Route 66 becomes a historic trail, but drilling stays allowed.

What it does

This bill makes Route 66 a National Historic Trail. Route 66 is a famous highway. It runs 2,400 miles from Chicago to Santa Monica. It was built between 1926 and 1985. The bill lets the federal government manage the trail. It helps the public visit it. The government cannot stop oil, gas, or mining companies. These companies can work near the trail.

Who it affects

Citizens can visit and learn about Route 66 as a historic trail. Energy companies keep the right to drill for oil and gas near the trail. Private landowners keep control of their land and cannot be forced to sell it.

One thing to notice

The bill protects Route 66's history. It does not stop energy companies from drilling or mining next to it.

From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.

Where it stands

5 cosponsors: 4 Democrats, 1 Republicans.

• Sep 18, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Sep 18, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources”
• Jul 21, 2026 — Hearing held · Congress.gov: “Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks. Hearings held”
• Jul 29, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

1 groups reported lobbying about this bill. They filed 1 reports from Sep 2025 to Sep 2025.

Those reports show $365,000 in lobbying spending. Each report lists about 26 bills. So that money was not all for this bill.

More groups named this bill than 0% of bills with any report.

Ted Cruz, who sponsored the bill, received $525,365 from PACs for the 2026 election.

• Specialty Equipment Market Association — $365,000 in 1 report

Lobbying is legal. These reports show who lobbied about this bill, not what changed.

Words to know

• National Historic Trail — A path protected by the federal government because of its history.
• federal government — The U.S. government that runs the whole country.
• energy companies — Businesses that find and sell oil, gas, and other power sources.
• lobbying — Trying to influence lawmakers about a bill. Companies and groups pay people to do this.
• PACs — Groups that collect money and give it to candidates for office.
• sponsored — To sponsor a bill is to introduce it in Congress and put your name on it.