tribes,

State Historic Preservation Offices, and entities in the States

for the preservation of the Route 66 corridor by providing

technical assistance, participating in cost-sharing programs,

and making grants;

(2) act as a clearinghouse for communication among Federal, State, and local agencies, nonprofit Route 66 preservation

entities, Indian tribes, State historic preservation offices, and

private persons and entities interested in the preservation of

the Route 66 corridor; and

(3) assist the States in determining the appropriate form

of and establishing and supporting a non-Federal entity or

entities to perform the functions of the Cultural Resource Programs after those programs are terminated.

(d) AUTHORITIES.—In carrying out this Act, the Secretary may—

(1) enter into cooperative agreements, including (but not

limited to) cooperative agreements for study, planning,

preservation, rehabilitation, and restoration related to the

Route 66 corridor;

(2) accept donations of funds, equipment, supplies, and

services as appropriate;

(3) provide cost-share grants for projects for the preservation of the Route 66 corridor (but not to exceed 50 percent

of total project costs) and information about existing cost-share

opportunities;

(4) provide technical assistance in historic preservation

and interpretation of the Route 66 corridor; and

(5) coordinate, promote, and stimulate research by other

persons and entities regarding the Route 66 corridor.

(e) PRESERVATION ASSISTANCE.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide assistance

in the preservation of the Route 66 corridor in a manner that

is compatible with the idiosyncratic nature of the Route 66

corridor.

(2) PLANNING.—The Secretary shall not prepare or require

preparation of an overall management plan for the Route 66

corridor, but shall cooperate with the States and local public

and private persons and entities, State historic preservation

offices, nonprofit Route 66 preservation entities, and Indian

tribes in developing local preservation plans to guide efforts

to protect the most important or representative resources of

the Route 66 corridor.
H. R. 66—3

SEC. 3. RESOURCE TREATMENT.

(a) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.— (1) PROGRAM REQUIRED.—The Secretary shall develop a

program of technical assistance in the preservation of the Route

66 corridor and interpretation of the Route 66 corridor.

(2) PROGRAM GUIDELINES.—As part of the technical assistance program under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall establish

guidelines for setting priorities for preservation needs for the

Route 66 corridor. The Secretary shall base the guidelines

on the Secretary’s standards for historic preservation.

(b) PROGRAM FOR COORDINATION OF ACTIVITIES.— (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall coordinate a program

of historic research, curation, preservation strategies, and the

collection of oral and video histories of events that occurred

along the Route 66 corridor.

(2) DESIGN.—The program under paragraph (1) shall be

designed for continuing use and implementation by other

organizations after the Cultural Resource Programs are terminated.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There are authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for the

period of fiscal years 2000 through 2009 to carry out the purposes

of this Act.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.