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Route 66 National Historic Trail Designation Act
To amend the National Trails System Act to designate the Route 66 National Historic Trail, and for other purposes.
Summary
- Designates the Route 66 National Historic Trail, covering approximately 2,400 miles of former U.S. Highway 66 alignments between Chicago, Illinois, and Santa Monica, California that existed between 1926 and 1985.
- Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to administer the trail while preserving its unique character and requires consultation with affected Indian Tribes before undertaking activities with substantial impacts on tribes.
- Limits federal land acquisition to areas within existing federally managed areas and no more than one-quarter mile on either side of the trail route without landowner consent.
- Prohibits use of eminent domain or condemnation and clarifies that the designation does not restrict energy development, create buffer zones, or impose new permit requirements.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
- Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX] (R-TX)
5 cosponsors
- Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL] (D-IL)
- Sen. Kelly, Mark [D-AZ] (D-AZ)
- Sen. Luján, Ben Ray [D-NM] (D-NM)
- Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] (D-CA)
- Sen. Schmitt, Eric [R-MO] (R-MO)
Money behind the sponsor
Top reported contributors to Ted Cruz’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.
- NULL $4,424,745
- ENTREPRENEUR $458,096
- RDV CORPORATION $39,600
- AMERICAN AIRLINES $29,632
- BLACKSTONE $27,400
Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Ted Cruz → · Outside spending →
Actions (4)
- Jul 29, 2026 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably. · senate
- Jul 21, 2026 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks. Hearings held. · senate
- Sep 18, 2025 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. · senate
- Sep 18, 2025 Introduced in Senate
More bills on these subjects (8)
Other bills that carry the most legislative subjects in common with this one (topical discovery — distinct from the procedural related bills above).
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Text versions (1)
Bills are re-published as they move (Introduced → Reported → Engrossed → Enrolled …). Each stage below is a separate text; pick two to see what changed. Data from Congress.gov.
Committee action
What happened to this bill in committee — the meetings where it was considered and every recorded vote taken on it.
Meetings where this bill was on the agenda
- Business meeting to consider S.365 and H.R.1729, bills to amend the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act to allow for additional entities to be eligible to complete the maintenance work on Bolts Ditch and the Bolts Ditch Headgate within the Holy Cross Wilderness, Colorado, S.764, to provide for the designation of certain wilderness areas, recreation management areas, and conservation areas in the State of Colorado, S.791, to establish the Justice Thurgood Marshall National Historic Site in the State of Maryland as an affiliated area of the National Park System, S.888, to designate certain land administered by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service in the State of Oregon as wilderness and national recreation areas, to withdraw certain land located in Curry County and Josephine County, Oregon, from all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws, location, entry, and patent under the mining laws, and operation under the mineral leasing and geothermal leasing laws, S.945, to amend the Smith River National Recreation Area Act to include certain additions to the Smith River National Recreation Area, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain wild rivers in the State of Oregon, S.1005, to provide for conservation and economic development in the State of Nevada, S.1088, to provide that the memorial to commemorate the sacrifice and service of the women who worked on the home front to support the efforts of the United States military during World War II may be located on the National Mall, S.1195, to promote conservation, improve public land management, and provide for sensible development in Pershing County, Nevada, S.1257, to amend the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to authorize the use of funds for certain additional Carey Act projects, S.1341, to amend the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 to add certain land to the Sarvis Creek Wilderness, S.1349, to withdraw the National Forest System land in the Ruby Mountains subdistrict of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest and the National Wildlife Refuge System land in Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Elko and White Pine Counties, Nevada, from operation under the mineral leasing laws, S.1476, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain segments of the Gila River system in the State of New Mexico as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, to provide for the transfer of administrative jurisdiction over certain Federal land in the State of New Mexico, S.1737, to designate and expand wilderness areas in Olympic National Forest in the State of Washington, and to designate certain rivers in Olympic National Forest and Olympic National Park as wild and scenic rivers, S.1777, to amend the California Desert Protection Act of 1994 to expand the boundary of Joshua Tree National Park, to redesignate the Cottonwood Visitor Center at Joshua Tree National Park as the "Dianne Feinstein Visitor Center", S.1870, to adjust the boundary of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area to include the Rim of the Valley Corridor, S.2498, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to extend certain leases within units of the National Park System without opening the lease to bidding, S.2767 and H.R.5254, bills to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to enter into an agreement with the Gateway Arch Park Foundation to host private events in Gateway Arch National Park buildings, S.2801, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to assess the suitability and feasibility of designating the Canterbury Shaker Village National Heritage Area, S.2887, to amend the National Trails