Future of Byways program looks somewhat brighter

The fate of the endangered National Scenic Byways Program looks more optimistic after the U.S. Senate on Wednesday easily passed a bipartisan two-year transportation bill, according to the New York Times and other news outlets.

The bill would preserve the Byways program, of which Route 66 and other historic highways have been beneficiaries. However, according to three Byways officials, funding of the program would be markedly different, and possibly lower.

The U.S. House version of the bill, introduced in late January, included a line item that would have repealed the Byways program amid more than 30 percent in transportation spending cuts. However, that bill has stalled in the House due to opposition by both Democratic and Republican lawmakers.

The Wall Street Journal reported:

House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) warned his party’s lawmakers that barring a last-minute breakthrough on talks on a House version of the transportation bill, he would take up the Senate bill. There have been no indications from House aides that such an agreement has been reached among House leaders.

Congress faces a March 31 deadline before transportation programs would be shut down due to lack of funding. Another option would be an extension, but leaders of both houses say they’re reluctant to do that.

The Senate transportation bill passed 74-22, with the unlikely couple of Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) as its authors.

The Senate bill, S.1813, includes language on Page 83 that provides for funding the National Scenic Byways Program. The measure still faces a vote in the House, plus amendments that could alter the bill.

However, this part of the Times story indicates significant changes to the Byways program, even if the Senate bill is enacted into law in its current form:

The Senate bill […] consolidates 196 federal transportation programs to about a dozen, while giving more flexibility to the states to decide transportation priorities.

Sally Pearce, co-executive director of the National Scenic Byway Foundation, said this in an email:

Yes, I would concur that the program and funding for byways remains. However the program would be lumped in with all those other programs — 27 or so — and byways would have to compete with all those programs for whatever funds are apportioned to the states, rather than through a grant application process.  It’s certainly better news than the House’s proposal.  But this bill does still have to make it past the House and the White House. I would say some progress has been made. But we will need to keep the pressure on!

Foundation Co-Executive Director Deb Divine concurred with Pearce’s take on the Senate bill. Gary Jensen, team leader of the Byways Program, also agreed that the Senate measure contains no specific funding for byways.

Six of the eight Route 66 states have attained Byway or All-American Road status for Route 66. The program has awarded thousands of dollars in grants to help Route 66 tourism over the years. But even if the Senate bill becomes law, it’s difficult to ascertain how much funding the program will actually get.