Oklahoma senator targets Route 66 program as wasteful

The good news is U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, long an enemy of the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program, retired early this year.

The bad news is his successor, Sen. James Lankford, has picked up Coburn’s schtick and is calling for the program’s repeal.

For years, Coburn published a yearly report of alleged waste in the U.S. government. In at least three of those reports, he criticized the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program. Another time, he briefly held up legislation for the program’s renewal in 2008.

Lankford decided to keep Coburn’s annual publication going during his freshman year in the U.S. Senate. Titled “Federal Fumbles,” the 145-page report cites allege wasteful spending. And, like Coburn, Lankford targeted the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program and is calling for its cancellation.

On page 100 of the report, Lankford’s report stated this:

According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, Americans spend the equivalent of $101 billion every year on wasted time and fuel on congested major urban highways, in large part due to a lack of capital investment. On roads controlled by the Federal Highway System that cross lands controlled by federal agencies such as the Forest Service, National Parks, and Corps of Engineer properties, the federal government has accrued an $11.55 billion deferred maintenance backlog.

Yet in 2015 a federal grant program provided $20,565 to restore an architectural neon sign at a motel adjacent to Historic Route 66. The grant originated from the Route 66 Preservation Program, an NPS program that provides $287,000 annually in grants for the “restoration of restaurants, motels, gas stations and neon signs, as well as for planning, research, and educational initiatives.”

While this program represents a drop in the bucket compared to the massive shortfalls cited above, it does highlight Congress’s inability to learn lessons many parents work to teach their children: the difference between “wants” and “needs.”

In 1999 the Route 66 Preservation Program began as a temporary, ten-year grant program to help jumpstart preservation efforts on Route 66. Since 2001, more than 100 grants have been issued for projects along the iconic Route 66 corridor. Federal backing of the program was originally scheduled to terminate in 2009 and transition to a non-federal entity. However, in 2008 the once-temporary program was extended for an additional 10 years, protecting it and its low-priority spending through 2019. This year’s projects include a $25,000 grant for the “Women on the Mother Road: Route 66 Interactive Website and Oral History Project,” $20,565 for the Boots Court Roof Restoration in Carthage, MO, and $30,800 for structural restoration to the 1950s Lake Shore Motel, currently known as the Best Budget Inn, in Carthage MO. Grants were also awarded to renovate an abandoned gas station in Oklahoma and a theatre production in Arizona. The program has spent more than $200,000 to restore neon road signs, like the one mentioned above.

Route 66 is an iconic highway that should and will remain an important part in the American story. However, its historical and cultural significance does not depend on taxpayer support for refurbishing roadside attractions.

Congress should cancel further appropriations for the program and transition the service to a non-federal entity, which was supposed to occur six years ago. Fortunately, there are at least 15 organizations dedicated to Route 66 that are ready to carry the torch of preserving America’s Mother Road.

One thing noticeable in Lankford’s publication is he didn’t omit important context in his critique, like Coburn did notoriously. And while Coburn seemed contemptuous of Route 66, Lankford acknowledges it is “iconic” and “an important part of the American story.” So Lankford has softened the stance against the Mother Road in general, compared to his predecessor.

Lankford’s criticism probably won’t gain much traction. The Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program consistently earns praise from people of all political persuasions because it’s proven to be good stewards of taxpayer money, mostly through cost-share grants that helped preserve dozens of historic structures over the last 15 years. Some of those once-marginal properties became thriving businesses, helping boost the local economy and hiring workers.

Lankford’s recommendation to end the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program probably is a moot point anyway. The program is scheduled to end in 2019, which is why a task force is busy trying to set up an alternative group and get Route 66 designated a National Historic Trail by the National Park Service.

Still, Lankford’s stance is disappointing. Coburn lived in Muskogee, Oklahoma, which more than 40 miles from Route 66. Lankford hails from Edmond, Oklahoma, which is an actual Route 66 town.

(Image of Sen. James Lankford at the “Federal Fumbles” news conference, via his website)