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A bill to amend the National Trails System Act to designate the Trail of Tears as a National Historic Trail.

Public Law 100-192 · S. 578 · 100th Congress · began in the Senate

Signed by Ronald Reagan (R) on Dec 16, 1987 · Public Lands and Natural Resources

Sponsor: Sen. Wendell Ford (D-KY)

Cosponsors (1): Sen. Mitch McConnell

Passage votes

  • HouseVoice vote
  • SenateVoice vote
Data notes

The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.

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Summary

The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.

Amends the National Trails System Act to include the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, the routes traveled by the Cherokee Nation through Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, as a part of the System. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to consider establishing interpretive sites near Hopkinsville, Kentucky, Fort Smith, Arkansas, Trail of Tears State Park, Missouri, and Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

Authorizes appropriations.

Committees

The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.

Data notes

A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.

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Timeline

From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 19 actions.

  1. Dec 16, 1987Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 100-192.
  2. Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
  3. Dec 8, 1987PresidentPresident · Presented to President.
  4. Dec 3, 1987Resolving differencesResolving differences · Senate agreed to the House amendments by Voice Vote.
  5. Dec 1, 1987FloorFloor · Passed House (Amended) by Voice Vote.
  6. CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Natural Resources Committee
  7. Nov 18, 1987CommitteeCommittee · Markup by House Natural Resources Committee
  8. Nov 3, 1987CommitteeCommittee · Reported by National Parks and Public Lands Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
  9. CommitteeCommittee · Markup by National Parks and Public Lands Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
  10. CommitteeCommittee · Hearings by National Parks and Public Lands Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
  11. Oct 9, 1987CommitteeCommittee · Referred to National Parks and Public Lands Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
  12. Oct 6, 1987CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Natural Resources Committee
  13. Oct 1, 1987FloorFloor · Passed Senate without amendment by Voice Vote.
  14. Sep 25, 1987CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
  15. Sep 16, 1987CommitteeCommittee · Markup by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
  16. Jul 30, 1987CommitteeCommittee · Hearings by National Parks Subcommittee of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
  17. Feb 23, 1987CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
  18. CommitteeCommittee · Referred to National Parks Subcommittee of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
  19. IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the Senate
Data notes

Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.

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Official record

The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.