Tennessee Republican congressmen Lamar Alexander, Bob Corker and Zach Wamp praised the passage Thursday in the U.S. Senate of legislation that will speed the documentation of the Trail of Tears. The Trail of Tears Documentation Act, part of the Public Lands Bill, calls for the inclusion of two primary westward trails — the Benge and Bell routes — as well as water routes through the Tennessee and Arkansas Rivers. Also included are the socalled “round up routes” from Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama on which the Cherokee were gathered and marched to holding camps before the journey west. “The designation and interpretation of the additional sites and trails associated with the Cherokee Removal will enhance public understanding of American history,” according to a statement released Thursday by U.S. Sens. Alexander and Corker and U.S. Rep. Wamp. The Public Lands legislation, containing more than 150 separate land management measures, passed the Senate in a 73-21 vote. It now must be cleared by the U.S. House of Representatives before it can be signed into law.