II

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2133

To designate former United States Route 66 as ‘‘America’s Main Street’’

and authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide assistance.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 4 (legislative day, JUNE 2), 1998

Mr. DOMENICI (for himself and Mr. BINGAMAN) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To designate former United States Route 66 as ‘‘America’s

Main Street’’ and authorize the Secretary of the Interior

to provide assistance.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS.

4 In this Act:

5 (1) ROUTE 66.—The term ‘‘Route 66’’ means—

6 (A) portions of the highway formerly des7 ignated as United States Route 66 that remain

8 in existence as of the date of enactment of this

9 Act; and
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1 (B) public and private land in the vicinity

2 of the highway.

3 (2) PRESERVATION OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Pres4 ervation Office’’ means the Office for the Preserva5 tion of America’s Main Street established by the

6 Secretary under section 3.

7 (3) PRESERVATION OF ROUTE 66.—The term

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

9 or restoration of portions of the highway, businesses

10 and sites of interest or potentially of interest to the

11 public along the highway, or other resources of the

12 highway.

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

14 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di15 rector of the National Park Service.

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

17 in which a portion of Route 66 is located.

18 SEC. 2. DESIGNATION.

19 Route 66 is designated as ‘‘America’s Main Street’’.

20 SEC. 3. MANAGEMENT.

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.—The Secretary

22 shall establish an office, to be known as the ‘‘Office for

23 the Preservation of America’s Main Street’’.

24 (b) DESIGNATION OF OFFICIALS.—The Secretary

25 shall designate officials of the National Park Service sta-
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1 tioned at locations convenient to the States and interested

2 persons in the States, to perform the functions of the

3 Preservation Office under this Act.

4 (c) GENERAL FUNCTIONS.—The Preservation Office

5 shall—

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

7 private persons and entities in the States to preserve

8 Route 66 by providing technical assistance, partici9 pating in cost-sharing programs, and making grants

10 and loans;

11 (2) act as a clearinghouse for communication

12 among Federal, State, and local agencies and private

13 persons and entities interested in the preservation of

14 Route 66; and

15 (3) assist the States in determining the appro16 priate form of and establishing and supporting a

17 non-Federal entity or entities to perform the func18 tions of the Preservation Office after the Preserva19 tion Office is terminated.

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

21 Preservation Office may—

22 (1) enter into cooperative agreements;

23 (2) accept donations;

24 (3) provide cost-share grants;
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1 (4) provide technical assistance in historic pres2 ervation and fundraising; and

3 (5) conduct research.

4 (e) ROAD SIGNS.—The Preservation Office shall

5 sponsor a road sign program on Route 66 to be imple6 mented on a cost-sharing basis with State and local orga7 nizations.

8 (f) PRESERVATION ASSISTANCE.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Preservation Office

10 shall provide assistance in the preservation of Route

11 66 in a manner that is compatible with the idiosyn12 cratic nature of the highway.

13 (2) PLANNING.—The Preservation Office shall

14 not prepare or require preparation of an overall

15 management plan for Route 66, but shall cooperate

16 with the States and local public and private persons

17 and entities in developing local preservation plans to

18 guide efforts to protect the most important or rep19 resentative resources of Route 66.

20 SEC. 4. RESOURCE TREATMENT.

21 (a) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Preservation Office

23 shall develop a program of technical assistance in

24 the preservation of Route 66.

25 (2) GUIDELINES FOR PRESERVATION NEEDS.—
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—As part of the program

2 under paragraph (1), the Preservation Office

3 shall establish guidelines for setting priorities

4 for preservation needs.

5 (B) BASIS.—The guidelines under sub6 paragraph (A) may be based on national reg7 ister standards, modified as appropriate to meet

8 the needs of Route 66 so as to allow for the

9 preservation of the spirit of Route 66 by includ10 ing more modern resources that are integral to

11 the evolution of the Route 66 experience.

12 (b) PROGRAM FOR COORDINATION OF ACTIVITIES.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Preservation Office

14 shall coordinate a program of historic research,

15 curation, preservation strategies, and the collection

16 of oral and video histories of Route 66.

17 (2) DESIGN.—The program under paragraph

18 (1) shall be designed for continuing use and imple19 mentation by other organizations after the Preserva20 tion Office is terminated.

21 (c) COST-SHARE GRANTS.—Cost-share grants for

22 preservation of Route 66 shall be available for resources

23 that meet the guidelines under subsection (a).
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1 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

3 as are necessary to carry out this Act.

4 SEC. 6. TERMINATION.

5 The Preservation Office shall terminate on the date

6 that is 10 years after the date of enactment of this Act.

Æ