System Act to designate the Route 66 National Historic Trail, S.2933, to redesignate a playground in the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in the State of West Virginia as the "Hearts of Gold Playground: In Honor of West Virginia Children and Families Impacted by Childhood Cancer", S.2968, to ensure access to certain public land, S.3194, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to assess the suitability and feasibility of designating certain land in California as the Monterey Bay National Heritage Area, S.3313 and H.R.6365, bills to require the Secretary of the Interior to issue a right-of-way for an emergency exit on certain National Park Service land in the State of Virginia, S.3409, to reaffirm that the Bureau of Reclamation retains exclusive ownership, operational control, and financial responsibility for the Lower Yellowstone Fish Bypass Channel, ensuring long-term conservation of the endangered pallid sturgeon and other native aquatic species in the Yellowstone River while protecting the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project and District from undue financial and operational burdens, S.3635 and H.R. 7250, bills to reauthorize the Fort Peck Reservation Rural Water System Act of 2000, S.3715 and H.R.6380, bills to establish the Chiricahua N
- Hearings to examine S.1674, to modify the boundary of the Mammoth Cave National Park in the State of Kentucky, S.2498, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to extend certain leases within units of the National Park System without opening the lease to bidding, S.2767 and H.R.5254, bills to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to enter into an agreement with the Gateway Arch Park Foundation to host private events in Gateway Arch National Park buildings, S.2801, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to assess the suitability and feasibility of designating the Canterbury Shaker Village National Heritage Area, S.2887, to amend the National Trails System Act to designate the Route 66 National Historic Trail, S.2933, to redesignate a playground in the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in the State of West Virginia as the "Hearts of Gold Playground: In Honor of West Virginia Children and Families Impacted by Childhood Cancer", S.2969, to amend title 54, United States Code, to provide that State law shall apply to the use of motor vehicles on roads within a System unit, S.3131, to provide for the inclusion on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall of the names of the lost crew members of the USS Frank E. Evans killed on June 3, 1969, S.3194, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to assess the suitability and feasibility of designating certain land in California as the Monterey Bay National Heritage Area, S.3313 and H.R.6365, bills to require the Secretary of the Interior to issue a right-of-way for an emergency exit on certain National Park Service land in the State of Virginia, S.3371, to designate the Museum of the Blind People's Movement in Baltimore, Maryland, as the "National Museum of the Blind People's Movement", S.3456 and H.R.183, bills to amend the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act to provide for a free annual National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass for law enforcement officers and firefighters, S.3501, to amend the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act to designate as a component of the National Heritage Area System the Calumet National Heritage Area in the States of Indiana and Illinois, S.3524, to amend title 54, United States Code, to modify certain cost-sharing requirements for grant programs under the American Battlefield Protection Program, S.3542, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate the Upper Raritan River Watershed in the State of New Jersey for study for potential addition to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, S.3720, to amend the National Trails System Act to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study on the feasibility of designating the Bay Area Ridge as a national scenic trail, S.3785, to authorize direct emergency acquisition flexibilities for the National Park Service and Forest Service for the purpose of retaining, vetting, approving, and expediting contractor approval for the clearing, rebuilding, maintenance, and improvement of areas of the Grand Canyon National Park and Kaibab National Forest damaged by certain wildfires, S.3925, to establish the Julius Rosenwald and Rosenwald Schools National Historical Park, S.4238, to amend the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act to designate as a component of the National Heritage Area System the Endless Mountains National Heritage Area in the State of Pennsylvania, S.4399, to provide for certain conveyances under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, S.4538, to amend the National Trails System Act to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study on the feasibility of designating Washington's Trail-1753 as a national historic trail, S.4595, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate the Mullica River watershed in New Jersey for study for potential designation as a wild and scenic river, S.4767, to extend the authorization of the African American Civil Rights Network, H.R.2306, to reauthorize the Adams Memorial Commission, H.R.5729, to authorize direct emergency acquisition flexibilities for the National Park Service for the purpose of retaining, vetting, approving, and expediting contractor approval for the clearing, rebuilding, maintenance, and improvement of the Grand Canyon grounds that have been impacted by the Dragon Bravo Fire, and H.R.7618, to amend title 54, United States Code, to modify certain cost-sharing requirements for grant programs under the American Battlefield Protection Program.
Full text
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 18 (legislative day, September 16), 2025
Mr. Cruz (for himself, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Schmitt, and Mr. Kelly) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
A BILL
To amend the National Trails System Act to designate the Route 66 National Historic Trail, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Route 66 National Historic Trail Designation Act”.
SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF THE ROUTE 66 NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL.
Section 5(a) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)) is amended—
(1) by redesignating the second paragraph (31) (relating to the Butterfield Overland National Historic Trail) as paragraph
(32); and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
“(33) Route 66 national historic trail.—
“(A) In general.—The Route 66 National Historic Trail, a trail that includes all the alignments of U.S. Highway 66 in existence between 1926 and 1985, extending along a route of approximately 2,400 miles from Chicago, Illinois, to Santa Monica, California, as generally depicted on the map entitled ‘Route 66 National Historic Trail, Proposed Route’, numbered P26/ 141,279, and dated December 2017.
“(B) Availability of map.—The map described in subparagraph (A) shall be on file and available for public inspection at the Department of the Interior.
“(C) Administration.—
“(i) In general.—The Secretary of the Interior shall administer the Route 66 National Historic Trail in a manner that respects and maintains the idiosyncratic nature of the Route 66 National Historic Trail.
“(ii) Tribal consultation.—Consistent with Executive Order 13175 (25 U.S.C. 5301 note; relating to consultation and coordination with Indian Tribal governments) and all other applicable Federal law, the Secretary of the Interior shall conduct active, meaningful, and timely consultation with all affected Indian Tribes prior to undertaking an activity with respect to the Route 66 National Historic Trail that would have substantial direct impacts on 1 or more Indian Tribes.
“(D) Land acquisition.—The United States shall not acquire for the Route 66 National Historic Trail any land or interest in land that—
“(i) is located outside the exterior boundary of any federally managed area without the consent of the owner of the land or interest in land; or
“(ii) extends more than an average of \1/ 4\ of a mile on either side of the Route 66 National Historic Trail.
“(E) No buffer zone created.—
“(i) In general.—Nothing in this paragraph, the acquisition of land or an interest in land authorized by this paragraph, or any management plan for the Route 66 National Historic Trail creates or shall be construed to create a buffer zone outside the Route 66 National Historic Trail.
“(ii) Outside activities.—The fact that an activity or use on land outside the Route 66 National Historic Trail can be seen, heard, or detected from the Route 66 National Historic Trail, including from any land or interest in land acquired for the Route 66 National Historic Trail subject to the limitations described in subparagraph (D), shall not preclude, limit, control, regulate, or determine the conduct or management of the activity or use.
“(F) Effect on energy development, production, transportation, or transmission.—Nothing in this paragraph, the acquisition of land or an interest in land authorized by this paragraph, or any management plan for the Route 66 National Historic Trail shall prohibit, hinder, or disrupt the development, production, transportation, or transmission of energy.
“(G) No eminent domain or condemnation.—In carrying out this paragraph, the Secretary of the Interior may not use eminent domain or condemnation.
“(H) Not a designation of ‘lands in the national park system’.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the designation of the Route 66 National Historic Trail by this paragraph shall not have the effect of designating the Route 66 National Historic Trail or any land on which the Route 66 National Historic Trail is located as ‘lands in the National Park System’ for purposes of section 28(b)(1) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 185(b)(1)).
“(I) No new authorities or permits.—
“(i) No effect on authority to grant easements or rights-of-way.—
“(I) In general.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the designation of the Route 66 National Historic Trail by this paragraph shall not alter or affect the existing authority of any Federal, State, or local agency or official to grant easements or rights-of-way over, under, across, or along any portion of the area designated as the Route 66 National Historic Trail.
“(II) Authority of heads of federal agencies to grants easements or rights-of-way.—Notwithstanding the designation of the Route 66 National Historic Trail by this paragraph, the head of any Federal agency having jurisdiction over any Federal land on which the Route 66 National Historic Trail designated by this paragraph is located (other than land that is considered to be ‘lands in the National Park System’ for purposes of section 28(b)(1) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 185(b)(1)) as a result of a designation under any other law), shall have the authority to grant easements or rights-of-way over, under, across, or along any applicable portion of the Route 66 National Historic Trail in accordance with the laws applicable to the Federal land.
“(ii) No new permits required.— Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the designation of the Route 66 National Historic Trail by this paragraph shall not subject the Route 66 National Historic Trail or any land on which the Route 66 National Historic Trail is located to any other Federal laws (including regulations) requiring a Federal permit or authorization that would otherwise be made applicable as a result of the designation of the Route 66 National Historic Trail as a component of the National Trails System.”. <all>
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