Congress orders study of George Washington's 1753 trail for historic designation
H.R. 4566 — Washington’s Trail—1753 National Historic Trail Feasibility Study Act of 2025 · Filed by Mike Kelly (R-PA) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced Jul 21, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to study whether a 500-mile historical route taken by George Washington in 1753—from Williamsburg, Virginia, to Fort LeBoeuf, Pennsylvania—should be designated as a national historic trail. The study itself creates no new trail or protection; it is a feasibility assessment that may lead to future designation if Congress approves.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is to authorize a study of a specific historical route's suitability for national historic trail designation. It is a straightforward procedural authorization with no regulatory, financial, or substantive policy change.
What the text implies
- No appropriation is stated in the bill text; study funding would depend on future Interior Department budget allocation or separate appropriations legislation.
- Designation as a national historic trail does not automatically create public access rights or restrict private land use along the route—those outcomes would depend on subsequent designation rules and land-management decisions.
- The study is limited to feasibility; it does not commit Congress to designation even if the study recommends it.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill itself imposes no direct cost or benefit to ordinary citizens—it is a study authorization with no appropriation stated and no regulatory change. A completed study could eventually lead to trail designation, which might offer public access and heritage education (benefit), but the bill does not guarantee designation, funding, or any concrete outcome. The civic effect depends entirely on what the study recommends and whether Congress acts on it.
Named in the bill
Secretary of the Interior, National Trails System Act, George Washington, Williamsburg, Virginia, Fort LeBoeuf (Waterford), Pennsylvania, House Committee on Natural Resources
Where it stands
2 cosponsors: 1 Democrats, 1 Republicans.
- Jul 21, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jul 21, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (763 characters) on Sep 27, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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