In an increasing number of towns, citizens are organizing to fight the littering of highways and scenic roads with billboards and the siting of billboards next to national and local parks, schools, homes, churches, and cemeteries. The billboard industry has been especially pampered because taxpayers must reimburse companies to remove their billboards, at a cost of more than $250 million to date. Legal loopholes have allowed the companies to use the money to erect three new billboards for every one removed.

Senator Stafford (R-VT) proposed an amendment to the 1987 highway bill that would have: (1) banned billboards next to national parks, wildlife refuges, wild and scenic rivers, historic sites and districts, and along scenic highways, (2) prohibited the destruction of trees on public property solely to make billboards more visible, (3) limited new billboards in cities to a maximum size of 75 square feet; and (4) restored local government control over existing billboards.

The vote is on a Ford (D-KY) motion to table (kill) the Stafford amendment. The motion was agreed to 57-40 on February 3, 1987, thus killing the Stafford anti-billboard measure. NO is the pro-environmental vote.